Turn the old year go

So, here were are then. My final blog post of 2023 (although not actually published until late January 2024...). All in all, it was a somewhat subdued end to a year of mixed fortunes (both birding and otherwise). My local (~10km from home) total finished on 160, rather short of 2022's 166 - and I did miss some really daft species (Hawfinch, Jack Snipe and others) - but still not too bad, considering all that's been going on. 

If I have the time and inclination to do so I might put together a review of the year at some point, but won't make any promises!

21st December

A quick check of a few local sites today yielded the female Long-tailed Duck still near Petworth along with 21 Shoveler, 22 Tufted Duck and 11 Pochard. Meanwhile, the flooded River Arun near Stopham held 200 Canada Geese, two Grey Herons and a few Teal. 

In the middle of the day I headed up to my old work (Clandon Wood) for Steve Chastell's funeral. It was a good send-off and a nice turnout from the Surrey Birding community. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. An impressive flock of Fieldfares flew over as I and others were leaving. 

On the way home I stopped off briefly at Waltham Brooks which produced 11 Tufted Ducks on the main lake and at least 25 Linnets in to roost in the scrub. 

22nd December

Day two of my Christmas break and, as I had to go down to Chichester this morning for an appointment, I decided to have a walk at The Burgh for the first time in a while (well, it's sort of on the way!). The wind prohibited much in the way of raptor or small bird activity, although the ubiquitous Red Kites were conspicuous in their presence (at least ten). 17 Grey Partridges were noted, including a dozen which flew out from Canada Barn as I passed. Otherwise, highlights from an hour up here were 50+ Common Gulls, ten Yellowhammer, a dozen Skylarks and ~100 thrushes (roughly 60-70 Redwing and the rest Fieldfare).

Skylark

Kestrel

23rd December

A mixed bag of a day with no proper birding as such. A walk round the park/woodland in the centre of Storrington this morning proved surprisingly birdy with six species noted singing in the mild conditions - Coal Tit, Treecreeper, Collared Dove, Robin, Wren, Dunnock - and a flyover Raven. A walk round Watersfield and the farmland near home early afternoon produced good numbers of Redwings but not much else of note (especially not the hoped-for Waxwings!). Finally, a stroll round the hamlet early evening was briefly soundtracked by the screech of a Barn Owl flying overhead in the dark.  

24th December

An enjoyable Christmas Eve morning spent down at Selsey Bill and Pagham with Paul Davy and Steve Baines, for Paul's birthday.

The squally conditions proved for an unseasonably lively seawatch from the eastern viewpoint at Selsey, the clear highlight of which was a dark morph Pomarine Skua powering past, briefly lingering to chase a Herring Gull. Otherwise, notable bits included at least 7-8 Great Northern Divers, five Red-throated Divers, half a dozen Kittiwakes, well over a hundred Gannets and a few Guillemots and Razorbills nice and close in (most went on the list as auk sp., much further out). 

Kittiwakes

Great Northern Diver

Pomarine Skua and Gannet

Continuing an excellent morning for the species, another Great Northern Diver was in the harbour at Church Norton along with a couple of Red-breased Mergansers, two Sandwich Terns and the usual selection of waders including some 250 Knot. A Raven flew over the Severals which was a new species for me here.

Sandwich Tern

We finished up at the Ferry Pool where we added a few bits to the day list including Avocet (22), Lapwing (18) and a single Little Grebe.

25th December

No real birding.

26th December

Birding close to home this morning produced a pair of Tufted Ducks on the main lake at Waltham Brooks, two Little Egrets flying north, and at least 30 Chiffchaffs around the sewage works. 

27th December

Very little birding today owing to the foul weather and other commitments. A check of likely local sites for Waxwing again drew a blank. Hadworth Farm scrape proved quite lively from a quick roadside check, with the highlight being a female Pintail (a first for me here) among 20 Mallards and nine Gadwall.

28th December

A bit of a marathon local session this morning taking in various water bodies and again checking all the potential Waxwing spots (again nothing!). The female Long-tailed Duck was still at the private site near Petworth for at least her 61st day, while the five Russian White-fronted Geese (three adults/two juveniles) were among 100+ Greylag Geese at Amberley. Burton Mill Pond produced the now obligatory Great White Egret plus my first singing Woodlark and drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker of the season, the latter a touch later than in recent years but hardly surprising given the shocking weather we've had recently. At least 30 Siskin and five Lesser Redpoll were noted in the birches and alders around the ponds. 

29th December

Just a bit of casual birding close to home this morning which didn't produce too much of interest, though it was good to hear a Mistle Thrush in full song up at Alban Head playing fields.

In the afternoon we headed down to Arundel, where we found at least 20 Cattle Egrets gathered on Mill Road water meadows (seen from the car) and the usual selection of gulls and wildfowl at Swanbourne Lake, including at least 55 Tufted Duck and 53 Gadwall. 

30th December

Another tour of local berry tree sites sadly failed to produce any Waxwings. The female Long-tailed Duck was still at the private site near Petworth which was otherwise quiet aside from two female Pochard and 11 Shoveler.

Shoveler

 31st December

No real birding aside from a couple of stops at likely Waxwing sites (still nothing!).

A bit of unexpected excitement while visiting family in Merrow up in Surrey though came when a female Sparrowhawk caught and killed a Feral Pigeon in the street just as we got out of the car, and then proceeded to pluck and eat it under a parked car. 

Sparrowhawk (and friend)

Happy New Year!