I think that means I'm officially allowed to start using the 'a' word now? It's certainly fair to say the weather has been decidedly autumnal for the most part in the past fortnight. The dominance of low pressure, Atlantic weather systems delivering day after day of squally, grey, drizzly conditions has been particularly strange and unsettling given the news and images coming from further south in Europe. I remember something someone said to me a few years ago which has really stuck with me - nobody alive today has known what it's like to live in stable climatic conditions, and that is becoming more and more evident as each year passes.
In the context of local birding and other wildlife watching, it's been a fairly quiet and unremarkable period again, although it's clear we are experiencing a particularly good year for butterflies after a slow start back in the spring. It's been the best Purple Emperor season at Knepp since the best ever year of 2018 and everywhere I look at the moment I seem to be seeing Red Admirals. I had a pretty extraordinary count of ten together on the garden Buddleia the other day!
20th July
22nd July
I headed out late morning for a fairly lengthy walk from home up towards Fittleworth to scan the valley across the Rother to the north. Raptors were out in force, with multiple Red Kite and Buzzard, at least three Kestrels and a single Sparrowhawk noted during an hour's skywatch here.
Otherwise it was a relatively quiet session, though at least 35-40 Swallows around the stables at Ashurst were nice to see, as were two juvenile Green Woodpeckers in the same area. 
21st July
A quick look at Pulborough Brooks this morning, scanning the South Brooks from behind the visitor centre. Among 14 Little Egrets (there have been up to 21 recorded here in recent days) were singles of Greenshank and Green Sandpiper on the pool at West Mead while three Red Kites were soaring together in the distance.
En route to Knepp I briefly stopped to check the pool at Southlands Farm in West Chilt which again produced a Green Sandpiper.
Knepp itself was again on fire, with a female Purple Emperor greeting me as soon as I arrived at the Operation Wallacea campsite. Out in the wildland with my group, highlights included a Barn Owl flying from a known nest site, the very vocal Sparrowhawk family near their nest site and a group of 31 White Storks kettling together over the Exmoor herd towards the far southern end of the estate.
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| Purple Emperor |
After Knepp I headed down to Goring to catch up with David C. While we were chatting by our cars, a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull flew past with a juvenile Herring Gull in tow. After poorly David headed home I indulged in a c.45-minute seawatch from the beach which proved to be quite lively, with three Whimbrel and two each of Dunlin and Mediterranean Gull heading west, and two each of Sandwich Tern and Gannet feeding offshore.
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| Whimbrel |
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| Mediterranean Gull |
This morning I headed down to Medmerry, primarily for work-related reasons but it was a nice opportunity to have a little walk about and check out the Stilt Pool, which yielded singles of Common Sandpiper and Black-tailed Godwit among the Oystercatchers, Cormorants and Black-headed Gulls.
On the way home, with rain due to start at any minute, I had a quick check of the private site near Petworth which produced a juvenile Little Ringed Plover and at least 80 Swifts but little else of note.
No more birding after that as the weather turned decidedly October-esque, with heavy rain and wind - lovely!
23rd July
A brief look at Waltham Brooks en route to a day working at Knepp proved fruitful, as the very last bird of the session was a 1km year tick and Waltham Brooks lifer in the form of a Whimbrel powering south/south-west overhead and disappearing down the valley towards the Downs.
Knepp delivered again on the Turtle Dove front (it's been an astonishing year for the species there) with one seen flying up from a main path not long after I arrived. Otherwise it was mostly about the butterflies today, including what surely must be one of the very last Purple Emperors of the season.
A quick scan of the pool at Southlands Farm in passing on my way home again produced a lone Green Sandpiper.
24th July
After dropping B at nursery I popped to Pulborough for a quick look at the North Brooks where I found a decent selection of waders - 10 Avocet, 24 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Green Sandpiper, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper and a single Greenshank - and, sadly, a rather sickly looking adult Mediterranean Gull.
25th July
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| Avocets |
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| Black-tailed Godwits |
Not much birding today, but it was a pleasure to lead a safari for members of the RSPB Youth Council at Knepp. Highlights included two Turtle Doves (one singing and displaying and another in flight), two Sedge Warblers (Hammer Pond) and my last Purple Emperor of the year.
26th July
A diverse day which started with a walk from home up to the river at Thorndale Bridge, and a brief skywatch from the fields near home. It certainly felt autumnal, with a lovely fresh feel to the air and a light mist over the river, but it doesn't feel as though the season has quite got into swing yet, ornithologically speaking. Highlights were a Little Egret high east, adult and juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls high south and a Water Rail squealing along the river.
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| Little Egret |
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| Swallows |
Mid-morning I headed back down to Medmerry for work. While I was there I had a look at the Stilt Pool which yielded 3 Common Sandpipers, a Green Sandpiper, several Oystercatchers and a heard-only Ringed Plover. A quick look at the sea produced 3 Sandwich Terns, 8 Mediterranean Gulls and a single Gannet. While I was down at the coast I also dropped in to Church Norton briefly which produced a pleasing selection of waders including at least 3 Whimbrel, 2 Sanderling and a Bar-tailed Godwit.
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| Sandwich Tern |
Early afternoon I met up with David C at Pulborough, and a stroll round the reserve produced a few bits, notably 10 Avocet, 2 Green Sandpipers and 3 Black-tailed Godwits on the North Brooks and a single White Stork (GB6S from Knepp) following the tractor around on the South Brooks, just like they're supposed to!
27th July
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| Brown Argus |
A drizzy day, with more than a hint of autumn in the air, only exacerbated by the sound of a Curlew flying over Knepp Castle as I was in the orchard prepping for a garden safari. Other highlights here included a heard-only Raven and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth; the latter very obligingly dropping in to feed on a Buddleia as I had stopped with my group to chat about the importance of nectar sources in a garden!
On the way home I dropped in at Waltham Brooks for half an hour which produced another heard-only Raven, two Cetti's Warblers in the reeds and willows by the main lake and seven Gadwall on the lake itself.
28th July
A walk from home this morning, checking local fields and scrub and a skywatch proved fairly quiet aside from a Hobby terrorising the Swallows before flying off north.
A check of Amberley after dropping B off at nursery produced singles of Redshank, Raven and one of the White-tailed Eagles.
29th July
Another local session on foot early morning proved quite productive with a Hobby again chasing Swallows about, a Peregrine high south-west and at least 50 Swifts drifting slowly south. That's more like it! I'm excited for my first full autumn vismigging from this area, I do think the funnel effect of the Arun Valley so close to the South Downs could be quite interesting.
Later in the morning, a Big Butterfly Count in the garden at home produced an impressive ten Red Admirals together on the Buddleia. I honestly can't remember such a good summer for the species, they just seem to be everywhere at the moment!
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| Red Admiral |
30th July
A really enjoyable couple of hours out first thing this morning, although it again was feeling unseasonably fresh ahead of the rain that arrived later in the day. First up I checked the private reservoir over near Petworth which yielded very little aside from a noticeable increase in Little Grebes and a flock of at least 450 Jackdaws in flight off the nearby fields.
A visit to Lavington Common produced a Spotted Flycatcher in the pines round the car park and a family group of at least four Dartford Warblers a couple of hundred metres north of the car park.
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| Dartford Warbler |
Finally, a stake-out on the viewing platform at Burton Mill Pond produced a welcome return encounter with the red-ringed Great White Egret I last saw here back in late January. She's 'ACA', a female ringed in the nest at RSPB Ham Wall back in May 2022. Interestingly, another juvenile from the same ringing scheme, ACJ, has been hanging out at Warnham LNR quite a bit recently - so definitely worth taking a closer look at any individuals of this species you see out and about in Sussex.
Late afternoon, a Hobby made two low passes over home, first heading south-east, before flying back west.
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| Great White Egret |
31st July
Another very autumnal day, weather-wise, with a blustery south-westerly and drizzle/light rain persisting until mid-afternoon. After dropping B at nursery I swung by Pulborough for a brief check of the North Brooks. As I walked down, a tight group of around 25 Swifts drifted west. On the North Brooks were 36 Black-tailed Godwit, 30 Lapwing, 16 Black-headed Gulls and singles of Greenshank and Snipe, the latter only making its presence known when a Buzzard flew through low and flushed everything.
On the way home a quick scan from the river bank near Greatham Bridge produced an incredibly close encounter with a Kingfisher, dashing past upriver. A return visit to Waltham Brooks late afternoon produced another or the same Kingfisher in flight over the main lake, a Hobby flying east, Peregrine south and a juvenile Marsh Harrier hunting and drifting north. 
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| Marsh Harrier |
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