The season of letting go

So then, farewell to October. At a pinch one of my absolute favourite months of the year and which this year produced five local year ticks and a pleasing selection of memorable moments, in spite of birding with my arm in a sling for the most part and being unable to drive. 

This last ten-day period of the month always feels somewhat tinged with melancholy. It's hard not to feel as though autumn has peaked somewhat by the last week of October and that we are inescapably careering into the long darkness of winter, especially when the clocks change and any last hopes of evening birding are extinguished for the next three or four months. 

This year, October went out with a bang, as a series of Atlantic weather systems brought torrential rain which, combined with a period of spring tides, saw the Arun overtopping its banks in many places in the Pulborough area. The flooding in turn attracted my first local Little Gull of the year on the 31st - just a couple of days after my second local record of Long-tailed Duck in two years - and I finally joined the Short-eared Owl party in what looks to be the best autumn/winter for the species in several years. 

21st October

Not loads of time for birding today owing to family stuff but the loop from home to Waltham Brooks and back through the farmland produced a few bits of interest. Over 200 ducks were on the main lake at Waltham, mostly Teal and Mallard though with a handful of Shoveler (2), Gadwall (3-4) and Wigeon (8) mixed in. They were very flighty and at one stage had a single Snipe among them as they flew circuits around the place. Oddly, the only raptors noted were two rather distant Red Kites, so I'm not entirely sure what the wildfowl were getting upset about! A few Siskins and Redpolls were about and there were two Stonechats in the scrub near the railway line.

Wigeon

                                            

Teal

22nd October

No real birding today but notable by their movement at both Bignor and Fittleworth during family activities were a steady stream of Red Admirals moving through, mostly south-west.

23rd October

I was at Knepp all day today for an excellent beaver workshop so not much birding time, but of note here were three Fieldfares and a single Siskin over towards the western side of the estate (near the beaver enclosure, in fact). 

Here be beavers!

24th October

A mixed bag this morning started with 80 minutes' vismigging from the high ground above Watersfield. It was generally fairly quiet, certainly in terms of thrushes and finches, though there was a distinct increase in Woodpigeons and Stock Doves moving south-west, though still only modest numbers (150 and 69, respectively). Best of all were 20 Pintail (15 south/5 north) over Lodge Hill which may have been local wintering birds arriving in the area, but it was still quite cool to see them 'migging' over open country.

A stroll over to Waltham Brooks later in the morning produced a Great White Egret dropping in near the main lake, a few Skylarks and Siskins over, and a flock of 40 Wigeon flying towards Widney Brooks. A Woodlark flew north-east over the farmland near home. My seventh record of this species within the 1km area in the past four weeks - pretty remarkable!

An evening vigil at Thorndale Bridge proved to be enjoyable but didn't yield the hoped-for Short-eared Owl, despite one seen upriver near Pulborough this afternoon. At least six Marsh Harriers flew past to roost, while one of the adult White-tailed Eagles was upsetting the geese over at Amberley and a Yellowhammer flew over among the many Reed Buntings heading to roost. 

25th October

Rain early morning was slow to clear but mid-morning I headed up to Alban Head for a couple of hours' vismigging which proved quite lively. Highlights were two more single Woodlarks east, 54 Wigeon north (20, 11 and 23), 31 Fieldfare north/north-west and a few Redpolls about. I also heard Crossbill but didn't see it. Back home for lunch and another Woodlark flew north/north-east past the bedroom window. It really is remarkable how many records of this species I've had locally recently.

Another late afternoon session on the river bank at Thorndale Bridge wasn't quite as exciting as yesterday but produced a single juvenile Marsh Harrier, a White-tailed Eagle in the usual tree over at Amberley, around 100 Teal flying upriver and a pair of Mandarins flying downriver. 

26th October

A late start this morning owing to unwelcome rain which put paid to any planned attempts at another proper vismig session. I decided instead to head to Waltham Brooks via the local farmland. Almost immediately I realised there were actually a few bits moving after the rain with first a couple of Grey Wagtails west followed by a Peregrine circling briefly overhead before flying towards Amberley. Even better, this was followed around ten minutes later by a smart adult Mediterranean Gull cruising south with a couple of Black-headed Gulls - my fifth 1km area record this year and the first since June. 

As I approached the railway line at Waltham Brooks I heard a Golden Plover calling somewhere to the east but never got eyes on it. Still, it was my 133rd species for the reserve. It proved quite lively here this morning, with 57 species recorded in two hours including Kingfisher, Marsh Harrier, Water Rail and two Stonechats. Wigeon numbers have really increased locally now, as evidenced by the flock of ~200 which flew north, in addition to the 11 kicking about on the reserve. A distant second winter Great Black-backed Gull south-west over Lodge Hill was only my second record for the reserve. 

Looking west from the river bank at Waltham Brooks

Greatham Bridge

Late afternoon I again headed over to Thorndale Bridge in the hope of a Short-eared Owl but no such luck. In fact the only real highlight here was a lone juvenile Marsh Harrier which powered south over Amberley, presumably heading to roost.

27th October

Kate kindly dropped me at Pulborough Brooks this morning for a couple of hours, my first visit here for almost three weeks! It's amazing to think that once upon a time I could barely tolerate missing a day here. The water levels had increased a great deal since my last visit and all the action was on the now very wet South Brooks which held two Ruff, five Dunlin and around 80 Black-tailed Godwits among the usual Lapwings and wildfowl. It was nice to see quite a few Pintail among the ducks here (at least ten) including my first proper smart drakes of the season. At least five each of Redpoll and Fieldfare were about around the trail while the North Brooks was curiously quiet save for a couple of hundred Canada Geese and a lone Shelduck. 

Another early evening stakeout on the river at Thorndale Bridge again proved fruitless on the owl front but I was rewarded for wading almost up to welly depth through flood water by a smart adult male Marsh Harrier (plus sub-adult male and juvenile) hunting just the other side of the river, flushing 25 Snipe in the process. 

Marsh Harrier

Snipe

Nocmig has been very quiet so far this autumn, but last night the microphone picked up a nice Barn Owl calling close to the garden. 

28th October

Family stuff today so no real birding but a short local walk early afternoon produced a Marsh Harrier briefly circling over Watersfield before drifting north-west over Lodge Hill. 

29th October

A very wet night gave way to a morning of sunny spells and squally showers. A short break in the downpours allowed for a quick check of the private reservoir near Petworth (thanks to a lift from Mrs Matt) which produced a couple of surprises. Firstly, a late Swallow over the ploughed field to the north of the reservoir which also held 25 Pied Wagtails and a few Meadow Pipits and Linnets. Secondly, a Long-tailed Duck on the reservoir itself. This was particularly unexpected, as it's coming up a year to when I found one here during a WeBS count in November 2022, that bird went on to stay until the end of December. I really struggle with aging and sexing female type Long-tailed Ducks in winter garb, so would welcome any comment, but have included photos below of today's bird and last winter's bird. Could it be the same one? If so, the likelihood is it surely must be a roaming feral bird. If not, perhaps today's is a genuine storm-blown individual which by some extraordinary coincidence has found its way to the same site as its predecessor. Otherwise, it is was usual fare on the reservoir, though a Great Crested Grebe was my first here since July. 

Today's Long-tailed Duck

And the 2022 bird...

Pied Wagtail

30th October

More heavy rain this morning delayed me heading out on foot from home, and scrapping my planned attempt at a vismig session. Instead I did the full loop out to Waltham Brooks, around the main lake and down the river bank. The water levels had increased dramatically since my last visit, with some of the paths entirely impassable (I had to get out onto the road in order to access the river bank from the north-western corner of the reserve. Avian highlights included a late group of eight Swallows feeding over the river and the north-western side of Amberley, a flock of ~40 Fieldfares over Greatham Bridge and good numbers of ducks - perhaps unsurprising given the water! Around 90 Wigeon flew north while at least 140 Teal were flying about plus a few Shoveler and Gadwall. As I was heading bak from the river bank towards the sewage works a Hummingbird Hawkmoth whizzed past heading purposefully south towards Amberley. 

Looking across the swollen River Arun towards Amberley

A very flooded Waltham Brooks

Continuing the theme of summer migrant stragglers, while working on the computer at home mid-afternoon I glanced up and out of the window towards Waltham Brooks and noticed a bird that on initial appearance seemed to be moving like a large hirundine. When I got bins on and realised it was a falcon and that it was clearly feeding on flying insects, the penny dropped that I was looking at my latest ever Hobby in the UK! I watched it for a minute or two before it drifted off south and I lost it behind trees. 

Late afternoon I decided to attempt my first drive for over a month. I didn't go far but had a quick look at the now very flooded scrape at Hadworth Farm in West Burton (my first check of this site since it dried up back in May) which produced a distant Green Sandpiper, a pair of Gadwall and seven Red-legged Partridge - the latter a good bird this close to home. I don't tend to see many of them away from the Downs round here. I then carried on a bit further to Burton Mill Pond, for my first visit here since before my accident (so around six weeks). An hour stakeout from the viewing platform produced the usual Cormorants flying in to roost (51 tonight) plus a few Little Egrets (9), Pied Wagtails (at least 25), Starlings (70) and Jackdaws (230). Two Water Rails were squealing in the reeds and a Kingfisher flew across the pond a couple of times.

Green Sandpiper

Little Egrets

31st October

A mostly fine morning after overnight rain and seemingly the last calm one of the week, with stormy conditions on the way as October gives way to November. I started this morning's local birding session with a relatively short vismig session up at Alban Head to the west of Watersfield. Despite the clement conditions, there really didn't appear to be much moving at all, despite some large counts of Woodpigeon in other locations in the south this morning. Highlights from 90 minutes here were singles of Crossbill and Yellowhammer north-west and a few Skylarks going in various directions, and two Red Admirals. 

I decided to head up to Watersfield Common and Waltham Park for a bit of a change, in the hope of finding some finches and other passerines. Watersfield Common delivered straight away with a single Crossbill and a flock of at least 15 Lesser Redpoll, followed by two showy Firecrests. Crossbill featured again at Waltham Park with one flying south at the same moment two late House Martins flew high south-east - not quite my latest ever in the UK but it's still pretty remarkable I've had Hobby and two hirundine species on the last two days of October! Other bits from here were seven Siskin and 11 Redpoll flying over, presumably all Lesser.             

A great little afternoon session up at Pulborough proved to be a perfect way to finish my October local birding campaign. I'd actually just popped up to the village to get a few bits from the shops when news broke of a Little Gull over the floodwater between the North Brooks and the village hall. I dashed down to near our old house and quickly picked up the gull - an adult - resting on the water, before taking flight again and hawking for a few minutes. It repeated this routine a few times before eventually flying off with a small group of Black-headed Gulls. While this was going on my attention was drawn to a bird sailing right over my head which I quickly realised was a Short-eared Owl! Steve Chalmers reported one from his nearby garden a few days ago and presumably the same bird was seen over the North Brooks at the weekend, so it wasn't a surprise to see, but something about an SEO always gets the blood pumping! It dropped in towards the river bank where it was promptly chased off by a Magpie, then it gained height and flew towards the North Brooks. Here it continued to gained height, with an irate Rook in tow, until it was just a dot, then drifted off south - presumably in search of somewhere less flooded to hunt.

Short-eared Owl

Little Gull

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

Approaching 150

2018 has been my first full year patching at Pulborough. While I'm not interested in competing with anyone else I did think it'd be fun to try and do a bit of a 'big year' and see how many species I could record here in twelve months, which is why I registered Pulborough as my patch on Patchwork Challenge.

Not long into the year, Dave Buckingham suggested I should have a good chance of getting 150, which I promptly scoffed at. Having only patch watched Surrey sites before, anything much over a hundred seemed good going to me. Come late spring though and Whinchat took me to 140 and I began to realise perhaps it wasn't such an impossible total after all. Things got decidedly stagnant in the summer and there have been some gripping dips along the way for sure, most notably Cattle Egret and countless Ospreys, but yesterday I notched up species 148 in the form of a female/immature Merlin causing havoc on the Mid Brooks - always an exciting bird to encounter. This one even had the good grace to perch for a couple of minutes in a tree (obviously didn't get the memo about Merlins not doing that) where it gave great views before being chased off by Crows.

Merlin

The recent rain has really boosted the water levels and it's good to see the Brooks bursting back to life now, with Pintail and Black-tailed Godwit numbers in particular beginning to get impressive - 110+ and 42+ today, respectively.

Other bits of note this weekend have been the continued presence of Short-eared Owl. One was seen quartering over the North Brooks from home on Saturday afternoon while this morning one drifted in high from the south and over my head near Winpenny - evidently a newly-arrived migrant as by dusk there were three hunting together over the North Brooks along with a couple of Barn Owls. A Woodcock flew up through Hanger Wood as I passed this morning - not a bird I've seen a huge amount of at PB, surprisingly - while a male Marsh Harrier was quartering down at Hail's View.

Short-eared Owl coming in this morning

Pulborough round-up, late October

Great to finally complete the set of British Owls on my Pulborough list recently with the addition of Short-eared Owl, seen first from behind the visitor centre on the evening of the 23rd then subsequently added to the garden list the following evening, seen over the North Brooks from my attic - then again on Sunday evening quartering up and down the banks of the Stor.

Short-eared Owl over the North Brooks on Sunday. Photo by Istvan Radi

Keeping with the (sort of) nocturnal theme, the nocmig adventures continue as I'm still working through the past week's backlog of recordings. A recent highlight was what sounded like at least two or three Brent Geese flying over not long after midnight on the 19th. There's always a few vismig records of this species in the southeast at this time of year as they 'cut the corner' from the east coast to the south coast, but still a nice one to get on nocmig and only my second record since I started recording at the end of last year.

Other highlights from the past weekend were at least three each of Marsh Harrier (including an adult male) and Red Kite on Saturday plus two Shelduck, a Little Egret and a heard only Water Rail below the Hanger. Duck numbers continue to increase with at least four hundred Wigeon and eight Pintail on Sunday. Eighteen hundred Woodpigeons flew southwest in an hour on Saturday morning, while down on the South Brooks a White-fronted Goose bearing a red leg ring was in with the Greylags - presumably not a wild bird as I believe it's been seen on and off a few times in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, on Sunday morning Paul had a Ruff with the Lapwings at Hail's View; a species that has been notable by its absence at Pulborough this autumn, especially compared to last year when we had a pretty remarkable count of 26 together on one day in late September. Presumably not a good breeding season for them, as has been the case for many shorebirds it seems.

Gary Trew had a ringtail Hen Harrier over the South Brooks yesterday and a Dunlin with the Lapwings on the North Brooks, while the Hen Harrier showed again today for Russ Tofts followed by another Short-eared Owl sighting and Woodock over the car park via Gary T.