Kittiwake

Storm Bert delivers! It was very cool and a little surreal to see this 1st-winter Kittiwake battling into the gale-force wind over farmland near Petworth a few weeks back. 

I was a bit too young to remember the avian aftermath of the 1987 Storm - when shedloads of Sabine's Gulls, Grey Phalaropes and the like were found at inland lakes and reservoirs across the south of England - but have always had a fascination and enthusiasm for inland seabirds, blown off course by autumn storms.

I've been lucky to find or see all sorts of examples of this over the years, including two Gannets over Knepp a couple of autumns back and another over Woking town centre many years ago. It's been a good decade or so since I saw a Kittiwake away from the coast though, so I was amazed/delighted when this one appeared overhead at one of my regular local haunts - just as I was walking back to my car too! Interestingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, it coincided with quite a pronounced movement of the species at sites such as Selsey Bill and Splash Point. 

My 171st bird species in my local area (10km radius from home) in 2024 and certainly one of the more memorable ones. This site really has delivered the goods this year, including Little Tern and Sanderling. What next, I wonder?

Late September

21st September

Another early start at Petworth for a check of the reservoir there as it's been on a bit of a roll recently. This morning proved to be a bit of a quiet one though, with just a single Wigeon of note among the assembled wildfowl on the water and a couple of flyover Yellow Wagtails. A scan of the South Brooks from the tea terrace at Pulborough proved even more quiet, not helped by the thick fog which was slow to clear.

Wigeon

Pulborough fog!

A look at Southlands Farm on my way to Knepp late afternoon produced a Green Sandpiper and eight Shoveler on the pool there. Continuing the Shoveler theme, eleven flew north over the Southern Block during my dusk safari at Knepp this evening. 

22nd September

Not much time for birding today as I had a packed day of morning and afternoon safaris and a staff party at Knepp. A brief look at Waltham Brooks on the way to Knepp produced a light easterly movement of Swallows but little else of note. 

23rd September

WeBs count a day late today, so I headed over to Petworth in the rain. A drake Pochard was on the reservoir among the usual Tufted Ducks, Mallards, Little Grebes and three Shoveler, while the lingering Common Sandpiper was still patrolling the shoreline. A first-winter Common Gull almost dropped in briefly before flying off east. 

A lunchtime walk round the local farmland produced a modest 27 species but did include my first local Willow Warbler for almost two weeks plus at least one Hobby (one flew high east, then a bit later a juvenile was hawking over Lodge Hill which may have been a second bird but hard to be sure). A light south/south-westerly passage of Herring Gulls included two adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls. 

24th September

After dropping B off at nursery I stopped off in Pulborough for a walk down to the North Brooks. Straight away it was clear there were a lot more ducks about than on my last visit, as a female Marsh Harrier flushed some 400 or more from the wet grassland on the north side of the North Brooks. These were mostly Mallard and Teal but with at least 10-15 Wigeon and a single Gadwall among them. Another 250 or more Teal were on the North Brooks proper along with two juvenile Ruff among ~120 Lapwing.

Ruff and Teal

Late afternoon I dropped in at Petworth again. The lingering Common Sandpiper was still about - will it stay into October? A female Pochard was sleeping among the Tufted Ducks and three Shoveler were still present. I haven't seen many hirundines locally for a couple of days, so it was a pleasant surprise to see some 150 or so drifting gently east during my hour here, mostly House Martins. 

25th September

I managed my first proper little vismig watch of the season this morning, albeit only 25 minutes (it was a year ago yesterday that I broke and dislocated my shoulder in a skateboarding accident and am feeling strangely nostalgic about the amount of time it afforded me to get out and enjoy the spectacle of visible migration at this time of year!) The main movers this morning were House Martins, with some 226 south/south-west over the garden in the aforementioned half hour. 

In a repeat performance of yesterday I again headed over to Petworth in the afternoon for a check of the reservoir. A Golden Plover called overhead as I arrived (though I never did manage to see it!). Other highlights were seven Pochard among the usual suspects on the water and a dark-masked first-winter Herring Gull which did have me trying to turn it into a Yellow-legged.

Herring Gull

26th September

An early walk from home out to Waltham Brooks proved relatively quiet aside from a Marsh Harrier flying upriver, two Stonechats and a rather late Whitethroat in the meadow, and a light trickle of House Martins flying east/south-east. 

Late afternoon, with some lively showers moving through, I again headed over to Petworth. A juvenile Great Crested Grebe was back on the reservoir along with 30 Little Grebes, five Pochards, four Shoveler and the usual scattering of Coots and Tufted Ducks. A first-winter Common Gull flew south/south-east, while a few Swallows and a single House Martin flew north-west.

Egyptian Geese

Grey Wagtail

27th September

A little tour of some wetland sites out to the western side of my patch area in the rain first thing today. At Petworth, some 360 Canada Geese and 150 Egyptian Geese left roost at the reservoir, leaving behind the four Shoveler again and a couple of Pochard. Next up, a brief scan of Burton Mill Pond from the roadside, which proved fairly lively, mostly in terms of vismig, with at least 52 Swallows through west/north-west in the 25 minutes or so I was there. Water Rail is pretty much guaranteed here most visits but usually heard only, so I got a bit of a shock when one suddenly appeared from underneath the boat jetty where I was stood and flew into the reeds nearby!

Mute Swans

The scrape at Bignor Park is again holding water for the first time since May. Just eight Mallards on it this morning but it's good to know it's worth checking again in passing. 

Early afternoon I headed out for a stroll round the local fields. By now the cloud cover and breeze had increased quite a bit and it was feeling considerably more autumnal, and this was reflected in the birds. Some 80 or more hirundines (roughly 3/1 House Martin/Swallow) were moving through or lingering to feed among the cattle, sometimes whizzing past just a few metres from me. Continuing the vismig theme, two Marsh Harriers flew south together over Waltham Brooks, a tight flock of large gulls high south seemed to be all Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and a heard-only Siskin heading south-west represented my first record locally for several weeks. A little flurry of passerines in the hedgerow nearest the Waltham Brooks boundary included at least ten Chiffchaffs and a single Goldcrest but sadly nothing rarer.

House Martin

Swallow

Lesser Black-backed Gulls

28th September

Very little birding today as I was leading back-to-back beaver pen safaris at Knepp. A quick glance at the pool at Southlands Farm on the way past produced eight Shoveler and three Teal but little else.

Southlands Farm

It was an absolute beauty of a morning but really quite cold, with proper ice on the windscreen. Clearly it was lively on the vismig front judging by messages in various WhatsApp groups and this was well illustrated by a Skylark over the beaver enclosure at Knepp - not a common bird here. A Redstart was also a nice bonus flying in front of the off road vehicle a couple of times as I was driving the group around. 

29th September

I was up Amberley Mount at first light this morning in the hope of some success from my first proper vismig session of the autumn. Two hours up here proved to be fairly lively, with waves of hirundines coming through, making up the bulk of the birds. There were little nuggets of interest from other species throughout to pique the interest though, including a Hawfinch flying east, two Golden Plover south-west, a juvenile Mute Swan high south-west over Bury Hill and, most frustratingly, what I'm pretty sure were two Commic Terns high north/north-east but which I got on too late to get any salient features. The absolute worst feeling in birding: when you know you've potentially got a good bird in view but it sails away from you before you can clinch the ID!

Dawn up Amberley Mount

30th September

A wet start to the day. After dropping B at nursery I headed over to Pulborough for a look at the North Brooks. The water levels were quite a bit higher than my last visit, with not much in the way of muddy margins for waders. Four Snipe and around ten Lapwing were the best of the bunch on the deck, although I did also flush a Green Sandpiper from a ditch halfway along the public right of way back to the village. I also heard a Golden Plover calling but couldn't see it, presumably just a flyover. Duck numbers continue to rise, with somewhere in the region of 450 Teal this morning, with nine Shoveler and two Wigeon among them.

Mid July

11th July

Today was one of the few oddly really fine, sunny and reasonably warm days we have had so far this month. I woke up reasonably early but wasn't feeling terribly inspired by the weather to produce much, bird-wise, so just did a short stroll round the local farm fields first thing. Surprisingly, given the weather, there seemed to be a bit of Swift movement going on, with over a hundred noted drifting west in around 10-15 minutes, likely more than this but tricky to count them all from the relatively low level here. Paul Stevens down at Bury also noted a similar movement so it was a reasonably broad front. 

By the time I headed out again a bit later it seemed the Swifts seemed to have dried up, although a heard-only flyover Siskin at Waltham Brooks was my first sign of post-breeding dispersal of this species locally this year. A Nightingale was also calling in the scrub near the road bridge, but it was an otherwise quiet and brief session here. I spent the rest of the day over at Ashdown Forest for work, where I noted lots of calling Siskins and a couple of Marsh Tits. 

Returning to West Sussex late afternoon, still bathed in warm sunshine, I decided to head up Amberley Mount for a brief walk from Downs Farm, where highlights included a Little Owl on one of the farm buildings and a Painted Lady whizzing around right up the top of the hill. 

Little Owl

Painted Lady

12th July

Relatively scant birding opportunity today, though brief checks of Petworth and the local farmland near home both yielded Hobby, typically dashing through low over the farmland at the former, while the Watersfield one was thermalling high with a couple of Ravens for a while before dropping down low and terrorising the Swifts and Swallows. 

13th July

Not much time for birding again today but I did manage to squeeze in a half hour look at Waltham Brooks, which proved pretty quiet aside from a Sedge Warbler busily taking food into a bramble clump near the main lake, out of which also came a female Blackcap and a particularly scruffy-looking Whitethroat.

Sedge Warbler

14th July

An early start this morning for a couple of local wetland site visits. Sadly, Petworth was completely fogged out and I gave up after an hour of staring into the murk here. A heard-only Greenshank was my first of the year at this site, but otherwise nothing much to report really. Onto Pulborough Brooks where I met up with Steve Baines and, later, Paul Evans. The bulk of the interest here was on the North Brooks so we mostly stationed ourselves at the Hanger viewpoint for most of the two hour session. A respectable seven species of wader were feeding on the pools on the North Brooks - at least three Little Ringed Plover, six Green Sandpipers, ten Black-tailed Godwits, three Avocet, a dozen or so Lapwings and singles of Dunlin and Common Sandpiper.

North Brooks, Pulborough

Later in the day a Hobby drifted over the garden; more or less a daily event of late. 

15th July

I had this morning off in lieu of working on Saturday so decided to make the most of it on the birding front. Sadly, the switch to an easterly airflow meant thick fog at dawn, so I had to wait for that to clear before heading out. An hour at Waltham Brooks produced a respectable 46 species, though nothing too noteworthy. As I arrived, a Peregrine was flying south overhead with prey while a female Marsh Harrier was quartering over the reserve briefly before flying north. There was still plenty of song from the breeding Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers, and a Willow Warbler was calling softly from the sallows in the main lake - my first post-breeding/dispersing record of this species locally this season. 

Next up I headed over to Petworth for a bit of a stakeout as the forecast rain was due to arrive. It took its time coming but did eventually set in late morning, though sadly failed to produce anything of note. A juvenile gull which flew west distantly to the south had all the hallmarks of Yellow-legged, but was just rather too far and rather too brief a sighting for me to be one hundred percent confident to add it to the year list. It would also have been a site tick for this hotspot, sadly one that got away on this occasion. Clearly there was a bit of light gull movement going on though as I also noted two Black-headed Gulls and a Lesser Black-backed Gull flying west, and two Black-headed Gulls also flew high south over Waltham Brooks earlier in the day. 

Hobby

16th July

An early stakeout at Petworth this morning failed to produce any goodies, as the originally forecast thundery downpours failed to materialise and the wind had swung back to the south-west.

Yellowhammer

Heavy rain did arrive later in the morning, just as I decided to drop in at Pulborough. It wasn't really worth the soaking as the North Brooks had topped up considerably since the weekend and held noticeably fewer waders as a result. Highlights were three Avocet, two Little Ringed Plover, four Green Sandpipers and 25 Lapwing. 60 or more Sand Martins and a few Swallows were feeding low over the reserve. 

An afternoon check of Waltham Brooks proved similarly quiet, with just a few House Martins feeding over the lake which held some 65 Mallards and a few Gadwall and Shoveler. 

17th July

An early check of the reservoir at Petworth this morning produced little of note on the deck, although there were signs of a hint of movement overhead in the form of five Black-headed Gulls very high south-west and a Grey Heron flying north. 

A stroll round the local fields at lunchtime in warm sunshine was very pleasant and most notable for the increase in butterflies. Certainly the most I have seen locally so far this summer, including quite a few Large Whites. It was also nice to see a couple of Sand Martins perched on wires with around 30 Swallows. Not a species I often get time to study well in a stationary position!

Sand Martin

Late afternoon it was good to catch up with David Campbell for a stroll at Waltham Brooks, where highlights included a Great Egret on the main lake plus a juvenile Tufted Duck and five juvenile Shovelers. Also good numbers of butterflies here including a beautifully fresh Peacock, my first of the second brood season.

Shoveler

Great White Egret

Peacock

18th July

First time I've managed to get out early for a while for a dawn stroll over to Waltham Brooks and back. It was all very quiet really, with no sign of any of the Great Egret or scarcer ducks from yesterday evening. A few Swifts were drifting about and some 40 or so Sand Martins moved east/south-east over t

the main lake. 

A lunchbreak skywatch on the way back from Woods Mill early afternoon produced a distant female Honey Buzzard circling with Common Buzzards for around ten minutes, my first HB sighting of the year at this particular site which has yielded successful breeding in previous years. 

19th July

Not very much time for birding today owing to me attending the National Trust south-east Rangers conference up in Buckinghamshire for most of the middle of the day. A check of the reservoir at Petworth proved quiet aside from a few Swifts, and an adult Black-headed Gull flying high south-west. 

On my way home from the conference I stopped briefly to stretch my legs along the Rother at Fittleworth where 25 or more House Martins were feeding low over the fields and the river, with smaller numbers of Swifts, Swallows and a couple of Sand Martins among them. 

20th July

Checking the moth trap first thing was gave rather slim pickings. A few new ones for the garden list though including Drinker, Chinese Character and Brown-tail. A brief look at Waltham Brooks on my way to lead a butterfly safari at Knepp didn't produce a great deal, despite the promising conditions. Duck numbers continue to increase on the main lake with a few Gadwall and two Teal among at least 50 Mallards this morning. 11 butterfly species was the total from the butterfly safari at Knepp, though sadly Purple Emperor and Marbled White eluded us; most of these sadly battered into submission by the heavy rain earlier in the week. 

Drinker moth

Chinese Character

A detour to Petworth on the way home produced a few bits including at least 40 each of Swifts and House Martin feeding over the fields and reservoir. The highlight though was my first local Common Gull for three months, which dropped into the reservoir with 25 Herring Gulls and a couple of Black-headed Gulls. It was also interesting to see a number of Little Grebes hauled out on the shoreline, I can't recall seeing that behaviour from this species before. 

Common Gull

Little Grebes

The year is turning

1st July

A day off today so I managed to squeeze in few hours birding in the morning. First up, Pulborough Brooks which produced 55 species in a couple of hours. Highlights included 15 Cattle Egrets dropping in among the cows on the North Brooks; interestingly, exactly two years to the day since I stumbled across over 20 at Waltham Brooks. As was the case that day, it was good to see at least a couple of juveniles among the assembled birds at Pulborough today. Unsurprisingly, given the date, the other species of note were waders, with 22 Black-tailed Godwits and two Green Sandpipers busy feeding in the mud on the North Brooks, while the Greenshank found by Paul Evans yesterday was still present at West Mead when I arrived, although evidently had flown by the time I left.

Stonechats

Cattle Egrets

Black-tailed Godwits

Next up, I headed over to the private reservoir near Petworth, hoping the wader gods had delivered something here too. Sadly not, and there really wasn't much to write home about here at all really, aside from an obvious increase in Tufted Duck and Coot numbers (14 and 21, respectively). Ten Herring Gulls were gathered on the water, not all that common a sight here. 

Late afternoon I very briefly dropped in at Amberley Mount where a dozen or so Swallows were whizzing about over Downs Farm and a couple of Swifts flew south-west. 

2nd July

After a non-birding morning in sunny Brighton, I returned to the Pulborough just as light rain began to fall. I decided a check of a couple of water bodies was in order. First up, Petworth which again failed to produce any waders, but a few Swifts were feeding overhead and it was nice to confirm local breeding of Kestrel with at least three noisy youngsters about. 

Burton Mill Pond had a similar rather uninspiring feel to it. The Great Crested Grebe pair were busy feeding their three young, while there were also a couple of newly fledged Reed Warblers in the reeds by the roadside. A light south-westerly movement of Sand Martins gave just the slightest hint of the exodus of migrant species to come in the next few weeks and months.

Reed Warbler

Pied Wagtail

Later in the day I stopped off for a fairly brief stroll at Waltham Brooks which proved surprisingly lively given the time of day/year. 41 species was the total including one of the White-tailed Eagles drifting about just the other side of the river, seemingly flushing a Great White Egret in the process which flew through north low over the main lake. The farmer was cutting the hay up at Widney Brooks which seemed to be attracting the attention of a fair few raptors including at least three each of Buzzard and Red Kite and a single Hobby. Well over a hundred Swifts and 15 or so Sand Martins were also feeding overhead, while a Garden Warbler calling in scrub near the main lake was the first I've heard here in a little while. 

Blackbird (and some unfortunate crickets!)

Great White Egret

White-tailed Eagle

3rd July

Not much birding today aside from a quick stop in Petworth which failed to produce much of interest aside from a few Swifts (20+) and a calling Willow Warbler near the reservoir. 

4th July

I managed to squeeze in a bit of birding today despite all the election business and lots of work meetings. Waltham Brooks was relatively quiet, though it was good to see plenty of young birds about including recently fledged Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and Greenfinch. Also a few Swifts around, though hard to detect any clear direction of travel. At least two very vocal Water Rails were along the river, with one briefly seen in flight. 

Sedge Warbler

A lunch break stroll round the local farm fields proved similarly quiet, not helped by the strengthening breeze which also put paid to my attempts to lure any clearwing moths. The newly cut sileage field south of River Lane was attracting a fair number of Swallows, feeding low over the sward. 

Perhaps the best birding action of the day though came from the garden in the evening when first a Hobby flew low overhead, worrying the local Swallows, followed a little later by two adult Great Black-backed Gulls powerfully skulling north towards Lodge Hill. A garden tick and first record in the 1k area in 2024. 

5th July

A pretty foul start to the day with intermittent rain, heavy at times, blown in on a brisk southwesterly. I decided a loop of Pulborough Brooks was in order before work. The lingering Greenshank that has been on the pool at West Mead most of the week was still present, feeding in the shallow puddle left there (soon to be topped up) along with four Little Egrets. The North Brooks, meanwhile, again held the bulk of the wader interest in the form of eight Little Ringed Plovers (including two juveniles), six Green Sandpipers and a single Common Sandpiper. 

A lunchtime walk at Waltham Brooks yielded a rather lowly 32 species, with the highlight being a Peregrine drifting north high overhead. 

6th July

An early start this morning to check out a couple of local water bodies. Petworth proved fairly quiet on the waterbird side of things but again produced a male Honey Buzzard giving a nice flypast, in view for several minutes as it drifted west. 

Next up, I dropped in at Burton Mill Pond for my first proper session here in a while (I've concluded it really does take a good hour and a half or more to check the area properly). Burton Pond itself was typically rather quiet aside from the resident Great Crested Grebe pair continuing to feed their three young. A check of Black Pond and Burton Park Farm revealed a Little Owl perched on the fence near the farm buildings. This is a traditional site for the species but this was my first record here this year. 

As is often the case, most of the action was at Chingford Pond where highlights included a female Tufted Duck with three ducklings, and some 250 or so Swifts and Sand Martins (roughly 50/50 between the two species) feeding overhead which, perhaps unsurprisingly, attracted the attentions of a passing Hobby which briefly stopped to have a go at a few of them. 

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

Grey Wagtail

Tufted Ducks

Hobby

Later in the day I took a trip down to Arundel with B. A boat trip on Swanbourne Lake brought us into close proximity with a female Gadwall with six ducklings in tow - my first confirmed breeding record of this species locally this year. Mill Road Watermeadows, meanwhile, held at least five Cattle Egrets around the cattle.

Gadwall family

Back home in the afternoon, the call of a Buzzard drew my attention skywards where I saw one of the White-tailed Eagles drifting over, mobbed by a couple of the aforementioned Buzzards as it drifted off south-east. 

7th July

This morning started with a check of the moth trap which produced a few goodies, including several species new for the garden. The highlights were five Elephant Hawk-moths and the localised micro moth Synaphe punctalis. After we'd finished this, B and I headed out for a little local walk which produced a Peregrine drifting overhead. 

Synaphe punctalis

Elephant Hawkmoths

All of us headed down to Littlehampton late morning for a stroll at West Beach. An interesting mix of species were recorded here including a Curlew and four Mediterranean Gulls flying west, and a Sand Martin flying purposefully out to sea. 

In the evening I met up with Roger and Caroline Morgan-Grenville for a walk at Lavington Common, hoping for Nightjars of course. As the light faded and the last of the Dartford Warbler and Stonechat calls faded away around us, so the Nightjars began tuning up. Soon, there was churring and 'kwicking' coming from seemingly every direction and the next half an hour or so produced perhaps some of my most memorable Nightjar moments to date. Best of all was undoubtedly when a pair decided to perform several close fly-bys right around us as we stopped, gawping, in the middle of the footpath junction at the centre of the common. 

Nightjar

8th July

A check of the North Brooks at Pulborough before work this morning produced a fairly typical selection of waders for the time of year: ten Black-tailed Godwits, five Little Ringed Plover, singles of Common Sandpiper and Green Sandpiper, and a heard-only Greenshank.

The rest of the day was mostly grey with on-off light rain. I did manage a brief stroll out from home after work for a check of the local fields and a brief skywatch, the highlight of which was a single group of 28 Sand Martins south and a Sparrowhawk carrying prey. 

9th July

Today proved to be unexpectedly action packed. The shift to an east/south-easterly airflow on Monday evening and shifting to more southerly in the small hours of today, combined with some rain near dawn, certainly looked to have the potential to deliver some goodies, despite the early date. Early on in the morning I was getting excited messages from Ed up in Surrey, telling me he was having a great morning, so I was keen to get in the field. 

After dropping B at nursery I dashed over to Petworth, where I was greeted by the sight of an eclipse drake Garganey, associating with an eclipse drake Teal. This was my first record of Garganey here, and an unusual plumage I don't see all that often, so a good learning opportunity, especially when it flew around showing off its very obvious pale wing panels. While I was here, news broke of a Wood Sandpiper at Pulborough - an overdue local year tick for me. It seemed that it had only been seen in flight, however, so I waited for news to break of it being relocated on the deck, which it was a little later, before I headed over there in my lunch break. The weather was decidedly filthy now and I was lucky to find the bird (after a bit of a wait) still on the North Brooks before the heavens really opened and I dashed back to my car. It was good to catch up with Pulborough regular Gary Trew here too. 

Garganey

Wood Sandpiper

10th July

In contrast to yesterday's excitement, today just didn't feel anywhere near as rare, despite the still rather inclement conditions. Another check at Petworth didn't produce anything of note on the waterbird front, though a flock of 50-60 House Sparrows flying between a hedgerow and a wheat field was a welcome sight. A little later in the morning I checked out Waltham Brooks which was also pretty quiet, aside from a Garden Warbler briefly showing quite well in the scrub near the lake, and a light but pronounced southerly trickle of Sand Martins and Swifts overhead. 

House Sparrow

Garden Warbler