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!

May, week two

 7th May

A dawn safari at Knepp this morning produced great numbers of warblers and at least two Cuckoos. On the way home I stopped off at Hail's View to scan the South Brooks, from where I was treated to fab views of two Hobbies hawking low over the marsh and dozens of Swifts and Swallows above. A check of Black Wood yielded a singing Firecrest but not the hoped-for Spotted Flycatcher. 

That was about the sum of my birding for the day, although while visiting friends in Godalming in the afternoon I noted at least 20 Swifts screaming over the Portsmouth Road, and a short walk around the area of rough grassland and scrub near Wood Farm produced another Swift along with singing Whitethroat, multiple Chiffchaff and Blackcap, Linnet and several Greenfinches.

8th May

An overcast but mild start to the day. I headed out on foot from home to do the loop from River Lane to the Arun then up to Waltham Brooks and back. There were no great surprises to be found but it was lovely to enjoy the chorus of birdsong from the full set of resident and migrant breeding species now all back on territory, including at least 5 Nightingales and similar numbers of Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat, along with a couple of Garden Warblers. At least two male Cuckoos were singing well between Waltham Brooks and Amberley, while a female was perched on a fence across the river on the west side of Amberley. 

9th May

A morning sweep of wetlands and water bodies proved to be fairly uninspiring, although it was good to see double figures of Swifts at the private reservoir near Petworth. 

In the afternoon I was up in Aldershot when news broke of the Hoopoe at Frensham Little Pond, so I couldn't resist swinging by for a look on my way home. The bird was elusive and flighty but eventually showed well, albeit briefly, on the east side of the pond. 

Hoopoe

10th May

Not loads of birding today owing to it being Mrs Matt's birthday, but a brief stop at Pulborough Brooks after dropping B off at nursery produced my hoped-for first Spotted Flycatcher of the year in the trees on the edge of the heath - in the same area the Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher were in last week. Also here were a singing Garden Warbler and a Robin feeding a fledgling. 

For Kate's birthday we had lunch at The Pig in Madehurst where casual observations included Blackbirds busily feeding young, three Red Kites and lots of House Martins overhead and a Red-legged Partridge 'singing' in the grounds. 

Spotted Flycatcher

When April steps aside for May

Late April into early May is always a hectic and exciting time for us birders. Rarely does it ever feel more possible that just about anything can turn up, anywhere. This can be especially exciting in the context of local birding, when passage waders and passerines, in particular, grace our familiar patches and birding haunts, sometimes for just a matter of hours or even minutes, before continuing on their epic journey north. 

While I have found this spring rather frustrating in terms of often being either unable to get out birding as much I would have liked, or being in the field but in the wrong place at the wrong time, these past ten days have delivered some of the most enjoyable moments of the season so far in a local context.

27th April

After the previous day's wader excitement at Pulborough Brooks, a message from Jon Winder in the evening alerting me to a Whooper Swan on the South Brooks was enough to prompt me to head back there again early this morning. Sadly, there was no sign of the swan, but the Wood Sandpiper and two Greenshanks were still present, along with a Curlew which flew off towards Hardham, giving away its presence by its unmistakable song. As I was heading back up to the car park, a White Stork drifted west over Uppertons Field towards the South Brooks and the river.

With the arrival of heavy rain in the evening I stopped off to check the scrape at Hadworth Farm in West Burton which produced a Green Sandpiper and my first local Yellow Wagtails of the year - three in total. It just goes to show that any decent patch of habitat is worth checking at this time of year, especially when the heavens open!

28th April

Cloudy with light rain and a west/south-westerly wind this morning. It felt like a water body kind of day so I headed over to the private site near Petworth (via the Hadworth Farm scrape which was sadly virtually birdless). An hour at the reservoir proved to be a decent session with first a heard-only Common Tern (not at all common round here!) as I arrived followed by a Dunlin, two Common Sandpipers and flyovers of Swift and Hobby. The Common Tern was heard again a little while later, but again not seen. I had just one local record of this species locally last year, strangely enough at the same site.

Hobby

Much of the rest of the day was spent around Arundel with friends visiting from Ireland (former Leith Hill ranger Sam Bayley and family) where visits to the WWT and Swanbourne Lake produced, among others, Oystercatcher (a noisy party of four flying around over the wetland centre), Kingfisher, Willow Warbler, 40+ Sand Martins and the ubiquitous Firecrest, singing along Mill Road. 

After a safari at Knepp in the evening I dropped in at Waltham Brooks for a bit of a listening session near the railway bridge, which produced at least three singing Nightingales plus distant Little Owl, Tawny Owl and Water Rail. 

29th April

Two bites of the cherry at Pulborough today. First up this morning, when I got in on the wader fest action unfolding at Winpenny, hide, now featuring three Wood Sandpipers, at least 7 Greenshanks and a Ringed Plover. Just as we were getting ready to leave, news broke of a Wood Warbler found on the edge of the heath by Anna Allum from the RSPB and volunteer Rob, so I dashed down the path to Black Pond and enjoyed listening to that iconic coin spinning song for a few minutes.

I was at Knepp in the afternoon leading a safari, highlights of which included my first Garden Warbler of the year and branching Tawny Owl chicks with an adult. 

In the evening I returned to Pulborough for a second look at the Wood Warbler which, by now, was showing relatively well in the oaks near the woodland play area. Remarkably, a Pied Flycatcher had also turned up in much the same area, which showed beautifully, flitting about in a large flowering Cherry tree in the evening sunshine. What a smashing species duo to encounter in Sussex at this time of year!

Pied Flycatcher

Wood Warbler

30th April

Not much time for birding today after a Knepp dawn safari which produced Cuckoo, lots of Lesser and Common Whitethroats and a couple of Garden Warblers. A walk round the local farmland mid-morning also produced a new in Garden Warbler - my first of the year in the 1km area. Following on from my previous blog post where I talked about aiming to get past 100 species for as many of my local sites as possible, Garden Warbler was number 97 for the 'Watersfield Farmland' eBird hotspot...

1st May

A clear and rather chilly morning saw me heading over to Parham Park for my first BBS visit there of the season. As per usual, it was Jackdaws, Greylag Geese and Fallow Deer galore, but a flyover Sand Martin as I was finishing was actually a Parham tick for me!

On the way home I dropped in at Waltham Brooks for a quick look. A Garden Warbler singing near the main lake was my first of the year there and there were good numbers of Sedge Warbler and Common Whitethroat around. A Cuckoo flew low over my head, heading north, while a second bird was singing distantly across the river in the direction of Amberley.

Osprey is becoming something of a nemesis species for me this year, having missed several locally (mostly at Pulborough) so it was particularly galling to get home to discover one had just flown over Waltham Brooks after I left!

An afternoon walk round the local fields produced a few Swallows, singles of Kestrel and Red Kite, but otherwise not much. Today definitely felt like a bit of a stopgap day...

2nd May

A little tour of local sites this morning before an appointment in Petworth. The scrape at Hadworth Farm is, regrettably, drying up fast now we've had a few days without rain. Just two Canada Geese, four Stock Doves and a Pheasant here this morning although the Lesser Whitethroat was still singing in the nearby hedgerow. A half hour stake-out at Burton Mill Pond didn't produce much aside from 'singing' Water Rail, Grey Wagtail and the usual Great Crested Grebes and ducks. Talking of ducks, the private reservoir near Petworth rather surprisingly held five Pochards this morning (three drakes), quite a late date for birds round here. Also of note here were a single Common Sandpiper, five Swifts and the lingering singing Willow Warbler which has been in the area for about three weeks now. 

Early afternoon I dropped in at our allotment near Stopham for the first time in a while and was pleased to hear a Nightingale back on territory in the nearby scrub, plus a Cuckoo singing slightly further away towards the Arun. Even better, while surveying our plot and panicking somewhat at the amount of work needed, I stumbled across a lovely female Adder basking on a crumpled heap of weed membrane, followed closely by a Slow-worm in one of the compost bins. Hooray for neglected allotments!

Adder

I also stopped off for a quick look at the wet meadow near Swan Bridge in Pulborough (where I have had Spotted Crake and LRP in the past, among others). Today the highlight was a heard-only Yellow Wagtail.

Later in the day a walk out through the local farmland to the Arun produced a hunting Hobby, several Swifts along with all three hirundines and one of the White-tailed Eagles in flight over Amberley Wildbrooks, flushing up all manner of birds including a Curlew which started to sing, albeit distantly from my vantage point on the river bank. That's now the third or fourth record of singing Curlew in the area recently, following on from recent reports of two birds together at Pulborough. Could it be too much to dream that a territorial pair may attempt to breed somewhere in the valley?

3rd May

A fine and rather chilly morning with an easterly breeze. Being as the next week or so is looking very hectic I decided it was my last chance to get over to Byworth for my second South Downs Farmland Bird Monitoring survey early visit of the season. The square, SU9820, proved to be quite productive last year with highlights including multiple singing Skylarks and even a flyover Whimbrel! This morning I managed 42 species in 90 minutes including Cuckoo, Nightingale, Red-legged Partridge and Stonechat (the latter just outside the map square but still nice to see).

After this I headed over to Knepp for my first Stork Safari of the year. By now it was a beautiful spring morning and a perfect one to be out and about in the Southern Block. The storks put on a great show, feeding chicks on several of the nests, all to a soundtrack of Nightingales and the abundant Lesser Whitethroats and quite a few Garden Warblers too.

An afternoon walk round the local farm fields produced a few Swallows, a couple of Swifts and Sand Martins and the continuing singing Nightingale, which today was clearly audible from the bedroom window as I was working upstairs. 

4th May

This morning I was at Knepp again, leading a dawn safari. There had a been a couple of reports of Turtle Dove back on the estate this week, so I was very pleased to see two flying over mine and my group's heads during the safari, which also featured many singing Nightingales and the usual assortment of Sylvia warblers in abundance.

Whitethroat

On the way home I stopped off for a quick look at Waltham and Widney Brooks, both of which were fairly quiet, though a singing Lesser Whitethroat and flyover Yellow Wagtail near Greatham Bridge were both 1km year ticks.

A look at the private reservoir near Petworth late afternoon in the hope of terns and waders proved relatively successful in terms of the latter, with 4 Common Sandpipers, a pair of Little Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin present. It's definitely not been quite so spectacular here for waders here as it was last spring, when eight species were recorded here in April and May. 

Far better for waders so far this spring has been Pulborough Brooks, where I again headed this evening on my way over to Knepp, primarily to see the spectacle of the 70+ Ruff that had been reported here earlier in the day. There had been some remarkable movements of this species across England today, with a flock of 14 over Beddington Farmlands in Surrey/London and three-figure counts in Lincolnshire. Sure enough, scanning from the tea terrace at Pulborough I didn't struggle to find the flock of at least 65 still actively feeding and scurrying about, occasionally all springing into the air as one group. From memory, my previous record count of this species here was 26, so it's fair to say today smashed that!

5th May

I couldn't resist heading back over to PB for another look at the Ruff/general wader madness this morning. I was actually quite surprised to find at least 60 still present, especially given as it had been a relatively clear night. There were still two Wood Sandpipers in among them too, along with four Ringed Plover, two Dunlin and a single Greenshank, along with the resident Avocets, Redshanks and Lapwings, the latter of which now have a few chicks scurrying about. 

Some of the 60+ Ruff at Pulborough

6th May

Not much proper birding today. A check of the scrape at Hadworth Farm in passing late afternoon/early evening produced a pair of Gadwall, a few Swallows and a Grey Wagtail.