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

Mid-January

11th January

No sooner had I arrived at Pulborough Brooks early this morning and just started to scan the flooded and frozen South Brooks than I received a call from Mrs Matt saying she needed me to help her with a flat tyre, so that put paid to that particular effort! 

Fast forward 45 minutes or so and the tyre was all sorted, so I decided to drop in for a quick look at Waltham Brooks on my way home. It proved to be a good decision as, while I was enjoying the sunshine and the loud cracking sounds of the ice giving way above receding water levels, two ducks appeared into view from the north which revealed themselves to be Goosanders as they powered on over the main lake towards the Arun, where they seemed to drop in a little way downstream. A Great White Egret was also heading the same way, albeit at a more leisurely pace. My first record of Goosander anywhere this year and only my third ever record at Waltham Brooks. Funnily enough, Ed and I had literally just been chatting about the species, as he'd just found two at Frensham Great Pond. Amazing how often that happens!

Goosanders powering off downriver... sadly too slow with the camera this time!

12th January

Back to grey today after a few days of crisp winter sunshine. An early loop of Pulborough Brooks proved to be fairly uneventful, not entirely surprising given the extent of flood water. There were still several hundred dabbling ducks around, mostly Wigeon and Teal, although a lone Tufted Duck drake was on the South Brooks. I missed the Redshank and two Ruff seen by Chris and Juliet Moore but did manage to find a couple of Dunlin among ~500 Black-tailed Godwits huddled on the South Brooks. 

A day with no year ticks was salvaged late afternoon by a Peregrine which flew north over Watersfield, just as I happened to take a screen break and look out of the window (amazing how often that happens!), taking my local list to 90, and 69 within the 1km area. 

13th January

Another gloomy, grey start to the day saw me heading over to the private reservoir near Petworth to carry out my WeBS count a day early. It turned into a surprisingly decent session here, with two site ticks. As I got out of my car, I was greeted by the sound of a Blackbird softly singing nearby, always a heart-lifting sound in the depth of winter. A little further down the track to the reservoir I was surprised by a small falcon which suddenly flew up from the field to my right and gained height before flying off east - a Merlin! The first of two site ticks and no sooner had I processed it than I made my way closer to the reservoir only to discover three Goosanders on the water! Unfortunately they were evidently just as surprised to see me so quickly took flight and, in the half light, I only managed some ropey record shots. The Long-tailed Duck was still present too, which got me to thinking whether I had ever seen those two duck species at the same location before, the answer to which, I'm pretty sure, is no!

Goosanders

On the way home I stopped briefly at Hadworth Farm in West Burton to check out the flooded field here. This also proved decent, as it produced three site ticks in the form of Wigeon, Little Egret and Raven. The former were on the water, the two Little Egrets dropped in to feed along the waters edge and the latter (Ravens) were noisily flying to and from Bignor Park, where I suspect they must nest. 

Later in the day I headed down to Arundel with Kate and B for a stroll round, and to feed the ducks at Swanbourne Lake (of course!). A brief stop at the church in Burpham yielded the nine adult Bewick's Swans in the water meadows there plus at least seven Cattle Egrets in the fields beyond. 

Bewick's Swans

Multiple Cattle Egrets were later seen coming into roost from the Black Rabbit pub by the Arun, along with at least eight Marsh Harriers. 

14th January

A Wildstarts tour saw me spending the morning at Pulborough Brooks, leading a mother and her son around the trail. Highlights included a brief Great White Egret on the North Brooks, which also held ~200 skittish Black-tailed Godwits. The South Brooks were livelier, with singles of Ruff (a local year tick) and Marsh Harrier, ten Shelduck at West Mead and one of the adult White-tailed Eagles in a tree near the Arun which briefly flew and showed off its gleaming white tail before returning to a similar perch. On the way back up to the visitors centre we bumped into the flighty Redpoll flock near Fattengates, all Lessers as far as I could see.

Lesser Redpoll

Lapwing

Teal

A brief check of Waltham Brooks on the way home yielded four Tufted Ducks on the main lake and around 55 Lapwings in flight over Amberley. 

15th January

A whistle-stop tour of likely Waxwing sites around Pulborough before work this morning drew a blank again. It was a beautiful, crisp sunny winter's day so I couldn't resist getting out for a walk at lunchtime, to Waltham Brooks via the local farmland. No new species for the local year list, although I did add three species to the 1km from home list. First up a Little Egret circling overhead near the sewage works before heading south, then later two Shelduck flying downriver and finally two Grey Wagtails at the sewage works. On the lake it was usual fare, with a dozen Tufted Ducks the most noteworthy among the standard set of dabbling species.

Shelducks

16th January

No time for birding for work today, perhaps not too bad given it was -7c when I left the house! A lunchtime walk at Woods Mill in glorious sunshine did wonders for the soul, with four species added to my site list here including two Little Egrets which flew west, presumably looking for unfrozen water. Despite the cold, many species were singing and visibly pairing up including Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Collared Dove and Dunnock, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming. A lovely first winter Grey Wagtail was feeding around one of the frozen pools. 

Grey Wagtail

17th January

After dropping B at nursery first thing I headed up the Downs for a quick walk at The Burgh. Both Red-legged and Grey Partridge were added to the year list almost immediately, followed closely by a Hen Harrier ringtail which was quartering around the fields near Canada Barn. A little walk eastwards from the barn produced the usual array of small birds, including 100+ Linnet, 50+ Redwing and Fieldfare, ~200 Starling, and the odd Yellowhammer. Returning to my car I tried again to scope the Bewick's Swans down in the valley and sure enough found eight adults. There were also at least nine Cattle Egrets in the fields up towards Offham. All in all a very successful 45 minutes or so which produced five local year ticks and three eBird hotspot ticks.

Spot the Bewick's Swans!

Hen Harrier

A lunchtime check of the flooded field/scrape at Hadworth Farm/Bignor Park produced 26 species including at least six Snipe feeding in the grass by the water's edge - a new species for me here - plus 8 Wigeon, 4 Gadwall, 6 Coots and a Little Grebe on the flood. The local Ravens were again very active and vocal, flying in and out of Bignor Park. 

18th January

Another bitterly cold but beautiful morning with the deep frost lit up by golden sunshine. I decided on a bit of woodland birding after dropping B off at nursery this morning so headed over to Fittleworth for a brisk (very brisk!) walk there. It was largely uneventful but pleasant with highlights being a few Redpoll (uncooperatively not landing to allow me to check them for Mealy), Siskin, drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker and a tumbling pair of Ravens. Just as I was about to leave though, I caught sight of a male Goshawk drifting overhead, quite high, and only in view for a few seconds. This is a site I have seen the species at before, so it's reassuring to know they're still around. It really is amazing how fast the species seems to spreading in this area now, based on how often I bump into one without really looking for them.

A lunchtime check of Hadworth Farm/Bignor Park revealed the flooded field/scrape to be holding the largest number I've birds I've seen on it to date, including 37 Teal, eight Wigeon, four Gadwall and presumably the same Little Grebe as yesterday. 25 Canada Geese were gathered on the shore along with a single Greylag Goose.

The scrape at Hadworth Farm, West Burton

19th January

I was up near Haslemere for work this morning, so decided to drop in at Benbow Pond near Midhurst on the way home, to have a quick look for the Waxwings found by Penny Green at the weekend. I am starting to get just a little anxious I might miss out on seeing this species in what is proving to be a bumper winter for them - especially since my own attempts at finding some locally have so far proved unsuccessful. Today it wasn't to be either, although the area where they had been - a grove of massive old Lime trees absolutely draped in Mistletoe - was a pretty special spot and busy with Redwings, Mistle Thrushes and various small birds. The Black Swans down at the pond showed nicely anyway, as did a Buzzard low overhead.

Black Swan

Buzzard

A brief check of the private site near Petworth afterwards revealed the Long-tailed Duck to not be present, though there was an impressive 78 Shoveler and 32 Tufted Duck (plus a single Pochard), clearly evidence of birds displaced from frozen ponds and lakes elsewhere. Finally, a very quick look at the Hadworth Farm scrape revealed at least one Green Sandpiper and three Snipe still present, although duck numbers had reduced since yesterday, presumably owing to even greater ice cover. 

20th January

A whistle stop tour of local sites this morning, starting with a scan from the river bank near Greatham Bridge, which proved pretty quiet aside from seven Shoveler flying north. Next up, Hail's View to scan the South Brooks in the hope of locating the Water Pipit found by Alan Baker yesterday. Sadly no joy, but it was nice to catch up with Michael and Daniel Booker here. 20 Dunlin were out on the ice, a pretty remarkable count here for this time of year, and these and 30 or so Lapwing were flushed up by an adult White-tailed Eagle which flew through and landed in one of its favourite trees by the river. Very few ducks, which was unsurprising given the lack of unfrozen water. 

Talking of ducks, my last stop of the morning was the Hadworth Farm scrape, which I have been checking most days lately owing to it having a bit of a purple patch due to some remaining unfrozen water. Today produced undoubtedly the most birds I've seen there yet, including 72 Teal, 70 Canada Geese (and a single Greylag), nine Wigeon, a female Pintail and two Green Sandpipers again, one of which flew up and over my head a couple of times.

Green Sandpiper

Assorted wildfowl on the ice at Hadworth Farm

Later in the day, just as I had finished chopping some firewood in the garden I glanced up to see a Woodcock flying east, low overhead. A garden first and first for the 1k area list this year. 

Fall Breaks and Back to Winter

The dying days of November, in which autumn breathes its last and hands the baton over to winter. This ten-day period has had a little bit of everything, weather-wise, but there can be no doubting the onset of winter, not least due to the somewhat early arrival of the first Bewick's Swans, which unusually made a November appearance at Amberley on the 27th (recent years have seen arrival dates close to Christmas).

21st November

Very little time for birding today, but what I did manage to squeeze proved quite lively. First off, a ten-minute stop at Greatham Bridge on the way to work, which yielded a flock of 11 Crossbills flying west - my second Waltham Brooks tick in two days! 

Half an hour at Woods Mill at lunchtime produced a respectable 37 species, given the murky conditions. Highlights included two Firecrests, a flyover Raven and a Cetti's Warbler. 

Cetti's Warbler

22nd November

A brief check of Amberley before work, and there had clearly been a big increase in wildfowl and Lapwings since my last visit, as the flood waters have started to recede at last. The three White-fronted Geese were still present among dozens of Greylag Geese and hundreds of Canada Geese, while a single Dunlin and three Snipe were the best I could glean from some 500 or so Lapwing scattered around the site, the whole lot periodically flushed into the air by passing Marsh Harrier and Peregrine. 

A lunchtime walk out to Waltham Brooks proved relatively quiet, though the now almost daily Great White Egret was present, in flight over the river then later seen on the Amberley side. At least three Water Rails were calling around the place and a couple of Stonechats were near the railway line. 

23rd November

Just enough time today before work for a quick circuit up at Amberley Mount. It was a gorgeous, sunny morning and there again appeared to be a fair few Woodpigeons moving. I only managed 330 south in 20 minutes or so, but suspect a longer session would've produced quite a few more than that. An Amberley Mount tick was unexpected in the form of two Little Egrets which dropped in to the fields to the west, while a single Reed Bunting flew south over Downs Farm. 

Looking south from Amberley Mount

Upon arrival at Woods Mill I was greeted by Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre legend Bob Foreman who invited me to check out the contents of the moth trap he has just emptied in the garden. It was, unsurprisingly, a rather sparse catch, but did include my first ever December Moth! A species I have long wanted to see but which has always evaded me as my moth trap tends to gather dust between October and April. A lunchtime stroll round the reserve produced two new species for me here: a flyover Sparrowhawk and a heard-only Kingfisher. 

December Moth

Sparrowhawk

24th November

No real birding today owing to work commitments in Kent. 

26th November

The coldest morning of the winter so far and I was out at first light, heading to Pulborough in the hope that yesterday's Whooper Swan (found by Chris and Juliet Moore) had stuck around. Of course, after a clear night there was no sign of it or, indeed, the ringtail Hen Harrier and three White-fronted Geese also seen on Friday. The best from an hour scanning the South Brooks were a Dunlin in flight, some 80 or so Pintail, and a Peregrine in the oak at the bottom of Uppertons Field. I decided to head over to the private reservoir near Petworth for a quick look there, with scarce diving ducks and grebes on my mind. The female Long-tailed Duck was still there, for at least her 28th day, and showing well (though always too distant for decent photos). Otherwise it was relatively quiet here, with Pochard numbers in particular notably down since my last visit. Three Cattle Egrets flew west distantly towards Selham; my first record of the species here. 

Fieldfares

An early afternoon stroll at Swanbourne Lake produced the usual array of gulls and wildfowl, including at least 20 Common Gull and 30 Gadwall. 

Black-headed Gull

Late afternoon I walked out to Thorndale Bridge from home, in the hope of some owl action. It wasn't to be, but was still fairly lively, with highlights here including 3-4 squealing Water Rail, a calling Green Sandpiper (not seen), 250 Black-headed Gulls and a single Marsh Harrier south. At least three Snipe were flying about and another five flew east over River Lane on my walk home. 

26th November

No proper birding today owing to family stuff, but a quick look at one of my old haunts - Postford Pond in Chilworth - produced two Little Egrets and a roost gathering of 53 Mandarins, only just over half my record count of the species here (or anywhere!) but still quite impressive. 

27th November

A short stop at Amberley after dropping B at nursery proved rather more exciting than I'd anticipated. With the water levels even lower than my last visit, wildfowl numbers seemed to have increased again, with comfortably over a thousand ducks present, plus the lingering trio of White-fronted Geese with Greylags in the south-east corner. Another species which was present in conspicuously high numbers was Mute Swan, which got me thinking again about the Whooper I missed on Friday and the imminent arrival of the dwindling wintering Bewick's herd. 

With my thoughts along these lines, I decided to have one final scan of the swans present before I left. Two adults very distant on the northern side (about 1500m away from my viewpoint!) caught my eye, despite their heads being in the water. Something about the size, shape and jizz seemed off for Mute. Sure enough, as they lifted their heads alternately for a second or two, I caught sight of the bill of a wild swan species, not Mute. I was already late leaving for work at this point and the visibility was dreadful - not to mention the distance involved. My overall impression was of a near Mute-sized bird, with longish neck and wedge-shaped head with a generous amount of yellow in the bill. I left satisfied I had seen Whooper Swans. How wrong I was! And the niggling doubts I had as I drove to Woods Mill were validated when Paul Davy text a while later to say he'd got better views (and photos) from the Wey-South Path which clearly showed they were Bewick's Swans. An early arrival date in the Arun Valley, in a modern context. Just shows the importance of never jumping to conclusions!

Bewick's Swans - record shot from 1500m!

Aside from that excitement, not much else to report from today, though a lunchtime walk around Woods Mill did produce rather more winter thrushes than last week. 

28th November

Another beautiful sunny but cold morning with a brisk wind. I headed out quite early to Burton Mill Pond for a full walk there (including checking Chingford and Black Ponds). Compared to my last visit ten days ago or so it was relatively quiet. Although I do have to remind myself that 49 species is still a very respectable total in just under 90 minutes. Chingford Pond as usual held the bulk of the wildfowl interest, with 27 Pochard and 65 Tufted Duck the standout counts, plus a few Gadwall, Mallard and a couple of Shoveler. Black-headed Gull, Common Gull and Herring Gull were dropping in in modest numbers while others continued flying over, heading west. Heading back to my car, a Woodlark and two Ravens flew over New Piece. Incidentally, Woodlark was my 118th species recorded on eBird in November - by far and away my most species-rich November to date!

Grey Heron

A short lunchtime stroll round the local farmland produced a reasonable selection of species, with the clear highlight being a Peregrine which came in high over Lodge Hill to the north before drifting right over my head and plunging into a stoop down behind the trees near Besley Farm. I never saw the outcome of the dive, sadly!

Peregrine

Buzzard

29th November

A brief circuit up at Amberley Mount this morning in beautiful but chilly conditions produced a respectable 37 species in just over half an hour, including at least 160 Common Gulls, two Raven, heard-only Grey Partridge and Red-legged Partridge, and a Peregrine which flew through south at high speed towards The Burgh. I haven't done much birding up here away from the passage months, so am quite enjoying these quick in and out sessions before work at this time of year.

Common Gulls

Arriving at Woods Mill I was greeted again by the Song Thrush which has been belting out its song here for a week now. A lunchtime walk produced two new species for my site list here - Grey Heron and Pheasant, plus a Raven flying south, a modest flock of Fieldfare (25+) two Firecrests, and a Cetti's Warbler alarm calling near the main pond. 

30th November

An icy cold morning with leaden skies which produced the first flakes of snow of the winter. When it eventually decided to start getting light(ish) at around 8, I dashed over to Petworth for a check of the private reservoir and surrounding farmland. Wildfowl numbers had reduced on the reservoir with just ten Pochard and 35 Tufted Duck, plus five Shoveler, but the female Long-tailed Duck was still present and showed unusually well, swimming right around to the near side of the basin at one point (she's tended to always be at the furthest possible point up until today). A loop of the some of the farmland produced a few bits too including only my second ever Firecrest at this site, among a scattering of Goldcrests, quite a few Fieldfares, and a lone Lapwing in the middle of one of the fields, bizarrely picked up on call - perhaps the first hint of birds forced south by colder weather up north?

Long-tailed Duck

A quick check of Burton Mill Pond and Hadworth Farm on the way home yielded little, though two Little Grebes and five Coots at the latter show just how much water the scrape is now holding in the roadside field there, when just a few weeks ago it was bone dry. 

A brisk lunchtime walk over to Waltham Brooks from home was fairly uneventful and it somehow seemed to have got even colder, with a biting wind and still some wet snow in the air. The now usual Great White Egret was seen in flight over the river before heading over to Amberley, followed a little while later by a Little Egret. A Marsh Harrier angrily chased another one off in the same direction. The main lake held around 150 ducks, over half of which were Teal, with smaller numbers of Wigeon, Gadwall and Shoveler. 

New year, new list

Yes, I'm back blogging! After a very hectic but thoroughly enjoyable year in 2022 where blogging pretty much went out of the window, I've decided to try and ease back into it with semi-regular diary-type updates on my day-to-day birding. (Thanks to Ed for the inspiration and encouragement!)

1st January

A leisurely start to the new year campaign saw me strolling over to Waltham Brooks for a couple of hours. Water levels were the highest I've seen them so far this winter, which produced good numbers of ducks, including five Pintail. Passing Peregrine and Marsh Harrier flushed all the ducks as they headed over towards Amberley. A check of the sewage works produced the usual scattering of Chiffchaffs and a Grey Wagtail, while a Marsh Tit was calling in the woodland just to the south as I departed.

2nd January

In keeping with seemingly most of West Sussex I headed over to Pulborough Brooks mid-morning. The regular White-tailed Eagles put on a great show, tucking into a carp brunch on the North Brooks. Just as I arrived Steve B and former Pulborough stalwart Jon W had just found a Water Pipit from the Hanger which was still present and showed well (for Pulborough) during our stay at the viewpoint here. Also on show on the North Brooks were a Kingfisher and various other year ticks including Common Gull and three flyover Skylarks. Round on the south side I also caught up with the adult Great Black-backed Gull found by Paul Davy the previous day - almost as rare here as Water Pipit! At West Mead four Snipe showed nicely on one of the islands; another year tick.

White-tailed Eagle

Kestrel

Snipe

3rd January

I'd resigned myself to a non-birding day today after a couple of hours working at Knepp early morning followed by a dentist appointment. Just as I was leaving the dentist though, my phone pinged with a message from Pulborough RSPB volunteer Gary T, saying he'd just found two Bewick's Swans on the South Brooks. I dashed round (it was on the way home, after all!) and enjoyed distant views of them from behind the visitor centre. I tried to get a closer look from the Black Wood side a bit further down the road towards home but, evidently, by the time I got there, the birds had departed.

Bewick's Swans

4th January

A brief check of Burton Mill Pond first thing yielded a lone drake Pochard, four Little Grebes, a squealing Water Rail and two Ravens tumbling overhead. This was planned to be my only birding of the day but, just as I was about to head home, news broke via Chris and Juliet Moore of a Little Gull over at Pulborough, so I dashed over there for the second time in two days. A 15-minute scan from Hail's View sadly didn't produce any gulls at all, with just the standard wildfowl and four Red Kites on show. I decided to head home via a short stop at Greatham Bridge, in the hope that the Little Gull had relocated to Waltham or Widney Brooks, given the amount of flood water in the valley at the moment. It hadn't, but a Cattle Egret hunched on the riverbank was a nice consolatory year tick, as was a Nuthatch calling in the trees just to the east of the bridge.

5th January

Another early morning stroll over to Waltham Brooks from home produced two new species for the local year list. The first came just as I had crossed the railway line into the main reserve when I picked up three Little Egrets flying north together just beyond the Arun. The second only made its presence known as I was heading home past the same area about 40 minutes later and heard the distinctive chur call of a Dartford Warbler. After a little while it appeared, typically with a pair of Stonechats in tow. This was in the exact same spot I had a Dartford on 17th October, so it seems likely it's the same bird that's been wintering in the area. Other highlights from this morning included two Snipe flushed from the marshy ground a little way east of the railway crossing, at least three squealing Water Rail and nine Tufted Ducks on the main lake.

Dartford Warbler

Stonechat

6th January

Only the second sunny start to a day so far this week/year saw me exploring a stretch of local woodland which produced my first Firecrest of the year as well as a few early hints of spring, including drumming and squabbling Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a vocal pair of Mistle Thrushes.

Back home for work, I watched the weather gradually deteriorate through the window, but it didn't dissuade two young Red Kites from putting on a great show low over the rooftops of our neighbourhood, one even swooping down into a nearby garden before lifting back up clutching a wad of grass.

Firecrest

Red Kite

7th January

A wet and windy morning which didn't encourage me to get out early. Eventually I dashed over to Pulborough Brooks for the fourth time this week, mid-morning, to see the three Brent Geese found by RSPB volunteer, Rob King. Viewing from the edge of Black Wood, it didn't take long to pick them out among the grazing Canada Geese. After a blank year in 2022, these were my first local Brents since May 2021.

There didn't seem to be much else going on here so I headed down to Amberley to have a scan of the flood water there, hoping for a Little Gull or even a Kittiwake which had been turning up at a few inland sites in recent days. Scanning from near Rackham Mill I found a drake Goosander, Marsh Harrier and at least 2000 Lapwing. A message from Paul Davy alerted me to the presence of the two adult Bewick's Swans, which I wasn't able to see from my angle. I got him on the Goosander before heading up the hill to meet him at Cross Gate. Luckily I stopped a little way further up to have another scan and picked up the Bewick's, as by the time I got to Paul they had departed south-west (later seen by others at their popular haunt of Burpham Water Meadows near Arundel). It was still good to catch up with Paul though and from the higher viewpoint we also had the two White-tailed Eagles drifting over the reserve.

Brent Geese

8th January

Not loads of birding today but a walk down the lane this morning produced a Grey Heron rather incongruously feeding among the Rooks and Jackdaws in a horse paddock, followed by a flyover year tick Sparrowhawk. Late morning we headed over to Waltham Brooks which was relatively quiet aside from at least 20 Tufted Ducks on the main lake and a flyover Red Kite. The local year list now stands on 86, with 73 of those species recorded in the 1km from home recording area.

Grey Heron

9th January

A walk around local farmland up to Thorndale Bridge this morning didn't produce anything particularly out of the ordinary but a Marsh Harrier was flushing Teal from the marshland near the bridge.

Bird of the day was the Marsh Tit which visited our garden very briefly mid-morning, attracting my attention with its sneezing call while I was working in the house. It stayed a matter of seconds before flying off west. 

10th January

Another squally morning, and a check of some local water bodies first thing didn't produce much other than some very wet optics and the need for a full change of clothes when I got home. 

A stroll round the local farmland mid-afternoon in a break in the rain was similarly uneventful, although it was good to see several hundred Lapwing wheeling about over Amberley Wildbrooks. Otherwise, today definitely felt like a 'roll on Spring' kind of birding day!

Roe Deer