Early February

1st February

A beautifully sunny day for the most part, it felt almost spring-like by lunchtime at Woods Mill with Buzzards getting high on the thermals and a Sparrowhawk displaying. Before work I briefly stopped off for a scan of Amberley Wildbrooks from the southern side which produced a nice little selection of waders: a single Ruff, at least six Dunlin, ~220 Black-tailed Godwits (at least - they were unusually very spread out rather than in a single tight flock) plus the usual hundreds of Lapwing (800 at the very least but probably more than a thousand). There were also three Shelduck on the north side and one of the White-tailed Eagles about too. 

True happiness at this time of year comes from those first bright days when it's still just about light as I finish work, and today was certainly the best one yet. A Firecrest was calling as I left Woods Mill and there was still enough light left when I neared home to stop for a dusk vigil by the lake at Waltham Brooks which produced four Tufted Ducks and at least three squealing Water Rails. 

Sunset at Waltham Brooks

2nd February

Continuing the theme of the slightly longer days, this morning I manage to squeeze in an hour or so of birding before work. Heading out on foot from home I pitched up on the river bank for a bit of a scan from Thorndale Bridge out towards Amberley. I quickly picked up the pair of White-tailed Eagles perched together at some serious distance on the north side of Amberley. My neighbour happened to walk past a few minutes later and he was delighted when I showed him the eagles through my scope, and we talked a little about hopeful conservation success stories. A nice way to start the day! There were plenty of swans flying about over Amberley, mostly Mute Swans from what I could see, including a group of seven which flew upriver. One group of three adult swans flew south off the wildbrooks which I only had in view for a matter of seconds but I suspect they may have been Bewick's. Other bits of note this morning included my first singing Reed Bunting of the year. 

Around lunchtime I headed out again for a bit, first to check the Hadworth Farm scrape which held absolutely no waterbirds at all for the first time in weeks, partly owing to reduced water levels but also as a tractor had evidently been through not long before and flailed all the hedges. I did wonder if a Green Sandpiper wasn't skulking about out there somewhere and, sure enough, Mark McManus reported one there an hour or so later. As I didn't stay here long I popped up towards Fittleworth to scan a likely area of woodland in the hope of some raptor action in the surprisingly pleasant sunshine. Just two Red Kites in half an hour today but I will be back again; it's wonderful to think we are into the season of displaying Goshawks. 

Skywatching, dreaming of Goshawks...

3rd February

A family walk at Burton Mill Pond this morning produced a few goodies including my first Woodlark of the year, singing over the vineyard. There were good numbers of thrushes and finches around, including at least 200 each of Fieldfare and Siskin, the latter making an incredible sound in the Alders near the road. Every tree seemed to be dripping with them! Duck numbers were way down since my last proper circuit here, with unusually no Pochard at all and only around 25 Tufted Duck in total. On the other hand, a lone drake Wigeon on Chingford Pond was my first record of the species here (on either pond) since December 2022! Egrets were represented by four Little Egret and two Great White Egret at Chingford Pond. Other bits of note were my first singing Firecrest of the year, and a group of seven Snipe which flew west over Newpiece Moor.

Great White Egret

Siskins

4th February

An early start this morning for a couple of hours' session at Pulborough Brooks. Lucky I arrived when I did and not a couple of minutes later as, if I had, I would have missed the eight Bewick's Swans which were on the Mid Brooks but flew south just after I scanned from behind the visitor centre. Luckily I managed to get just enough on them to confirm the ID as they flew (they were later seen back down at Burpham Water Meadows). There were eight at Henfield Levels a couple of days ago, so they have clearly decided to return to the Arun Valley for a bit. They're proving to be very mobile this winter! Other highlights from Pulborough this morning included 14 Shelduck, 12 Black-tailed Godwit, 16 Dunlin and five Ruff, plus the usual Peregrine in its favourite willow at the Hanger. 

Peregrine and Jackdaws

Shelducks

Bewick's Swans (a long way away by this point!)

A check of the private reservoir near Petworth yielded a pair of Pintail among 87 Shoveler, while the surrounding farmland was ringing with the sound of Skylarks singing (as was the case at Pulborough, actually - clearly today was the day for them!)

Finally, the scrape at Hadworth Farm/Bignor Park held a single Green Sandpiper. 

5th February

I dropped in at The Burgh this morning as I was passing. It was a windy start to the day with a blanket of murk and drizzle in the air, but I still enjoyed a peaceful hour walking the loop from Canada Barn. The highlight was a ringtail Hen Harrier quartering the fields north of the Dew Pond, with other raptors seen including 35 Red Kites, a couple of Buzzards and a pair of Sparrowhawks. There was lots of Skylark song around, despite the wind, and little groups of Grey Partridge around seemingly every corner.

Looking south from The Burgh

A lunchtime walk around the local farmland near home passed without much event, aside from a few Wigeon in flight over Waltham Brooks and two Coal Tits having a bit of a sing-off on our road. We've had a run of grey, windy days recently; it definitely feels like the next bright, sunny day we have will feel that bit more spring-like and we can start thinking about Goshawks and Lesser Spots again...

6th February

Another blustery and at times wet morning saw me heading out on foot towards the river and up to Waltham Brooks. A Kingfisher briefly perched by the outflow on the near bank at Thorndale Bridge was my first in the 1km from home recording area this year while a Great White Egret was glimpsed in flight distantly over Amberley Wildbrooks. Up at Waltham Brooks the highlights were five Tufted Duck and the usual selection of dabblers on the main lake, at least seven Snipe flushed from the marshy grassland bits and plenty of Chiffchaffs in full song at the sewage works. 

A brief lunchtime check of the scrape at Hadworth Farm produced a lonely Grey Heron but nothing else. Sadly this site doesn't seem to hold much water for very long and this combined with the thawing out of other more high quality wetland sites has led to this being largely shunned by local wildfowl and waders for the time being. Roll on spring wader passage!

The clear highlight of the day came later afternoon when, glancing up from my desk upstairs at home, I caught sight of a Merlin dashing quite low over the rooftops, jinking to and fro like a large hirundine before dropping down at speed towards Amberley. My second sighting of the species from home already this year and my best 'from the bedroom window' views yet. Just too quick for a photo unfortunately, especially as I was halfway through voice noting Ed at the time!

7th February

Birding time was rather limited today but I did at least manage to get out for a lunchtime walk at Woods Mill where highlights included a vocal Marsh Tit, and seven Canada Geese (5 and 2) which flew over, remarkably my first here! As I was leaving late afternoon a Firecrest was calling by the car park.

Marsh Tit

8th February

Next to no birding today aside from a quick look at Waltham Brooks in passing, in the pouring rain, where I found three Tufted Duck on the main lake and half a dozen Redwings in the scrub by the road.

9th February

 Another day with only limited birding time saw me do a quick check of a couple of local water bodies in my lunch break. The scrape at Hadworth Farm/Bignor Park held the lingering Green Sandpiper plus eight Gadwall, while Burton Mill Pond produced three drake Pochard, 14 Tufted Duck, a flyover Raven and at least two Red Kites and seven Buzzards circling about. I'm still waiting for the return of the regular breeding Great Crested Grebes here, with the species still implausibly absent from my 2024 local year list as we approach the seventh week of the year!

Green Sandpiper

10th February

I had a great time at the Sussex Recorders Seminar in Haywards Heath during the day, it was really nice to see so many familiar faces and some really excellent talks! There was enough daylight when I got home for a pootle over to Waltham Brooks, and the cloud even broke to give a beautiful sunset. Highlights of the 40 species in an hour here included some 150 Linnets in to roost, 15 Tufted Duck on the lake (including a female with a particular strong white blaze which made me double take), at least 15 Snipe, three Water Rail, a pair of Stonechat, and a pair of Pintail which flew high north - the latter two species perhaps indicators of some early movement. I've not seen Stonechat here for a while and the Pintail didn't look like they were just moving upriver, they seemed to be setting off on quite a journey... Perhaps just wishful thinking, but the seasons are turning!

Pintails high over Waltham Brooks

Tufted Ducks (rather Scaup-y female back left)

Linnets

Linnets