In like a lion

1st March

Here we are then, at last - the first day of meterological spring, and it was another wet and squally start to the day. In fact, most of the day really! In the gaps in the (sometimes very heavy and haily) showers I managed to sneak in quick looks at Waltham Brooks, Bignor Park scrape and Amberley. The latter was still holding lots of Dunlin (30 or more), three Ruff and a Great White Egret but there was still no further sign of the Turnstone from earlier in the week. A burst of sunshine just as I was heading home coaxed quite a few raptors into the air including 4-5 each of Red Kite and Buzzard and one of the White-tailed Eagles. Otherwise, rather meagre highlights from earlier in the day were five Tufted Ducks on the lake at Waltham Brooks and a Little Grebe and ~35-40 Siskins at Bignor Park. 

Amberley Wildbrooks

2nd March

A really unpleasant start to the day with wind and heavy rain saw me enjoying an unusually lazy start to the day before heading down to Havant for a morning of family stuff. By the time we got to where we were going, the weather had actually markedly improved and the sun was even breaking through a bit. A text came through from Steve Chalmers informing me of two Black-necked Grebes on the South Brooks at Pulborough. Oh no! Just four months on from the Slavonian Grebe at the end of last year - my previous Pulborough tick - here was another grebe species new for my Pulborough list, and I was 30-odd miles away. Luckily the birds hung around and I was able to enjoy good views (albeit distant) from Hail's View mid-afternoon, with the pair even displaying to one another a few times. It's been a while since I've seen that! Also of note here were a singing Firecrest and a few Siskins in the alders near the viewpoint. It was great to catch up with Steve himself too, who was rightly very pleased with his find - although I must acknowledge Steve Baines who picked up the birds first off, but wasn't able to clinch the ID in the foul weather. I have been there before and know just how frustrating it can be!

Black-necked Grebes

3rd March

A deep frost this morning, meaning it took several minutes of scraping to clear the car windscreen. First stop was the private reservoir over near Petworth which was pretty much the emptiest I have ever seen it -  hosting just five Little Grebes, and singles of Coot and Canada Goose. I didn't stay long and instead decided to dash back over to Pulborough to see if the grebes were still about. En route I went through some pretty dense fog patches and my hopes were not high that the visibility would be much good when I arrived. Pulborough village was surprisingly clear but, sure enough, scanning from by the visitor centre revealed a blanket of fog hugging low over the South Brooks. It gradually lifted enough to reveal no sign of the BNGs, perhaps not surprisingly, although a pair of Lesser Black-backed Gulls were a sure sign of spring, as was the very welcome sound of a Woodlark singing over the heath - the first one I've heard here this year. It was a relief for RSPB warden James too, as he told me recently he was getting anxious that they might not return this year. 

Fast forward to early afternoon and I found myself with another little window of free time. By the now the day had warmed up considerably, with the spells of sunshine helping drive the temperature up into double figures. I had to drop Kate and B off in Bury so decided on a lunchtime session at Amberley, viewing from the south side. No sooner had I arrived than I picked up a ringtail Hen Harrier circling quite close over the southern edge of the flood water. To my amazement, it circled higher and drifted closer, until it wasn't far off directly overhead, before straightening its course and heading purposefully south towards the Downs. Easily my best ever views of the species locally, and possibly anywhere in fact!

Hen Harrier

On the way home I briefly stopped off for a check of the Bignor Park scrape which revealed a pair of Egyptian Geese with five very fluffy young - my first 'FL' breeding code on eBird of the year, always a special moment!

Egyptian Goose family

4th March

Thick fog enveloped the lower levels locally this morning so, after dropping B off at nursery, I decided on a quick jaunt up at The Burgh, which I found to be bathed in glorious sunshine. In fact, despite only being 8.30 in the morning, I actually felt quite overdressed within a few minutes of leaving my car. A couple of Grey Partridges sounded my arrival, while Chaffinches and Yellowhammers jinked and jangled in the hedgerows. It's always good to be back up here. 

Today I did the short loop from Canada Barn up to the main north-south path to the south of Rackham Hill then back via the little copse. There were hundreds of gulls down in the valley south of the Dew Pond, mostly Common Gull and Black-headed Gull as far as I could see. Red Kites were, as usual, the most abundant raptor, though a Merlin was a nice bonus dashing through over Canada Barn as I got back to my car. 

Merlin

A lunchtime walk round the fields near home proved fairly uneventful on the bird front, aside from a few Buzzards getting up in the warm sunshine. There were quite a few invertebrates on the wing though, including a Peacock butterfly. 

5th March

Not much birding today, but a brief look at Woods Mill lake in my lunch break produced a pair of Little Grebes and a Chiffchaff, the latter singing somewhat hesitantly.

6th March

The shift to easterly winds saw the inevitable lingering morning fog rearing its head, which precluded any early morning birding today. I got out at lunch for a walk over to Waltham Brooks, where I found at least two each of Tufted Duck and Little Grebe on the very flooded main lake and Chiffchaffs dotted about all over the place. Viewing from the window at home later on in the afternoon I noted a Raven flying over towards Amberley (strangely my first this month!) and a couple of Sparrowhawks displaying.

7th March

Another foggy start to the day so I decided to try for a quick scoot around up Chantry Hill on my way to Woods Mill, thinking I would discover the summit to be above the fog. Sadly it wasn't to be, and the 20 minutes I had time for up here was a rather wasted little session, although it was nice to glimpse and hear a few Corn Buntings through the murk.

Yellowhammer in the fog

Come lunchtime it had turned into a lovely early spring afternoon so I made sure to get out of the office for a stroll round the Woods Mill reserve which produced a singing Chiffchaff, three Buzzards getting up on the thermals and a female Stonechat along the stream - a first for me here. 

Stonechat

It was still plenty light enough after work for a brief look at the South Brooks from the tea terrace. The amount of flood water had gone up again since the weekend, and the few Lapwings still about were looking rather bewildered where their prospective nest sites had gone. Three Avocets on an island at West Mead were my first locally this year, as was a Redshank flying from one tiny bit of exposed land to another. 

Sunset over a flooded Pulborough Brooks

8th March

A big walk home from Pulborough this morning proved somewhat frustrating, despite the beautiful weather, not least because my planned route was scuppered by impassable flooding meaning I had to walk along the noisy A29 rather more than I'd hoped. Amazingly, within spitting distance of the road I did pick up a couple of singing Firecrests, Chiffchaffs and even a Cetti's Warbler in brambles by the railway line in Hardham. A Redshank was heard but not seen at Widney Brooks. Several Chiffchaffs were singing here and at Waltham Brooks too, it certainly feels as though this species has properly begun to arrive on its breeding grounds in recent days, rather than just dispersing from wintering grounds.

In the afternoon a brief check of Fittleworth Water Meadows revealed a displaying Lapwing, while Bignor Park scrape still held the Egyptian Goose family but not much else. Finally, a check of the flooded meadow near Swan Bridge in Pulborough late afternoon produced my first local Mediterranean Gull of the year - an adult - feeding among 80 or so Black-headed Gulls.

Mediterranean Gull

9th March

An early stroll round the local fields near home didn't produce too much excitement aside from a couple of singing Chiffchaffs, a Kestrel, and a Lesser Black-backed Gull north-east. 

Later in the day I checked out the private reservoir near Petworth in the hope of a bit of wader action but there was similarly nothing much doing, aside from four Gadwall, a pair of Shoveler and a Great Crested Grebe. Again, a Chiffchaff was singing in the bushes nearby, as this species starts to make its presence known at many of my regular spots. A quick look at the scrape at Bignor Park/Hadworth Farm revealed a Green Sandpiper. 

10th March

Today was looking promising. For several days, the promise of north-easterly wind combined with some fairly steady rain from mid-morning looked a bit tasty and I had Little Gull on my mind up until yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately the forecast didn't quite deliver and had changed by this morning. There was still the easterly wind but no rain. After a very quiet WeBS count in Petworth I decided on a proper session at Burton Mill Pond - this always takes a minimum of 80-90 minutes to take in the three ponds and I just don't often have that kind of time lately, certainly not on weekdays. 44 species was the total here this morning, with highlights including a singing Woodlark, at least eight Mandarins (a good count here) and some 120 or more Siskins. In fact, one Alder tree by Black Pond had a minimum of 60 Siskins in it!

Then I checked out Waltham Brooks briefly which held eleven Tufted Ducks and a few dabbling ducks, singing Chiffchaff etc, as well as a pair of Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying up and down the river. 

No proper time of day

There's a poem I've shared at least once on a previous blog that succinctly sums up the feeling of October giving way to November - written by Thomas Hood in 1844 - as follows:

No sun — no moon!
No morn — no noon —
No dawn — no dusk — no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member —
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! —
November!

Still. it's not all doom and gloom, especially when the autumn weather gods conspire to deliver something a bit tasty. It won't have escaped anyone's notice that we are experiencing a very wet autumn indeed, with the latest batch of spring tides and bouts of torrential rainfall seeing the River Arun overtopping its banks in many places from Pulborough down to the South Downs and beyond. Even so, the standout weather event of the season this year was undoubtedly the fierce Atlantic storm system, named Ciarán, which battered the south of the UK overnight on 1st/2nd November, resulting in a wreck of Leach's Storm-Petrels and a few European Storm-Petrels and Sabine's Gulls being seen along the coast all the way from Cornwall to Kent. Thanks to being recovered enough from my shoulder injury to drive (but still not back working full time) I was very lucky to be able to get to the coast to be part of this once in a lifetime birding experience. My write-up of that day and more included in this summary of the first ten days of November.

1st November

The arrival of the low pressure weather system associated with Storm Ciarán brought intermittent heavy rain and increasing winds this morning. I decided to stretch my driving muscles again with a trip over to the private reservoir near Petworth. A dozen Pochard were newly arrived here since my visit on 29th October, but I couldn't initially find the Long-tailed Duck. After a while it appeared (how do they do that?) and eventually showed quite well, preening for several minutes, though always distant. In fact, I worked out it was around 220 metres or more away from my viewpoint for the most part. Nonetheless, I am confident that it is an adult female bird moulting into winter plumage. I could also see as it preened that it appeared to be unringed. Interestingly, a different Long-tailed Duck was at a farm reservoir near Pagham yesterday. As another wave of heavy rain arrived from the south-west I decided to make a dash for the car, but was halted in my tracks as an adult Swallow flew over my head and leisurely hawked around over the fields and the little sewage works by the reservoir. It was presumably the same bird I saw here on Sunday and really didn't look in any hurry to get anywhere today. This represents my joint latest record of the species in the UK, following on from one over Leith Hill on the same date in 2015.

Long-tailed Duck - always distant!

Red Kite

In a break in the weather early afternoon I took the opportunity to head over to check Waltham Brooks which was seriously flooded even since my last proper visit a couple of days ago. Indeed, access around the lake was impossible coming from the railway line side, with paths totally flooded back up towards Greatham Bridge and the river bank back towards Thorndale Bridge. Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of ducks around including over a hundred Teal, plus at least seven Snipe and the ubiquitous squealing Water Rails (at least two). Three Marsh Harriers battled their way downriver, including a smart adult male again, and at least 25 Black-headed Gulls were doing the same, all looking distinctly Little Gull-esque at a glance as they skulled low over the floodwater, but sadly I wasn't able to find yesterday's Pulborough LG here today. 

A very flooded Waltham Brooks

2nd November

The calm after the storm, or in the middle of it, as we unexpectedly woke this morning to patchy cloud, no rain and almost no wind. It seems the eye of Storm Ciarán was right above us at this point as, by 09:30 or so, the rain was starting again and the wind beginning to pick up. After dropping B off at nursery I decided the best course of action was a quick tour of local water bodies which didn't produce a great deal aside from the continuing Long-tailed Duck. With reports of multiple Leach's Storm-Petrels starting to come in from the coast I felt like I was really only delaying the inevitable by waiting for something to happen inland, so headed down to Goring for an impromptu seawatch. I had barely parked my car on Marine Drive and wound down the window before I picked up the first Leach's Storm-Petrel powering east, fairly close in. This turned out to be the first of an extraordinary 20 that passed in the next 95 minutes or so, including a loose group of four just before 12:30. It was good to see Lyn and Mike Hunt here briefly and get them on a couple of Leach's, including one lingering fairly close to shore, plus a bonus European Storm-Petrel which I'm ashamed to say I only picked up when reviewing photos when I got home. It was hard to keep track of any one bird for very long in the swell.  

Soon after 13:00, with the rain getting heavier and the wind picking up (and my injured shoulder aching) I decided to head for home. I hadn't got further than the sharp bend on Amberley Drive though, before I stopped again, as I picked up an adult Little Gull on the flood right by the road, through the car windscreen! I didn't even have to get out of the car to enjoy great views of it just a short distance away through the window. What a remarkable couple of hours! It will be interesting to see what effects this storm has on inland birding in the coming days, with surely a few seabirds and other bits displaced and attempting to reorientate. 

Little Gull

European Storm-Petrel

Leach's Storm-Petrel

Leach's Storm-Petrel

3rd November

The calm after the storm the day before. This morning began clear with light winds, so I headed out early for a bit of a skywatch from the local farmland. It was fairly lively, with 54 species recorded in a little over an hour. It was tricky to establish the true movers from the local roosting species with light trickles of the likes of Goldfinch, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Stock Dove, Herring Gull and Greenfinch in various directions. Rather more noteworthy bits included two Ravens south (picked up by the sound of their wingbeats!), five Lesser Black-backed Gulls west/south-west and at least one Dunlin heard flying west - my 110th species for this eBird hotspot!

After a bit of work at home I headed back out to Pulborough which I discovered had become one giant lake since my last visit a few days ago. Indeed, water was still gushing in over the river banks on both the North and South Brooks. As such, avian interest was somewhat limited, aside from a lot of geese and dabbling ducks. At least two or three Marsh Harriers were hunting along the remaining vegetated ditches and bits of exposed land. A Redpoll flew over the Hanger while a Peregrine was back in the favourite big willow tree near the viewpoint there. It was good to catch up with Chris and Juliet Moore here and, as another band of unforecasted rain moved in, we decided to all make a swift exit and headed for Rackham Viewpoint. Amberley Wildbrooks was looking equally flooded but despite a good scan we couldn't pick out anything particularly unusual among the geese and Black-headed Gulls, aside from a single Cattle Egret, strangely associating with a Little Egret, flying in from the north-west before dropping in by the favourite eagle tree.

Red Kites

A flooded Amberley Wildbrooks

4th November

Not loads of birding today but I did a manage an hour locally in the afternoon, though the floodwater has risen to such an extent that Waltham Brooks is mostly inaccessible, with the main lake essentially now extending as far west as the railway line in some places. Highlights were the usual Water Rails (at least two), two Marsh Harriers, 20+ Shoveler, and two Stonechats gleaning insects from patches of detritus on the flood water near the railway. As I headed back through the farmland towards home a single flock of 60 Fieldfares flew over heading south. 

Flooding at Waltham Brooks

5th November

Remember, remember, your last hirundine of the year. Or was it? It's been a pretty extraordinary few days here in the Pulborough area, with my latest ever Hobby, my joint latest ever Swallow and, today, my joint latest ever House Martin. The way things are going though, I have a distinct feeling it won't be the last. How many hirundines must have been blown back in their tracks by Storm Ciaran?

It was a glorious bright autumn morning with clear blue sky, although a brisky west/north-westerly wind. As it was the first fine day after a spell of stormy weather I decided to check a few water bodies locally, in the hope of stumbling across any reorienting storm-blown birds. The reservoir near Petworth still held the female Long-tailed Duck, present for at least a week now, plus a 'new in' Green Sandpiper. It was also very apparent that today was a big Woodpigeon day, with a minimum of 1,080 flying south-west here in just over half an hour. Moving on to Burton Mill Pond, which was sadly lacking in any wildfowl at all (I didn't have enough time to walk round to check Chingford Pond) but again produced several big flocks of Woodpigeons, a couple of Redwings. plus showy Marsh Tit and Firecrest near the car park.

Firecrest

Woodpigeons

My final stop on the way home was Hadworth Farm in West Burton, where I also found the now very flooded scrape entirely devoid of waterbirds. There were again lots of Woodpigeons moving overhead (450 in about 15 minutes) plus a few other bits. Just as I was about to leave, I picked up a hirundine coming towards me from the west which turned to reveal its white rump. It then fed over the fields and scrape briefly before continuing on its way east/south-east. 

House Martin

6th November

Timing, patience and luck are three very important factors when it comes to enjoyment and success in birding. Some days it feels like everything has gone in your favour and you are rewarded for the choices you make. Other days, choices or circumstances can lead to a less than satisfactory time in the field. Today was an example of the latter, unfortunately. 

With messages streaming in from friends in Surrey of massive Woodpigeon movements and other vismig delights, I was eager to get out birding ASAP. I wasn't able to get out until just after 8, which normally would still leave an hour or two of lively migration activity to enjoy, one would think. Today I headed up Amberley Mount for the first time in two months and have to say it was really rather underwhelming, relatively speaking. An early push of 1,200 Woodpigeons moving south down the river valley soon fizzled out and there was hardly any vismig of any description thereafter. A local congregation of Yellowhammers and constant soundtrack of Skylarks, plus a trio of Stonechats were nice, and a Great Black-backed Gull west was actually a new species for me at this site, but it still never felt like fireworks were imminent. A brief check of the floods at Greatham Bridge and Fittleworth also produced very little of note. Tomorrow is another day!

Stonechat

An afternoon check of Waltham Brooks in between errands proved productive, with highlights being a flyover Peregrine, three Marsh Harrier, five Tufted Duck, 20 Fieldfares, and a very showy Great White Egret dropping in just 30 metres or so from where I was stood on the edge of the flood. 

Great Egret

7th November

The weather forecast suggested another decent morning for vismig today, especially after yesterday's  big push of Woodpigeons. I again was a little later heading out than hoped and it was immediately clear that if there had been another such push today then I had again missed it. Indeed, it was one of the quietest vismig sessions I've done this season, at least for the first part - up on Alban Head just to the west of home. Highlights were single flocks of 80 Fieldfares and 130 Starlings west. Continuing the watch from a lower level - the farmland along River Lane - proved a clever move, as there was a clear upturn in movement, starting with a single Brambling low west with one Chaffinch, another 35 Fieldfares and 118 Woodpigeons west. 

Woodpigeons

Late morning I headed down to the coast. I was due to give a Knepp talk in Worthing early afternoon, so decided to take the opportunity for another seawatch at Goring Gap. As I parked up on Marine Drive, a scan of the flooded fields revealed a lot of gulls, especially Mediterranean Gull - a theme that continued throughout the session with perhaps 150 or more either moving purposefully west down the coasts or occasionally dropping in for a while. There was also a lone Brent Goose on the field which later flew west along the beach. Seawatching proved to be fairly quiet, with last week's Leach's fest already feeling somewhat like a dream. A Rock Pipit flew west down the beach, while much further out eight Gannets, six Great Crested Grebes and a single Red-throated Diver flew west. It was also good to bump into Nick Bond here and have a good chat. 

Mediterranean Gull

Sanderlings

8th November

Another foul morning of wind and rain saw me do a whistle stop tour of a few local water bodies. First up, Amberley Wildbrooks, viewing from the southern side (trying to shelter from the worst of the weather!) and my target species was White-fronted Goose, with up to three seen here regularly by Paul Davy and others recently. Viewing conditions were less than ideal, to say the least, but after a while I picked the Russian trio up, feeding in among over a hundred Greylag Geese. Otherwise there wasn't much going on here, aside from an impressive 130+ Pintail, by far my highest count of this species so far this autumn. Interestingly, they were more or less the only ducks present, aside from about 50-60 Wigeon. White-fronted Goose takes my local year list to 158. 

Truly woeful record shot of the three White-fronted Geese!

Next up I checked Widney Brooks from Greatham Bridge. The water levels here have dropped a little but surely not for long given the hours of rain forecast today and more spring tides coming later in the week. Usual fare was on offer here, with around 40 Shoveler the best, on the flood to the south (so actually Waltham Brooks). 

The private reservoir near Petworth was almost unbirdable with the wind driving waves of rain straight towards my viewing position on the north side. The Aythya flock has grown since my last visit, with 28 Tufted Duck and 22 Pochard both pretty good counts here, particularly the latter. The lingering female Long-tailed Duck was still present too, sheltering among the other diving ducks. 

A brief stop-off at Waltham Brooks late afternoon proved rather interesting. The floodwater had receded a little, though still not enough to enable proper access close to or around the main lake. From the grassy peninsula on the western side I watched and listened as various birds flew to roost - singles of Little Egret and Marsh Harrier downriver and a swirl of over a thousand Starlings heading to Amberley. A lively mixed passerine flock was moving through the sallows nearby, including Chiffchaff, Blue Tits and Long-tailed Tits, all identified by their familiar calls. After a few minutes a less familiar call caught my attention, sounding somewhat like a weaker and more squeaky Pied Wagtail. Surely it couldn't be? Luckily I had my recorder running and, despite the rain, managed to get a half decent recording which others have agreed sounds good for Hume's Warbler - my third in Britain and first in West Sussex if so! Unfortunately I never saw the bird as the rain and darkness closed in. 

9th November

An early start at Waltham Brooks this morning where I met up with Paul D and Andrew R, all of us hoping to relocate yesterday's mystery caller. Sadly, it wasn't to be, despite good numbers of Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and a Firecrest in the sallows and other scrub between the main lake and the railway line. A heavy burst of rain halfway through the 90 minutes I was on-site didn't help. A Great White Egret flew upriver, a Marsh Harrier was about towards the end and at least 20 Fieldfares left roost. I wouldn't be surprised if the probable Hume's Warbler is still about somewhere, hopefully it might reappear in the coming days. 

The rest of the day was spent at Woods Mill as I started my new job as Species Recovery Officer with Sussex Wildlife Trust. A short lunchtime walk here produced a Firecrest in trees near the car park, a Little Grebe on the main lake and a Common Gull flying north. As I was leaving late afternoon a male Tawny Owl was calling near the car park. 

10th November

I was back at Knepp today, leading my first safari there in six weeks, for a group of Oxford uni students. En route, I couldn't resist quickly stopping off at Pulborough Brooks to twitch the Slavonian Grebe found by Chris and Juliet Moore earlier in the morning; a long awaited Pulborough tick for me, my first in thirteen months. It was an elusive bird, not helped by the un-forecast torrential rain, but I eventually managed to pick it up from Hail's View, albeit rather distantly. The first record for the reserve since 2010! Also testament to the depth of the water here at the moment were eight Pochard on the South Brooks - not quite as rare as Slavonian Grebe but still fairly unusual here. 

Pulborough South Brooks floodwater

Slavonian Grebe - pic by the finders Chris and Juliet Moore

Back at Knepp in the evening for a staff party I heard a male Tawny Owl calling near New Barn Farm and also another one when I got back home. 

July Skies

Another mixed bag from the past ten days or so, as we teeter on the brink of August and the start of the harvest or Lammas season (1st August - halfway between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox).

I think that means I'm officially allowed to start using the 'a' word now? It's certainly fair to say the weather has been decidedly autumnal for the most part in the past fortnight. The dominance of low pressure, Atlantic weather systems delivering day after day of squally, grey, drizzly conditions has been particularly strange and unsettling given the news and images coming from further south in Europe. I remember something someone said to me a few years ago which has really stuck with me - nobody alive today has known what it's like to live in stable climatic conditions, and that is becoming more and more evident as each year passes.

In the context of local birding and other wildlife watching, it's been a fairly quiet and unremarkable period again, although it's clear we are experiencing a particularly good year for butterflies after a slow start back in the spring. It's been the best Purple Emperor season at Knepp since the best ever year of 2018 and everywhere I look at the moment I seem to be seeing Red Admirals. I had a pretty extraordinary count of ten together on the garden Buddleia the other day!

20th July

I headed out late morning for a fairly lengthy walk from home up towards Fittleworth to scan the valley across the Rother to the north. Raptors were out in force, with multiple Red Kite and Buzzard, at least three Kestrels and a single Sparrowhawk noted during an hour's skywatch here. 

Otherwise it was a relatively quiet session, though at least 35-40 Swallows around the stables at Ashurst were nice to see, as were two juvenile Green Woodpeckers in the same area. 

21st July

A quick look at Pulborough Brooks this morning, scanning the South Brooks from behind the visitor centre. Among 14 Little Egrets (there have been up to 21 recorded here in recent days) were singles of Greenshank and Green Sandpiper on the pool at West Mead while three Red Kites were soaring together in the distance.

En route to Knepp I briefly stopped to check the pool at Southlands Farm in West Chilt which again produced a Green Sandpiper. 

Knepp itself was again on fire, with a female Purple Emperor greeting me as soon as I arrived at the Operation Wallacea campsite. Out in the wildland with my group, highlights included a Barn Owl flying from a known nest site, the very vocal Sparrowhawk family near their nest site and a group of 31 White Storks kettling together over the Exmoor herd towards the far southern end of the estate.

Purple Emperor

After Knepp I headed down to Goring to catch up with David C. While we were chatting by our cars, a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull flew past with a juvenile Herring Gull in tow. After poorly David headed home I indulged in a c.45-minute seawatch from the beach which proved to be quite lively, with three Whimbrel and two each of Dunlin and Mediterranean Gull heading west, and two each of Sandwich Tern and Gannet feeding offshore. 

Whimbrel

Mediterranean Gull

22nd July

This morning I headed down to Medmerry, primarily for work-related reasons but it was a nice opportunity to have a little walk about and check out the Stilt Pool, which yielded singles of Common Sandpiper and Black-tailed Godwit among the Oystercatchers, Cormorants and Black-headed Gulls.

On the way home, with rain due to start at any minute, I had a quick check of the private site near Petworth which produced a juvenile Little Ringed Plover and at least 80 Swifts but little else of note.

No more birding after that as the weather turned decidedly October-esque, with heavy rain and wind - lovely!

23rd July

A brief look at Waltham Brooks en route to a day working at Knepp proved fruitful, as the very last bird of the session was a 1km year tick and Waltham Brooks lifer in the form of a Whimbrel powering south/south-west overhead and disappearing down the valley towards the Downs.

Knepp delivered again on the Turtle Dove front (it's been an astonishing year for the species there) with one seen flying up from a main path not long after I arrived. Otherwise it was mostly about the butterflies today, including what surely must be one of the very last Purple Emperors of the season.

A quick scan of the pool at Southlands Farm in passing on my way home again produced a lone Green Sandpiper. 

24th July

After dropping B at nursery I popped to Pulborough for a quick look at the North Brooks where I found a decent selection of waders - 10 Avocet, 24 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Green Sandpiper, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper and a single Greenshank - and, sadly, a rather sickly looking adult Mediterranean Gull. 

Avocets

Black-tailed Godwits

25th July

Not much birding today, but it was a pleasure to lead a safari for members of the RSPB Youth Council at Knepp. Highlights included two Turtle Doves (one singing and displaying and another in flight), two Sedge Warblers (Hammer Pond) and my last Purple Emperor of the year. 

26th July

A diverse day which started with a walk from home up to the river at Thorndale Bridge, and a brief skywatch from the fields near home. It certainly felt autumnal, with a lovely fresh feel to the air and a light mist over the river, but it doesn't feel as though the season has quite got into swing yet, ornithologically speaking. Highlights were a Little Egret high east, adult and juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls high south and a Water Rail squealing along the river.

Little Egret

Swallows

Mid-morning I headed back down to Medmerry for work. While I was there I had a look at the Stilt Pool which yielded 3 Common Sandpipers, a Green Sandpiper, several Oystercatchers and a heard-only Ringed Plover. A quick look at the sea produced 3 Sandwich Terns, 8 Mediterranean Gulls and a single Gannet. While I was down at the coast I also dropped in to Church Norton briefly which produced a pleasing selection of waders including at least 3 Whimbrel, 2 Sanderling and a Bar-tailed Godwit.

Sandwich Tern

Early afternoon I met up with David C at Pulborough, and a stroll round the reserve produced a few bits, notably 10 Avocet, 2 Green Sandpipers and 3 Black-tailed Godwits on the North Brooks and a single White Stork (GB6S from Knepp) following the tractor around on the South Brooks, just like they're supposed to!

Brown Argus

27th July

A drizzy day, with more than a hint of autumn in the air, only exacerbated by the sound of a Curlew flying over Knepp Castle as I was in the orchard prepping for a garden safari. Other highlights here included a heard-only Raven and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth; the latter very obligingly dropping in to feed on a Buddleia as I had stopped with my group to chat about the importance of nectar sources in a garden!

On the way home I dropped in at Waltham Brooks for half an hour which produced another heard-only Raven, two Cetti's Warblers in the reeds and willows by the main lake and seven Gadwall on the lake itself.

28th July

A walk from home this morning, checking local fields and scrub and a skywatch proved fairly quiet aside from a Hobby terrorising the Swallows before flying off north.

A check of Amberley after dropping B off at nursery produced singles of Redshank, Raven and one of the White-tailed Eagles. 

29th July

Another local session on foot early morning proved quite productive with a Hobby again chasing Swallows about, a Peregrine high south-west and at least 50 Swifts drifting slowly south. That's more like it! I'm excited for my first full autumn vismigging from this area, I do think the funnel effect of the Arun Valley so close to the South Downs could be quite interesting.

Later in the morning, a Big Butterfly Count in the garden at home produced an impressive ten Red Admirals together on the Buddleia. I honestly can't remember such a good summer for the species, they just seem to be everywhere at the moment!

Red Admiral

30th July

A really enjoyable couple of hours out first thing this morning, although it again was feeling unseasonably fresh ahead of the rain that arrived later in the day. First up I checked the private reservoir over near Petworth which yielded very little aside from a noticeable increase in Little Grebes and a flock of at least 450 Jackdaws in flight off the nearby fields.

A visit to Lavington Common produced a Spotted Flycatcher in the pines round the car park and a family group of at least four Dartford Warblers a couple of hundred metres north of the car park. 

Dartford Warbler

Finally, a stake-out on the viewing platform at Burton Mill Pond produced a welcome return encounter with the red-ringed Great White Egret I last saw here back in late January. She's 'ACA', a female ringed in the nest at RSPB Ham Wall back in May 2022. Interestingly, another juvenile from the same ringing scheme, ACJ, has been hanging out at Warnham LNR quite a bit recently - so definitely worth taking a closer look at any individuals of this species you see out and about in Sussex.

Great White Egret

Late afternoon, a Hobby made two low passes over home, first heading south-east, before flying back west.

31st July

Another very autumnal day, weather-wise, with a blustery south-westerly and drizzle/light rain persisting until mid-afternoon. After dropping B at nursery I swung by Pulborough for a brief check of the North Brooks. As I walked down, a tight group of around 25 Swifts drifted west. On the North Brooks were 36 Black-tailed Godwit, 30 Lapwing, 16 Black-headed Gulls and singles of Greenshank and Snipe, the latter only making its presence known when a Buzzard flew through low and flushed everything. 

On the way home a quick scan from the river bank near Greatham Bridge produced an incredibly close encounter with a Kingfisher, dashing past upriver. A return visit to Waltham Brooks late afternoon produced another or the same Kingfisher in flight over the main lake, a Hobby flying east, Peregrine south and a juvenile Marsh Harrier hunting and drifting north. 

Marsh Harrier

Gateway to summer

June is traditionally a bit of a doldrums month for birding but in recent years has increasingly produced some surprises. There's always the chance of late overshoots from the continent and, towards the end of the month, one's thoughts already turn to return passage of waders and dispersal of breeding migrant passerines. This year, spring seemed to start so late that it does feel as though there are still plenty of migrants moving through on their way to breeding grounds - especially waders, which have continued to feature pretty heavily in my local birding efforts in the past week or two.

Weather-wise, after the washout of April and early May, it now hasn't rained properly for about six weeks, grasslands are looking scorched and water bodies are rapidly drying out. Someone said to me recently that the weather we should expect in the UK now is 'est' - hottest, coldest, wettest, driest - which, sadly, seems very accurate, and this is reflected in the increased frequency of odd and out of sync bird records. Examples of highly unexpected local records for June so far have included Dunlin and Mediterranean Gull, both species I would usually only expect here passing through, not at the height of the breeding season!

1st June

Pinch punch, and a blasting northerly wind. It was properly cold out this morning. I got out soon after dawn for a walk out to the river, round Waltham Brooks and home, highlights of which included Lesser Whitethroat, Cuckoo, at least three Nightingales all singing, and 7 Little Egrets together by the Arun at Thorndale Bridge. 

Later in the day I headed up to the Norfolk Estate for a very interesting guided tour of the conservation work taking place there and the Curlew reintroduction project, from the Duke of Norfolk, head keeper Charlie Mellor and farmer Conor Haydon. Best of all was seeing a sitting hen Grey Partridge on a nest. 

Curlews on the Norfolk Estate

In the evening it was good to hear one of the local Nightingales still singing well, from the garden at home (in fact, from the bedroom window!) Hopefully he finds a mate soon though...

2nd June

Today began with a return visit to the area of farmland near West Burton where I carried out my second South Downs Farmland Bird Monitoring survey of the year. Very little of note to report here aside from a handful of Swallows and common warblers, though a calling male Tawny Owl was rather more unusual. Weather-wise it felt more like March/April than early June, with total cloud cover and the continuing stiff north-easterly wind. 

After dropping B at nursery I stopped off at Waltham Brooks for a quick whizz round. Again, fairly quiet really aside from a few bursts of song from a Nightingales, plus the usual warblers and a few Swifts.

3rd June

A check of a few local water bodies this morning produced good numbers of Swifts and Sand Martins near Petworth, along with an unseasonal pair of Teal on the private reservoir there. At Burton Mill Pond, the resident Great Crested Grebe pair were still present, with one sitting on a nest.

4th June

Not much birding today but another dusk safari at Knepp produced a fantastic Turtle Dove encounter, with one seen and heard singing on a dead oak branch in the evening sunshine before flying pretty much over our heads to a nearby sallow where it continued to purr for several minutes before being seen in flight again a little while later. It does seem to be a particularly good year for the species here this year. 

Turtle Dove

5th June

My BBS late visit to Parham Park this morning produced a Spotted Flycatcher in a rather incongruous location (perhaps a late passage bird) and 3 Shelduck - my first of the latter species here for a while. I assume they breed somewhere on the estate but haven't ever been able to prove it. I remember being quite surprised when I made my very first visit here in 2018 and found quite a gathering of Shelduck on the front lawn of the main house!

After Parham I dropped in at Pulborough for my first circuit of the reserve for a week or so. As ever, it didn't disappoint, though it does seem as though the spectacular wader spring may finally be drawing to a close. Still, singles of Little Ringed Plover, Green Sandpiper and Greenshank were nice to see among the resident Lapwings, Redshanks and Avocets. The female Pintail on the South Brooks was still about and joined by a few Teal, while a solitary Shelduck was on the North Brooks. The other noticeable thing was the amount of fledgling birds about - from Long-tailed Tits to Egyptian Geese. We're very much into that period of the year now where there seem to be lots of squeaking things in every tree and bush!

Long-tailed Tit fledgling

6th June

A brief check from Greatham Bridge this morning produced my first signs of post-breeding wader dispersal with half a dozen Lapwings and Redshank dropping onto the marsh near the main lake at Waltham Brooks.

Later in the day, a skywatch on farmland north-west of Pulborough produced a distant female Goshawk and two flyover Siskins - my first locally since April. 

7th June

No real birding today but a White Stork Safari at Knepp produced fab views of a Hobby flying low and fast through the scrub then seen again later circling over the same area. 

8th June

I was over in Byworth first this morning, carrying out my final South Downs Farmland Bird Initiative survey visit of the year. As I've said before this has consistently proven to be the more productive of the two squares I've surveyed the past two years, and so it proved again this morning with 40 species recorded including a singing Firecrest (my first at this site). Best of all though was stumbling across a Kestrel nest just 3 metres up in an oak tree, having a few minutes before seen an adult male flying towards the group of trees carrying a rat, and hearing the squeaking of the chicks. 

Kestrel chicks

Firecrest

9th June

After dropping B at nursery I swung by Waltham Brooks for the short loop down the river and past the main lake. It's a good one to do when short on time and lately has produced a decent selection of species (45-50) in less than an hour. Today's highlights included six adult Mediterranean Gulls which I picked up on call coming in quite high from the Pulborough direction. They circled over the site a few times before continuing west towards Watersfield. Also of note here this morning were two Little Egrets flying north together and my first Whitethroat fledglings of the year. 

Juvenile Whitethroat

Mediterranean Gulls

10th June

The hottest day of the year so far and not much birding for me today but a quick look at the roadside pool at Southlands Farm in West Chiltington in passing in the evening produced a singing Reed Warbler - a first for me at this particular site.

11th June

A dawn start to check out some local water bodies didn't produce much. In fact, the highlight of the morning was a Barn Owl over the junction of Bury Gate and Waters Lane, just a few hundred metres from home.

Late morning I headed up to the Burgh with Kate, B, and Sean and Abi Foote, who were visiting from Wiltshire. It was still cloudy and pleasantly cool when we parked up but it didn't take long for the sun to burn through and raise the temperature significantly. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't particularly lively on the bird front, aside from a Grey Partridge and plenty of Red Kites and Whitethroats. It was good to have Sean's eye for invertebrates present though, which resulted in us finding my first Bryony Mining Bees of the year. 

Bryony Mining Bee

In the evening I stopped off at Waltham Brooks for a quick dusk session which produced a singing male Cuckoo down the river towards Amberley and a squealing Water Rail in the reeds.