Dark days

11th December

As is typical for the time of year, the darkness creeps ever more into my available birding time, but I managed to squeeze in a couple of short sessions before work and at lunchtime today. First, a 45-minute venture out to the local farmland near home which yielded 40 species including a few Teal and Wigeon on the flooded fields and singles of Chiffchaff and Cetti's Warbler in the bushes. Small groups of Fieldfare and Stock Dove were noted flying south/south-west overhead.

Watersfield living up to its name

Mid-morning I caught sight of a Peregrine circling over Watersfield before drifting off towards Amberley. 

A lunchtime check of Waltham Brooks produced the usual species, with a distant Marsh Harrier over towards Amberley probably the highlight. A male Stonechat in the scrub between the lake and the road was notable only for the large white spot on its face. I'm not sure what it was exactly. At least five Tufted Ducks were still on the main lake. 

Stonechat

12th December

A look at Waltham Brooks this morning en route to work produced an impressive array of ducks on the main lake, including at least 90 Shoveler and 10 Tufted Duck. A Marsh Harrier briefly stopped for a look, flushing 5 Snipe in the process, while 27 Fieldfare flew out of roost. 

Marsh Harrier

13th December

I was down in Rye today for a SWT staff meeting. Conditions weren't great but we had an enjoyable hour's walk round the reserve early afternoon led by new reserve manager Paul Tinsley-Marshall. The lingering Spoonbill was still roosting on Flat Beach which also held good numbers of Shoveler, a few Pintail and half a dozen or so Tufted Ducks. Well over 400 Cormorants flew over into roost as we were walking around, and around 50 Curlew did the same, coming in from the north-east as we were heading back to the car park. 

Cormorants

The obligatory sleeping Spoonbill photo

                              

14th December

Shoreham-by-Sea was the destination for today's work meeting, so I decided to swing past the harbour and Southwick canal while I was down there, hoping to connect with the lingering Great Northern Diver that's been in the ship canal for a couple of weeks now. 45 minutes of trekking around the area between the canal gates and Barrett Steel proved fruitless, as did a walk out to the seafront but I eventually got the bird just as I was leaving, along with the juvenile Eider that has also been around a while. Sadly neither gave as good views as the Turnstones on the sea wall!

Turnstones

15th December

After enjoying a Firecrest in the garden first thing this morning, I just had time for a quick circuit of the local farmland before starting work. This proved unremarkable aside from at least one heard-only Golden Plover flying overhead, seemingly heading east/north-east.

Firecrest

Late afternoon I headed over to Burton Mill Pond for a last light vigil from the viewing platform which produced 27 Little Egrets heading to roost plus 43 Cormorants, ~500 Starlings (dropping in to the reeds on the eastern side where two Sparrowhawks were patrolling), 2-3 Water Rails and a Kingfisher. 

16th December

An unusually free morning saw me taking a tour of various local sites, starting with the private reservoir near Petworth for the WeBS count there, where I found the Long-tailed Duck present again, having apparently gone AWOL on my last visit here a few days ago. Otherwise, waterbird numbers were really poor, with just 11 Tufted Duck, a lone female Pochard, a few Coots and a single Little Grebe. 

A check of the water meadows and farm fields by the Rother in Fittleworth produced seven Little Egrets around the cattle at Street Farm, a Chiffchaff calling at the sewage works and a male Stonechat in the scrubby field nearby.

Fittleworth Water Meadows

Then it was on to check the farm scrape at Hadworth Farm which held a pair of Gadwall, a few Coots and Mallards and a lone Cormorant perched in the dead trees behind the flood (another flew over heading east). Perhaps most notable here was the flock of ~250 Stock Doves which flew up from the fields to the south-west. 

Later in the morning I took a stroll out down the road from home which produced a Peregrine and at least nine Snipe flying high overhead.

Snipe

17th December

A morning walk round the local farmland proved fairly quiet aside from the now almost daily Peregrine circling high over Watersfield, and around 55-60 Fieldfares flying towards Coldwaltham.

Peregrine

Late afternoon I headed over to Thorndale Bridge for a scan from the railway embankment here (flooding made the walk under the railway bridge to the river bank impassable), the highlight of which was a Barn Owl hunting over the southern end of Waltham Brooks. At least 60 Redwings and 30 Fieldfares flew to roost, and at least four Water Rails were calling around the area. A Merlin flew low and fast over River Lane as I was walking down. 

18th December

A brief stop off at Waltham Brooks on my way to work this morning where highlights included an impressive 28 Tufted Ducks on the main lake (certainly my highest count of the species here), four Red Kites together over Quell Farm and a single Marsh Harrier flying north. Redwings were noticeably moving overhead, with 150 west in the 25 minutes or so I was on-site. 

Quite a lot of Tufted Ducks!

A lunchtime stroll at Woods Mill also proved reasonably lively for the time of year, with 30 Common Gulls over, a Water Rail showing very well but very briefly swimming across a ditch, and a Kestrel which was surprisingly a reserve tick for me!

Moorhen

19th December

A pretty rancid day, weather-wise. I did manage a brief lunchtime walk from home over to Waltham Brooks and back, but there wasn't much on offer there to write home about. Yesterday's bumper count of Tufted Duck had reduced to just a single drake, six Pintail and a single Raven flew north/north-west and nine Siskins flew into the Poplars near the lake. 

20th December

A quick dash up Amberley Mount before work proved to be quite lively, with as many as ten Red Kites, three Buzzards and 50+ Common Gulls all distinctly displeased by the arrival on the scene of a juvenile White-tailed Eagle which powered north low over the tumulus, briefly disappearing over the northern slopes before returning and drifting around over the vineyard towards The Burgh. It still blows my mind to see the size of these things in direct comparison to a Buzzard!

White-tailed Eagle

Red Kite

A lunchtime stroll at Woods Mill produced a similar number of Common Gulls to Amberley Mount and a reasonably showy Cetti's Warbler in the scrub along the stream.

Cetti's Warbler