2018 Pulborough Brooks patch review

2018 was my first full year patch watching RSPB Pulborough Brooks and it turned out to be a pretty good one! Since we moved down to Pulborough in summer 2017 I'd spent the latter part of that year getting to know the reserve, its hidden corners and some of the local birders. Heading into 2018, I was excited to see what I might find and, to make things that bit more interesting, I set myself a target of 150 species in one year – not a particularly easy tally for an inland site but, I hoped, a doable one given the quality and diversity of habitat. In the end I fell one short of that target but still can't complain given the great selection of species that I enjoyed over the course of the year, including finding three site firsts in the form of White-rumped Sandpiper, Iceland Gull and Common Scoter.

For posterity's sake I thought I'd just put together a little month-by-month summary here showcasing some of the highlights from my own perspective. I've tried to include as many noteworthy records from other birders as I can but, given how well-visited Pulborough is, it's probably inevitable I will have missed a few - please let me know if so and I will add them.

January

The year got off to a strong start with the overwintering Temminck's Stint incongruously adding itself to my New Year's Day list along with a Hawfinch (can't be too often those two species end up on the same day list, surely?) and my only Pulborough record to date of Whooper Swan. The Swan was seen again on the 4th on the North Brooks before flying off down the Arun. The first ringtail Hen Harrier of the year was also seen by some on the 1st.

Hen Harrier, photo by Chris and Juliet Moore

Two Bewick’s Swans were on the North Brooks on the 7th while two flew southwest over West Mead on the 28th - nice to see in what was generally a poor winter for them locally. A Great White Egret was seen at various points around the reserve on the 8th - the first of the year here. Up to three Ruddy Shelduck were around on and off for most of the month, joined on the South Brooks by an Australian Shelduck on the 27th.

My first patch Avocet was on the North Brooks on the 13th while thanks to volunteer Gary Trew I also picked up my first local Woodcock flying through the car park on the evening of the 25th. Two Tundra Bean Geese were on the North Brooks on the 14th which I sadly missed (the first of several frustrating dips this year!) Another gripping miss was the most fleeting of glimpses of what must have been a Water Pipit at West Mead on the 20th, I just needed a fraction longer look at the bird to be sure in my mind but sadly it flew too soon.

A flock of 49 Golden Plover flew over the South Brooks on the 27th – my highest count of this species here this year though Gary Trew had 120 on the 30th. The Black-tailed Godwit flock peaked towards the end of the month with a count of 800 or so on the 28th. The first Woodlark of the year was heard singing over the heath on the 30th.

Hawfinch

February

The Temminck’s Stint remained a regular feature of my patch visits into February, as did the Hawfinches, which were most frequently encountered in small numbers either at Wiggonholt Church or in the Hanger Wood area – sometimes giving great views in the bushes close to the Hanger viewpoint. A Great White Egret was on the South Brooks on the 7th (Russ Tofts). Nine Red Kites from Hail’s View on the 17th was my highest count of this species here this year. A Woodlark was heard singing over the heath early on the 23rd, with Crossbill heard over Black Wood the same morning.

Temminck's Stint (with Dunlin), West Mead, photo by Ed Tooth

March

The month began with the wintry blast from the Beast From The East, which delivered some surprises – most surprising of all was a Cetti’s Warbler scurrying about on our neighbour’s patio on the 1st! Sadly the severe weather may have been the death knell for the Temminck's Stint as it wasn't seen again once the snow arrived. An Avocet was on the North Brooks on the 10th while the first newly arrived Chiffchaffs were singing on the same morning. It was also on the 10th that two Woodlark were confirmed as present on the heath. The first breeding Redshanks began arriving early in the month, with one on the 6th and three by the 11th. Six Dunlin on the 6th provided further evidence of wader movement as did a Ruff on the 14th and a Curlew and two Little Ringed Plover on the 17th. Three Wheatears on the 13th (Gary Trew) were the first of the year. 

Wheatear, photo by Gary Trew

Shelduck numbers reached their year peak mid-month with at least 32 present on the 17th. A Mediterranean Gull flew south with Black-headed Gulls on the 18th while a Great White Egret was on the Mid Brooks on the 21st along with two Curlews. A ringtail Hen Harrier was hunting over the North Brooks on the 23rd while a Spotted Redshank flew over on the same day. Two Great White Egrets were on the North Brooks on the 25th (viewable from my bedroom window!) while a singleton was on the Mid Brooks on the 27th. 

Shelduck, 18th March

Little Ringed Plover, 18th March

April

Eight Mediterranean Gulls flew northeast high over the garden on the 1st followed by a very vocal flock of 30-odd early on the 18th which evidently did a bit of a tour of the Arun Valley with sightings from other birders at Amberley (Mark McManus) and another onsite at Pulborough RSPB (Colin Nicholson).

Mediterranean Gull

The first Willow Warbler of the year was singing along the Arun near home on the 1st while the returning 'Willow/Chiff' was back at Fattengates by the 3rd. A single Great White Egret was present for much of the month and joined by a second on the 29th. A juvenile Iceland Gull flew west over the visitor centre with Lesser Black-backeds on the 2nd - a first for Pulborough! The first Sand Martins and Swallows appeared early in the month with fifteen and four through respectively on the 2nd. A single Common Tern flew east on the 3rd (Chris & Juliet Moore). A Water Pipit was on the North Brooks on the 6th (Chris Moore) – a surprisingly infrequent occurrence at Pulborough and the only confirmed record in 2018 though sadly not seen by me. A Long-eared Owl was also seen up the ZigZag path on the 6th.

Great White Egret, 14th April

The first Spoonbill of the year arrived on the North Brooks on the 8th along with a drake Common Scoter (another site first after my first nocmig record over the garden on 25th March). The Spoonbill stayed until at least the 13th but the Scoter sadly did a vanishing act less than an hour after I first found it. The first Nightingale of the year also arrived on the 8th, singing near the Hanger. Three Bramblings (two female, one male) were hanging around the tea room feeders on the 10th – a good find by Gary Trew and the showiest individuals of this species I’ve seen here.

Common Scoter drake on the North Brooks, 8th April

Brambling near the tea room feeders, 10th April

The first Lesser Whitethroat of the year was singing on the 13th, with two by the following day. Meanwhile, on the 14th a Tree Pipit was singing on the heath and the first Sedge Warbler was singing near Nettley's. A Whimbrel was present on the 15th and the 17th.

Whimbrel, photo by Gary Trew

The long staying Avocet pair lingered throughout the month and were seen mating on occasion. The first Wood Sandpiper of the year was seen from West Mead and Winpenny on the 19th (George Kinnard). The first Cuckoo arrived on the 19th. On the 23rd Lyn and Mike Hunt found a Black-winged Stilt which remained until the 25th (thankfully long enough for me to twitch it at dawn just a couple of hours after landing at Gatwick after a few days in Spain!). 

Black-winged Stilt, 25th April

Also on the 25th Matt Palmer had a Wood Sandpiper on the Mid Brooks, three Whimbrel on the North Brooks and two Hobbies over the heath - the first 2018 record of this species. The first Common Whitethroats arrived in the third week. A Turtle Dove flew low over Adder Alley early on the 27th - the only record of the year. A drake Pochard on the 28th was my first of the year - a rather scarce species at Pulborough.The popular family of Tawny Owls appeared near West Mead towards the end of the month and performed well into the first week or so of May until the RSPB took the decision to close off the seasonal path to minimise disturbance to the birds. A stonking male Whinchat on the North Brooks on the 29th was my 140th species of the year. Two Great White Egrets were at Winpenny on the 29th and the first Swifts were seen on the same day.  

Juvenile Tawny Owl

May

After an unsettled and cold end to April the first couple of days of May were enough to shake off the dregs of winter and by the end of the first week it was feeling much more like early summer, with the first truly hot day of the year on the 7th (little did we know then we were heading into one of the hottest, driest summers on record!). The first Garden Warbler of the year was singing at Fattengates on the 1st, while two Cuckoos were singing onsite on the same day. A Great White Egret showed well in front of Little Hanger on the 1st while on the 5th the first Osprey of the year was seen, circling briefly over Winpenny before flying north. On the 7th there were an impressive six Wood Sandpipers on the North Brooks (Clive Hope). A Greenshank made an appearance on the 6th while a Long-eared Owl was found on the 10th. The first Nightjar of the year was churring on the heath on the 13th and the first Spotted Flycatcher was living up to its name in Black Wood on the 17th. A smart drake Garganey (aren't they all?) was at Winpenny from the 17th to the 19th at least.

Osprey, 5th May, photo by Ian Tamon

Long-eared Owl, 10th May

From the 18th onwards Winpenny was the place to see waders with a remarkable few days of action there, the water level clearly optimum for birds passing through. A Spotted Redshank dropped in on the 18th and another or the same one was present on the 21st and 22nd. A Grey Plover was present from the 21st to at least the 23rd and there were two on the 26th. Two summer plumage Dunlin were present from the 21st -23rd and were joined by an equally colourful Curlew Sandpiper from the 22nd-23rd. Ringed Plover were present in varying numbers for several days, peaking at at least ten on the 23rd and 24th, while a remarkable 22 Greenshank dropped in on the 24th, reducing to five on the 25th and four on the 26th. A Wood Sandpiper joined in the fun from the 23rd to the 26th while a Temminck’s Stint was a 'blink and you'll miss it' job on the 23rd and 24th.

Four Mediterranean Gulls flew over on the 20th while two dropped in on the South Brooks on the 26th. The first Lapwing and Redshank chicks made an appearance mid-month while it was clear by the third week that there were only three Nightingale territories onsite, despite hopes that more would arrive once the weather improved after a cold start to spring.

Redshank

June

The month got off to a good start with a drake Garganey on the South Brooks, a Spoonbill at Winpenny and an Osprey and two Mediterranean Gulls over the North Brooks (Alan Baker et al) - all on the 1st - but otherwise it was a relatively quiet month, as one would expect for the time of year. The Garganey was seen again on the 2nd while the first returning Green Sandpiper was on the South Brooks on the 6th (Alan Baker/Alan Kitson). Two Common Terns flew east on the 7th and two more flew south over the North Brooks on the 20th. Two Avocets were present on the 8th and four Crossbills were on the heath on the 12th (Frank Antram). Two Mediterranean Gulls flew over on the 19th. More dispersing waders began to appear later in the month with three Green Sandpipers on the 24th and a peak year count of eleven Little Ringed Plovers on the 28th. The RSPB announced towards the end of the month that it had been a very successful season for the breeding waders with 41 Lapwing chicks and 10 Redshank chicks making it to juvenility.

Green Sandpiper

July

The drought-induced doldrums well and truly started to set in in July, but at least for us birders the month tends to offer the first real signs of early autumn and seven Little Ringed Plovers on the 1st was certainly an encouraging start. Rather less seasonally, a Woodlark also made its presence known on the same day, singing over Hanger Wood. As the water levels fizzled away to almost nothing after weeks without any proper rain, the remaining pool on the North Brooks (kept partially filled for the benefit of the cattle) proved particularly enticing and more waders began to trickle in as days went by with 6-7 Green Sandpipers on the 5th, increasing to nine by the 10th and twelve on the 21st. The first returning Black-tailed Godwits began to arrive too with ten on the 10th followed by three Common Sandpipers on the 17th and odd ones and twos of Dunlin and Greenshank. 

Mid-late July is always a classic time for gull dispersal so it was no real surprise to see a juvenile Mediterranean Gull drop in on the 22nd followed by two more on the 29th. Liam Curson also had a third calendar year bird following a tractor around the South Brooks on the 10th. An early returning (or local breeding?) Whinchat was on the North Brooks on the 21st followed by two together in the same area on the 28th. A female Wigeon on the North Brooks on the 28th and 29th was a bit unexpected, perhaps a non-breeding bird. A Grasshopper Warbler took up residence on the east side of the North Brooks from the 27th, sometimes heard reeling softly.

August

As expected the trickle of waders continued into August, despite the lack of any substantial rain, with a single Common Sandpiper from the 3rd to the 5th joined by a second on the 6th. Ten Green Sandpipers were present on the 5th and a Curlew flew south on the 10th. The first returning Wood Sandpiper was on the North Brooks on the 5th followed by another on the 21st. Willow Warblers began moving early in the month with half a dozen or so onsite on the 5th and at least double that number by the 11th. Other migrant passerines followed with a Reed Warbler in the picnic area on the 8th and a single Whinchat on the 10th followed by four on the 13th and at least ten on the 24th. From mid-month onwards hirundine numbers began to swell with lots of Swallows in particular starting to gather on the fences and hedges around the reserve.

Lesser Whitethroat, 5th August

Juvenile Swallow, Redstart Corner, 13th August

The star bird of the month though was surely the Pied Flycatcher up Green Lane on the 10th, a great find by Clive Hope (though sadly another dip for me!). The first returning Wheatear was noted on the 19th as was a Spotted Flycatcher - the latter followed by at least three or four around the horse paddocks on the 25th and 26th. A Tree Pipit was near West Mead on the 24th and 25th while three Yellow Wagtails on the 24th were the first sign of returning individuals of this species.

Tree Pipit and Song Thrush, 24th August

Gary Trew had an Osprey over the village heading towards the Brooks on the 19th which I somehow missed despite being slap bang in the middle of the reserve; it's fair to say this was my most dipped species on the patch in 2018! The 25th was a particularly busy day for passerine movement with at least ten Lesser Whitethroats around, some of them still singing, and 5-6 Redstarts around the aptly named Redstart Corner. On the 27th I finally caught up with a patch Firecrest flitting about and sub-singing in scrub on the eastern edge of the reserve. The end of the month saw the year's only Little Stint (Carey Lodge/Russ Tofts), present for just a few hours on the North Brooks on the 29th.

Yellow Wagtails

September

The continued paucity of water and an almost total absence of easterlies meant September was a decidedly tepid affair with no new year birds for me and a very disappointing wader passage - especially in comparison to 2017. There were a few bits of note though including at least four Redstarts, three Whinchats and a Reed Warbler onsite on the 7th and a strong passage of at least two hundred House Martins south on the same day and four to five Hobbies around.

Reed Warbler

What was presumably the same Reed Warbler hung around in Adder Alley for at least a week, singing occasionally. The best birds were reserved for the end of the month, however, with Pulborough regular Paul finding first two Great White Egrets on the North Brooks on the 29th followed by two Cattle Egrets with the Highlands on the 30th - it was inevitable the latter would turn up sooner or later given the remarkable influx of this species at the time, but still a great record. Sadly they didn't stay long and flew off east before I could get there. The lack of water kept the wildfowl numbers low right through the month but it was encouraging at least to see the first Pintail arrive on the 7th, and increasing numbers of Snipe as the month progressed, peaking at 33 on the 17th.

Cattle Egret, 30th September, photo by Paul

Snipe

October

Another fairly quiet and largely dry month, though what little rain we did get at least saw the water levels on the Brooks begin to increase and with it the numbers of wintering wildfowl and Lapwings slowly start to grow. Away from the water birds the first returning Redwing was seen on the 6th followed by a single Fieldfare on the 21st and a general increase in Blackbirds and Song Thrushes - I recorded at least 52 of the latter on the 7th including a flock of a dozen over Fattengates. The biggest surprise of the month came on the 8th when a Yellow-browed Warbler was recorded on nocmig from home, presumably flying over as it only called once. 

A late Redstart was seen at West Mead on the 19th and the 21st while singles of Crossbill and Brambling flew over on the 20th. Late October of course sees the start of Woodpigeon season and while no sustained counts were made I did note eighteen-hundred flying southwest in an hour on the 27th. The first Short-eared Owl of the year was seen on the 23rd (Graham Whitehead), 24th and 28th. A ringtail Hen Harrier was hunting over the South Brooks on the 30th (Gary Trew). Marsh Harriers again became a regular sight quartering around the reserve this month, with at least three present on the 27th; these are thought to be some of the individuals that roost at WWT Arundel.

Marsh Harrier, photo by Ed Stubbs

Wigeon

November

The first properly wet spells since the summer drought finally saw the Brooks water levels back to something approaching normal for the time of year and the wildfowl numbers increased accordingly! In fact they increased so much that a Red-breasted Merganser turned up on the North Brooks on the 16th - only the second documented record for the reserve after one in 2009 so I was more than a little disappointed to miss it! A Grey Plover was on the North Brooks on the 3rd while another was at Winpenny with a Curlew on the 16th. The only Hawfinch of the autumn/second winter period flew over Adder Alley on the 3rd. Short-eared Owls were seen on the 4th, 10th, 11th, 19th, 20th and 25th, with the year high count of three together on the 11th. Merlins were seen on the 4th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 22nd. A Woodcock flew through Hanger Wood on the 11th. A Great White Egret flew over the Zig Zag on the 16th. A Red-billed Teal on the North Brooks on the 25th was a bit unexpected, clearly an escape and perhaps the same bird seen at Arlington Reservoir a few weeks before.

Short-eared Owl, photo by Dorian Mason

December

The obvious star bird of the month and, arguably, the whole year was the White-rumped Sandpiper, present at Winpenny from the 8th and last seen on the 13th - a first for Pulborough Brooks and the wider Arun Valley and the first twitchable WRS in Sussex since the 1990s. A Firecrest was on Green Lane on the 13th and at least two were seen over the Christmas period in the Fattengates area. Ruff numbers increased from one mid-month to at least seven over the Christmas week. Merlins were seen on the 11th and the 21st. On the 14th four Bewick's Swans flew northeast from the North Brooks at first light - the first here this winter. Later the same day two unringed adult White-fronted Geese were found among the usual geese grazing near the Arun. 

An impressive flock of Woodlarks, varying in number between 18 and 22, were seen flying in and out of Uppertons Field on a number of occasions from the 18th until the end of the year. What was surely a Dartford Warbler called quietly from the scrub on the north side of Uppertons Field as I was walking down the ZigZag on the 23rd but I wasn't able to pin it down, sadly. Two Black Swans were seen from Winpenny on the afternoon of the 27th. Two Woodcock flew up from the heath early on the 28th while later the same day a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was seen near the top of Green Lane – as far as I’m aware the only record of this rapidly declining species on the reserve in 2018. 

White-rumped Sandpiper, 8th December