Boat-tailed Grackle at Holbury 18th November 2025. It was exhilarating to see this transatlantic stowaway, the bird highly thought to have arrived at Calshot where it was first sighted by ship given the proximity of Calshot to Southampton Docks. I thought my chance had gone to see it with it disappearing prior to the first weekend I had to look for it but thankfully it has relocated to a residential street in Holbury. It was surreal to see it emerge from garden shrubbery bursting onto a fence then coming onto the ground in and around the garden to feed and into a bird bath before eventually immersing itself deep back in the sparrow filled bush. It's reminiscent (though not related) to our corvids, slightly familiar, yet bringing an alien and exotic charm.
Sad to think that it may not find its way back to its native land, who knows what the future holds for it. Nonetheless, a truly delightful bird to see.
