And back to April

Swift and Swallow carry me

Above the deepest sea

And back to April...

- lyrics from 'April' by Hope & Social

I've always loved April. Perhaps it's because it's my birth month. Perhaps it's because it's when the summer birds really start coming back in numbers. Either way, it's a month that's full of promise, flowers and, often, the first real warmth of spring. 

We've had a bit of all the above in the past couple of weeks. In fact, on the 7th Pulborough recorded the highest temperature anywhere in that UK that day. The yearlist is also steadily creeping up; it's that wonderful time when almost every day brings a new arrival or two.

1st April

Not a huge amount of birding today due to various other commitments. A family walk at Burton and Chingford Ponds mid-morning was largely pretty quiet, aside from at least 7-8 singing Chiffchaffs and singing Woodlark and Firecrest. Three Great Crested Grebes were on Burton Pond while a lone drake Mandarin was on Chingford Pond. 

2nd April

A much more encouraging start to the day, with cloud, some light drizzle and a bit of a north/north-easterly breeze, making it feel quite a bit colder than the 7 Celsius air temperature. I headed out early for a whistle-stop tour of local sites. First up, the private reservoir over near Petworth which proved fairly lively, with a single Swallow among at least 40 Sand Martins, 2 Little Ringed Plover and my first Willow Warbler of the year, singing softly in trees nearby. It was a bit of a seasons collide moment here, as there were still a dozen Redwings and a couple of Fieldfares about too.

Fittleworth Water Meadows got a look-in briefly in passing but yielded little, although it is looking cracking for Garganey at the moment - three Shoveler were the best ducks I could find today.

An hour at Waltham Brooks was particularly good, producing 46 species, including my first two House Martins of the year feeding over the main lake with around 50 Sand Martins and 2-3 Swallows. There had clearly been another fall of Chiffchaffs, with at least a dozen singing around the place. Nothing spectacular, but my liveliest local morning of the spring so far, with two 10km year ticks, while the House Martins were my 100th species within 1km of home this year. 

By late morning the cloud was beginning to clear a bit, as forecast, and news broke of an Alpine Swift down at Chichester GPs. Normally, I would resist the urge to twitch but, as it was a Sussex tick just 20 minutes from home, and Kate and I were out anyway, we decided to pop down. Typically, I arrived to find that it had flown off strongly about half an hour beforehand, but it was still great to see my first two Little Gulls of the year feeding over West Trout Lake.

Little Gull

3rd April

The first frost for a little while. I headed over to Pulborough Brooks for a bit of a session there this morning, which began with promise in the form of a Swallow over the visitor centre then a singing Willow Warbler down the ZigZag. The North Brooks seemed quiet aside from a scattering of the usual ducks, but then Juliet Moore text to inform me of a drake Garganey on the South Brooks. I hurried to the viewpoint behind the Hanger and managed to get very distant views of it, right over by the river bank. Heading round to Winpenny, I caught up with Juliet, Chris and Alan there, where we enjoyed brief views of a Water Pipit (presumably the same individual that has been around since January) as well as 2-3 Swallows and at least 10 Sand Martins feeding out over the water. A Chiffchaff was noted nest building near the hide and on the way back up top I saw a Woodlark briefly song flighting above Uppertons Field before dropping back down into the grass.

A lunchtime 1k walk was very pleasant indeed in the now warm sunshine but largely uneventful aside from a Brimstone butterfly, a clear fall of Chiffchaffs and a 'new in' Blackcap singing on the edge of Lodge Hill. 

4th April

Another cold and frosty start and a day in which I hadn't planned to do much birding, due to work commitments. Sometimes though, those end up being the best days! A dawn walk around the local farmland proved to be really enjoyable. A hunting Barn Owl down at Wharf Field near Thorndale Bridge was followed by a singing Blackcap and a rather late Redwing, then, best of all, my earliest ever singing Nightingale in scrub between River Lane and Waltham Brooks.

Barn Owl

It only gave a few phrases but it was unmistakable. Sadly, when I tried to get a bit closer, it stopped singing and there was no further sign. Garden birding on and off during the day produced lots of Buzzard action and a few Swallows flying over. 

5th April

A cloudy start to the day after a couple of days of easterlies seemed like good fall conditions. I headed out early on foot, through the local farmland towards Waltham Brooks. Yesterday's Nightingale was still present and singing on and off, while there seemed to be even more Chiffchaffs around the place. At Waltham Brooks there were at least 3 Sedge Warblers singing in the vicinity of the main lake, with two engaging in some territorial scuffling. A Stonechat was singing near the railway crossing too. Gulls were in evidence, moving overhead, including Mediterranean Gull - first a very vocal flock of 19 which flew north-west from Amberley towards Lodge Hill, followed by at least four in with a flock of Black-headeds going north. 

Grey Wagtail

Mediterranean Gulls

6th April

A bit of overnight rain, followed by low cloud and a brisk south-westerly had me thinking it was a water body kind of morning. I headed over to the private site near Petworth which quickly produced a Little Ringed Plover flying around calling over the farmland, followed by ~35 Sand Martins, 2 Swallows and a House Martin feeding over the reservoir; the latter my first of the year here. Best of all though, was a Redshank which announced itself first by its mournful call (don't they always?) before I got eyes on it on the far bank. After a little while it took flight through the cloud of hirundines and disappeared purposefully east. Amazingly, considering I have recorded Spotted Redshank and Greenshank here, this was my first site record of Redshank!

Redshank

A check of Burton Mill Pond on the way home produced 29 species in 20 minutes including a squealing Water Rail and a lone drake Mandarin. 

A walk round the hamlet and local fields at lunchtime produced a pair of Swallows on wires - my first 'local' pair seemingly back on territory, as they proceeded to feed merrily over the nearby horse paddock for the rest of my walk. Also of note were a Brimstone and my first Dark-edged Bee-fly of the year.

Swallows

7th April

It was a clear and still morning so I decided to head to local woodland for another go at Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Sadly I didn't connect, but did have at least four Mediterranean Gulls flying over Coldwaltham Farm, heading high west, calling. 

In the evening I was back at Knepp for my first proper safari of the year, the clear highlight of which was the first Nightingale of the year there, singing very briefly in the Southern Block while I was pouring drinks for the safari guests. This was followed later on by a rather incongruous Woodcock, flying out of the stable yard at New Barn Farm through the headlights of the 4x4 buggy I was driving. 

8th April

My birthday and I was dropped off at Pulborough Brooks fairly early where Steve B and Paul D were waiting for me, later joined by other friends, and we did a full circuit of the nature trail. Sadly the thick fog was slow to clear but, when it did, we enjoyed good views of three pairs of Avocet on the North Brooks and my first Whitethroat of the year along Adder Alley. Late morning we headed down to Rackham Viewpoint where we quickly found one of the White-tailed Eagles along with a lone drake Garganey (there were at least three here yesterday).

A short walk round the local fields in the evening produced the Nightingale singing again. It seems to be getting gradually more vocal by the day.

9th April

Another rather misty start but thankfully nowhere near as bad as yesterday. I headed out early across the local farmland towards Waltham Brooks. The Nightingale was in good voice in the scrub near Besley Farm. Highlights at Waltham Brooks, meanwhile, were my first 1km Whitethroat of the year, at least three Sedge Warblers and a single Snipe. 

Roe Deer

Whitethroat

10th April

A very wet start so I didn't get out straight away. A late morning walk round the 1km area was largely without any fireworks until near the end when I found a singing Nightingale up Sandy Lane on the edge of Watersfield Common - my second 1k record so far this spring. As it's our first spring in the area, it's going to be really interesting to see how many of these guys breed locally.

Early afternoon I headed over to the farmland and private reservoir near Petworth. There wasn't much of note on the reservoir itself aside from an increase in Tufted Duck (20), a lone Great Crested Grebe and a few Swallows and Sand Martins. Passerine interest in the surrounding fields was better through with (at last!) my first Wheatears of the year (both male and female) hopping about in a potato field, and a singing Willow Warbler nearby.

Wheatear

11th April

A fine but breezy start to the day. I decided to venture out on foot from home to do the loop to Waltham Brooks via the river and the local farm fields. The farmland and river didn't produce much but a nice selection of warblers awaited me at Waltham Brooks including my first two Reed Warblers of the year (already reported by Wes A on Sunday), along with at least three Sedge Warblers and two each of Whitethroat and Willow Warbler. Around 60 Sand Martins were hawking around over the main lake. Heading towards the railway line I could hear a Nightingale singing and, as I got nearer, I realised it was two males engaging in a bit of a vocal duel. Unusually, I got brief views of both them, perched out in the open in a willow before they disappeared back into the scrub.

Later in the morning two House Martins flew west over the house and a singing Skylark was audible from the garden - the first time that's happened since we moved in. 

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