The year is turning

1st July

A day off today so I managed to squeeze in few hours birding in the morning. First up, Pulborough Brooks which produced 55 species in a couple of hours. Highlights included 15 Cattle Egrets dropping in among the cows on the North Brooks; interestingly, exactly two years to the day since I stumbled across over 20 at Waltham Brooks. As was the case that day, it was good to see at least a couple of juveniles among the assembled birds at Pulborough today. Unsurprisingly, given the date, the other species of note were waders, with 22 Black-tailed Godwits and two Green Sandpipers busy feeding in the mud on the North Brooks, while the Greenshank found by Paul Evans yesterday was still present at West Mead when I arrived, although evidently had flown by the time I left.

Stonechats

Cattle Egrets

Black-tailed Godwits

Next up, I headed over to the private reservoir near Petworth, hoping the wader gods had delivered something here too. Sadly not, and there really wasn't much to write home about here at all really, aside from an obvious increase in Tufted Duck and Coot numbers (14 and 21, respectively). Ten Herring Gulls were gathered on the water, not all that common a sight here. 

Late afternoon I very briefly dropped in at Amberley Mount where a dozen or so Swallows were whizzing about over Downs Farm and a couple of Swifts flew south-west. 

2nd July

After a non-birding morning in sunny Brighton, I returned to the Pulborough just as light rain began to fall. I decided a check of a couple of water bodies was in order. First up, Petworth which again failed to produce any waders, but a few Swifts were feeding overhead and it was nice to confirm local breeding of Kestrel with at least three noisy youngsters about. 

Burton Mill Pond had a similar rather uninspiring feel to it. The Great Crested Grebe pair were busy feeding their three young, while there were also a couple of newly fledged Reed Warblers in the reeds by the roadside. A light south-westerly movement of Sand Martins gave just the slightest hint of the exodus of migrant species to come in the next few weeks and months.

Reed Warbler

Pied Wagtail

Later in the day I stopped off for a fairly brief stroll at Waltham Brooks which proved surprisingly lively given the time of day/year. 41 species was the total including one of the White-tailed Eagles drifting about just the other side of the river, seemingly flushing a Great White Egret in the process which flew through north low over the main lake. The farmer was cutting the hay up at Widney Brooks which seemed to be attracting the attention of a fair few raptors including at least three each of Buzzard and Red Kite and a single Hobby. Well over a hundred Swifts and 15 or so Sand Martins were also feeding overhead, while a Garden Warbler calling in scrub near the main lake was the first I've heard here in a little while. 

Blackbird (and some unfortunate crickets!)

Great White Egret

White-tailed Eagle

3rd July

Not much birding today aside from a quick stop in Petworth which failed to produce much of interest aside from a few Swifts (20+) and a calling Willow Warbler near the reservoir. 

4th July

I managed to squeeze in a bit of birding today despite all the election business and lots of work meetings. Waltham Brooks was relatively quiet, though it was good to see plenty of young birds about including recently fledged Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and Greenfinch. Also a few Swifts around, though hard to detect any clear direction of travel. At least two very vocal Water Rails were along the river, with one briefly seen in flight. 

Sedge Warbler

A lunch break stroll round the local farm fields proved similarly quiet, not helped by the strengthening breeze which also put paid to my attempts to lure any clearwing moths. The newly cut sileage field south of River Lane was attracting a fair number of Swallows, feeding low over the sward. 

Perhaps the best birding action of the day though came from the garden in the evening when first a Hobby flew low overhead, worrying the local Swallows, followed a little later by two adult Great Black-backed Gulls powerfully skulling north towards Lodge Hill. A garden tick and first record in the 1k area in 2024. 

5th July

A pretty foul start to the day with intermittent rain, heavy at times, blown in on a brisk southwesterly. I decided a loop of Pulborough Brooks was in order before work. The lingering Greenshank that has been on the pool at West Mead most of the week was still present, feeding in the shallow puddle left there (soon to be topped up) along with four Little Egrets. The North Brooks, meanwhile, again held the bulk of the wader interest in the form of eight Little Ringed Plovers (including two juveniles), six Green Sandpipers and a single Common Sandpiper. 

A lunchtime walk at Waltham Brooks yielded a rather lowly 32 species, with the highlight being a Peregrine drifting north high overhead. 

6th July

An early start this morning to check out a couple of local water bodies. Petworth proved fairly quiet on the waterbird side of things but again produced a male Honey Buzzard giving a nice flypast, in view for several minutes as it drifted west. 

Next up, I dropped in at Burton Mill Pond for my first proper session here in a while (I've concluded it really does take a good hour and a half or more to check the area properly). Burton Pond itself was typically rather quiet aside from the resident Great Crested Grebe pair continuing to feed their three young. A check of Black Pond and Burton Park Farm revealed a Little Owl perched on the fence near the farm buildings. This is a traditional site for the species but this was my first record here this year. 

As is often the case, most of the action was at Chingford Pond where highlights included a female Tufted Duck with three ducklings, and some 250 or so Swifts and Sand Martins (roughly 50/50 between the two species) feeding overhead which, perhaps unsurprisingly, attracted the attentions of a passing Hobby which briefly stopped to have a go at a few of them. 

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

Grey Wagtail

Tufted Ducks

Hobby

Later in the day I took a trip down to Arundel with B. A boat trip on Swanbourne Lake brought us into close proximity with a female Gadwall with six ducklings in tow - my first confirmed breeding record of this species locally this year. Mill Road Watermeadows, meanwhile, held at least five Cattle Egrets around the cattle.

Gadwall family

Back home in the afternoon, the call of a Buzzard drew my attention skywards where I saw one of the White-tailed Eagles drifting over, mobbed by a couple of the aforementioned Buzzards as it drifted off south-east. 

7th July

This morning started with a check of the moth trap which produced a few goodies, including several species new for the garden. The highlights were five Elephant Hawk-moths and the localised micro moth Synaphe punctalis. After we'd finished this, B and I headed out for a little local walk which produced a Peregrine drifting overhead. 

Synaphe punctalis

Elephant Hawkmoths

All of us headed down to Littlehampton late morning for a stroll at West Beach. An interesting mix of species were recorded here including a Curlew and four Mediterranean Gulls flying west, and a Sand Martin flying purposefully out to sea. 

In the evening I met up with Roger and Caroline Morgan-Grenville for a walk at Lavington Common, hoping for Nightjars of course. As the light faded and the last of the Dartford Warbler and Stonechat calls faded away around us, so the Nightjars began tuning up. Soon, there was churring and 'kwicking' coming from seemingly every direction and the next half an hour or so produced perhaps some of my most memorable Nightjar moments to date. Best of all was undoubtedly when a pair decided to perform several close fly-bys right around us as we stopped, gawping, in the middle of the footpath junction at the centre of the common. 

Nightjar

8th July

A check of the North Brooks at Pulborough before work this morning produced a fairly typical selection of waders for the time of year: ten Black-tailed Godwits, five Little Ringed Plover, singles of Common Sandpiper and Green Sandpiper, and a heard-only Greenshank.

The rest of the day was mostly grey with on-off light rain. I did manage a brief stroll out from home after work for a check of the local fields and a brief skywatch, the highlight of which was a single group of 28 Sand Martins south and a Sparrowhawk carrying prey. 

9th July

Today proved to be unexpectedly action packed. The shift to an east/south-easterly airflow on Monday evening and shifting to more southerly in the small hours of today, combined with some rain near dawn, certainly looked to have the potential to deliver some goodies, despite the early date. Early on in the morning I was getting excited messages from Ed up in Surrey, telling me he was having a great morning, so I was keen to get in the field. 

After dropping B at nursery I dashed over to Petworth, where I was greeted by the sight of an eclipse drake Garganey, associating with an eclipse drake Teal. This was my first record of Garganey here, and an unusual plumage I don't see all that often, so a good learning opportunity, especially when it flew around showing off its very obvious pale wing panels. While I was here, news broke of a Wood Sandpiper at Pulborough - an overdue local year tick for me. It seemed that it had only been seen in flight, however, so I waited for news to break of it being relocated on the deck, which it was a little later, before I headed over there in my lunch break. The weather was decidedly filthy now and I was lucky to find the bird (after a bit of a wait) still on the North Brooks before the heavens really opened and I dashed back to my car. It was good to catch up with Pulborough regular Gary Trew here too. 

Garganey

Wood Sandpiper

10th July

In contrast to yesterday's excitement, today just didn't feel anywhere near as rare, despite the still rather inclement conditions. Another check at Petworth didn't produce anything of note on the waterbird front, though a flock of 50-60 House Sparrows flying between a hedgerow and a wheat field was a welcome sight. A little later in the morning I checked out Waltham Brooks which was also pretty quiet, aside from a Garden Warbler briefly showing quite well in the scrub near the lake, and a light but pronounced southerly trickle of Sand Martins and Swifts overhead. 

House Sparrow

Garden Warbler

Ne'er cast a clout

It's always a bit odd being away from home at this time of year, especially a totally different country. After eight days in Türkiye with Ed Stubbs and Dave Brassington (my first overseas trip for four years - blog post on that coming soon, once I've sorted through the hundreds of photos!), it was a bit of a shock to the system to return to England just as spring is about done and dusted here. Indeed, as I'm writing this we are now just a few hours away from the start of meteorological summer, though you would be forgiven for thinking otherwise if you've spent more than a few minutes in the north-easterly wind in the past few days!

This year, perhaps more than ever, I've felt on a number of occasions as though I've wished it possible to press pause on spring, just for a few days. As ever, it's been a frenetic rollercoaster ride of a season from a birding perspective and, in many ways, felt more 'normal' weather-wise too. Perhaps that's why I feel a little bit robbed having reached summer already when it feels like spring only really properly got going a few weeks ago.

Still, May has delivered some great surprises locally, not least the Golden Oriole I found at Knepp last week, combined with the added excitement of seeing what scarce species are settling down to breed in the area. And all to a backdrop of blissful Hawthorn fragrance, in what must be one of the most spectacular displays for this species in recent years. I'm not sure about casting the clouts just yet though...

20th May

My first full day back in England saw me heading down to Dorset with Kate and B for a family wedding. Not much to report on the bird front really aside from a few Mediterranean Gulls low over the A27 and a Firecrest calling by the petrol station near Stoney Cross. 

At the wedding venue near Dorchester highlights included several flyover Ravens along with a Peregrine.

21st May

An impressive dawn chorus at the Winyard's Gap inn near Beaminster included Cuckoo and a rather out of context flyover Siskin. 

Back in Sussex later in the day and the first local walk for over a week produced a few Swifts, the first local Starling fledglings of the year and a Pied Wagtail carrying food. 

22nd May

WeBS count a day late this morning, and the private site near Petworth produced just a Common Sandpiper, a couple of Gadwall and a singing Cuckoo of note. Later in the morning, a walk round woodland near Fittleworth produced three Cuckoos (two singing males and a bubbling female) as well as a Spotted Flycatcher investigating nest holes.

En route back from a Knepp Nightingale Safari later, I stopped off briefly by the heath at Pulborough to hear my first UK churring Nightjar of the year. 

23rd May

Highlights from a Knepp safari this morning included a Knepp tick Common Sandpiper in flight over the Hammer Pond along with a Kingfisher and active Great Crested Grebe nest here.

On the way home I again stopped off for a lunchtime session at Pulborough - my first proper daytime visit for a couple of weeks. My main target was the Turnstone found earlier in the day by Gary T. I'm pleased to say I quickly connected with this at Winpenny (only my second on the reserve), from where I also enjoyed good views of at least 15 Ringed Plover, two Black-tailed Godwits and a single Greenshank, while Whimbrel and Little Ringed Plover were heard here but not seen. Non-wader highlights included singing Cuckoo, at least 5 Nightingales and a late female Pintail on the North Brooks. 

Turnstone and Ringed Plover (typically distant!)

Black-tailed Godwit

24th May

Back at Knepp this morning for another White Stork Safari, which turned into a really memorable one! It had been good anyway, with great views of the various chicks on the stork nests, plus at least three Turtle Doves. Just as I was preparing to wrap up and take the group back to base, a familiar but somewhat out of context song caught my attention and I suddenly realised I was listening to a Golden Oriole - in Sussex! A first for me round these parts and a lifer for many of my group, we followed the sound of its whistling and screeching, managing to get pretty close to it, but sadly never managed to clap eyes on it. It was heard again by others later in the day but seemingly gone by the following morning. 

Later in the day I swung past the private reservoir near Petworth, on my way up to Aldershot. The clear highlight here was my first view of a Ringed Plover on the deck at this site (previously only a heard only record last year). It was good to hear the Willow Warbler still singing nearby, which surely must be paired up by now. Quite an unusual breeding site if so.

25th May

Another busy day of safaris at Knepp, first in the Walled Garden in the morning, where the main highlights were moths and other inverts, although flyover Raven and Red Kite added some avian interest. I was back in the Southern Block in the afternoon for my first vehicle safari of the season, the best bit of which was a Kingfisher carrying a fish in flight across the Hammer Pond. 

26th May

After dropping B at nursery this morning I dropped in at Waltham Brooks for my first proper walk there in over two weeks. It turned out to be a good little session, with 50 species recorded in 50 minutes, including a Curlew low over the river and main lake, heading towards Coldwaltham village, 2 Little Egrets, a drake Shoveler and a few Gadwall on the main lake and at least 40 Sand Martins hawking overhead.

Curlew

Sedge Warbler

Late morning, one of the White-tailed Eagles was drifting about over the garden at home, while a short lunchtime walk round the local lanes and farmland was generally rather quiet aside from four Hobbies together over River Lane, and a few Swifts whizzing about too.

White-tailed Eagle

27th May

A full-on day of safari-ing at Knepp didn't leave any time for my own birding. Nonetheless, it was a great day on the estate, including Turtle Dove, Cuckoo and Nightingale singing simultaneously near Tory Copse (the same area the Golden Oriole was in on Wednesday). 

28th May

A dawn start this morning saw me heading over to Pulborough to enjoy some more of the protracted wader fest the reserve is hosting this spring. Sadly, the Sanderling (which would have been a site tick for me) from the previous day was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the Turnstone. Still, a decent selection of waders were on offer including 32 Ringed Plover, 5 Greenshank, a single Dunlin and 6 Avocet chicks from Winpenny and 2 Common Sandpipers and singles of Black-tailed Godwit and an unexpected breeding plumage Golden Plover on the North Brooks. Other highlights from 2.5 hours on the reserve included singing Cuckoo, and a pair of Shoveler on the Mid Brooks along with an unusually high count of 22 Gadwall. 

Recently fledged Rooks

29th May

Not much birding today aside from a couple of short-ish walks round the local fields and lanes, the highlights of which were the noisy post-breeding flock of Starlings (60-70 at least now) and a presumed family group of 4 Ravens, circling and tumbling high overhead. Nightingales were heard still singing briefly near Besley Farm and Thorndale Bridge.

30th May

After dropping B at nursery this morning I stopped at Waltham Brooks for another loop down the river and round the main lake. The blustery north-easterly was an unwelcome addition but there were still plenty of birds about: 44 species in less than an hour wasn't too bad. Highlights included two Cuckoos (a singing male over towards Amberley and a female in flight up the river) and an unusually high count of 14 Mute Swans (2 on the main lake and 12 on the river). A drake Shoveler was still loitering on the main lake among the Mallards and Gadwall too, which is one I'm keeping an eye on.

In the evening I headed over to the private site near Petworth again which produced a hundred-strong mixed flock of Swifts and Sand Martins feeding over the reservoir, with a few Swallows mixed in. No terns or waders of note though, sadly, though 4 Little Ringed Plovers were on the shoreline. 

31st May

Not loads of birding today, aside from leading a White Stork Safari at Knepp in the morning, highlights of which (aside from the many active stork nests) included great views of a Turtle Dove (and another heard only), Cuckoo and still a couple of Nightingales singing too.

In passing, I checked out the pool at Southlands Farm in West Chiltington which proved to be pretty productive for waders last year. At the moment, the water level is still too high so Coots, Egyptian and Canada Geese and Mallards were the order of the day. One I'll certainly be keeping an eye on in the coming weeks though.

Until May is out!