Late March into Spring

21st March

An initially atmospherically misty start to the day quickly turned into a thick peasouper and put paid to my attempt at a dawn check of Waltham Brooks. I could just about make out 22 Tufted Duck on the lake and there were plenty of Chiffchaffs singing around the place, but otherwise not much to report. 

After dropped B off at nursery I quickly headed up Amberley Mount to see if the top was above the fog, which it was. 20 minutes in glorious sunshine up here proved rewarding with Skylarks in fine voice and my first Wheatear of the year - a female - briefly posing well at Downs Farm before disappearing over the rooftops of the farm buildings. It struck me while I was up here that it's been quite some time since I saw a Little Owl up here, as the cow sheds at the farm used to be a reliable spot for them a year or two ago.

Skylark

Wheatear

Late afternoon I headed out again after work for a quick sweep of a couple of local sites. First, the scrape at Bignor Park which held the lingering Green Sandpiper, three Little Grebes and two drake Tufted Ducks, the latter a first for me here. The private reservoir at Petworth didn't hold any surprises, just a handful of Gadwall, a Little Grebe and the usual singing Skylarks and Yellowhammers around and about. 

22nd March

An early walk out from home to the river via Thorndale Bridge proved productive with first a singing Blackcap by the railway bridge, followed by a Redshank calling out towards Amberley West: All three of those species new for the year list! Up at Waltham Brooks there were again 22 Tufted Duck on the main lake but little else of note. The biggest surprise came in the form of a softly singing Willow Warbler in the scrub by the lake, equaling my earliest ever record of the species following on from one at Pulborough Brooks on 22nd March 2020. 

Early afternoon I headed out again for an early afternoon check of a few more local sites. The scrape at Bignor Park held the lingering Green Sandpiper and Egyptian Geese pair with their four young. Amazingly, as I scanned the water, the sound of another singing Willow Warbler drifted into my peripheral hearing. I made my way over to where the sound was coming from and found it flitting about in the hedgerow willows. 

Willow Warbler

23rd March

No birding today as I was up in Chelmsford speaking at the Essex Birdwatching Society Conference on the subject of Avian Reintroductions: Past, Present and Future.

24th March

Out at dawn this morning for a full loop of Pulborough Brooks before a busy day of non-birding stuff. It was another cold day, particularly in the brisk north-westerly, but pleasant enough in the sunshine out of the wind. As was the case yesterday, it felt like a good day for large/soaring birds, so I actually had Spoonbill or Common Crane in the back of my mind as I set off round the trail. West Mead and Winpenny hides proved rather quiet, with just two each of Dunlin and Avocet out on the South Brooks (I missed the mini wader-fest here on Friday which included Grey Plover, Golden Plover and Ringed Plover - a great day for Chris and Juliet Moore et al). Moving round to the Hanger and, amazingly, almost the first bird I picked up (after a Great White Egret) was a second year Spoonbill busily feeding on the back pool. It continued feeding very actively up until I left soon after 7:00, even giving a little flight across the pool at one point. Evidently it was refuelling to continue its journey, as it wasn't seen by a number of other birders who visited later in the morning. Also on the North Brooks were my first Little Ringed Plover of the year and at least five more Avocets.

Spoonbill

Cetti's Warbler

25th March

I had a work trip down to the New Forest today but managed to squeeze in a very quick look at the Bignor Park scrape before I left, where I found the lingering Green Sandpiper still present along with a couple of Snipe, a single Little Grebe and a Willow Warbler softly singing in the roadside hedge; presumably the same early arriving bird I heard here on Friday. Also singing nearby was a Blackcap, my first for this hotspot.

A couple of hours walking around the Eyeworth Wood and Acres Down areas of the New Forest was great and included my first Hawfinches of the year plus several Firecrests and Marsh Tits. It was fascinating to learn more about the Pine Marten camera trapping project down there, from Marcus Ward from Wild New Forest and Kat Saleiko from Forestry England. 

Eyeworth Pond, New Forest

The scarce Red-belted Bracket fungus in Eyeworth Wood

The obligatory New Forest Pony photo

On the way home I checked a couple of local sites, first up the private reservoir near Petworth which seemed very quiet until I picked up a Little Ringed Plover lurking on the far shore - my first here this year. Next up, I stopped for a look at Waltham Brooks. This seemed even more quiet, with not a hirundine or wader in sight. Four Tufted Duck were on the main lake, as was a nest-building Coot.

Little Ringed Plover

26th March

A loop of Waltham Brooks before work produced 34 species including an immature Peregrine circling overhead before drifting towards Lodge Hill - amazingly only my second record locally this year, not including Pulborough. Other bits of note included eight Tufted Duck on the main lake, at least ten singing Chiffchaffs and a Grey Heron which flew high south-east.

Peregrine

What was presumably the same Peregrine was seen again later in the morning, drifting over the garden. After a pleasant start to the day, the forecast rain eventually arrived around lunchtime and the conditions felt good for dropping some migrants, so expectation was high as I headed out to check a few water bodies in my lunch break. In reality though, it was all a bit of a damp squib. The Egyptian Goose family were still at the scrape at Bignor/Hadworth Farm, while the private reservoir near Petworth held a few more ducks than on recent visits (three Shoveler, two Gadwall, four Tufted Duck) but there were no newly arrived migrants to speak of really. The water meadows at Fittleworth held four Lapwing but not a lot else.

Egyptian Geese

27th March

An early walk from home out to Thorndale Bridge and up the riverbank to Waltham Brooks at dawn. There were plenty of Chiffchaffs and the odd Blackcap about in the first section of the walk, and a male Stonechat was singing quietly at Thorndale Bridge. As I neared the lake at Waltham Brooks I picked up a lone Sand Martin flying towards me, later joined by five others, all busily feeding overhead. Despite the brisk wind, I was also able to pick out the unmistakable song of my first Sedge Warbler of the year singing in the reeds by the lake; my earliest ever arrival date for this species. A Willow Warbler was also sub-singing nearby, with a second bird in sallows near the sewage works. It really is extraordinary how many seemed to have arrived so early this year.

Waltham Brooks

Later in the day I headed back out to check the scrape at Hadworth Farm/Bignor which held the long-staying Green Sandpiper but little else of note. At the private reservoir over near Petworth I was surprised to see a male Shelduck on the far bank with an Egyptian Goose. A long overdue first for me at this site. It didn't stay long after I arrived, before it flew off south-west. Another Willow Warbler here takes my March total so far to at least five different birds at three sites.

Shelduck

28th March

As forecast, today was a mixed bag on the weather front. Although it started relatively calm and dry after overnight rain, it didn't take long for more rain to arrive and the wind to strengthen, reaching gale force by the afternoon. I didn't get out birding early this morning, instead opting to start working relatively early and take advantage of my booked afternoon off by heading out after lunch. The scrape at Bignor was relatively quiet aside from the usual bits, although I did note a Coot on a nest here. At the reservoir near Petworth, it was encouraging to see ten Sand Martins feeding over the choppy waters; my highest count of the species anywhere so far this year. A quick check of the Rother at Fittleworth produced six Little Egrets, and two pairs of Lapwing, one angrily berating a Grey Heron. 

Pied Wagtail

Finally I headed over to Waltham Brooks for a quick check of the main lake. By now the wind was very strong and it was hard to hold my bins steady. Four hirdundines came in from a northwesterly direction which I initially took to be Sand Martins before realising they were all Swallows! They didn't hang around and flew straight through towards Amberley. Immediately after this, all of the ducks on-site suddenly exploded into flight (flushed by a Marsh Harrier I realised a bit later, when it flew off over the trees towards Amberley). I had previously only noticed a handful of Shoveler, Teal, Wigeon and Tufted Duck but soon realised there was in excess of 150 in total. Realising there had to be a chance of a Garganey in among them, I quickly fired off as many photos as I could and, sure enough, when I looked on the camera screen, there were in fact two Garganey - a male and a female - in among the flight of Teal. Fantastic! Despite sticking around a while longer, I never actually saw them again, but did hear the male croaking a couple of times.

Spot the Garganey!

29th March

I was at Pulborough Brooks soon after dawn this morning where I caught up with Paul Davy and Steve Baines. The South Brooks had the bulk of the action, certainly wader-wise, with two Avocet and a single Black-tailed Godwit here among the breeding Lapwing and Redshanks. Three Dunlin were seen in flight but we couldn't locate the lingering Water Pipit seen by Harry Ramm. A pair of Peregrines flew through low. Moving round to the North Brooks where, from the Hanger, we saw the usual selection of dabbling ducks still hanging on, in significantly reduced numbers since my last visit. 2-3 Swallows were feeding among a dozen or so Sand Martins. Around 40 Herring Gulls and a few Common Gulls were gathered on the spit between the two main pools (with at least another 30 Common Gulls drifting overhead). 
                                

30th March

A misty start to the day as the wind shifted to south-easterly overnight. I headed out early for a sweep of some water bodies. The reservoir over at Petworth held a lone Great Crested Grebe, and three Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew high north-east. The mixed singing Willow/Chiff was still present, but otherwise it was a quiet affair here. In fact, the bird of the morning was a Barn Owl which flew low over the road near Bury. The Rother at Fittleworth had fully overtopped again, completely flooding the water meadows, which held little of interest aside from my first Mallard ducklings of the year (one female with eleven in tow!). The scrape at Bignor/Hadworth Farm was still hosting the lingering Green Sandpiper as well as Little Grebe, five Tufted Duck, and multiple Coots (including one sitting on a nest). 

Mid morning we headed down to Arundel to feed the ducks at Swanbourne Lake. Two Shelduck which flew off the water and over towards the WWT were my first here, while other bits of note included at least five Mandarin and a pair of Egyptian Geese with two young. As the day was beginning to warm up, so insects began to become more apparent, including Brimstone and Peacock butterflies seen here. 

Later on, back at home, I headed out for a little walk around the local fields and added Speckled Wood to the year list, with two doing their courtship dancing flight through a garden on River Lane. A check of several of the local fields and paddocks failed to produce any migrants, aside from a couple of singing Blackcaps. Back at home, Blue Tits were busy nest-building in our garden nestbox.         

                           

Mandarins

Lesser Black-backed Gull

31st March

A mixed bag today, taking in various local spots. A return family visit to Swanbourne Lake for a go on one of the rowing boats produced an unexpected local year tick in the form of an adult Great Black-backed Gull chilling towards the northern end of the lake. This species often proves to be a bit of a low key tricky one to find locally, with perhaps 2-3 records most years, so it's always a reassuring one to get on the year list relatively early in the year.

Great Black-backed Gull

Later in the day I checked out some of the other local water bodies. First up, the private reservoir over near Petworth which held a lone Dunlin but was otherwise quiet aside from the Willow/Chiff still singing. The scrape at Bignor Park/Hadworth Farm, meanwhile, produced just a pair of Teal of note. 

Arrivals and Departures

11th March

I had the day off today and the weather looked exciting so I ended up having a fairly big morning session. Starting off at Amberley, I found the visibility to be less than ideal, with the mist fairly low and precluding decent observation. Highlights from a relatively short stay here were a Great Crested Grebe (actually an Amberley tick for me!), 15 Tufted Duck and a Great White Egret. 

Next up, I headed to Pulborough Brooks. The water levels here were still very high, with much of the reserve still entirely flooded. It was encouraging to see some land exposed on the South Brooks though, and the Lapwings, Redshanks and Skylarks were taking full advantage and singing and displaying enthusiastically. The long-staying Water Pipit was again in the wet grassland between Winpenny and West Mead hides, and a few Dunlin were lurking among the Lapwings (I only actually saw one but up to 12 were reported by others). A lone Great Crested Grebe was still on the North Brooks and at least four Chiffchaffs and three Cetti's Warblers were singing around the trail.

Wren

On the way home I stopped for a brief check of Waltham Brooks which actually proved to be a really good call. Pretty much the first bird I saw as I scanned the lake from the riverbank was a Great White Egret in full breeding plumage. A Skylark singing rather distantly to the east was a 1k area tick for this year, as was the Mediterranean Gull(s) calling as I got back to my car, which I never actually saw. A Lesser Black-backed Gull flew north with Herring Gulls.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Great White Egret

Later in the day I popped back out for an hour or so to check a couple of other sites. The scrape at Bignor Park/Hadworth Farm held singles of Green Sandpiper and Little Grebe, while my private WeBS site near Petworth revealed a Dunlin feeding along the shore - my first proper migrant wader here this year and an encouraging sign of things to come!

12th March

No birding first thing today owing to the pouring rain. I had put my moth trap out overnight though, so spent a bit of time checking through what was a reasonably decent haul, despite the weather. 20 moths of six species, with the highlights being singles of Early Thorn and Early Grey.

Early Grey

At lunchtime I popped out for a check of a couple of local water bodies. First up, the scrape at Bignor Park which was business as usual really, with only a Little Grebe and a pair of Gadwall of note. Next up, the private reservoir at Petworth which, while still not providing any migrant goodies, was considerably more birdy than it has been in my past few visits, with a single Tufted Duck my first here for a while along with a pair of Great Crested Grebes, six Gadwall and a lone Mute Swan. 

13th March

I had a short window of birding opportunity this morning before heading over to Woods Mill but wasn't 100% sure where I would go. In the end, the decision made itself when Chris and Juliet Moore circulated news of Spotted Redshank and Oystercatcher from West Mead hide at Pulborough - both decent year ticks there, especially the latter which is less than annual. I dashed over and down to the hide and was kindly shown the Spotted Red through Juliet's scope, while the Oystercatcher strutted about within spitting distance of the hide. After a few minutes, the Spotted Redshank flew across from the back of the pool and more or less joined the Oyc in the same bins view for a brief time. A duo of species I've actually never seen together here before! There were also a few showy Snipe lurking in the grassy margins in front of the hide. 

Oystercatcher

Spotted Redshank

Snipe

A lunchtime walk at Woods Mill proved fairly lively with a definite trickle of Meadow Pipits north (at least 15 in 40 minutes or so) and a Peregrine circling high overhead, the latter a new bird for me here, taking the office bird list to 70 species.

14th March

This morning I woke up in Exeter, having driven down yesterday evening for a Natural England Beaver training workshop. As I had a couple of hours to spare before the training started, I decided to head to RSPB Bowling Green Marsh and the Exe Estuary, just down the road from where I was staying. I had never visited this area for birding before but I was immediately taken with it, the main reserve reminding me of a mini Pulborough, but with the added bonus of the estuary and tidal lagoons on the outer edges. A singing Blackcap greeted my arrival, my first of the year. The apparently long-staying two Spoonbills were still on the marsh, mostly sleeping, along with a single Avocet and some 350 Black-tailed Godwits, 250 Redshank, five Dunlin and a heard only Greenshank. The tide was rapidly coming in in the estuary so there were scant waders to be found out there, but two drake Red-breasted Mergansers were a nice bonus here. The Goose Moor tidal lagoons proved rewarding, with my first Common Sandpiper of the year among four Greenshanks and a couple of Curlews. A Raven flew over, as did a trickle of half a dozen Lesser Black-backed Gulls heading north.

Spoonbills

The Beaver training session itself was excellent, and it was just superb to see the effects that England's only officially licenced wild population of the species (on the River Otter) have had in this area in just a decade or so.

Scenes from some of the beaver activities on the River Otter

After the training session was done for the day I decided to drop back in to Bowling Green Marsh again, which proved to be a good decision as, within minutes of arriving, I picked up first two Sand Martins and then a Swallow hawking over the reserve. Needless to say, my first records of either species this year! The Spoonbills were still about too. The tide was out now so the estuary channels on both the eastern and western sides of the reserve were busy with waders including around 25 Grey Plover,  60 Avocets, ten Bar-tailed Godwits and a few Oystercatchers and Curlews among the hundreds of Dunlin and Redshanks.

15th March

My second and final day in Devon and I again headed out to the Exe Estuary and Bowling Green Marsh early doors. The tide was still out but coming in fast as I arrived, and I was able to notch up ten species of wader out on the mud flats, including some 50 or more Bar-tailed Godwits, 30 Knot, 60 Grey Plover, 180 Black-tailed Godwits and 500 or more Dunlin. 

Bar-tailed Godwits

The two Spoonbills were still present on the marsh, rather less expected were two Black Swans swimming about on the water behind them. Not sure I've ever had those two species in the same scope view before! By the time I was leaving the reserve the tide had come in on the estuary and upwards of 300 Black-tailed Godwits and 250 Redshank were gathering to roost on the marsh. 

Wigeon

Spoonbills

Black Swans and Spoonbills

16th March

Not much birding today but a brief session at the private site near Petworth started auspiciously with a Peacock butterfly on the wing. The reservoir was quiet but, just 15 minutes or so after I arrived and with multiple Buzzards and Red Kites getting up on the thermals it was perhaps not entirely surprising to see an immature female Goshawk get up from the trees near Duncton Common. I watched it for the following ten to fifteen minutes as it climbed stratospherically high, briefly sparred with a Buzzard before stooping down at high speed in the rough direction of Burton Mill Pond. As it disappeared behind the tree line there, a cloud of corvids and Woodpigeons exploded into the air. Walking back to my car I saw my first Comma of the year on the wing, while on the drive home I noted at least three male Brimstones from the car. 

Goshawk - very high by this point!

Peacock

17th March

Rain and a southerly wind to start the day so I hit up various local water bodies, sadly without much reward for my drenching. Perhaps the most lively were the scrape at Bignor Park which held a pair of Mandarins (a site tick for me here) and Waltham Brooks where eleven Tufted Ducks were persisting on the main lake. 

Later in the day we met friends in Arundel for a walk and lunch at Swanbourne Lake. This picturesque site is always worth a visit and is included in mine and Ed's book for good reason, as it is pretty consistently busy with gulls and wildfowl, thanks in no small part to the amount of willing visitors buying and emptying bags of bird seed! Duck highlights today were some 50 Tufted Duck, 40 Gadwall and a single Pochard. A singing Blackcap on the north side of the lake was my first locally this year, while a Peregrine was circling high overhead as we left. 

18th March

An hour dash round Pulborough Brooks this morning proved reasonably fruitful, producing 56 species in total. Highlights were a pair of Avocets and an impressive 16 Shelduck squabbling at West Mead. Two pairs of Great Crested Grebe were displaying out on the South/Mid Brooks while a fifth bird was on its own on the North Brooks. Easily my highest count of this usually scarce species here, it just goes to show how high the water levels have been here for a pretty long period of time. A dozen Tufted Ducks would likewise normally be a pretty remarkable count here, but seems fairly routine at the moment. Other bits of note included a Blackcap singing at the top of Green Lane, a male Stonechat on the fence near Redstart Corner and at least eight singing Chiffchaffs around the trail. 

Shelducks

Shelducks, Avocets and Canada Geese

A check of Waltham Brooks at lunchtime didn't reveal any lurking summer migrants (that I could see). In fact, aside from a couple of singing Chiffchaffs it felt rather wintry, with 22 Tufted Ducks on the main lake probably the standout birds. 

19th March

I was in Kent this morning for work, at a woodland site in the High Weald. There were good numbers of finches around, especially Siskins and Redpolls, and I heard what sounded like at least a couple of Crossbills flying over too. 

Heading back into Sussex early afternoon in intermittent light rain and a light south-westerly, I decided I had to check out a couple of local water bodies in my lunchbreak. The private reservoir at Petworth was disappointingly quiet, but I had better luck at the flooded Rother in Fittleworth which held five Little Egrets and a Kingfisher busily feeding. The scrape at Bignor Park, meanwhile, was still hosting a Green Sandpiper and the lingering Egyptian Goose family. Just as I thought it was going to be another blank session in terms of any summer migrants I heard the distinctive chattering call of Sand Martin and looked up to see two flying west overhead. They didn't even drop in to feed over the water, despite the rain. 

An after work look at Waltham Brooks proved relatively quiet aside from at least eight Tufted Duck on the main lake. Two Marsh Harriers flew downriver in close succession, including a very smart looking male. 

Marsh Harrier

20th March

The Spring Equinox. Always a momentous day in the calendar and this morning held promise with a light south-easterly breeze and a touch of haze in the air. In short, the air felt rare. After dropping B off at nursery I popped by Amberley. Garganey was a species I had in mind as I scanned through the many ducks. After a couple of passes with the scope I looked again and was delighted to see a very smart drake dabbling about with a female Wigeon, to which he displayed a few times! Always a highlight of the year seeing the first drake Garganey and it was nice to find one at a different site, having spent many hours trying to find one at Waltham Brooks in recent springs. Funnily enough, I also realised it was exactly six years to the day since I found a pair at my old patch of Shalford Water Meadows near Guildford. Typically for Amberley, it was hundreds of metres away, so I only managed to get some very ropey record shot photos and videos through my scope. 

(Very distant) Garganey

After the early mist cleared it turned into an absolutely beautiful early spring day, with the mercury rising to 16 degrees Celsius; more than enough to coax out multiple butterflies and other inverts, including my first female Brimstone of the year.

Brimstone

After work I headed out for another little evening session, by which time the temperature was still well into the teens! First up I checked the scrape at Bignor Park which held a pair of Little Grebe, half a dozen Teal and the lingering Egyptian Goose family. An hour at Burton Mill Pond produced 37 species including six Sand Martins feeding overhead before heading off south, five Little Egrets flying south to roost, and the usual Great Crested Grebe pair and 23 Tufted Duck on the water.

Sand Martin