Dark days

11th December

As is typical for the time of year, the darkness creeps ever more into my available birding time, but I managed to squeeze in a couple of short sessions before work and at lunchtime today. First, a 45-minute venture out to the local farmland near home which yielded 40 species including a few Teal and Wigeon on the flooded fields and singles of Chiffchaff and Cetti's Warbler in the bushes. Small groups of Fieldfare and Stock Dove were noted flying south/south-west overhead.

Watersfield living up to its name

Mid-morning I caught sight of a Peregrine circling over Watersfield before drifting off towards Amberley. 

A lunchtime check of Waltham Brooks produced the usual species, with a distant Marsh Harrier over towards Amberley probably the highlight. A male Stonechat in the scrub between the lake and the road was notable only for the large white spot on its face. I'm not sure what it was exactly. At least five Tufted Ducks were still on the main lake. 

Stonechat

12th December

A look at Waltham Brooks this morning en route to work produced an impressive array of ducks on the main lake, including at least 90 Shoveler and 10 Tufted Duck. A Marsh Harrier briefly stopped for a look, flushing 5 Snipe in the process, while 27 Fieldfare flew out of roost. 

Marsh Harrier

13th December

I was down in Rye today for a SWT staff meeting. Conditions weren't great but we had an enjoyable hour's walk round the reserve early afternoon led by new reserve manager Paul Tinsley-Marshall. The lingering Spoonbill was still roosting on Flat Beach which also held good numbers of Shoveler, a few Pintail and half a dozen or so Tufted Ducks. Well over 400 Cormorants flew over into roost as we were walking around, and around 50 Curlew did the same, coming in from the north-east as we were heading back to the car park. 

Cormorants

The obligatory sleeping Spoonbill photo

                              

14th December

Shoreham-by-Sea was the destination for today's work meeting, so I decided to swing past the harbour and Southwick canal while I was down there, hoping to connect with the lingering Great Northern Diver that's been in the ship canal for a couple of weeks now. 45 minutes of trekking around the area between the canal gates and Barrett Steel proved fruitless, as did a walk out to the seafront but I eventually got the bird just as I was leaving, along with the juvenile Eider that has also been around a while. Sadly neither gave as good views as the Turnstones on the sea wall!

Turnstones

15th December

After enjoying a Firecrest in the garden first thing this morning, I just had time for a quick circuit of the local farmland before starting work. This proved unremarkable aside from at least one heard-only Golden Plover flying overhead, seemingly heading east/north-east.

Firecrest

Late afternoon I headed over to Burton Mill Pond for a last light vigil from the viewing platform which produced 27 Little Egrets heading to roost plus 43 Cormorants, ~500 Starlings (dropping in to the reeds on the eastern side where two Sparrowhawks were patrolling), 2-3 Water Rails and a Kingfisher. 

16th December

An unusually free morning saw me taking a tour of various local sites, starting with the private reservoir near Petworth for the WeBS count there, where I found the Long-tailed Duck present again, having apparently gone AWOL on my last visit here a few days ago. Otherwise, waterbird numbers were really poor, with just 11 Tufted Duck, a lone female Pochard, a few Coots and a single Little Grebe. 

A check of the water meadows and farm fields by the Rother in Fittleworth produced seven Little Egrets around the cattle at Street Farm, a Chiffchaff calling at the sewage works and a male Stonechat in the scrubby field nearby.

Fittleworth Water Meadows

Then it was on to check the farm scrape at Hadworth Farm which held a pair of Gadwall, a few Coots and Mallards and a lone Cormorant perched in the dead trees behind the flood (another flew over heading east). Perhaps most notable here was the flock of ~250 Stock Doves which flew up from the fields to the south-west. 

Later in the morning I took a stroll out down the road from home which produced a Peregrine and at least nine Snipe flying high overhead.

Snipe

17th December

A morning walk round the local farmland proved fairly quiet aside from the now almost daily Peregrine circling high over Watersfield, and around 55-60 Fieldfares flying towards Coldwaltham.

Peregrine

Late afternoon I headed over to Thorndale Bridge for a scan from the railway embankment here (flooding made the walk under the railway bridge to the river bank impassable), the highlight of which was a Barn Owl hunting over the southern end of Waltham Brooks. At least 60 Redwings and 30 Fieldfares flew to roost, and at least four Water Rails were calling around the area. A Merlin flew low and fast over River Lane as I was walking down. 

18th December

A brief stop off at Waltham Brooks on my way to work this morning where highlights included an impressive 28 Tufted Ducks on the main lake (certainly my highest count of the species here), four Red Kites together over Quell Farm and a single Marsh Harrier flying north. Redwings were noticeably moving overhead, with 150 west in the 25 minutes or so I was on-site. 

Quite a lot of Tufted Ducks!

A lunchtime stroll at Woods Mill also proved reasonably lively for the time of year, with 30 Common Gulls over, a Water Rail showing very well but very briefly swimming across a ditch, and a Kestrel which was surprisingly a reserve tick for me!

Moorhen

19th December

A pretty rancid day, weather-wise. I did manage a brief lunchtime walk from home over to Waltham Brooks and back, but there wasn't much on offer there to write home about. Yesterday's bumper count of Tufted Duck had reduced to just a single drake, six Pintail and a single Raven flew north/north-west and nine Siskins flew into the Poplars near the lake. 

20th December

A quick dash up Amberley Mount before work proved to be quite lively, with as many as ten Red Kites, three Buzzards and 50+ Common Gulls all distinctly displeased by the arrival on the scene of a juvenile White-tailed Eagle which powered north low over the tumulus, briefly disappearing over the northern slopes before returning and drifting around over the vineyard towards The Burgh. It still blows my mind to see the size of these things in direct comparison to a Buzzard!

White-tailed Eagle

Red Kite

A lunchtime stroll at Woods Mill produced a similar number of Common Gulls to Amberley Mount and a reasonably showy Cetti's Warbler in the scrub along the stream.

Cetti's Warbler

Halfway through November

I saw a thing on Facebook recently about November days being weird as it increasingly feels as though there is no afternoon, just morning, lunchtime, and night-time. By the middle of the month that creeping darkness really eats away at both ends of the day and any residual early morning light we borrowed back after the clock change has already fizzled away. The days are short, and so is time for birding. What November does offer though is the first taste of winter, both in terms of crisp, frosty mornings, breathtaking sunsets and the arrival of winter visitors. It certainly looks like we are set to experience a long overdue influx of various species this winter, from Short-eared Owls to Waxwings to Mealy Redpolls. What's been apparent locally in this ten-day period has been a gradual increase in the background species, with the likes of thrushes and winter ducks noticeably climbing in number, plus some impressive movements of Woodpigeon on the days when the wind and rain have abated.

11th November

The first crisp, frosty and bright morning for a while so I decided to head out on foot from home, in the hope of relocating the probable Hume's Warbler at Waltham Brooks. It was clear fairly soon after arriving there was a fair bit of stuff moving overhead, with a couple of biggish (200+) flocks of Woodpigeons and decent numbers of Fieldfares (160+) moving south-west. It was still pretty cold around the sewage works and not super lively with passerines.

As I passed to the north of the works though and headed up towards the road, I again heard the call which caught my attention earlier in the week, coming from a block of sallow just to my right. I moved over to get closer and to get on the sunny side of the trees. Just as I did so and set about trying to pin down the bird, there was a great commotion, alarm calling and a burst of feathers as a Peregrine dived low through the sallows and narrowly missed catching a Fieldfare. A small passerine flew pretty much over my head, into the bushes on the other side of the railway line and, unhelpfully, straight into the sun from where I was looking. I realised from the continued calling that it was the same bird, but there was no way I was going to pick out any plumage detail from this side and in this light. After a couple of minutes I decided to walk around and try and get a better look and there began a merry two hour goose chase trying to pin down the bird again. Despite my best efforts, I only heard it again a couple of hours later, just before 10:00, in sallows right by the sewage works. Gareth James and Mark McManus showed up mid-morning and I decided to leave them to it at this point, as birding fatigue was setting in! I really don't know what to make of this bird, the recordings today don't sound as convincing for Hume's as the one in the week, and I am beginning to wonder if it isn't just a weird Chiffchaff. 

A late afternoon stroll round the local farm fields with B proved quite productive with a flock of 23 Redpoll flying high south, lots of ducks in flight over Waltham Brooks, including 24 Pintail north, and four Little Egrets and a single Great White Egret flying south-east towards Amberley, the latter an eBird tick for this hotspot. 

Pintail (and single Wigeon)

Distant Great Egret flying over Watersfield

12th November

In sharp contrast to yesterday, this morning it was back to grey, wind and rain. No birding in the morning aside from a short local walk with B which did include my first singing Song Thrush of the season (albeit a slightly hesitant one). 

Early afternoon we all headed over to Pulborough Brooks for lunch and I took the opportunity to scan from the South Brooks from the tea terrace, hoping to find the Spotted Redshank reported earlier in the day. There were a lot of birds to sort through, not least in excess of 300 Black-tailed Godwits, and it was proving difficult until all the godwits and wildfowl took to the air and I heard the unmistakable 'chu-it' call of the target species coming from somewhere in the melee. It took a while of sorting through once they'd all landed but I did eventually pick out the bird - my 160th local species of the year! While all this was going on an adult Little Gull also appeared among, hawking over the South Brooks briefly before continuing on south, while other waders of note were a Green Sandpiper flying over the tea terrace towards the heath and two Dunlin which dropped in among the Black-tailed Godwits. A male Marsh Harrier came powering in from the north-east and continued out over the South Brooks, while a juvenile type was over Widney Brooks, west of the Arun.

Little Gull

Marsh Harrier

Mixed flock airborne over the South Brooks - prize to anyone who can pick out the Spotted Redshank!

13th November

Another howling windy and wet start to the day today so no chance for pre-work birding, unfortunately. A lunchtime walk around Woods Mill in much more clement conditions produced a single Marsh Tit, half a dozen Fieldfares, three Redwings and a dozen Common Gulls flying over. A Red Admiral was also out and about enjoying the late autumn sunshine. 

Marsh Tit

Red Admiral

14th November

Another wet morning. I stopped off at Pulborough on the way to work, for a half hour scan of the South Brooks from the tea terrace. There was no sign of Sunday's Spotted Redshank but the Black-tailed Godwit flock had increased to at least 470, their loud chattering calls audible even from several hundred metres away. There were lots more Pintail too, at least 120 that I could see. 

A brief lunch break look at Waltham Brooks proved similarly routine, though it was nice to flush a mixed flock of Redwings and Fieldfares from the scrub nearest the lake - numbers of winter thrushes are definitely creeping up a bit locally now. Almost a daily occurrence here these days, but always nice to see, two Great White Egrets flew upriver.

Great White Egret

15th November

Two bites of the cherry at Amberley Wildbrooks today with short (15-20 minute) watches from Cross Gate on the way to and from work at Woods Mill. The morning session produced three Ruff, a single Dunlin, adult and juvenile White-tailed Eagles on some of the exposed patches of land in the flood, plus a flyover Brambling. I missed the three White-fronted Geese which have been around for a while and were seen by Paul this morning, but did manage to find them late afternoon. 

Very distant White-tailed Eagle on the island at Amberley

16th November

Another grey and wet day, no real birding of any note today. 

17th November

An absolutely dreamy late autumn/early winter morning at Burton Mill Pond where I notched up 54 species in just under 90 minutes. It was lively from the get-go with plenty of thrushes and finches about around New Piece, including a flyover Brambling and several Fieldfares (remarkably an eBird hotspot tick here!). As usual, Chingford Pond held the bulk of the waterbirds, with ten Little Egrets still at roost in the trees (following on from six which flew over early doors) and a Great White Egret stalking round the water's edge. Wildfowl-wise, highlights were 40 or so Tufted Duck and 25 Pochard plus a few Gadwall and heard only Mandarin. Woodpigeon movement suddenly picked up overhead at around 07:40, with 2,800 flying south-west between then and just after 08:00.

Great Crested Grebes

Woodpigeons

Little Egret

After work a brief stop at Waltham Brooks produced little of note aside from a Marsh Harrier and two Little Egrets, plus the usual selection of wildfowl on the main lake. 

18th November

Not much birding today, partly due to other commitments, but also hampered by the foul weather. Thankfully the rain eased off enough early afternoon for a little 1k area walk out round the local farmland. It was generally pretty quiet (not helped by the wind) until I stumbled across a lively passerine flock in the scrub south of Thorndale Bridge which held at least two Firecrests plus singles of Cetti's Warbler and Chiffchaff. There were also at least 14 Redwing and 18 Fieldfare around in the same area.

Firecrest

19th November

WeBS day today so I was out and about bright and early to check the private reservoir near Petworth, which still hosted the female Long-tailed Duck, sheltering among the usual Aythya flock. Tufted Ducks were represented by a modest 27 individuals but the Pochards had increased to a record breaking 57 - not just my highest count here but my largest total of the species anywhere locally. Otherwise it was usual fare, though the regular duo of leucistic Egpytian Geese were present among a group of 75 on the shoreline. 

Long-tailed Duck

I checked a few other water bodies on my way to and from the reservoir, including Burton Mill Pond (basically empty), Hadworth Farm (likewise) and the flooded Rother at Fittleworth which held just a couple of Mute Swans, a few Mallards and a flyover Little Egret, though it was nice to hear my first Song Thrush of the season properly belting out its song. 

20th November

More wind and rain this morning, but it eased sufficiently for me to grab an hour at Waltham Brooks before starting work, which proved to be a worthwhile decision. I'd only been there ten minutes or so when I heard the flight call of a Dunlin and looked up to see one powering north high overhead - a first for me on the reserve - not long after a flock of eight Pintail went the same way. The water levels have receded here quite a bit now so there's plenty of Snipe habitat about. I counted 21 this morning, helpfully being kept airborne for longer than usual by a Marsh Harrier hunting over the main lake. No Jack Snipe yet though. 

Otherwise it was business as usual with a selection of 35 Shoveler, 15 or so Wigeon, 50 Teal and a few Gadwall on the main lake. Thrush numbers seem to be gradually increasing, with at least 25-30 Fieldfare around on the reserve plus maybe half that number of Redwing, and a few Fieldfares on the walk home too. 

Fieldfare

Late morning, while working at home, I glanced out of an upstairs window to see a V formation of birds heading towards the house. Grabbing my bins just in time, I realised they were Golden Plover - around 90 of them - seconds before they disappeared over the house towards Fittleworth. Late afternoon/early evening, a Barn Owl flew low over the garden, calling, while the regular male Tawny Owl was also calling nearby. 

Gateway to summer

June is traditionally a bit of a doldrums month for birding but in recent years has increasingly produced some surprises. There's always the chance of late overshoots from the continent and, towards the end of the month, one's thoughts already turn to return passage of waders and dispersal of breeding migrant passerines. This year, spring seemed to start so late that it does feel as though there are still plenty of migrants moving through on their way to breeding grounds - especially waders, which have continued to feature pretty heavily in my local birding efforts in the past week or two.

Weather-wise, after the washout of April and early May, it now hasn't rained properly for about six weeks, grasslands are looking scorched and water bodies are rapidly drying out. Someone said to me recently that the weather we should expect in the UK now is 'est' - hottest, coldest, wettest, driest - which, sadly, seems very accurate, and this is reflected in the increased frequency of odd and out of sync bird records. Examples of highly unexpected local records for June so far have included Dunlin and Mediterranean Gull, both species I would usually only expect here passing through, not at the height of the breeding season!

1st June

Pinch punch, and a blasting northerly wind. It was properly cold out this morning. I got out soon after dawn for a walk out to the river, round Waltham Brooks and home, highlights of which included Lesser Whitethroat, Cuckoo, at least three Nightingales all singing, and 7 Little Egrets together by the Arun at Thorndale Bridge. 

Later in the day I headed up to the Norfolk Estate for a very interesting guided tour of the conservation work taking place there and the Curlew reintroduction project, from the Duke of Norfolk, head keeper Charlie Mellor and farmer Conor Haydon. Best of all was seeing a sitting hen Grey Partridge on a nest. 

Curlews on the Norfolk Estate

In the evening it was good to hear one of the local Nightingales still singing well, from the garden at home (in fact, from the bedroom window!) Hopefully he finds a mate soon though...

2nd June

Today began with a return visit to the area of farmland near West Burton where I carried out my second South Downs Farmland Bird Monitoring survey of the year. Very little of note to report here aside from a handful of Swallows and common warblers, though a calling male Tawny Owl was rather more unusual. Weather-wise it felt more like March/April than early June, with total cloud cover and the continuing stiff north-easterly wind. 

After dropping B at nursery I stopped off at Waltham Brooks for a quick whizz round. Again, fairly quiet really aside from a few bursts of song from a Nightingales, plus the usual warblers and a few Swifts.

3rd June

A check of a few local water bodies this morning produced good numbers of Swifts and Sand Martins near Petworth, along with an unseasonal pair of Teal on the private reservoir there. At Burton Mill Pond, the resident Great Crested Grebe pair were still present, with one sitting on a nest.

4th June

Not much birding today but another dusk safari at Knepp produced a fantastic Turtle Dove encounter, with one seen and heard singing on a dead oak branch in the evening sunshine before flying pretty much over our heads to a nearby sallow where it continued to purr for several minutes before being seen in flight again a little while later. It does seem to be a particularly good year for the species here this year. 

Turtle Dove

5th June

My BBS late visit to Parham Park this morning produced a Spotted Flycatcher in a rather incongruous location (perhaps a late passage bird) and 3 Shelduck - my first of the latter species here for a while. I assume they breed somewhere on the estate but haven't ever been able to prove it. I remember being quite surprised when I made my very first visit here in 2018 and found quite a gathering of Shelduck on the front lawn of the main house!

After Parham I dropped in at Pulborough for my first circuit of the reserve for a week or so. As ever, it didn't disappoint, though it does seem as though the spectacular wader spring may finally be drawing to a close. Still, singles of Little Ringed Plover, Green Sandpiper and Greenshank were nice to see among the resident Lapwings, Redshanks and Avocets. The female Pintail on the South Brooks was still about and joined by a few Teal, while a solitary Shelduck was on the North Brooks. The other noticeable thing was the amount of fledgling birds about - from Long-tailed Tits to Egyptian Geese. We're very much into that period of the year now where there seem to be lots of squeaking things in every tree and bush!

Long-tailed Tit fledgling

6th June

A brief check from Greatham Bridge this morning produced my first signs of post-breeding wader dispersal with half a dozen Lapwings and Redshank dropping onto the marsh near the main lake at Waltham Brooks.

Later in the day, a skywatch on farmland north-west of Pulborough produced a distant female Goshawk and two flyover Siskins - my first locally since April. 

7th June

No real birding today but a White Stork Safari at Knepp produced fab views of a Hobby flying low and fast through the scrub then seen again later circling over the same area. 

8th June

I was over in Byworth first this morning, carrying out my final South Downs Farmland Bird Initiative survey visit of the year. As I've said before this has consistently proven to be the more productive of the two squares I've surveyed the past two years, and so it proved again this morning with 40 species recorded including a singing Firecrest (my first at this site). Best of all though was stumbling across a Kestrel nest just 3 metres up in an oak tree, having a few minutes before seen an adult male flying towards the group of trees carrying a rat, and hearing the squeaking of the chicks. 

Kestrel chicks

Firecrest

9th June

After dropping B at nursery I swung by Waltham Brooks for the short loop down the river and past the main lake. It's a good one to do when short on time and lately has produced a decent selection of species (45-50) in less than an hour. Today's highlights included six adult Mediterranean Gulls which I picked up on call coming in quite high from the Pulborough direction. They circled over the site a few times before continuing west towards Watersfield. Also of note here this morning were two Little Egrets flying north together and my first Whitethroat fledglings of the year. 

Juvenile Whitethroat

Mediterranean Gulls

10th June

The hottest day of the year so far and not much birding for me today but a quick look at the roadside pool at Southlands Farm in West Chiltington in passing in the evening produced a singing Reed Warbler - a first for me at this particular site.

11th June

A dawn start to check out some local water bodies didn't produce much. In fact, the highlight of the morning was a Barn Owl over the junction of Bury Gate and Waters Lane, just a few hundred metres from home.

Late morning I headed up to the Burgh with Kate, B, and Sean and Abi Foote, who were visiting from Wiltshire. It was still cloudy and pleasantly cool when we parked up but it didn't take long for the sun to burn through and raise the temperature significantly. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't particularly lively on the bird front, aside from a Grey Partridge and plenty of Red Kites and Whitethroats. It was good to have Sean's eye for invertebrates present though, which resulted in us finding my first Bryony Mining Bees of the year. 

Bryony Mining Bee

In the evening I stopped off at Waltham Brooks for a quick dusk session which produced a singing male Cuckoo down the river towards Amberley and a squealing Water Rail in the reeds. 

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