Halfway through November

I saw a thing on Facebook recently about November days being weird as it increasingly feels as though there is no afternoon, just morning, lunchtime, and night-time. By the middle of the month that creeping darkness really eats away at both ends of the day and any residual early morning light we borrowed back after the clock change has already fizzled away. The days are short, and so is time for birding. What November does offer though is the first taste of winter, both in terms of crisp, frosty mornings, breathtaking sunsets and the arrival of winter visitors. It certainly looks like we are set to experience a long overdue influx of various species this winter, from Short-eared Owls to Waxwings to Mealy Redpolls. What's been apparent locally in this ten-day period has been a gradual increase in the background species, with the likes of thrushes and winter ducks noticeably climbing in number, plus some impressive movements of Woodpigeon on the days when the wind and rain have abated.

11th November

The first crisp, frosty and bright morning for a while so I decided to head out on foot from home, in the hope of relocating the probable Hume's Warbler at Waltham Brooks. It was clear fairly soon after arriving there was a fair bit of stuff moving overhead, with a couple of biggish (200+) flocks of Woodpigeons and decent numbers of Fieldfares (160+) moving south-west. It was still pretty cold around the sewage works and not super lively with passerines.

As I passed to the north of the works though and headed up towards the road, I again heard the call which caught my attention earlier in the week, coming from a block of sallow just to my right. I moved over to get closer and to get on the sunny side of the trees. Just as I did so and set about trying to pin down the bird, there was a great commotion, alarm calling and a burst of feathers as a Peregrine dived low through the sallows and narrowly missed catching a Fieldfare. A small passerine flew pretty much over my head, into the bushes on the other side of the railway line and, unhelpfully, straight into the sun from where I was looking. I realised from the continued calling that it was the same bird, but there was no way I was going to pick out any plumage detail from this side and in this light. After a couple of minutes I decided to walk around and try and get a better look and there began a merry two hour goose chase trying to pin down the bird again. Despite my best efforts, I only heard it again a couple of hours later, just before 10:00, in sallows right by the sewage works. Gareth James and Mark McManus showed up mid-morning and I decided to leave them to it at this point, as birding fatigue was setting in! I really don't know what to make of this bird, the recordings today don't sound as convincing for Hume's as the one in the week, and I am beginning to wonder if it isn't just a weird Chiffchaff. 

A late afternoon stroll round the local farm fields with B proved quite productive with a flock of 23 Redpoll flying high south, lots of ducks in flight over Waltham Brooks, including 24 Pintail north, and four Little Egrets and a single Great White Egret flying south-east towards Amberley, the latter an eBird tick for this hotspot. 

Pintail (and single Wigeon)

Distant Great Egret flying over Watersfield

12th November

In sharp contrast to yesterday, this morning it was back to grey, wind and rain. No birding in the morning aside from a short local walk with B which did include my first singing Song Thrush of the season (albeit a slightly hesitant one). 

Early afternoon we all headed over to Pulborough Brooks for lunch and I took the opportunity to scan from the South Brooks from the tea terrace, hoping to find the Spotted Redshank reported earlier in the day. There were a lot of birds to sort through, not least in excess of 300 Black-tailed Godwits, and it was proving difficult until all the godwits and wildfowl took to the air and I heard the unmistakable 'chu-it' call of the target species coming from somewhere in the melee. It took a while of sorting through once they'd all landed but I did eventually pick out the bird - my 160th local species of the year! While all this was going on an adult Little Gull also appeared among, hawking over the South Brooks briefly before continuing on south, while other waders of note were a Green Sandpiper flying over the tea terrace towards the heath and two Dunlin which dropped in among the Black-tailed Godwits. A male Marsh Harrier came powering in from the north-east and continued out over the South Brooks, while a juvenile type was over Widney Brooks, west of the Arun.

Little Gull

Marsh Harrier

Mixed flock airborne over the South Brooks - prize to anyone who can pick out the Spotted Redshank!

13th November

Another howling windy and wet start to the day today so no chance for pre-work birding, unfortunately. A lunchtime walk around Woods Mill in much more clement conditions produced a single Marsh Tit, half a dozen Fieldfares, three Redwings and a dozen Common Gulls flying over. A Red Admiral was also out and about enjoying the late autumn sunshine. 

Marsh Tit

Red Admiral

14th November

Another wet morning. I stopped off at Pulborough on the way to work, for a half hour scan of the South Brooks from the tea terrace. There was no sign of Sunday's Spotted Redshank but the Black-tailed Godwit flock had increased to at least 470, their loud chattering calls audible even from several hundred metres away. There were lots more Pintail too, at least 120 that I could see. 

A brief lunch break look at Waltham Brooks proved similarly routine, though it was nice to flush a mixed flock of Redwings and Fieldfares from the scrub nearest the lake - numbers of winter thrushes are definitely creeping up a bit locally now. Almost a daily occurrence here these days, but always nice to see, two Great White Egrets flew upriver.

Great White Egret

15th November

Two bites of the cherry at Amberley Wildbrooks today with short (15-20 minute) watches from Cross Gate on the way to and from work at Woods Mill. The morning session produced three Ruff, a single Dunlin, adult and juvenile White-tailed Eagles on some of the exposed patches of land in the flood, plus a flyover Brambling. I missed the three White-fronted Geese which have been around for a while and were seen by Paul this morning, but did manage to find them late afternoon. 

Very distant White-tailed Eagle on the island at Amberley

16th November

Another grey and wet day, no real birding of any note today. 

17th November

An absolutely dreamy late autumn/early winter morning at Burton Mill Pond where I notched up 54 species in just under 90 minutes. It was lively from the get-go with plenty of thrushes and finches about around New Piece, including a flyover Brambling and several Fieldfares (remarkably an eBird hotspot tick here!). As usual, Chingford Pond held the bulk of the waterbirds, with ten Little Egrets still at roost in the trees (following on from six which flew over early doors) and a Great White Egret stalking round the water's edge. Wildfowl-wise, highlights were 40 or so Tufted Duck and 25 Pochard plus a few Gadwall and heard only Mandarin. Woodpigeon movement suddenly picked up overhead at around 07:40, with 2,800 flying south-west between then and just after 08:00.

Great Crested Grebes

Woodpigeons

Little Egret

After work a brief stop at Waltham Brooks produced little of note aside from a Marsh Harrier and two Little Egrets, plus the usual selection of wildfowl on the main lake. 

18th November

Not much birding today, partly due to other commitments, but also hampered by the foul weather. Thankfully the rain eased off enough early afternoon for a little 1k area walk out round the local farmland. It was generally pretty quiet (not helped by the wind) until I stumbled across a lively passerine flock in the scrub south of Thorndale Bridge which held at least two Firecrests plus singles of Cetti's Warbler and Chiffchaff. There were also at least 14 Redwing and 18 Fieldfare around in the same area.

Firecrest

19th November

WeBS day today so I was out and about bright and early to check the private reservoir near Petworth, which still hosted the female Long-tailed Duck, sheltering among the usual Aythya flock. Tufted Ducks were represented by a modest 27 individuals but the Pochards had increased to a record breaking 57 - not just my highest count here but my largest total of the species anywhere locally. Otherwise it was usual fare, though the regular duo of leucistic Egpytian Geese were present among a group of 75 on the shoreline. 

Long-tailed Duck

I checked a few other water bodies on my way to and from the reservoir, including Burton Mill Pond (basically empty), Hadworth Farm (likewise) and the flooded Rother at Fittleworth which held just a couple of Mute Swans, a few Mallards and a flyover Little Egret, though it was nice to hear my first Song Thrush of the season properly belting out its song. 

20th November

More wind and rain this morning, but it eased sufficiently for me to grab an hour at Waltham Brooks before starting work, which proved to be a worthwhile decision. I'd only been there ten minutes or so when I heard the flight call of a Dunlin and looked up to see one powering north high overhead - a first for me on the reserve - not long after a flock of eight Pintail went the same way. The water levels have receded here quite a bit now so there's plenty of Snipe habitat about. I counted 21 this morning, helpfully being kept airborne for longer than usual by a Marsh Harrier hunting over the main lake. No Jack Snipe yet though. 

Otherwise it was business as usual with a selection of 35 Shoveler, 15 or so Wigeon, 50 Teal and a few Gadwall on the main lake. Thrush numbers seem to be gradually increasing, with at least 25-30 Fieldfare around on the reserve plus maybe half that number of Redwing, and a few Fieldfares on the walk home too. 

Fieldfare

Late morning, while working at home, I glanced out of an upstairs window to see a V formation of birds heading towards the house. Grabbing my bins just in time, I realised they were Golden Plover - around 90 of them - seconds before they disappeared over the house towards Fittleworth. Late afternoon/early evening, a Barn Owl flew low over the garden, calling, while the regular male Tawny Owl was also calling nearby.