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. 

Patience

Another relatively quiet (and cold!) morning in Pulborough and Clandon got me thinking a little bit about patience - surely one of the most important traits for any birder. When Kate and I were last in South Africa a few years back, the owner of one of the guest houses we stayed at commented on my patience as I sat out in the garden for several hours watching thousands upon thousands of Cape Cormorants streaming past to roost. It was just a friendly, passing remark of course but it occurred to me that sitting in one place watching one landscape for one particular reason would seem to some people a terribly boring thing to do, I suppose; rather like being dragged to a gallery if one had little to no interest in or understanding of art, there's a certain kind of headspace that needs to be tapped into for one to appreciate something like watching birds for any real length of time. 

There are many kinds of patience required to be a birder, whether local patch workers hoping for the arrival of a particular species to add to the year list, vismiggers staring hopefully at empty skies or twitchers waiting for hours for a rarity to reappear. Right now, after months of cold, darkness and lockdown, most of us are eagerly awaiting the return of the early spring migrants. Few things can lift a birder's spirits at this time of year than the first Wheatear or Sand Martin, although the proliferation of bird news and social media posts can lead to a distinct feeling of FOMO and, yes, impatience, especially if we find ourselves a few days behind our peers in seeing that first returning sub-Saharan visitor

Today, after the cold start, turned into a pleasant, calm and relatively mild day, thanks to the shift in the wind direction to west/southwesterly after over a week of northeasterlies. Indeed, it may only have been a subtle change but there was an unmistakeable hint of southern promise to the air. As I strolled round the field at work during my teabreak, it had the feel of a quiet theatre just before a grand performance is about to begin. The stage is set, the audience are seated and the actors are on their way. All that’s needed is a little patience and all will be revealed. 

Good things come to those who wait... Wheatears in Clandon last spring

Every Little helps....

It's been over a decade since I saw my first ever Little Gull at Pulborough Brooks, and since I started regularly patch watching the reserve three years ago it's been a species I've wanted to catch up with again but failed to do so - until today!

The low cloud and hint of drizzle, combined with a shift to northeasterly wind, promised something in the way of a grounded migrant or two as I arrived at the Brooks this morning. The North Brooks was relatively quiet, but as soon as I sat down in Winpenny hide and scanned the South Brooks I picked up an adult Little Gull flying back and forth with its distinctive flight style, bobbing down to the water here and there to pick up a morsel or two.

After a while it landed and, as I struggled to get a photo or some video in the increasingly poor visibility, a second bird dropped out of the sky to join it. Later in the morning Paul Davy had two at nearby Widney Brooks and by lunchtime there were four at Pulborough.

I'm pleased to say this takes me to 105 for my Pulborough year list; my best start to a year here yet.

My shaky camera video attempt below of the first bird early morning, and a lovely slow-mo clip from Paul Davy.

Signs of spring

The water levels remain very high at Pulborough but it's still been an excellent week on the reserve, with several new birds for the year, taking the 2020 site total past the hundred mark, with my own year list now teetering on 99.

Despite the seemingly ceaseless barrage of Atlantic storms in recent weeks, the steady (and early!) emergence of various Prunus blossoms, Grey Willow catkins and early wild flowers in increasingly vibrant spells of sunshine truly herald the transitioning seasons - and the birds are playing ball too.

First up was a Brent Goose, of the pale-bellied race hrota, found by Gary Trew on the 25th, and still present as of today. Then on the 26th an unusually early drake Garganey turned up - possibly the first true spring migrant of the year. It's also stuck around for a few days, and was certainly still present as of Sunday. 

The weekend saw some signs of early wader movement with the first Redshank of the year at West Mead on Saturday - probably wondering where all its nesting habitat has gone, as site manager Julianne pointed out - followed by the first Curlew of the year on Sunday. Adding to the spring feel was a Chiffchaff flycatching and intermittently singing at Redstart Corner on Sunday morning, my first one on the reserve proper this year after one on the edge of the sewage works on 6th February. 

Winter isn't quite done with us yet, however, with three White-fronted Geese still present this morning plus the usual selection of ducks, though numbers are admittedly starting to dwindle.

Garganey at West Mead, 26th February. Photo: Chris & Juliet Moore

Redshank at West Mead, 29th February

Curlew at West Mead, 1st March

Chiffchaff at Redstart Corner, 1st March

Is this thing still on?

Can it really be a whole month since I posted anything on here? Been so busy with Extinction Rebellion stuff lately that birding has rather taken a bit of a back seat at times and blogging/catching up on nocmig even more so.

I'm not even going to attempt to summarise everything that's happened at Pulborough in the past five weeks or so and will simply endeavour to make my posts rather more 'little and often' from now on. Suffice to say it's been a relatively quiet spring so far with my own patch year list at least ten species down on this time last year and wader passage still yet to really get going. The cold northerly-dominated spell in late April/early May is clearly holding a lot of stuff back, it seems.

Highlights of the past week or so have been a lingering septet of Whimbrel - usually on the Mid Brooks although venturing onto the north side for a time on the 4th - a pair of Black-tailed Godwits and 1-2 Little Ringed Plovers. Gary Trew had an Oystercatcher on the 30th which sadly had gone by the time I got there in the evening. At least two singing Cuckoos are on site now with a third bird seen - possibly a female - in flight past Hail's View on the 4th. Nightingales were rather later arriving this year than last with the first singing male heard on the 15th. This was joined by at least another three over the next few days but this past weekend I've only been hearing a couple singing around the nature trail, so some have either moved on or quickly paired up and stopped singing.

Whimbrels at West Mead, photo by Paul Davy

Other bits of note from earlier in the spring were my first patch Osprey (at last!) over the North Brooks on 21st April and a Stone-curlew which I picked up on nocmig flying over on 22nd March. Two drake Garganeys were kicking around for a while in April but seem to have moved on now. Lapwings and Redshanks are again breeding in good numbers it seems, with the first Lapwing chicks already waddling about on the Mid Brooks and receiving much adoration from visitors.

Garganey on the North Brooks, 21st April

It may still have been chilly in the wind this morning but my first Broad-bodied Chaser and Dingy Skipper of the year were an encouraging sign of warmer days to come and mid to late May was when things started getting really good last year so I'm hopeful that spring isn't a total write-off just yet!

Greenshank at West Mead on 20th April

Amorous Redshanks at West Mead, 5th April

LRPs at West Mead, 5th April

Broad-bodied Chaser, 6th May

Dingy Skipper near Wiggonholt Church, 6th May

Kestrel at West Mead, 6th May

Med Gulls - this flock of 16 flew north on 12th April, part of what was a good passage for them this year

Stone-curlew over Pulborough, 22nd March

Pulborough, late March

As is so often the case, March this year delivered a rather hesitant trickle of migrants for most of the month before ending with a rush of arrivals in the last few days.

The first Little Ringed Plover of the year is always a very welcome sight and this year's came at Winpenny on the 17th (Steve Chastell/Paul Davy) with at least two or three present on a number of days later in the month and perhaps as many as five on the 31st with two on the South Brooks early afternoon and three from the Hanger in the evening.

Little Ringed Plover. Photo: Carey Lodge

Redshanks and Lapwings are both well and truly back on territory, with at least ten of the former around most days now, making their presence heard from all around the reserve!

The high pressure towards the end of the month slowed down any visible hirundine arrivals - many presumably cruising over at altitude - with just a handful of Sand Martins and a couple of Swallows and House Martins reported. That was until today when a shift to rather more unsettled weather and a brisk northeasterly brought down impressive numbers. Around two hundred mostly Sand Martins were feeding over the North Brooks this evening along with at least half a dozen Swallows. 

The widespread arrivals of Garganeys on the 23rd/24th initially fell rather short of Pulborough with a single drake found by Paul Davy at Waltham Brooks on the 24th. By the end of the week though a drake made a couple of appearances on the patch, first on the North Brooks on the 28th (Tracy Bain) then at Hail's View on the 29th (Alan Baker, C&J Moore, Paul Davy). By today there were two drakes and a female at Waltham, so presumably the Pulborough individual is among that trio. Hopefully I'll catch up with another on the patch at some point this year!

Black-tailed Godwits at West Mead

A female Merlin continues to be a fairly regular sight around the place, mostly recently flying low over the Hanger this evening, putting the wind up the hirundines out on the North Brooks (although it did make counting the latter a lot easier as they all flew up high in a tight flock!)

A first winter Little Gull was seen on the 15th and the 18th, while the long staying pair of White-fronted Geese at last departed this week, last reported on the 26th. 

The common warblers are certainly coming in thick and fast now with the first singing Willow Warbler in Black Wood from the 29th and at least a dozen Chiffchaffs and half a dozen Blackcaps noted on most visits.

Remarkably, aside from a distant glimpse of a probable from the Hanger this evening, I've managed to get through March without a single patch Wheatear, and I haven't heard of any reports from anyone else either. Hopefully there'll be one any day now - the forecast for the coming week doesn't look brilliant with just a whiff of southerlies on the cards on Thursday but the possible showers and northerly winds should bring down anything that does try to make it through. 

Onto nocmig and, when the wind at last abated, a series of night recordings in the third week of the month proved productive with Dunlin, Little Ringed Plover (video below) and a flurry of Common Scoter the highlights. As ever I've still got a backlog of recordings to go through so am looking forward to seeing what else was captured. For regular updates on my nocmigging check out Trektellen.

Pulborough, 23rd-25th March

A day off work on Friday saw me make a couple of visits to the Brooks in between other appointments, the overnight rain and rather more southerly winds filling me with hope for some new arrivals. The morning visit was a chilly affair but boosted by at least five singing Chiffchaffs around the nature trail; the most I've heard here, or anywhere for that matter, so far this year.

Chiffchaff

A hunting Peregrine caused havoc at West Mead and very nearly caught a Lapwing before coming down on the grass closer to the Arun. From Winpenny were a pair of Redshank, while a loud 'choo-wit!' which seemed to echo around the whole hide could have only come from a Spotted Redshank, but try as I might I couldn't locate the bird - I suspect it may have flown straight over. On the North Brooks were a single Dunlin, two Little Egrets and just seven Black-tailed Godwits. Gull numbers were higher than usual with at least 35 each of Common Gull and Herring Gull through during the morning visit, slightly fewer Black-headeds and five Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Sadly, try as I might, I couldn't find a Little Gull with them...

Peregrine

The afternoon visit, meanwhile, produced a pair of Stonechats and a squealing Water Rail at Hails View, and a single Redshank on the North Brooks, but best of all was a ringtail Hen Harrier hunting over towards the village - my first of the year here so grateful thanks indeed to the couple I was chatting to who alerted me to its presence. It briefly disappeared from view before we picked it up again, higher up and being chased towards the river by a Carrion Crow. The Harrier ducked and dived to evade the corvid and eventually disappeared around the corner towards the Mid Brooks.

Hen Harrier from Winpenny Hide, photo by Chris and Juliet Moore ©

A rather quieter visit on Saturday morning again produced at least five singing Chiffchaffs but also my first singing Meadow Pipits of the year with a couple of males performing display flights out on the Mid and South Brooks. Notable by their absence were Black-tailed Godwits - aside from during the very cold weather my first Godwit-less visit to the Brooks since the autumn. Three Redshank put on a good display from Winpenny and West Mead, constantly calling and occasionally flying around, while a single Ruff was feeding out with the Wigeon in front of Hails View. Shelduck numbers remain high with a conservative count of 29 onsite. After the first two of the year mid-month, Coot numbers reached a personal patch record count of six today. Still a few Fieldfare (7) and Redwing (12) around too while the session ended with a mating pair of Kestrels at Wiggonholt.

Redshank

I only had time for a couple of hours on the reserve early doors on Sunday but it was good to notice another increase in Chiffchaffs to at least eight singing males including an odd aberrant one on the path down to Nettley's. Slowly but surely spring is coming, although it's hard to believe it's the last weekend of March and I've still yet to see Sand Martin or Wheatear! Another species noticeable by its increase in number was Gadwall with five present today.

Gadwall pair at West Mead. There were another three on the North Brooks today

At least two Redshank were again vocal on the Mid Brooks while after yesterday's absence there were two Black-tailed Godwits on the North Brooks. The undoubted highlight though was the Great White Egret I picked up from The Hanger. I assumed it to be the same bird that's been doing the rounds locally for a while and Gary and I saw on Wednesday but thanks to a heads-up tweet from Emily Summers I was alerted to the presence of TWO on the North Brooks later in the day which I was able to get from the attic window!

Great White Egret through the mist from The Hanger this morning

A pretty productive weekend in all, taking both the garden total and patch year lists to 106.

Pulborough, 17th-18th March

After the excitement of Gary's Wheatears and Carey Lodge's first LRP last week what was perhaps/hopefully winter's last hurrah put a serious dampener on the anticipated arrival of more early spring migrants this past weekend, but not to be deterred I still made a couple of trips to the Brooks and was rewarded with three year ticks and two patch lifers!

Lapwing

Saturday morning was grey and chilly with the first wave of snow arriving by mid-morning. My first Little Ringed Plovers (two) of the year flew past Winpenny Hide, while a Curlew from here which I first picked up from West Mead was a Pulborough first for me. 

Distant phone-scoped Curlew from West Mead

A little closer at Winpenny...

Also here were two Dunlin with another or possibly one of the same two seen later from Hails View. Three Red-legged Partridge in Small Rushy Brook near West Mead were the first I'd actually seen onsite after a heard-only record last weekend. On the North Brooks there was little of note aside from circa sixty Black-tailed Godwits - another thirty flew south past Hails View later on. At least thirty Shelduck were onsite in total on Saturday - a new patch record for me - while one or more Golden Plover called unseen above Black Wood. After a count of four singing males in the week there was just a single non-singing Chiffchaff near the Hanger.

Black-tailed Godwits

Sunday started with some birding from home first thing which produced a female Blackbird nest-building in next door's garden in the snow, a flyover Red Kite and two Egyptian Geese west - the latter new for the garden list which now stands at 105.

I headed over to the Brooks in the afternoon having read of some impressive cold weather movements going on elsewhere in the south. I have to say I didn't see a huge amount of it during my four hour visit but a congregation of thirty Golden Plover low east over the visitor centre was an auspicious start. The flock of a hundred-odd Linnets was still in Upperton's Field along with two Red-legged Partridge, seven Stock Doves, a few Rooks and a female Kestrel keeping watch from the fence. Still no Wheatear here for me - mind you, who'd want to be a Wheatear trying to move in this weather??

Red-legged Partridge

Kestrel

I couldn't stand for too long in the biting north-easterly at Jupp's View and The Hanger but of note here were some fourteen Black-tailed Godwits (distant and huddled in so tight together as to make an accurate count tricky), a dozen Shelduck, two Little Egrets and only my second patch Little Grebe of the year. A few Fieldfares and Redwings moved west through the trees above the Hanger while the occasional adult Lesser Black-backed Gull drifted north - six in total during today's visit.

There wasn't much of note at Winpenny aside from a non-singing Chiffchaff, a single Coot and a flyover first winter Common Gull so I finished up the weekend with an hour or so in West Mead which produced close views of a single Little Ringed Plover, ten Meadow Pipits plus the usual scattering of wildfowl.

Little Ringed Plover

A little after 16:00hrs I was thinking of calling it a day when an unmistakeable call drew my attention to a gull flock circling over towards the Arun. Getting the scope on them I was able to confirm the presence of a single silvery-winged adult Mediterranean Gull with a dozen Black-headed Gulls, before they all bunched together and drifted south. Another new species for my Pulborough list and the year list, taking the 2018 total to 103.

With rather more clement weather on the horizon in the coming days, hopefully by the time I do my next one of these weekend round-ups it'll be about ten degrees warmer and there'll be Sand Martins and Wheatears dropping in left, right and centre!

Spring!

Congratulations to Gary Trew who found the first Pulborough Wheatears of the year today - three to be precise!

Photo by Gary Trew

Photo by Gary Trew

Also of note today were two Ruff, one Dunlin and one Chiffchaff (also all reported by Gary) while Liam Curson reported a flyover Mediterranean Gull. The best I could manage from a quick scan from 'the obs' (attic) window at last light was seven Little Egrets on the North Brooks.