Mid July

11th July

Today was one of the few oddly really fine, sunny and reasonably warm days we have had so far this month. I woke up reasonably early but wasn't feeling terribly inspired by the weather to produce much, bird-wise, so just did a short stroll round the local farm fields first thing. Surprisingly, given the weather, there seemed to be a bit of Swift movement going on, with over a hundred noted drifting west in around 10-15 minutes, likely more than this but tricky to count them all from the relatively low level here. Paul Stevens down at Bury also noted a similar movement so it was a reasonably broad front. 

By the time I headed out again a bit later it seemed the Swifts seemed to have dried up, although a heard-only flyover Siskin at Waltham Brooks was my first sign of post-breeding dispersal of this species locally this year. A Nightingale was also calling in the scrub near the road bridge, but it was an otherwise quiet and brief session here. I spent the rest of the day over at Ashdown Forest for work, where I noted lots of calling Siskins and a couple of Marsh Tits. 

Returning to West Sussex late afternoon, still bathed in warm sunshine, I decided to head up Amberley Mount for a brief walk from Downs Farm, where highlights included a Little Owl on one of the farm buildings and a Painted Lady whizzing around right up the top of the hill. 

Little Owl

Painted Lady

12th July

Relatively scant birding opportunity today, though brief checks of Petworth and the local farmland near home both yielded Hobby, typically dashing through low over the farmland at the former, while the Watersfield one was thermalling high with a couple of Ravens for a while before dropping down low and terrorising the Swifts and Swallows. 

13th July

Not much time for birding again today but I did manage to squeeze in a half hour look at Waltham Brooks, which proved pretty quiet aside from a Sedge Warbler busily taking food into a bramble clump near the main lake, out of which also came a female Blackcap and a particularly scruffy-looking Whitethroat.

Sedge Warbler

14th July

An early start this morning for a couple of local wetland site visits. Sadly, Petworth was completely fogged out and I gave up after an hour of staring into the murk here. A heard-only Greenshank was my first of the year at this site, but otherwise nothing much to report really. Onto Pulborough Brooks where I met up with Steve Baines and, later, Paul Evans. The bulk of the interest here was on the North Brooks so we mostly stationed ourselves at the Hanger viewpoint for most of the two hour session. A respectable seven species of wader were feeding on the pools on the North Brooks - at least three Little Ringed Plover, six Green Sandpipers, ten Black-tailed Godwits, three Avocet, a dozen or so Lapwings and singles of Dunlin and Common Sandpiper.

North Brooks, Pulborough

Later in the day a Hobby drifted over the garden; more or less a daily event of late. 

15th July

I had this morning off in lieu of working on Saturday so decided to make the most of it on the birding front. Sadly, the switch to an easterly airflow meant thick fog at dawn, so I had to wait for that to clear before heading out. An hour at Waltham Brooks produced a respectable 46 species, though nothing too noteworthy. As I arrived, a Peregrine was flying south overhead with prey while a female Marsh Harrier was quartering over the reserve briefly before flying north. There was still plenty of song from the breeding Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers, and a Willow Warbler was calling softly from the sallows in the main lake - my first post-breeding/dispersing record of this species locally this season. 

Next up I headed over to Petworth for a bit of a stakeout as the forecast rain was due to arrive. It took its time coming but did eventually set in late morning, though sadly failed to produce anything of note. A juvenile gull which flew west distantly to the south had all the hallmarks of Yellow-legged, but was just rather too far and rather too brief a sighting for me to be one hundred percent confident to add it to the year list. It would also have been a site tick for this hotspot, sadly one that got away on this occasion. Clearly there was a bit of light gull movement going on though as I also noted two Black-headed Gulls and a Lesser Black-backed Gull flying west, and two Black-headed Gulls also flew high south over Waltham Brooks earlier in the day. 

Hobby

16th July

An early stakeout at Petworth this morning failed to produce any goodies, as the originally forecast thundery downpours failed to materialise and the wind had swung back to the south-west.

Yellowhammer

Heavy rain did arrive later in the morning, just as I decided to drop in at Pulborough. It wasn't really worth the soaking as the North Brooks had topped up considerably since the weekend and held noticeably fewer waders as a result. Highlights were three Avocet, two Little Ringed Plover, four Green Sandpipers and 25 Lapwing. 60 or more Sand Martins and a few Swallows were feeding low over the reserve. 

An afternoon check of Waltham Brooks proved similarly quiet, with just a few House Martins feeding over the lake which held some 65 Mallards and a few Gadwall and Shoveler. 

17th July

An early check of the reservoir at Petworth this morning produced little of note on the deck, although there were signs of a hint of movement overhead in the form of five Black-headed Gulls very high south-west and a Grey Heron flying north. 

A stroll round the local fields at lunchtime in warm sunshine was very pleasant and most notable for the increase in butterflies. Certainly the most I have seen locally so far this summer, including quite a few Large Whites. It was also nice to see a couple of Sand Martins perched on wires with around 30 Swallows. Not a species I often get time to study well in a stationary position!

Sand Martin

Late afternoon it was good to catch up with David Campbell for a stroll at Waltham Brooks, where highlights included a Great Egret on the main lake plus a juvenile Tufted Duck and five juvenile Shovelers. Also good numbers of butterflies here including a beautifully fresh Peacock, my first of the second brood season.

Shoveler

Great White Egret

Peacock

18th July

First time I've managed to get out early for a while for a dawn stroll over to Waltham Brooks and back. It was all very quiet really, with no sign of any of the Great Egret or scarcer ducks from yesterday evening. A few Swifts were drifting about and some 40 or so Sand Martins moved east/south-east over t

the main lake. 

A lunchbreak skywatch on the way back from Woods Mill early afternoon produced a distant female Honey Buzzard circling with Common Buzzards for around ten minutes, my first HB sighting of the year at this particular site which has yielded successful breeding in previous years. 

19th July

Not very much time for birding today owing to me attending the National Trust south-east Rangers conference up in Buckinghamshire for most of the middle of the day. A check of the reservoir at Petworth proved quiet aside from a few Swifts, and an adult Black-headed Gull flying high south-west. 

On my way home from the conference I stopped briefly to stretch my legs along the Rother at Fittleworth where 25 or more House Martins were feeding low over the fields and the river, with smaller numbers of Swifts, Swallows and a couple of Sand Martins among them. 

20th July

Checking the moth trap first thing was gave rather slim pickings. A few new ones for the garden list though including Drinker, Chinese Character and Brown-tail. A brief look at Waltham Brooks on my way to lead a butterfly safari at Knepp didn't produce a great deal, despite the promising conditions. Duck numbers continue to increase on the main lake with a few Gadwall and two Teal among at least 50 Mallards this morning. 11 butterfly species was the total from the butterfly safari at Knepp, though sadly Purple Emperor and Marbled White eluded us; most of these sadly battered into submission by the heavy rain earlier in the week. 

Drinker moth

Chinese Character

A detour to Petworth on the way home produced a few bits including at least 40 each of Swifts and House Martin feeding over the fields and reservoir. The highlight though was my first local Common Gull for three months, which dropped into the reservoir with 25 Herring Gulls and a couple of Black-headed Gulls. It was also interesting to see a number of Little Grebes hauled out on the shoreline, I can't recall seeing that behaviour from this species before. 

Common Gull

Little Grebes

Ne'er cast a clout

It's always a bit odd being away from home at this time of year, especially a totally different country. After eight days in Türkiye with Ed Stubbs and Dave Brassington (my first overseas trip for four years - blog post on that coming soon, once I've sorted through the hundreds of photos!), it was a bit of a shock to the system to return to England just as spring is about done and dusted here. Indeed, as I'm writing this we are now just a few hours away from the start of meteorological summer, though you would be forgiven for thinking otherwise if you've spent more than a few minutes in the north-easterly wind in the past few days!

This year, perhaps more than ever, I've felt on a number of occasions as though I've wished it possible to press pause on spring, just for a few days. As ever, it's been a frenetic rollercoaster ride of a season from a birding perspective and, in many ways, felt more 'normal' weather-wise too. Perhaps that's why I feel a little bit robbed having reached summer already when it feels like spring only really properly got going a few weeks ago.

Still, May has delivered some great surprises locally, not least the Golden Oriole I found at Knepp last week, combined with the added excitement of seeing what scarce species are settling down to breed in the area. And all to a backdrop of blissful Hawthorn fragrance, in what must be one of the most spectacular displays for this species in recent years. I'm not sure about casting the clouts just yet though...

20th May

My first full day back in England saw me heading down to Dorset with Kate and B for a family wedding. Not much to report on the bird front really aside from a few Mediterranean Gulls low over the A27 and a Firecrest calling by the petrol station near Stoney Cross. 

At the wedding venue near Dorchester highlights included several flyover Ravens along with a Peregrine.

21st May

An impressive dawn chorus at the Winyard's Gap inn near Beaminster included Cuckoo and a rather out of context flyover Siskin. 

Back in Sussex later in the day and the first local walk for over a week produced a few Swifts, the first local Starling fledglings of the year and a Pied Wagtail carrying food. 

22nd May

WeBS count a day late this morning, and the private site near Petworth produced just a Common Sandpiper, a couple of Gadwall and a singing Cuckoo of note. Later in the morning, a walk round woodland near Fittleworth produced three Cuckoos (two singing males and a bubbling female) as well as a Spotted Flycatcher investigating nest holes.

En route back from a Knepp Nightingale Safari later, I stopped off briefly by the heath at Pulborough to hear my first UK churring Nightjar of the year. 

23rd May

Highlights from a Knepp safari this morning included a Knepp tick Common Sandpiper in flight over the Hammer Pond along with a Kingfisher and active Great Crested Grebe nest here.

On the way home I again stopped off for a lunchtime session at Pulborough - my first proper daytime visit for a couple of weeks. My main target was the Turnstone found earlier in the day by Gary T. I'm pleased to say I quickly connected with this at Winpenny (only my second on the reserve), from where I also enjoyed good views of at least 15 Ringed Plover, two Black-tailed Godwits and a single Greenshank, while Whimbrel and Little Ringed Plover were heard here but not seen. Non-wader highlights included singing Cuckoo, at least 5 Nightingales and a late female Pintail on the North Brooks. 

Turnstone and Ringed Plover (typically distant!)

Black-tailed Godwit

24th May

Back at Knepp this morning for another White Stork Safari, which turned into a really memorable one! It had been good anyway, with great views of the various chicks on the stork nests, plus at least three Turtle Doves. Just as I was preparing to wrap up and take the group back to base, a familiar but somewhat out of context song caught my attention and I suddenly realised I was listening to a Golden Oriole - in Sussex! A first for me round these parts and a lifer for many of my group, we followed the sound of its whistling and screeching, managing to get pretty close to it, but sadly never managed to clap eyes on it. It was heard again by others later in the day but seemingly gone by the following morning. 

Later in the day I swung past the private reservoir near Petworth, on my way up to Aldershot. The clear highlight here was my first view of a Ringed Plover on the deck at this site (previously only a heard only record last year). It was good to hear the Willow Warbler still singing nearby, which surely must be paired up by now. Quite an unusual breeding site if so.

25th May

Another busy day of safaris at Knepp, first in the Walled Garden in the morning, where the main highlights were moths and other inverts, although flyover Raven and Red Kite added some avian interest. I was back in the Southern Block in the afternoon for my first vehicle safari of the season, the best bit of which was a Kingfisher carrying a fish in flight across the Hammer Pond. 

26th May

After dropping B at nursery this morning I dropped in at Waltham Brooks for my first proper walk there in over two weeks. It turned out to be a good little session, with 50 species recorded in 50 minutes, including a Curlew low over the river and main lake, heading towards Coldwaltham village, 2 Little Egrets, a drake Shoveler and a few Gadwall on the main lake and at least 40 Sand Martins hawking overhead.

Curlew

Sedge Warbler

Late morning, one of the White-tailed Eagles was drifting about over the garden at home, while a short lunchtime walk round the local lanes and farmland was generally rather quiet aside from four Hobbies together over River Lane, and a few Swifts whizzing about too.

White-tailed Eagle

27th May

A full-on day of safari-ing at Knepp didn't leave any time for my own birding. Nonetheless, it was a great day on the estate, including Turtle Dove, Cuckoo and Nightingale singing simultaneously near Tory Copse (the same area the Golden Oriole was in on Wednesday). 

28th May

A dawn start this morning saw me heading over to Pulborough to enjoy some more of the protracted wader fest the reserve is hosting this spring. Sadly, the Sanderling (which would have been a site tick for me) from the previous day was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the Turnstone. Still, a decent selection of waders were on offer including 32 Ringed Plover, 5 Greenshank, a single Dunlin and 6 Avocet chicks from Winpenny and 2 Common Sandpipers and singles of Black-tailed Godwit and an unexpected breeding plumage Golden Plover on the North Brooks. Other highlights from 2.5 hours on the reserve included singing Cuckoo, and a pair of Shoveler on the Mid Brooks along with an unusually high count of 22 Gadwall. 

Recently fledged Rooks

29th May

Not much birding today aside from a couple of short-ish walks round the local fields and lanes, the highlights of which were the noisy post-breeding flock of Starlings (60-70 at least now) and a presumed family group of 4 Ravens, circling and tumbling high overhead. Nightingales were heard still singing briefly near Besley Farm and Thorndale Bridge.

30th May

After dropping B at nursery this morning I stopped at Waltham Brooks for another loop down the river and round the main lake. The blustery north-easterly was an unwelcome addition but there were still plenty of birds about: 44 species in less than an hour wasn't too bad. Highlights included two Cuckoos (a singing male over towards Amberley and a female in flight up the river) and an unusually high count of 14 Mute Swans (2 on the main lake and 12 on the river). A drake Shoveler was still loitering on the main lake among the Mallards and Gadwall too, which is one I'm keeping an eye on.

In the evening I headed over to the private site near Petworth again which produced a hundred-strong mixed flock of Swifts and Sand Martins feeding over the reservoir, with a few Swallows mixed in. No terns or waders of note though, sadly, though 4 Little Ringed Plovers were on the shoreline. 

31st May

Not loads of birding today, aside from leading a White Stork Safari at Knepp in the morning, highlights of which (aside from the many active stork nests) included great views of a Turtle Dove (and another heard only), Cuckoo and still a couple of Nightingales singing too.

In passing, I checked out the pool at Southlands Farm in West Chiltington which proved to be pretty productive for waders last year. At the moment, the water level is still too high so Coots, Egyptian and Canada Geese and Mallards were the order of the day. One I'll certainly be keeping an eye on in the coming weeks though.

Until May is out!

Elmley, 9th-10th September

Like most of us, Kate and I have been feeling in pretty dire need of a break this year, so we decided to have a night away at Elmley on Sheppey.

I've visited Sheppey many times for birding day trips over the years but always in the winter, and never stayed the night, so it made a nice change to be there at this time of year - and to wake up looking out across the Swale from our shepherds hut, 'Samphire'.

Highlights of the 36 or so hours included an Osprey fishing in the Swale, Barn Owl hunting right past the hut at dusk, Great Egret, Hobby, 8 Spotted Redshanks, thousands of Starlings and dozens of Yellow Wagtails.

We're booked in for another couple of nights next May and honestly can't wait!

Our home for the night - shepherds hut 'Samphire'

Swallows

Wheatear

Avocet

Spotted Redshanks

Black-tailed Godwits

Little Grebe

Brown Hare

Sedge Warbler