Savage and serene in one hour

I did title my last blog post 'Fool's Spring' for good reason. After some pleasant, spring-like days in mid-February and despite the onset of meteorological spring, winter has really returned with a vengeance in early March, with only the second proper covering of snow of the winter on the ground as I write this. Emily Dickinson once said 'March is a month of expectation'. Well, it's fair to say the expectation and anticipation of spring migration has, temporarily, been placed on hold. I think a more appropriate quote right now would be: 'Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour.' (Ralph Waldo Emerson). 

Weather aside, I also haven't been out birding as much as usual during this ten-day period, due to some pretty dreadful personal news on the first weekend of March, although I have found getting out even for half an hour or so some days has helped, despite the weather. 

27th February

This morning I headed out to Sparrite and Greatham Commons between Rackham and Pulborough, a site I have only visited once before. The species I had in mind was Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, as the habitat here looks spot on. Sadly no joy today but I will return. The effects of excessive numbers of Fallow Deer were much in evidence, with little to no understorey vegetation across much of the landscape. The best of the birds were a Firecrest and around 40 Meadow Pipits; my largest count of the latter species locally since September.

Greatham Common

Meadow Pipit

After popping into Pulborough village mid-afternoon, I decided to stop off for a quick look at the stretch of farmland between Pulborough and Hardham, or rather a quick listen, as it was here I connected with Little Owl last year. Sure enough, I heard two different birds calling simultaneously here today, albeit rather distant and not seen. Sadly this species is getting harder and harder to find locally now - I had more records of Goshawk at a greater number of sites in 2022 than I did Little Owl and, given it's taken me until the end of February to find the latter this year, it seems 2023 will be much the same.

28th February

A quick loop of Burton and Chingford Ponds this morning proved fairly quiet, although it was good to see a pair of Great Crested Grebes on BMP (and a single on Chingford). It was nice, too, to bump into Bernie Forbes and Owen Mitchell as I was leaving, who were hoping for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. They looked disappointed when I said I hadn't seen any - and, indeed, had had very little woodpecker activity at all - which made it even more gripping when I received a call ten minutes later to say they'd just found a LSW! Normally I would have raced back to see it but I had somewhere to be so sadly couldn't, but still a great find from them.

Later in the day, Paul Stevens came round to fit a Swift nest box and some House Martin nest cups on our house. Fingers crossed they're used in the coming years!

Swift box and House Martin nest cup

1st March

The first day of meteorological spring, not that it felt like it in the freezing north-easterly under gun metal grey skies. I was at Ashdown Forest for most of the day for a meeting about the proposed Black Grouse reintroduction project. Brief birding highlights here were singing Skylark and Stonechat at Pippingford Park and a singing Woodlark at Friends Clump.

On the way home I stopped off at Waltham Brooks which produced a single Shelduck, Little Grebe and 10 Pintail on the main lake, 60-70 Linnets into roost and a Marsh Harrier flying south, presumably to roost at Arundel. 

2nd March

A busy day for work today but I managed to get out for a couple of hours late morning/early afternoon, the first sunny day for a while just too much to bear while trying to work indoors. Although it was still bitterly cold in the north-easterly wind, the sunshine brought some raptors out to play, and I managed seven species of bird of prey from a local skywatch, including one of the White-tailed Eagles thermalling distantly over Amberley and a 'first adult' plumage female Goshawk which drifted quite low into a nearby wood. This was the closest I have seen Goshawk to home but sadly it was clearly too windy and cold to coax her back out as I didn't see her again. Other highlights included a distant Peregrine, a few Common Gulls heading north and a small but pronounced south-westerly movement of Stocks Doves in small groups.

A dusk walk down the lane didn't produce a great deal apart from a Chiffchaff calling in one of the hedgerows; the first one I've had this year away from the wintering hotspots like Coldwaltham sewage works. 

Stock Doves

3rd March

Taking advantage of another bright start to the day (albeit icy), I headed out ten minutes before sunrise for a stroll through local farmland to the Arun. Not a massive amount to report from an hour session here really although it was nice to hear Great Spotted Woodpeckers going for it so early in the morning, as well as Marsh Tit, Blackbird, Reed Bunting and Chiffchaff in full song. 7 Snipe flushed up from the marshy ground near the river, while a pair of Stonechats were just across the river on the western side of Amberley Wildbrooks.

Treecreeper

After dropping B at nursery I headed over to Pulborough Brooks for an hour or so. One of my target species here was Avocet, which I seem to keep missing recently, despite the first report of a returning bird being a couple of weeks ago now. Luckily, today was the day my luck changed and I found three roosting together on the North Brooks. Other highlights here were comfortably a thousand or more Lapwing (~200 on the North Brooks and at least 800 on the South Brooks), with 3 Ruff among them, two Marsh Harriers and two Peregrines (an adult female on the South Brooks and an immature female inadvertently flushed from the big Ash tree near the Hanger viewpoint, midway through its breakfast by the looks of it!)

Lapwings

4th March

I was busy working on the book all morning but managed to get out for a couple of hours around lunchtime. First up I headed over to Pulborough Brooks, specifically, Wiggonholt Common, to try and catch up with the Crossbills seen there yesterday. This species, along with all northern finches, has been in seriously short supply this winter. In fact, a check of eBird told me it's been over seven months since I last saw one. It didn't take too long to pick one bird up in flight, giving its distinctive chup chup call and, a little later, I had distant views of three birds together in the tops of pine near the tumulus - adult male and female and a third bird which I couldn't age or sex due to the distance and bad light, but Jon Winder later reported two males and a female. 

Crossbill

After this I headed over to my private WeBS site near Petworth which produced some impressive numbers of gulls moving from the farm reservoir to the ploughed fields and back. Exact counts were hard to ascertain due to the constant to-ing and fro-ing, but given there were birds drifting around the whole time I managed a minimum of 120 Black-headed Gulls and 140 Common Gulls, many of the latter looking resplendent in their summer plumage. Certainly one of my best gull counts here to date. Otherwise not much of note aside from a scattering of Tufted Ducks, Shoveler and 3 Gadwall.

Common and Black-headed Gulls

 5th March

No birding today.

6th March

A very brief look at Waltham Brooks this morning in passing produced 4 Little Grebe, 9 Pintail and a single Shelduck on the main lake along with another Shelduck flying high south-west.

7th March

This afternoon I headed out for a 1k area walk, first to Thorndale Bridge via the local farmland then up the river to Waltham Brooks. Highlights included the two White-tailed Eagles circling high over the Downs, an adult Great Black-backed Gull north and the usual ducks on the main lake, including a single Shelduck and 8 Pintail. A Barn Owl gave a brief fly-by here too. At the sewage works were a single Grey Wagtail, at least 5 Chiffchaffs and singing Treecreeper and Goldcrest.

8th March

I was surprised to wake up and see a centimetre or so of snow on the ground and rooftops this morning. After dropping B at nursery I dropped in at Pulborough for a quick whizz round, as I was passing on my way somewhere. I was hoping the snow and murk might have forced down a Kittiwake but no such luck. A nice selection of waders were on the North Brooks though, with two pairs of Avocets busily feeding along with 6 Dunlin and two roosting Black-tailed Godwits. Otherwise, a very wintry feel to proceedings, though duck numbers had noticeably dropped since my last visit. 

A sunny day at the end of every freezing night

The changeable winter continues, despite us being into the dwindling weeks of the meteorological season. Temperatures took a tumble again early in February with some very icy starts to the days in this two week period, and also some pesky foggy mornings which took until lunchtime to lift. Still, in the days of sunshine there has been a noticeable increase in birdsong and early breeding activity like raptors soaring and resident passerines carrying nest material and inspecting likely nesting spots. February can be a tough slog sometimes but on the best days it can also be full of hope.

5th February

An early morning walk round the local farmland didn't produce too much of note but there was some notably spring-like behaviour from some of the local resident species, including a Starling singing its quirky song from our rooftop and various House Sparrows flying to and from the neighbours' eaves.

A dusk walk over to the riverbank near Thorndale Bridge produced a Barn Owl hunting over Waltham Brooks and four Egyptian Geese quarreling over Amberley Wildbrooks. Mainly though, it was just a welcome novelty to be heading out for a birding session at 5pm and still managing to get in 40 minutes or so.

Song Thrush

6th February

The first frosty morning in a couple of weeks and I decided to drop in for a look at Amberley Wildbrooks as I was passing. Scanning from Cross Gate on the southern side, I was amazed at how much the water levels had dropped since my first proper visit here for a fortnight or more. There were still 80 or so Lapwing dotted about the place but otherwise no water birds at all really aside from a Little Egret, a few Grey Herons and a couple of Mute Swans. Just as I was thinking about leaving after about 45 minutes or so, my attention was drawn by a group of corvids mobbing another bird quite high over towards the western side. Getting the scope on the melee, I realised the bird causing the consternation was a ringtail Hen Harrier, which gained height for a while before dropping down onto the western side where it started hunting up and down before powering over the eastern side. My second in the 10k this year, and in fact it could be The Burgh bird relocating, as I don't think there have been any records of that bird for a while now.

Very distant Hen Harrier, with escort

Herring Gulls

7th February

Thick fog this morning precluded my planned visit to Burton Mill Pond so I instead dropped in the check the lake at Waltham Brooks, with a view to the birds being closer. The fog still made it difficult to pick out much on the water, although a calling Little Grebe was my first in the 1k area this year. Also on the lake were a drake Pintail and two Shelduck, while a lone Snipe flushed up from the shore as I passed. At least two Cetti's Warblers were calling in the bushes, one of which obligingly popped up and showed quite well briefly (for a Cetti's Warbler anyway...).

Cetti's Warbler

An early afternoon skywatch from local farmland produced three Ravens heading east but not much in the way of raptor action despite the sun breaking through.

8th February

Another very foggy start wasn't conducive to birding first thing so I cracked on with work and headed out for a lunchtime stroll. I walked over to the bank of the Arun at Thorndale Bridge to scan the sky and Amberley Wildbrooks, but it had turned into such a beautiful day I decided to carry on up to Waltham Brooks and walk home from there. Not a huge amount to report here really, although at least three Red Kites and two Buzzards were up and enjoying the sunshine and two Ravens flew east. At least three Water Rails were squeaking away, including one in the reedbed on the Amberley side of the river. At the sewage works I found at least 25-30 Chiffchaffs flitting about and flycatching from the bushes around the fence line and up the concrete track. Not quite as impressive as Bernie Forbes' report of 56 yesterday but still lovely to see.

Buzzard

9th February

Mercifully no fog this morning but still very cold. I got out early (light enough for birding by 7am  now!) and headed over to Pulborough for a quick circuit of the reserve. Highlights here from an hour and a half included singing Woodlark over the heath, at least five Ravens raucously flying over, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, 1200 Lapwing and at least 90 Pintail among ~1000 Wigeon and Teal, mostly on the North Brooks. No eagles or other wader species for me (Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit and Dunlin were reported earlier in the week) but still an enjoyable session. Most noticeable, both at Pulborough and at home were the Dunnocks, which seemed to have universally decided that today was the day to ramp up their singing and courtship behaviour. They seemed to be everywhere around the trail at Pulborough!

Teal

10th February

Another foggy morning so I decided to head up the Downs - Kithurst Hill, specifically, which I haven't visited for a while. Corn Buntings and Yellowhammers were in fine voice, particularly around the dew pond just west of the Chantry Hill car park. There were plenty of singing Chaffinches about too and a lone Marsh Tit. A single Grey Partridge was with a little covey of Red-legged Partridge south of the dew pond, while the usual Ravens and Red Kites were patrolling around the hillside. A nice bonus local year tick on the way back to the car park in the form of an adult winter Mediterranean Gull among 200+ Black-headed Gulls and Common Gulls swirling around over a ploughed field.

Kestrel

Corn Bunting

Back home it was nice to see a resplendent breeding plumage Starling singing on our chimney. The resident species are definitely full of the joys of spring now!

11th February

A bit of a tour of a few North East Sussex sites today, starting with Ashdown Forest, where I met a couple at Old Lodge for a South Downs Wildlife walk. It was a decent little walk here, given the time of year, with flyovers of Woodlark and two Ravens, a Dartford Warbler and a singing Mistle Thrush. Most numerous though were the Coal Tits which seemed to be in almost every tree!

Raven

After saying goodbye to the guys here I decided to stop at Weir Wood Reservoir in passing, which produced nine Pochard, 23 Tufted Duck, Marsh Tit and lots of activity from the nesting Grey Herons and Cormorants in the trees at the western end.

Final stop on the way home was Red House Common, part of the the Chailey Commons complex. This was a new site to me and one I've literally just written about for the 'Where to Watch Birds...' book. I was impressed with it, especially the great views of the sky and the wider Wealden landscape. Not a huge bird list here today but I hope to return when the heathland migrants are back in. 

12th February

Another gloomy morning. Kate, B and I headed over to Pulborough Brooks mid-morning, having just heard news from former RSPB warden Pete that the regular young pair of White-tailed Eagles had been chasing and trying to catch an unfortunate Grey Heron. The show was still going on as we arrived and we bumped into Pete, Alice Parfitt and Gary Trew by the visitor centre. One of the eagles was perched up in a tree by the river but the other took off again chasing a Grey Heron which was flying over towards Hardham. I've seen WTE do this kind of hot pursuit before and am still amazed at their capability for speed when required. The eagle was clearly gaining height to get up to where the heron was flying, when suddenly the heron whiffled and dived, so the eagle did the same, straight after it. We couldn't see the outcome as they disappeared behind trees, but it was amazing to watch! 

Later on, we saw one of the eagles in the 'owl tree' on the North Brooks, viewed from the Hanger viewpoint. From here we also found singles of Dunlin (102 for the Local Big Year list) and Ruff with the many hundreds of Lapwing and at least 8 Shelduck - my highest count of the species locally so far this year (plus at least 3 on the South Brooks).

White-tailed Eagle

13th February

The first day of the year when a coat almost felt like an optional extra with the temperature well into double figures by lunchtime. In the morning I was at Knepp for my first safari of the year. There was plenty of birdsong around the place including lots of Song Thrushes and Dunnocks, and several of the resident White Stork pairs were busy feathering their nests and generally looking very cosy and loved up.

The Hammer Pond held the usual Great Crested Grebe and a few each of Teal, Shoveler and Gadwall, while a check of the Mill Pond on the way home produced a couple of Great Crested Grebe, a single Little Grebe, three each of Shoveler and Teal, six Pochard, five Tufted Duck and 15 Wigeon.

14th February

Another foggy morning with the murk very slow to clear. Eventually, by early afternoon the sun had started to break through though so I took a lunchtime walk up to some local woodland which produced plenty of singing resident species including Coal Tit, airborne Buzzard and Red Kite and a vocal flyover Raven. I also inadvertently flushed a Woodcock from an area of low bramble and bracken which gave possibly the best ever flight views I've had of this species to date, lit up beautifully in the sunshine though, of course, too brief an encounter to get a photo.

15th February

A misty start to the day but not too cold and with the promise of warm sunshine burning through relatively early on. That sounded like ideal conditions to find Lesser Spotted Woodpecker so I headed out to a likely area of woodland (location withheld) and was delighted to hear one calling in an area of birch not long after I arrived. This one did a disappearing act pretty quickly but an hour or so later I found the same bird or another one (this one definitely a male - the previous one unsexed due to being backlit) drumming enthusiastically a couple of hundred metres away. Wonderful!

Marsh Tits were in fine voice too as were several Song Thrushes, Great Spotted Woodpeckers and all the common tits. As I was about to head home I flushed my second Woodcock in two days. All in all a pretty great morning!

Marsh Tit

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

By lunchtime it had really turned into an absolutely stunning day so Kate and I headed out for lunch and a brief walk at Fittleworth Common. This was a really unexpected gem, with Marsh Tit again, several Red Admirals on the wing and also a completely unexpected arboretum hidden away among the Sweet Chestnut coppice.

Walk out to Winter

We've really had all weathers so far this winter. The proper cold snap before Christmas gave way to a typically mild, wet and windy Christmas and New Year period which lasted until the middle of this month, but the cold has returned again and the last week or so has produced some of the hardest frosts yet. As I write this, many of the local water bodies have partly or totally frozen again, which seems particularly odd now as the water levels were so high when the ice formed and now the levels have dropped, leaving sheets of ice hanging in thin air. There has been no great evidence of hard weather movement as a response to this cold spell, although a couple of odd records have occurred in recent days which I will detail below. I was going to talk about the absence of owls on my year list in this introduction as, at the start of this period I still hadn't connected with a single species so far in January, but I'm pleased to say that Tawny, Barn and Short-eared have since all made themselves available.

11th January

A bright and sunny (but windy) morning saw me heading to Burton Mill Pond for the first proper walk around the site I've done since before Christmas. One of the hoped-for species was literally the first bird I saw as I crossed the road from the car park, as a Great Egret sprang up out of the reeds right by the boat jetty, flushing a Kingfisher in the process, with both birds flying at their respective speeds across to the east side of the pond. The Kingfisher was typically vocal, whistling away as it went, but unusually so was the egret, making some very strange gutteral croaks and grunts as it flew. I'm not actually sure if I can recall ever hearing Great Egret call before.

Great Egret

Aside from this initial excitement, Burton Mill Pond itself was rather quiet so I headed off down the footpath towards Chingford Pond. Bits of note along the way included a singing Marsh Tit and several vocal but unseen Teal in the wet woodland past the vineyard, and at least 25-30 Redwings foraging in between the rows of grapevines. Round at Chingford Pond I found another Great Egret roosting in a tree and a Little Egret which flew right down to the southern end. Duck numbers were relatively very poor, with just 16 Tufted Duck, 19 Pochard and a handful of Gadwall and Mallard to be found. There were a couple of Little Grebes on Burton Mill Pond but I haven't seen Great Crested Grebe here for several weeks now - presumably the last cold snap before Christmas sent them all packing off to the coast and they've opted not to return just yet.. 

On the walk back I heard a Lesser Redpoll and noted one alighting briefly in a birch tree near Lodge Green, then a few minutes later the same bird or a second one was in another birch towards Black Pond. At Black Pond itself were just a few Mallards and a Grey Heron while a scan of Burton Park Farm sadly didn't produce the hoped-for Little Owl. My first Woodlark of the year, singing beautifully over New Piece, on the walk back was a welcome bonus though.

Lesser Redpoll

12th January

Foul weather today. No birding of any note.

13th January

This morning I headed to Waltham Brooks for the first time in a few days. The water levels here were now so high that access through from the railway line to the main lake was not possible. Instead I checked the main lake via the road, which produced 3 Pintail among the usual ducks, plus a Kingfisher fishing in what is normally a footpath! A quick check of the sewage works produced at least 20 Chiffchaffs busy flitting around the trees and bushes, while a Marsh Harrier cruised over the lake, flushing everything in the process.

An afternoon walk down River Lane from home didn't produce much of note, although a Marsh Tit was feeding on crab apples in a nearby garden as I walked home.

Marsh Tit

Something a bit different in the evening as I headed out for a short loop around the Watersfield Common area after dinner. The target species was Tawny Owl which I connected with at Alban Head Playing Field, with both male and female calls heard. More unexpected though was a couple of calls from a Barn Owl, unseen but presumably hunting over the rough grassland to the north of here.

14th January

Another awful wet and windy morning, but I dragged myself out for an hour or so mid-afternoon. Taking in one of my favorite areas of the 1km recording area so far, I managed a respectable 35 species, including year tick Mandarin Duck - my first record of the species so close to home - with both male and female calls heard emanating from the patch of flooded woodland near Thorndale Bridge. Also heard here were Gadwall and Moorhen while several Teal flew out from the tree cover as I passed and at least 3 Coots were on the flooded fields. This is a really interesting area which has also yielded Green Sandpiper and regular Woodcock records in recent weeks. It just screams Lesser Spotted Woodpecker to me, so I'll be sure to check it regularly in early spring. Local Big Year list now stands at 92 with the 1km from home total on 80.

15th January

A rather impromptu trip down to the Hampshire coast to see the Sabine's Gull that had been wowing the crowds for the past week or so. Here I met up with Ed S and Sam J, among various other familiar faces, and we walked along the seawall to find the bird sat on an island in the lagoon at Southmoor NR. After a little while it took flight and showed off its distinctive flight style and the black, grey and white upperwing. On the sea were a Black-necked Grebe and a few Goldeneye and Red-breasted Merganser, among other usual bits.

Sabine's Gull

In the afternoon I met up with Steve B and Josie N at The Burgh where we enjoyed great views of the 2-3 Short-eared Owls hunting near the new dew pond along with a Barn Owl. On the walk back to the car a ringtail Hen Harrier gave a flypast too, before disappearing over the hedgerows.

Short-eared Owl

16th January

Not much birding today aside from an hour's walk down the lane near home, scanning the fields and sky watching. The wet woodland west of the railway line and Amberley Wildbrooks (where I heard the Mandarin Ducks on the 14th) that I could hear plenty of Teal, a Moorhen and Coot calling from quite some distance away. At least two Red Kites were patrolling the area and a Raven called somewhere off to the south, unseen.

17th January

The first properly frosty morning since the cold spell before Christmas saw me crunching my way over the fields from home to Waltham Brooks. It was quite surreal seeing so much flood water combined with a hoar frost. The route from the railway crossing to the main lake was pretty much impassable so I walked round via the sewage works to the road and in the entrance on that side to check the main lake. Despite the expanse of mostly unfrozen water, there were remarkably few ducks. A Raven flew over, heading west, and the ever-present Cetti's Warbler and Water Rail were vocal, otherwise really not much to report here at all. Walking back by the sewage works, the morning sun had started to warm things up a little and there were plenty of passerines actively feeding in the bushes around the fenceline including 2-3 Bullfinch, a Goldcrest and at least 5 Chiffchaff.

Goldcrest

18th January

I was a bit short of birding time this morning so just pitched up at Greatham Bridge for a scan of Waltham Brooks and a sky watch for 25 minutes or so. Not a great deal to report, although the sight of so much water right up to the roadside, some of it starting to freeze over, was quite something. Best of the birds here were a Sparrowhawk which drifted overhead and two Pied Wagtail and a Meadow Pipit scurrying about on the ice.

A flooded and frozen entrance to Waltham Brooks and a Pied Wagtail on the ice

Despite the cold, it was feeling just the tiniest bit spring-like by mid-morning, with both Coal Tit and Mistle Thrush singing with gusto in earshot of the garden. 

Early afternoon, Kate and I went for a walk round the local farmland, which was largely uneventful bird-wise save for a Snipe which shot up from the footpath a little way in front of us and flew off towards Waltham Brooks. Clearly evidence of the cold weather affecting feeding opportunities.

19th January

Day three of this cold spell and I decided to take a walk north-west from home, up to Watersfield Common and back round via Lodge Hill, hoping to connect with some woodland species missing from the local year list - namely Brambling. Sadly no joy, with the best birds being a couple of flyover Ravens and at least 500 Lapwings whirling around over the fields between Stopham and Fittleworth. Despite the deep frost, the morning sunshine coaxed a few species to sing, including Song Thrush, Stock Dove (also seen displaying) and a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming. 

Another short walk round local farmland early afternoon also didn't produce much, although a small flock of at least ten Meadow Pipits were restlessly flitting from tree to tree in the hedgerows down River Lane - not something I've seen here before.

20th January

A mid-morning wander up to the higher ground to the north-western side of my 1km recording area, optimistic of some raptor action or possibly some hard weather movement. Sadly there wasn't much of either, although a Woodcock in flight over Coldwaltham Farm was perhaps in search of some unfrozen ground.

Coldwaltham Farm - living up to its name!

21st January

A morning walk round the local farmland produced a Marsh Harrier flying west, perhaps another species displacing in search of feeding opportunities, with most of Pulborough and Amberley both still flooded/frozen over.

In the afternoon I headed back out to do my WeBS count at a private site near Petworth. The water here was thankfully still unfrozen which, perhaps surprisingly, didn't yield great numbers of wildfowl - with just 23 Shoveler, a few Tufted Ducks, 15 Coots and 4 Little Grebes present. This site sometimes produces well over a hundred ducks and almost as many Coots!

On the way home I briefly stopped at Burton Mill Pond which produced Kingfisher and around 35 Gadwall but not a huge amount else.

22nd January

An early morning stroll over to Waltham Brooks was rather more akin to exploring an Arctic wasteland. I didn't see a soul in the 90 minutes I was out and the walk was soundtracked by the eerie bangs and cracks of the ice sheets giving way around the lake and tree line. When I first heard it, as I entered the reserve, I actually thought for a minute that it was the sound of people working on the railway line, or even distant gunfire.

Ravens

Marsh Harrier

The lake itself is totally iced over again so there was nothing here aside from a rather forlorn looking immature Mute Swan. Most of the action initially, was from flyovers, with a Marsh Harrier north and five Ravens west. The river was where the ducks were all hanging out, with at least 300 Wigeon and Teal combined, plus a few Mallards and Shoveler. Looking across at Amberley, the other side of the river, at least 250 Lapwing were huddled on the ice. At least three Water Rails were calling and 3-4 Cetti's Warblers gave their explosive songs from the reedy areas.

Late morning Kate and I headed down to Arundel to meet family, so I suggested dropping by Burpham (sort of) on the way... From the church here we barely needed to get out of the car to see the six adult Bewick's Swans and two Cattle Egrets. Later on we also saw another Cattle Egret at Mill Road Watermeadows. This species is honestly more common round these parts than Little Egret now, I swear.

Tufted Duck

23rd January

I didn't get too much birding in today but a 40-minute or so skywatch from local farmland proved fairly productive and hinted somewhat at a bit of the hard weather movement that's been largely missing from this latest cold spell. Two parties of three Lapwing flew south and I thought I heard a Golden Plover at one stage, though later put this down to an odd Starling call nearby. Gulls seemed to be moving a bit, with a light westerly trickle of Black-headed Gulls and a few Herrings mixed in, and an odd couple of a Great Black-backed Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull high southeast together. Amazingly, my first Lesser Black-backed anywhere this year, and my first GBBG in the 1km recording area.

Later in the day a garden-first Firecrest very briefly flicked its way through our front hedge before flying off to a neighbour's garden and I also heard Marsh Tit calling nearby again - it seems we have at least one individual of this species wintering in the neighbourhood.

Great Black-backed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Lapwing

New year, new list

Yes, I'm back blogging! After a very hectic but thoroughly enjoyable year in 2022 where blogging pretty much went out of the window, I've decided to try and ease back into it with semi-regular diary-type updates on my day-to-day birding. (Thanks to Ed for the inspiration and encouragement!)

1st January

A leisurely start to the new year campaign saw me strolling over to Waltham Brooks for a couple of hours. Water levels were the highest I've seen them so far this winter, which produced good numbers of ducks, including five Pintail. Passing Peregrine and Marsh Harrier flushed all the ducks as they headed over towards Amberley. A check of the sewage works produced the usual scattering of Chiffchaffs and a Grey Wagtail, while a Marsh Tit was calling in the woodland just to the south as I departed.

2nd January

In keeping with seemingly most of West Sussex I headed over to Pulborough Brooks mid-morning. The regular White-tailed Eagles put on a great show, tucking into a carp brunch on the North Brooks. Just as I arrived Steve B and former Pulborough stalwart Jon W had just found a Water Pipit from the Hanger which was still present and showed well (for Pulborough) during our stay at the viewpoint here. Also on show on the North Brooks were a Kingfisher and various other year ticks including Common Gull and three flyover Skylarks. Round on the south side I also caught up with the adult Great Black-backed Gull found by Paul Davy the previous day - almost as rare here as Water Pipit! At West Mead four Snipe showed nicely on one of the islands; another year tick.

White-tailed Eagle

Kestrel

Snipe

3rd January

I'd resigned myself to a non-birding day today after a couple of hours working at Knepp early morning followed by a dentist appointment. Just as I was leaving the dentist though, my phone pinged with a message from Pulborough RSPB volunteer Gary T, saying he'd just found two Bewick's Swans on the South Brooks. I dashed round (it was on the way home, after all!) and enjoyed distant views of them from behind the visitor centre. I tried to get a closer look from the Black Wood side a bit further down the road towards home but, evidently, by the time I got there, the birds had departed.

Bewick's Swans

4th January

A brief check of Burton Mill Pond first thing yielded a lone drake Pochard, four Little Grebes, a squealing Water Rail and two Ravens tumbling overhead. This was planned to be my only birding of the day but, just as I was about to head home, news broke via Chris and Juliet Moore of a Little Gull over at Pulborough, so I dashed over there for the second time in two days. A 15-minute scan from Hail's View sadly didn't produce any gulls at all, with just the standard wildfowl and four Red Kites on show. I decided to head home via a short stop at Greatham Bridge, in the hope that the Little Gull had relocated to Waltham or Widney Brooks, given the amount of flood water in the valley at the moment. It hadn't, but a Cattle Egret hunched on the riverbank was a nice consolatory year tick, as was a Nuthatch calling in the trees just to the east of the bridge.

5th January

Another early morning stroll over to Waltham Brooks from home produced two new species for the local year list. The first came just as I had crossed the railway line into the main reserve when I picked up three Little Egrets flying north together just beyond the Arun. The second only made its presence known as I was heading home past the same area about 40 minutes later and heard the distinctive chur call of a Dartford Warbler. After a little while it appeared, typically with a pair of Stonechats in tow. This was in the exact same spot I had a Dartford on 17th October, so it seems likely it's the same bird that's been wintering in the area. Other highlights from this morning included two Snipe flushed from the marshy ground a little way east of the railway crossing, at least three squealing Water Rail and nine Tufted Ducks on the main lake.

Dartford Warbler

Stonechat

6th January

Only the second sunny start to a day so far this week/year saw me exploring a stretch of local woodland which produced my first Firecrest of the year as well as a few early hints of spring, including drumming and squabbling Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a vocal pair of Mistle Thrushes.

Back home for work, I watched the weather gradually deteriorate through the window, but it didn't dissuade two young Red Kites from putting on a great show low over the rooftops of our neighbourhood, one even swooping down into a nearby garden before lifting back up clutching a wad of grass.

Firecrest

Red Kite

7th January

A wet and windy morning which didn't encourage me to get out early. Eventually I dashed over to Pulborough Brooks for the fourth time this week, mid-morning, to see the three Brent Geese found by RSPB volunteer, Rob King. Viewing from the edge of Black Wood, it didn't take long to pick them out among the grazing Canada Geese. After a blank year in 2022, these were my first local Brents since May 2021.

There didn't seem to be much else going on here so I headed down to Amberley to have a scan of the flood water there, hoping for a Little Gull or even a Kittiwake which had been turning up at a few inland sites in recent days. Scanning from near Rackham Mill I found a drake Goosander, Marsh Harrier and at least 2000 Lapwing. A message from Paul Davy alerted me to the presence of the two adult Bewick's Swans, which I wasn't able to see from my angle. I got him on the Goosander before heading up the hill to meet him at Cross Gate. Luckily I stopped a little way further up to have another scan and picked up the Bewick's, as by the time I got to Paul they had departed south-west (later seen by others at their popular haunt of Burpham Water Meadows near Arundel). It was still good to catch up with Paul though and from the higher viewpoint we also had the two White-tailed Eagles drifting over the reserve.

Brent Geese

8th January

Not loads of birding today but a walk down the lane this morning produced a Grey Heron rather incongruously feeding among the Rooks and Jackdaws in a horse paddock, followed by a flyover year tick Sparrowhawk. Late morning we headed over to Waltham Brooks which was relatively quiet aside from at least 20 Tufted Ducks on the main lake and a flyover Red Kite. The local year list now stands on 86, with 73 of those species recorded in the 1km from home recording area.

Grey Heron

9th January

A walk around local farmland up to Thorndale Bridge this morning didn't produce anything particularly out of the ordinary but a Marsh Harrier was flushing Teal from the marshland near the bridge.

Bird of the day was the Marsh Tit which visited our garden very briefly mid-morning, attracting my attention with its sneezing call while I was working in the house. It stayed a matter of seconds before flying off west. 

10th January

Another squally morning, and a check of some local water bodies first thing didn't produce much other than some very wet optics and the need for a full change of clothes when I got home. 

A stroll round the local farmland mid-afternoon in a break in the rain was similarly uneventful, although it was good to see several hundred Lapwing wheeling about over Amberley Wildbrooks. Otherwise, today definitely felt like a 'roll on Spring' kind of birding day!

Roe Deer

To blog or not to blog?

A short post about blogging and mental health

If you’re a regular reader of this blog you may have noticed the ever decreasing frequency of my posts, for which there are various reasons. I’ve been thinking about things a fair bit lately and, in light of the recent Mental Health Awareness Week, I felt like sharing some of my thoughts here.

My blogging and other computer-based activities always tend to take something of a back seat in the spring and summer months, with the longer days allowing for more time in the field, as well as allotmenting and tinkering in the garden at home, but I’ve found it to be even more the case this year, what with the extraordinary circumstances we've all been living through.

I started my first blog in 2012 when I was working as a gardener for the Church of England; it was a solitary role and I was keen to share what I was seeing with others so began tweeting then blogging about my day-to-day sightings. I’ve always enjoyed producing special trip reports too, to look back on in years to come, but there’s no denying that regular blogging can sometimes end up feeling a bit like just another chore. What with recording sightings, catching up on nocmig, emails and countless other computer activities, combined with a physically draining job, I've found it can be all too easy to lose sight of why one first loved something; in my case birding which developed out of a general fascination with, and love for, the natural world.

I've always been a bit of a worrier, and the recent loss of an old friend during what are already strange and unsettling times has reminded me of the importance of valuing the present even more. My wife jokes that she’s never seen me spend so much time at home as I have in recent weeks - I’m usually rushing about all over the place - but there’s no denying I’ve learned to take more time to notice and enjoy what’s right in front of me (the BWKM0 challenge was great for that and I'm aware I never took the time to blog about that once it was over either!). It turns out that sometimes it is okay to just lie flat on your back on the lawn and do nothing, which has been a bit of a revelation for me, to be honest.

I know I’m not the only one who's found the desire to blog wane somewhat during lockdown, and even before that birders and naturalists I’ve known have said they’ve struggled to maintain prolonged enthusiasm in it, as much as they love their subject matter.

I’m not sure quite what I imagine the purpose of putting these words on here is exactly, and I'll stop soon before it gets any more self-indulgent. I’m certainly not suggesting I’m going to stop blogging altogether nor wishing to detract from the continued prolific efforts of others whom I admire - Ed Stubbs, Peter Alfrey and Steve Gale to name just three - but I suppose my message if there is one at all is, if you’re finding elements of something you love are causing you unnecessary anxiety, don’t be too hard on yourself and remember to keep focusing on what it is you enjoyed about it all in the first place.

If you're anything like me many of the things you're worrying about are not as important as you might think they are, and your physical and mental well-being will be all the better if you allow yourself time to pause.

The author in rarely seen static mode, surreptitiously photographed by Mrs Matt

Locked down....but not out

Well, what a strange few weeks it's been since my last post on here. It's hard to keep us birders away from our passion though, wherever we are and whatever challenging situations we're put into, and it's been wonderful to see the 'BWKM0' (birdwatch kilometre zero) challenge take off so strongly on Twitter. Inspired by similarly locked down birders in Italy, Steve Gale has taken on the impressive task of curating the light-hearted competition over here, posting daily updates on his blog.

The rules are simple: to see how many bird species you can record from your house or garden (seen or heard) and ultimately discover what your final tally represents as a percentage of your overall garden list. So far I'm on 78 species out my garden total of 126. I should point out this includes nocmig records as well, of which six are on the 'lockdown list' now, but more on that later.

As anyone who follows my Twitter ramblings will have probably noted, I do a lot of my BWKM0 watching from my attic skylight, which offers fantastic views across the North Brooks, with the South Downs in the background. It's ideal for a scan of the Brooks early morning but I tend to migrate to the garden mid-morning (when I'm not at work) for a better view of the sky, and to concentrate my efforts on looking south down the Arun, which is presumably a flyway of sorts.

Highlights from the attic since the lockdown listing began include a Great Egret on 1st and 5th April, a ringtail Hen Harrier on 30th March and 1st April, and my first Swallow of the year on 28th March; the latter pleasingly followed by others among a steady trickle of Sand Martins this weekend. 

In the warm sunshine this morning it was great to watch a couple of Ravens tumbling over the garden, as my first Sedge Warbler of the year started chattering away down by the Arun. Then this afternoon a drake Goosander flew south along the river, only my second garden record.

Raven over the garden

Raptor-wise, Buzzards are numerous, Red Kite and Peregrine are regular, while Kestrel and Sparrowhawk have put in occasional appearances. Sadly, I'm still yet to join either the Osprey or White-tailed Eagle lockdown club, but here's hoping! 

Peregrine over the garden

Onto nocmig, and it's been an eventful week on that side of things too. The star species at this time of year is of course Common Scoter, with many thousands of them moving overland when conditions suit. A busy night over the north of the country on the night of 1st-2nd April seemed to largely pass the southeast by, but the following night delivered the most spectacular passage of the species I have experienced since I started nocmigging in 2017. I recorded two sizeable flocks over Pulborough at 22:23 and 22:40 on the 2nd (second video below) and almost anyone in their garden or with a recorder out heard calls too - clearly helped by the reduction in traffic and aircraft noise. Other bits of note this past week were a Whimbrel over on the 1st (first video below) and fourteen calls from at least two Oystercatchers on the 2nd. 

The warmer weather has really brought out the butterflies too with plenty of Brimstones and Peacocks visiting the garden this weekend, plus the odd Comma and Small Tortoiseshell and, best of all, the first male Orange-tip of the year this morning. 

Brimstone in the garden