The year is turning

1st July

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

Stonechats

Cattle Egrets

Black-tailed Godwits

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

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

2nd July

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

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

Reed Warbler

Pied Wagtail

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

Blackbird (and some unfortunate crickets!)

Great White Egret

White-tailed Eagle

3rd July

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

4th July

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

Sedge Warbler

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

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

5th July

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

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

6th July

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

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

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

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

Grey Wagtail

Tufted Ducks

Hobby

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

Gadwall family

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

7th July

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

Synaphe punctalis

Elephant Hawkmoths

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

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

Nightjar

8th July

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

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

9th July

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

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

Garganey

Wood Sandpiper

10th July

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

House Sparrow

Garden Warbler

Long days and short nights

A rather brief summary of the last week of June and first couple of days of July, and my last UK birding for a little while as we headed off to Spain for a week on the 3rd (blog post on that trip to come in due course).

It's been another rewarding period in the birding year though. Particularly pleasing was being able to confirm local breeding of two less common duck species, one of them a RBBP listed species: Shoveler and Gadwall.

Weather-wise, it's not been quite as fiercely hot, with a rather more 'normal' temperature range and a pretty dominating west/south-westerly element to the wind. 

24th June

An early check of my private WeBS site over near Petworth produced 2 Little Ringed Plover and a Barn Owl, but otherwise usual fare. I then headed over to Knepp later in the morning for a butterfly safari, the highlight of which (aside from lots of juicy Purple Emperor action!) was a Curlew flying high north-west over the Cow Barn as I and fellow guide Mark McManus arrived to set up - a Knepp tick for both of us!

25th June

Not much birding today, although some great Purple Emperor and Turtle Dove action again at Knepp in the morning. On the way home a check of Southlands Farm in West Chiltington produced a Green Sandpiper on the roadside pool there.

In the evening I headed over to Lord's Piece/Coates Common for my second Nightar survey visit, which proved to be quite successful, despite much of the habitat having been cut down since my previous visit. The first bird as I arrived was a Hobby hawking over the east side of the heath. By 21:40, the Nightjars started churring, with a total of two males on the main heath and at least 1-2 others across the fields on the clearfell area east of Sutton Common. One of the males on Lord's Piece itself responded well to a few of my handclaps and buzzed right over my head a couple of times. Always an amazing experience! Also of note here this evening were at least four Tawny Owls - two hooting males and two squeaking juveniles.

Hobby

                                            

26th June

After dropping B at nursery this morning I stopped off at Pulborough for a check of the South Brooks and Black Wood. A Green Sandpiper was on the pool out from Hail's View - my first returning bird here this... season (I won't say autumn, just yet!) while the lingering Great White Egret was still on West Mead Pool and a Spotted Flycatcher was along the path just west of Black Pond. 

A lunchtime walk round the local farmland produced quite a few Swallows (12+), a flock of at least 180 Starlings, a few Swifts and one of the White-tailed Eagles being mobbed by a Hobby high over towards Amberley.

27th June

A brief look at Waltham Brooks on my way to Knepp this morning proved to be a fruitful one, as I discovered a female Shoveler on the main lake with four ducklings in tow. I've suspected the species might be breeding here, as there were a few records of drakes kicking about earlier in the summer/late spring, but it was nice to prove it today.

Shoveler female and ducklings

28th June

A check of local water bodies this morning proved quite productive. At an undisclosed site, Little Ringed Plovers were back on eggs after a failed breeding attempt earlier in the year. 

Burton Mill Pond was on particularly fine form, with 52 species recorded in a little under two hours. Spotted Flycatchers were at Lodge Green and New Piece, along with a Willow Warbler and two Marsh Tits loosely tagging along with my first roving mixed flock of the season in the latter area. Also at New Piece, a Hobby was noisily flying about and carrying food, which was encouraging to see. A Firecrest was singing near the north-west corner of Burton Mill Pond itself, while the usual Little Owl was again out on the fence at Burton Park Farm. A Peregrine and at least 25 Sand Martins were over Chingford Pond. The best of the ducks, meanwhile, were single female Gadwall and Mandarin on Chingford Pond with nine and four ducklings, respectively. 

Gadwall female and ducklings

Little Owl

Peregrine

29th June

A check of Southlands Farm, West Chiltington on my way to Knepp again produced a Green Sandpiper plus an impressive 60 Mallards squeezed onto the little pool there.

In the afternoon a short walk from home through the local farmland out to the river at Thorndale Bridge proved fairly quite, aside from a Hobby high over Amberley Wildbrooks and a mixed flock of around 30 Swallows and Sand Martins feeding over the river.

Back at Knepp in the evening for a dusk safari which turned into a mini owl-fest, with Barn Owl seen a couple of times around the white route, and a Tawny Owl in flight just west of the campsite. Rather more out of context was a Reed Warbler singing in dense sallow in the stork enclosure, while I popped by to watch some of the team ringing another stork nest.

30th June

Half an hour on the tea terrace at Pulborough this morning, scanning the South Brooks. It was an enjoyable and productive session including one of the White-tailed Eagles perched up on a gatepost, the lingering Great White Egret at West Mead and two Hobbies flying over Hollybush Hill towards the heath. 

An enjoyable safari at Knepp this morning, the highlight of which was finding a Turtle Dove for my group of students (who'd never seen one), which gave prolonged views of its singing and preening. 

Turtle Dove

A rare foray into Surrey in the evening for the Surrey Bird Club AGM saw me dropping into one of my old haunts - Papercourt GPs. Not a huge amount of interest here aside from 26 Egyptian Geese roosting near the sailing club, and two Ring-necked Parakeets flying over (only my fifth UK record this year!)

1st July

A short walk and skywatch round the local farmland this morning didn't produce much aside from a Peregrine low and fast over north towards Lodge Hill.

Early afternoon I headed over to Pulborough Brooks with Kate and B to catch up with my old friend Steven. A couple of hours around the main trail proved enjoyably productive, with highlights including the Great White Egret still with at least five Little Egrets at West Mead, the two White-tailed Eagles, two White Storks on the North Brooks along with 24 Black-tailed Godwit, at least 9 Little Ringed Plover and a lone Green Sandpiper. A rather late Cuckoo flew over Uppertons Field, followed later by a Hobby, while a female Tufted Duck with six ducklings at West Mead represented my first breeding record here. 

Great and Little Egrets at Pulborough

Ringlet

2nd July

No birding today.