The end of January (at last!)

21st January

For the first time in weeks I actually managed to get through to the river and Waltham Brooks via Thorndale Bridge this morning, as the recent cold spell has allowed the flood waters to subside considerably. Clearly the impacts of the cold weather were still being felt by displaced waterbirds though, with around 20 Lapwing in a field south of River Lane of note here - i.e. in a location away from the usual wetland hotspots. 

Several Ravens (at least 2-3) were around and making their presence known, calling and tumbling over the trees between Waltham Brooks and Watersfield. 

The star species of the morning though - and one I've hoped to encounter locally for a while now - was a Jack Snipe which flew up from the marshy ground between the railway crossing and the river with at least eight Common Snipe. In typical Jack Snipe fashion, it stayed hidden until the last moment, just as I took my camera lenscap off and thought to myself 'that spot up ahead looks bang on for Jack Snipe'. Seconds later, it shot up about a metre ahead of me and stayed low as it flew silently off towards the riverbank. 136 for my Waltham Brooks list, 101 for the local (10km) effort and 75 for the 1km year list. Result!

Jack Snipe

22nd January

This morning I finally caved. After weeks of hopefully checking local berry bushes and trees in the hope of finding my own Waxwings, and even a check of a site they'd been seen at recently (also without joy), I decided I just had to see some of these gorgeous birds in what is clearly the best winter for them for at least a decade. Hassocks was the destination, specifically a little newbuild estate on the northern side, conveniently only 15 minutes or so from Woods Mill, where I was heading anyway. I didn't have long and after half an hour of walking around the estate and fields was about to give up when I heard that unmistakable silver bell trill and noticed half a dozen or so plump, Starling-sized birds in the scrubby trees up ahead. I crept a little closer and managed to get a few photos before the whole group (at least 18 in total) took flight and headed purposefully west over the tree line on the edge of the estate.

Waxwings

That put me in a fine mood for the rest of the day, which was made even better when during a little lunch break walk I at last got good views of the showy Water Rail at the Woods Mill feeders which has been performing beautifully for seemingly everyone except me recently (judging by social media posts anyway). 

Water Rail

23rd January

Not much time for birding today. A 15-minute scan from the tea terrace at Pulborough Brooks failed to produce anything out of the ordinary, although the resident strikingly pale Buzzard was perched on the fence towards the bottom of Uppertons Field. 

Awful phonescope photo of the Buzzard, but how many misidentifications has this bird been responsible for, I wonder!

A tour of the Chiddinglye estate for work late morning which was made even better by a Goshawk which shot through into some woodland on the western side. 

24th January

Next to no birding today, though a Merlin over B's nursery in Amberley first thing was pretty cool/unexpected!

25th January

I headed out reasonably early on foot from home, towards the Arun and Waltham Brooks. It's great to be able to get access Thorndale Bridge again in the past week or so, since the flood water receded, although I was surprised to see it had crept back up a bit this morning. Luckily, I still manged to get through to the river bank where I was greeted almost immediately by a female/juvenile type Merlin powering across from Amberley West towards the railway line further downstream from where I was stood, and continuing south-west. A real feature of this morning were Ravens, which were flying east in ones, twos and threes, amounting to a pretty remarkable total of 20 over in the space of about 15-20, all clearly flying purposefully towards Amberley/Parham, so definitely different birds. I'm not quite sure what was going on but presumably birds leaving a roost somewhere. 

Raven

Otherwise, it was pretty standard fare further upriver at Waltham Brooks, with the main lake holding minima of 70 Teal, 50 Wigeon and 25 Shoveler plus seven Tufted Duck and four Gadwall. At least five Common Snipe flew up from the marshy spots round the margins and the usual Water Rail and Cetti's Warblers were making themselves heard. 

Later in the day I popped over to Benbow Pond again, where I met up with Paul Davy for a short walk. We again dipped on the previously reported Waxwings but nonetheless had some impressive counts of other species, with at least 200 Redwings around the mistletoe-clad Lime trees on the golf course, 500+ Woodpigeons flying up from nearby farmland and 130 or more Siskin flying from the Alders by the main pond itself. Also of note at the pond were two Black Swans on nests. 

26th January

It was a largely gloriously sunny day today and not that cold. At lunchtime I managed to get out for a brief check of the flooded field at Hadworth Farm which had quietened down a lot since my last visit (now that all the other local water bodies have thawed out), with just a dozen Gadwall, seven Wigeon, six Teal and a female Pintail of note on the wildfowl front, the latter not looking very well or possibly injured as it seemed rather unsteady on its feet and not able to fly terribly well.

With the evenings gradually getting lighter, I decided to head to Burton Mill Pond after work for my first dusk stakeout of the year. At least three Water Rails were calling around the margins as 68 Cormorants came in to roost in the usual trees at the far end. It was a three egret evening again with two Great White Egrets flying separately towards Chingford, and at least six Cattle Egrets flying south in ones and twos mixed in with flocks of Little Egrets (29 in total - 9 the largest single flock). This represents my highest count of either Little or Cattle Egret here.

Five Little Egrets and two Cattle Egrets (top and second from bottom)

Last light at Burton Mill Pond

Back at home in the evening, I noted my first Barn Owl of the year screeching low over the house/garden while I was tinkering in the shed. 

27th January

An unexpected hoar frost this morning and a rare lie-in, meant not much birding time. A walk along the Arun south of Pulborough mid-morning was relatively quiet aside from my first singing Chaffinch of the year, while a brief scan from Swan Bridge just produced a Little Egret among the expected wildfowl. 

I did the Big Garden Birdwatch at home around lunchtime. Not much going on in the garden itself but quite a few raptors were getting up in the sunshine, including a Marsh Harrier, two Sparrowhawks (incredibly a 1km year tick), at least five Red Kites and three Buzzards. 

28th January

An incredible sunrise this morning owing to the arrival of Saharan dust in the atmosphere. I was out early in time to see said sunrise over Pulborough Brooks. A couple of hours here produced 59 species including at least six Dunlin with ~700 Lapwings and 12 Shelduck plus the usual masses of wildfowl. Species singing included Skylark, Chaffinch and Greenfinch, while there were still at least three flighty Redpoll down the Zigzags and a pair of Stonechats at Redstart Corner. A brief check of my private WeBS site near Petworth didn't produce much on the water (the Long-tailed Duck seems to have well and truly departed now), but a flyover Raven was nice plus a couple of singing Skylarks. 

Stonechats

29th January

No real birding today although I did note a Marsh Tit singing at Goodwood during a work meeting and a Marsh Harrier flew south over Amberley Museum as I was driving past late afternoon. 

30th January

Again no proper birding today but several Ravens were noted flying over Watersfield during the morning and, in the evening, at least two vocal Tawny Owls were making themselves heard close to home - incredibly my first in the 1k area this year. My first go with the moth trap in 2024 proved to be something of an anti-climax, with just two moths making an appearance; a Chestnut and a Common Quaker, both new for the garden list. 

Chestnut

31st January

No birding today. 

Mid-January

11th January

No sooner had I arrived at Pulborough Brooks early this morning and just started to scan the flooded and frozen South Brooks than I received a call from Mrs Matt saying she needed me to help her with a flat tyre, so that put paid to that particular effort! 

Fast forward 45 minutes or so and the tyre was all sorted, so I decided to drop in for a quick look at Waltham Brooks on my way home. It proved to be a good decision as, while I was enjoying the sunshine and the loud cracking sounds of the ice giving way above receding water levels, two ducks appeared into view from the north which revealed themselves to be Goosanders as they powered on over the main lake towards the Arun, where they seemed to drop in a little way downstream. A Great White Egret was also heading the same way, albeit at a more leisurely pace. My first record of Goosander anywhere this year and only my third ever record at Waltham Brooks. Funnily enough, Ed and I had literally just been chatting about the species, as he'd just found two at Frensham Great Pond. Amazing how often that happens!

Goosanders powering off downriver... sadly too slow with the camera this time!

12th January

Back to grey today after a few days of crisp winter sunshine. An early loop of Pulborough Brooks proved to be fairly uneventful, not entirely surprising given the extent of flood water. There were still several hundred dabbling ducks around, mostly Wigeon and Teal, although a lone Tufted Duck drake was on the South Brooks. I missed the Redshank and two Ruff seen by Chris and Juliet Moore but did manage to find a couple of Dunlin among ~500 Black-tailed Godwits huddled on the South Brooks. 

A day with no year ticks was salvaged late afternoon by a Peregrine which flew north over Watersfield, just as I happened to take a screen break and look out of the window (amazing how often that happens!), taking my local list to 90, and 69 within the 1km area. 

13th January

Another gloomy, grey start to the day saw me heading over to the private reservoir near Petworth to carry out my WeBS count a day early. It turned into a surprisingly decent session here, with two site ticks. As I got out of my car, I was greeted by the sound of a Blackbird softly singing nearby, always a heart-lifting sound in the depth of winter. A little further down the track to the reservoir I was surprised by a small falcon which suddenly flew up from the field to my right and gained height before flying off east - a Merlin! The first of two site ticks and no sooner had I processed it than I made my way closer to the reservoir only to discover three Goosanders on the water! Unfortunately they were evidently just as surprised to see me so quickly took flight and, in the half light, I only managed some ropey record shots. The Long-tailed Duck was still present too, which got me to thinking whether I had ever seen those two duck species at the same location before, the answer to which, I'm pretty sure, is no!

Goosanders

On the way home I stopped briefly at Hadworth Farm in West Burton to check out the flooded field here. This also proved decent, as it produced three site ticks in the form of Wigeon, Little Egret and Raven. The former were on the water, the two Little Egrets dropped in to feed along the waters edge and the latter (Ravens) were noisily flying to and from Bignor Park, where I suspect they must nest. 

Later in the day I headed down to Arundel with Kate and B for a stroll round, and to feed the ducks at Swanbourne Lake (of course!). A brief stop at the church in Burpham yielded the nine adult Bewick's Swans in the water meadows there plus at least seven Cattle Egrets in the fields beyond. 

Bewick's Swans

Multiple Cattle Egrets were later seen coming into roost from the Black Rabbit pub by the Arun, along with at least eight Marsh Harriers. 

14th January

A Wildstarts tour saw me spending the morning at Pulborough Brooks, leading a mother and her son around the trail. Highlights included a brief Great White Egret on the North Brooks, which also held ~200 skittish Black-tailed Godwits. The South Brooks were livelier, with singles of Ruff (a local year tick) and Marsh Harrier, ten Shelduck at West Mead and one of the adult White-tailed Eagles in a tree near the Arun which briefly flew and showed off its gleaming white tail before returning to a similar perch. On the way back up to the visitors centre we bumped into the flighty Redpoll flock near Fattengates, all Lessers as far as I could see.

Lesser Redpoll

Lapwing

Teal

A brief check of Waltham Brooks on the way home yielded four Tufted Ducks on the main lake and around 55 Lapwings in flight over Amberley. 

15th January

A whistle-stop tour of likely Waxwing sites around Pulborough before work this morning drew a blank again. It was a beautiful, crisp sunny winter's day so I couldn't resist getting out for a walk at lunchtime, to Waltham Brooks via the local farmland. No new species for the local year list, although I did add three species to the 1km from home list. First up a Little Egret circling overhead near the sewage works before heading south, then later two Shelduck flying downriver and finally two Grey Wagtails at the sewage works. On the lake it was usual fare, with a dozen Tufted Ducks the most noteworthy among the standard set of dabbling species.

Shelducks

16th January

No time for birding for work today, perhaps not too bad given it was -7c when I left the house! A lunchtime walk at Woods Mill in glorious sunshine did wonders for the soul, with four species added to my site list here including two Little Egrets which flew west, presumably looking for unfrozen water. Despite the cold, many species were singing and visibly pairing up including Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Collared Dove and Dunnock, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming. A lovely first winter Grey Wagtail was feeding around one of the frozen pools. 

Grey Wagtail

17th January

After dropping B at nursery first thing I headed up the Downs for a quick walk at The Burgh. Both Red-legged and Grey Partridge were added to the year list almost immediately, followed closely by a Hen Harrier ringtail which was quartering around the fields near Canada Barn. A little walk eastwards from the barn produced the usual array of small birds, including 100+ Linnet, 50+ Redwing and Fieldfare, ~200 Starling, and the odd Yellowhammer. Returning to my car I tried again to scope the Bewick's Swans down in the valley and sure enough found eight adults. There were also at least nine Cattle Egrets in the fields up towards Offham. All in all a very successful 45 minutes or so which produced five local year ticks and three eBird hotspot ticks.

Spot the Bewick's Swans!

Hen Harrier

A lunchtime check of the flooded field/scrape at Hadworth Farm/Bignor Park produced 26 species including at least six Snipe feeding in the grass by the water's edge - a new species for me here - plus 8 Wigeon, 4 Gadwall, 6 Coots and a Little Grebe on the flood. The local Ravens were again very active and vocal, flying in and out of Bignor Park. 

18th January

Another bitterly cold but beautiful morning with the deep frost lit up by golden sunshine. I decided on a bit of woodland birding after dropping B off at nursery this morning so headed over to Fittleworth for a brisk (very brisk!) walk there. It was largely uneventful but pleasant with highlights being a few Redpoll (uncooperatively not landing to allow me to check them for Mealy), Siskin, drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker and a tumbling pair of Ravens. Just as I was about to leave though, I caught sight of a male Goshawk drifting overhead, quite high, and only in view for a few seconds. This is a site I have seen the species at before, so it's reassuring to know they're still around. It really is amazing how fast the species seems to spreading in this area now, based on how often I bump into one without really looking for them.

A lunchtime check of Hadworth Farm/Bignor Park revealed the flooded field/scrape to be holding the largest number I've birds I've seen on it to date, including 37 Teal, eight Wigeon, four Gadwall and presumably the same Little Grebe as yesterday. 25 Canada Geese were gathered on the shore along with a single Greylag Goose.

The scrape at Hadworth Farm, West Burton

19th January

I was up near Haslemere for work this morning, so decided to drop in at Benbow Pond near Midhurst on the way home, to have a quick look for the Waxwings found by Penny Green at the weekend. I am starting to get just a little anxious I might miss out on seeing this species in what is proving to be a bumper winter for them - especially since my own attempts at finding some locally have so far proved unsuccessful. Today it wasn't to be either, although the area where they had been - a grove of massive old Lime trees absolutely draped in Mistletoe - was a pretty special spot and busy with Redwings, Mistle Thrushes and various small birds. The Black Swans down at the pond showed nicely anyway, as did a Buzzard low overhead.

Black Swan

Buzzard

A brief check of the private site near Petworth afterwards revealed the Long-tailed Duck to not be present, though there was an impressive 78 Shoveler and 32 Tufted Duck (plus a single Pochard), clearly evidence of birds displaced from frozen ponds and lakes elsewhere. Finally, a very quick look at the Hadworth Farm scrape revealed at least one Green Sandpiper and three Snipe still present, although duck numbers had reduced since yesterday, presumably owing to even greater ice cover. 

20th January

A whistle stop tour of local sites this morning, starting with a scan from the river bank near Greatham Bridge, which proved pretty quiet aside from seven Shoveler flying north. Next up, Hail's View to scan the South Brooks in the hope of locating the Water Pipit found by Alan Baker yesterday. Sadly no joy, but it was nice to catch up with Michael and Daniel Booker here. 20 Dunlin were out on the ice, a pretty remarkable count here for this time of year, and these and 30 or so Lapwing were flushed up by an adult White-tailed Eagle which flew through and landed in one of its favourite trees by the river. Very few ducks, which was unsurprising given the lack of unfrozen water. 

Talking of ducks, my last stop of the morning was the Hadworth Farm scrape, which I have been checking most days lately owing to it having a bit of a purple patch due to some remaining unfrozen water. Today produced undoubtedly the most birds I've seen there yet, including 72 Teal, 70 Canada Geese (and a single Greylag), nine Wigeon, a female Pintail and two Green Sandpipers again, one of which flew up and over my head a couple of times.

Green Sandpiper

Assorted wildfowl on the ice at Hadworth Farm

Later in the day, just as I had finished chopping some firewood in the garden I glanced up to see a Woodcock flying east, low overhead. A garden first and first for the 1k area list this year. 

New Year

And so begins another year. My third year of broader local birding, as opposed to intensive patch watching at Pulborough Brooks. I have to say I've found the past couple of years very rewarding indeed, getting to know my local area more thoroughly, gaining greater understanding of the status and distribution of bird species as well as the lay of the land, literally. It's been fascinating to discover relationships between different sites and the fact that I can see some of the most furthest flung sites within the 10km from the highest points such as Amberley Mount. It really does feel like piecing together a jigsaw, and it's turned up some real surprises. 

After finding the likes of breeding Long-eared Owl and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on my doorstep in 2022, 2023 saw me pin down two breeding pairs of Honey Buzzard locally, in the species' best ever year in Sussex. Aside from the scarce breeders, I also found some real local rarities and scarcities in the form of Marsh Warbler, Golden Oriole and Black Tern (all West Sussex ticks to boot!) as well as incongruous flyover records of Knot and Sandwich Tern just a few hundred metres from home. 

So, here's to 2024 and all the birding memories yet to be formed!

1st January

A first light walk out to Waltham Brooks from home produced 52 species new for the year list. Highlights included two Marsh Harriers, a single Snipe, four Tufted Duck, at least three Water Rail, and 150 Black-headed Gulls north. My second Great Spotted Woodpecker of the season was drumming hesitantly near the sewage works.

Mid-morning I went on a little drive around some local water bodies. A brief look at Burton Mill Pond produced the now usual Great White Egret in flight across to the reeds at the back. Photos later confirmed it was the red-ringed individual from Somerset. 

Over to Petworth next where the female Long-tailed Duck was still present for at least her 65th day, along with 17 Shoveler, 14 Pochard and nine Tufted Duck. 

Red-ringed Great Egret at Burton Mill Pond

Long-tailed Duck

A tour of berry-rich bushes around Pulborough again proved fruitless for Waxwings. My last stop on a circuitous route home was Cross Gate, for a scan of Amberley Wildbrooks. Here I bumped into Pete Hughes and Alice Parfitt who were about to leave having not seen the Russian White-fronted Geese. Luckily, as we stood chatting, a flock of ~80 Greylag Geese noisily flew in from the north-west and landed out on the marsh. Sure enough, the five White-fronts were in amongst them. Other highlights here included ~80 Black-tailed Godwits, and one of the adult White-tailed Eagles. 

The final surprise and year tick of the day came early afternoon when I happened to glance out of the bedroom window to see a small, fast falcon chasing a flock of Starlings over the fields before veering off and powering west/south-west over the house on rapid whirring wings. A Merlin! Not my first from home/the garden but my first locally in a while, and a very welcome addition to the new year list on day one. 

2nd January

My last day off of my Christmas break and the weather gods really saved the very worst until last, with violent winds and heavy rain for much of this morning, and the wind becoming even stronger when the rain eventually stopped early afternoon.

I managed a couple of hours dashing between the hides at Pulborough Brooks in the morning, although RIP my umbrella which blew inside out one too many times to retain its structural integrity. I also only managed a paltry 38 species during the session, with highlights being a single Golden Plover and four Dunlin among the Lapwings, a trio of Tufted Ducks looking to be enjoying the weather, and Coal Tit and Long-tailed Tit both new for the local year list (up to 75).

An afternoon walk round the local farmland was largely uneventful aside from ~120 Black-headed Gulls and a Great White Egret battling into the wind low over Waltham Brooks, the latter banking over Besley Farm and plodding roughly west towards Fittleworth, whether that was its intended flight path or not, as it was clearly struggling!

3rd January

Back to work today so not so much time for birding. A short stop at Waltham Brooks en route to Woods Mill produced ten Tufted Duck on the lake, five Mute Swans which came in from the north then turned and flew north-west, and a Marsh Harrier and around 80 Black-headed Gulls flying upriver. No new species for the local year list though.

Marsh Harrier

Mute Swans

At Woods Mill I was greeted upon arrival by the laughing call of my first Green Woodpecker of the year, while a lunchtime walk around the reserve yielded 33 species including flyover Greylag Geese (2), singles of Firecrest and Siskin and a heard-only calling Yellowhammer. 

4th January

After dropping B at nursery this morning I had a brief walk up at Amberley Mount, as it was the first dry morning for a while. As was the case last time, I fairly quickly picked up a White-tailed Eagle powering south over the vineyard towards the Burgh. I couldn't see this time though whether it was the juvenile or one of the adult birds. Other bits up here were a male Stonechat at the tumulus and two Firecrests together in the brambles at Downs Farm - surprisingly a first for me here. 

5th January

Another busy day with not loads of birding time, but I did manage a quick lunchbreak walk from home to Coldwaltham sewage works where I found at least 25 Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest busily flitting about in the sallows. Try as I might, I couldn't glean out a tristis from the Chiffchaffs I was able to scrutinise, although one looked perhaps a little colder toned, but not quite enough for me (and wasn't heard to call or responsive to Siberian call).

Chiffchaff - these photos are all of the same bird, just showing what a difference light can make to apparent colouration

6th January

Not much birding today aside from a dusk vigil at Burton Mill Pond which produced three local year ticks, including the obligatory Kingfisher dashing low over the water as I waited for the Egrets to start coming in to roost, and at least one Grey Wagtail very vocal around the Mill building. As per usual these days, a Great White Egret was skulking around the reeds on the southern side before taking flight and heading off over the treeline towards Chingford Pond. A little while later the first little party of Little Egrets came in from the north and headed south to roost. Three to start with, followed shortly after by two, then a single group of 22, which was quite a sight! A very brief stop at Lord's Piece on the way home also rewarded me with my first Woodcock of 2024, sailing overhead from the direction of Bignor Park.

Little Egrets

7th January

A proper circuit at Burton Mill Pond this morning produced just shy of 60 species including the now expected Great White Egret at Chingford Pond (though not the red-ringed bird) plus two Little Egrets and a year tick Mandarin among the various ducks. Nuthatch and Marsh Tit were both new for the local year list here too, the latter among several species noted in song. Onto the private reservoir near Petworth where I found the female Long-tailed Duck back in situ after her brief trip to Burton Mill Pond during the week (found there by Surrey birder Ian Jones). Otherwise it was really quiet here, although the pleasant sunshine coaxed up a few Buzzards (7+) to soar over the nearby woodlands. Waltham Park near Fittleworth was my final stop where I found a few Lesser Redpoll but otherwise not much, though a flyover Lesser Black-backed Gull here was new for the year. 

A short afternoon walk around the local farmland proved reasonably lively, with singles of Snipe and Raven over and the usual Black-headed Gulls and Herring Gulls heading to roost. 

Rooks

8th January

Not a huge amount of birding today aside from a very brief scan of Amberley from Cross Gate, hoping to find the Brent Goose found by Paul Davy yesterday - a local year tick and not a species I've ever seen at Amberley. Given it's so close to my house now, my Amberley list is actually pretty poor, so I'm keen to connect with a few more species here! In the event, it wasn't to be today, and the biting northerly wind made standing here for more then a few minutes very unpleasant! Typically, the Brent was reported again later in the day by Paul Stevens, viewing from Rackham viewpoint. 

A brief late afternoon stroll at a snowy Woods Mill was pretty quiet, although there was a fair bit of passerine action at the bird feeders.

Robin

Dunnock

9th January

A crisp and cold start to the day, with a biting north-easterly - not something we've had much of so far this winter! I headed out on foot from home to Waltham Brooks. A good trudge around in the wet grassland near the railway bridge yielded just three Snipe (not the hoped-for Jack), while the main lake held 14 Tufted Duck among the usual dabblers. Two Marsh Harriers were circling over Amberley and at least three Water Rails were squealing in the reeds. Two Mute Swans flew downriver while at least 110 Black-headed Gulls were heading the opposite way. 

Mute Swans

Picking up B from nursery in Amberley late afternoon produced my first Tawny Owl of 2024, with a male hooting nearby. 

10th January

A really cold morning with a hard frost. Much of the local water bodies were partially or totally frozen over and the sodden ground was now rock solid. After dropping B at nursery I decided to briefly stop off at Amberley Mount. There wasn't much going on here, although it was a beautiful sunrise. 150+ Common Gulls were around in the fields along with a few Black-headed Gulls, and a couple of Red Kites. 

A lunchtime walk at Woods Mill in the relatively warm sunshine (though still a biting wind!) produced a migging Lapwing flying over towards the Downs, and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull heading the same way. Small birds were pretty few and far between aside from singing Bullfinch and Coal Tit and a few Redwings and Fieldfares.