Kittiwake

Storm Bert delivers! It was very cool and a little surreal to see this 1st-winter Kittiwake battling into the gale-force wind over farmland near Petworth a few weeks back. 

I was a bit too young to remember the avian aftermath of the 1987 Storm - when shedloads of Sabine's Gulls, Grey Phalaropes and the like were found at inland lakes and reservoirs across the south of England - but have always had a fascination and enthusiasm for inland seabirds, blown off course by autumn storms.

I've been lucky to find or see all sorts of examples of this over the years, including two Gannets over Knepp a couple of autumns back and another over Woking town centre many years ago. It's been a good decade or so since I saw a Kittiwake away from the coast though, so I was amazed/delighted when this one appeared overhead at one of my regular local haunts - just as I was walking back to my car too! Interestingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, it coincided with quite a pronounced movement of the species at sites such as Selsey Bill and Splash Point. 

My 171st bird species in my local area (10km radius from home) in 2024 and certainly one of the more memorable ones. This site really has delivered the goods this year, including Little Tern and Sanderling. What next, I wonder?

Long days and short nights

A rather brief summary of the last week of June and first couple of days of July, and my last UK birding for a little while as we headed off to Spain for a week on the 3rd (blog post on that trip to come in due course).

It's been another rewarding period in the birding year though. Particularly pleasing was being able to confirm local breeding of two less common duck species, one of them a RBBP listed species: Shoveler and Gadwall.

Weather-wise, it's not been quite as fiercely hot, with a rather more 'normal' temperature range and a pretty dominating west/south-westerly element to the wind. 

24th June

An early check of my private WeBS site over near Petworth produced 2 Little Ringed Plover and a Barn Owl, but otherwise usual fare. I then headed over to Knepp later in the morning for a butterfly safari, the highlight of which (aside from lots of juicy Purple Emperor action!) was a Curlew flying high north-west over the Cow Barn as I and fellow guide Mark McManus arrived to set up - a Knepp tick for both of us!

25th June

Not much birding today, although some great Purple Emperor and Turtle Dove action again at Knepp in the morning. On the way home a check of Southlands Farm in West Chiltington produced a Green Sandpiper on the roadside pool there.

In the evening I headed over to Lord's Piece/Coates Common for my second Nightar survey visit, which proved to be quite successful, despite much of the habitat having been cut down since my previous visit. The first bird as I arrived was a Hobby hawking over the east side of the heath. By 21:40, the Nightjars started churring, with a total of two males on the main heath and at least 1-2 others across the fields on the clearfell area east of Sutton Common. One of the males on Lord's Piece itself responded well to a few of my handclaps and buzzed right over my head a couple of times. Always an amazing experience! Also of note here this evening were at least four Tawny Owls - two hooting males and two squeaking juveniles.

Hobby

                                            

26th June

After dropping B at nursery this morning I stopped off at Pulborough for a check of the South Brooks and Black Wood. A Green Sandpiper was on the pool out from Hail's View - my first returning bird here this... season (I won't say autumn, just yet!) while the lingering Great White Egret was still on West Mead Pool and a Spotted Flycatcher was along the path just west of Black Pond. 

A lunchtime walk round the local farmland produced quite a few Swallows (12+), a flock of at least 180 Starlings, a few Swifts and one of the White-tailed Eagles being mobbed by a Hobby high over towards Amberley.

27th June

A brief look at Waltham Brooks on my way to Knepp this morning proved to be a fruitful one, as I discovered a female Shoveler on the main lake with four ducklings in tow. I've suspected the species might be breeding here, as there were a few records of drakes kicking about earlier in the summer/late spring, but it was nice to prove it today.

Shoveler female and ducklings

28th June

A check of local water bodies this morning proved quite productive. At an undisclosed site, Little Ringed Plovers were back on eggs after a failed breeding attempt earlier in the year. 

Burton Mill Pond was on particularly fine form, with 52 species recorded in a little under two hours. Spotted Flycatchers were at Lodge Green and New Piece, along with a Willow Warbler and two Marsh Tits loosely tagging along with my first roving mixed flock of the season in the latter area. Also at New Piece, a Hobby was noisily flying about and carrying food, which was encouraging to see. A Firecrest was singing near the north-west corner of Burton Mill Pond itself, while the usual Little Owl was again out on the fence at Burton Park Farm. A Peregrine and at least 25 Sand Martins were over Chingford Pond. The best of the ducks, meanwhile, were single female Gadwall and Mandarin on Chingford Pond with nine and four ducklings, respectively. 

Gadwall female and ducklings

Little Owl

Peregrine

29th June

A check of Southlands Farm, West Chiltington on my way to Knepp again produced a Green Sandpiper plus an impressive 60 Mallards squeezed onto the little pool there.

In the afternoon a short walk from home through the local farmland out to the river at Thorndale Bridge proved fairly quite, aside from a Hobby high over Amberley Wildbrooks and a mixed flock of around 30 Swallows and Sand Martins feeding over the river.

Back at Knepp in the evening for a dusk safari which turned into a mini owl-fest, with Barn Owl seen a couple of times around the white route, and a Tawny Owl in flight just west of the campsite. Rather more out of context was a Reed Warbler singing in dense sallow in the stork enclosure, while I popped by to watch some of the team ringing another stork nest.

30th June

Half an hour on the tea terrace at Pulborough this morning, scanning the South Brooks. It was an enjoyable and productive session including one of the White-tailed Eagles perched up on a gatepost, the lingering Great White Egret at West Mead and two Hobbies flying over Hollybush Hill towards the heath. 

An enjoyable safari at Knepp this morning, the highlight of which was finding a Turtle Dove for my group of students (who'd never seen one), which gave prolonged views of its singing and preening. 

Turtle Dove

A rare foray into Surrey in the evening for the Surrey Bird Club AGM saw me dropping into one of my old haunts - Papercourt GPs. Not a huge amount of interest here aside from 26 Egyptian Geese roosting near the sailing club, and two Ring-necked Parakeets flying over (only my fifth UK record this year!)

1st July

A short walk and skywatch round the local farmland this morning didn't produce much aside from a Peregrine low and fast over north towards Lodge Hill.

Early afternoon I headed over to Pulborough Brooks with Kate and B to catch up with my old friend Steven. A couple of hours around the main trail proved enjoyably productive, with highlights including the Great White Egret still with at least five Little Egrets at West Mead, the two White-tailed Eagles, two White Storks on the North Brooks along with 24 Black-tailed Godwit, at least 9 Little Ringed Plover and a lone Green Sandpiper. A rather late Cuckoo flew over Uppertons Field, followed later by a Hobby, while a female Tufted Duck with six ducklings at West Mead represented my first breeding record here. 

Great and Little Egrets at Pulborough

Ringlet

2nd July

No birding today. 

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. 

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!

May, week two

 7th May

A dawn safari at Knepp this morning produced great numbers of warblers and at least two Cuckoos. On the way home I stopped off at Hail's View to scan the South Brooks, from where I was treated to fab views of two Hobbies hawking low over the marsh and dozens of Swifts and Swallows above. A check of Black Wood yielded a singing Firecrest but not the hoped-for Spotted Flycatcher. 

That was about the sum of my birding for the day, although while visiting friends in Godalming in the afternoon I noted at least 20 Swifts screaming over the Portsmouth Road, and a short walk around the area of rough grassland and scrub near Wood Farm produced another Swift along with singing Whitethroat, multiple Chiffchaff and Blackcap, Linnet and several Greenfinches.

8th May

An overcast but mild start to the day. I headed out on foot from home to do the loop from River Lane to the Arun then up to Waltham Brooks and back. There were no great surprises to be found but it was lovely to enjoy the chorus of birdsong from the full set of resident and migrant breeding species now all back on territory, including at least 5 Nightingales and similar numbers of Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat, along with a couple of Garden Warblers. At least two male Cuckoos were singing well between Waltham Brooks and Amberley, while a female was perched on a fence across the river on the west side of Amberley. 

9th May

A morning sweep of wetlands and water bodies proved to be fairly uninspiring, although it was good to see double figures of Swifts at the private reservoir near Petworth. 

In the afternoon I was up in Aldershot when news broke of the Hoopoe at Frensham Little Pond, so I couldn't resist swinging by for a look on my way home. The bird was elusive and flighty but eventually showed well, albeit briefly, on the east side of the pond. 

Hoopoe

10th May

Not loads of birding today owing to it being Mrs Matt's birthday, but a brief stop at Pulborough Brooks after dropping B off at nursery produced my hoped-for first Spotted Flycatcher of the year in the trees on the edge of the heath - in the same area the Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher were in last week. Also here were a singing Garden Warbler and a Robin feeding a fledgling. 

For Kate's birthday we had lunch at The Pig in Madehurst where casual observations included Blackbirds busily feeding young, three Red Kites and lots of House Martins overhead and a Red-legged Partridge 'singing' in the grounds. 

Spotted Flycatcher

When April steps aside for May

Late April into early May is always a hectic and exciting time for us birders. Rarely does it ever feel more possible that just about anything can turn up, anywhere. This can be especially exciting in the context of local birding, when passage waders and passerines, in particular, grace our familiar patches and birding haunts, sometimes for just a matter of hours or even minutes, before continuing on their epic journey north. 

While I have found this spring rather frustrating in terms of often being either unable to get out birding as much I would have liked, or being in the field but in the wrong place at the wrong time, these past ten days have delivered some of the most enjoyable moments of the season so far in a local context.

27th April

After the previous day's wader excitement at Pulborough Brooks, a message from Jon Winder in the evening alerting me to a Whooper Swan on the South Brooks was enough to prompt me to head back there again early this morning. Sadly, there was no sign of the swan, but the Wood Sandpiper and two Greenshanks were still present, along with a Curlew which flew off towards Hardham, giving away its presence by its unmistakable song. As I was heading back up to the car park, a White Stork drifted west over Uppertons Field towards the South Brooks and the river.

With the arrival of heavy rain in the evening I stopped off to check the scrape at Hadworth Farm in West Burton which produced a Green Sandpiper and my first local Yellow Wagtails of the year - three in total. It just goes to show that any decent patch of habitat is worth checking at this time of year, especially when the heavens open!

28th April

Cloudy with light rain and a west/south-westerly wind this morning. It felt like a water body kind of day so I headed over to the private site near Petworth (via the Hadworth Farm scrape which was sadly virtually birdless). An hour at the reservoir proved to be a decent session with first a heard-only Common Tern (not at all common round here!) as I arrived followed by a Dunlin, two Common Sandpipers and flyovers of Swift and Hobby. The Common Tern was heard again a little while later, but again not seen. I had just one local record of this species locally last year, strangely enough at the same site.

Hobby

Much of the rest of the day was spent around Arundel with friends visiting from Ireland (former Leith Hill ranger Sam Bayley and family) where visits to the WWT and Swanbourne Lake produced, among others, Oystercatcher (a noisy party of four flying around over the wetland centre), Kingfisher, Willow Warbler, 40+ Sand Martins and the ubiquitous Firecrest, singing along Mill Road. 

After a safari at Knepp in the evening I dropped in at Waltham Brooks for a bit of a listening session near the railway bridge, which produced at least three singing Nightingales plus distant Little Owl, Tawny Owl and Water Rail. 

29th April

Two bites of the cherry at Pulborough today. First up this morning, when I got in on the wader fest action unfolding at Winpenny, hide, now featuring three Wood Sandpipers, at least 7 Greenshanks and a Ringed Plover. Just as we were getting ready to leave, news broke of a Wood Warbler found on the edge of the heath by Anna Allum from the RSPB and volunteer Rob, so I dashed down the path to Black Pond and enjoyed listening to that iconic coin spinning song for a few minutes.

I was at Knepp in the afternoon leading a safari, highlights of which included my first Garden Warbler of the year and branching Tawny Owl chicks with an adult. 

In the evening I returned to Pulborough for a second look at the Wood Warbler which, by now, was showing relatively well in the oaks near the woodland play area. Remarkably, a Pied Flycatcher had also turned up in much the same area, which showed beautifully, flitting about in a large flowering Cherry tree in the evening sunshine. What a smashing species duo to encounter in Sussex at this time of year!

Pied Flycatcher

Wood Warbler

30th April

Not much time for birding today after a Knepp dawn safari which produced Cuckoo, lots of Lesser and Common Whitethroats and a couple of Garden Warblers. A walk round the local farmland mid-morning also produced a new in Garden Warbler - my first of the year in the 1km area. Following on from my previous blog post where I talked about aiming to get past 100 species for as many of my local sites as possible, Garden Warbler was number 97 for the 'Watersfield Farmland' eBird hotspot...

1st May

A clear and rather chilly morning saw me heading over to Parham Park for my first BBS visit there of the season. As per usual, it was Jackdaws, Greylag Geese and Fallow Deer galore, but a flyover Sand Martin as I was finishing was actually a Parham tick for me!

On the way home I dropped in at Waltham Brooks for a quick look. A Garden Warbler singing near the main lake was my first of the year there and there were good numbers of Sedge Warbler and Common Whitethroat around. A Cuckoo flew low over my head, heading north, while a second bird was singing distantly across the river in the direction of Amberley.

Osprey is becoming something of a nemesis species for me this year, having missed several locally (mostly at Pulborough) so it was particularly galling to get home to discover one had just flown over Waltham Brooks after I left!

An afternoon walk round the local fields produced a few Swallows, singles of Kestrel and Red Kite, but otherwise not much. Today definitely felt like a bit of a stopgap day...

2nd May

A little tour of local sites this morning before an appointment in Petworth. The scrape at Hadworth Farm is, regrettably, drying up fast now we've had a few days without rain. Just two Canada Geese, four Stock Doves and a Pheasant here this morning although the Lesser Whitethroat was still singing in the nearby hedgerow. A half hour stake-out at Burton Mill Pond didn't produce much aside from 'singing' Water Rail, Grey Wagtail and the usual Great Crested Grebes and ducks. Talking of ducks, the private reservoir near Petworth rather surprisingly held five Pochards this morning (three drakes), quite a late date for birds round here. Also of note here were a single Common Sandpiper, five Swifts and the lingering singing Willow Warbler which has been in the area for about three weeks now. 

Early afternoon I dropped in at our allotment near Stopham for the first time in a while and was pleased to hear a Nightingale back on territory in the nearby scrub, plus a Cuckoo singing slightly further away towards the Arun. Even better, while surveying our plot and panicking somewhat at the amount of work needed, I stumbled across a lovely female Adder basking on a crumpled heap of weed membrane, followed closely by a Slow-worm in one of the compost bins. Hooray for neglected allotments!

Adder

I also stopped off for a quick look at the wet meadow near Swan Bridge in Pulborough (where I have had Spotted Crake and LRP in the past, among others). Today the highlight was a heard-only Yellow Wagtail.

Later in the day a walk out through the local farmland to the Arun produced a hunting Hobby, several Swifts along with all three hirundines and one of the White-tailed Eagles in flight over Amberley Wildbrooks, flushing up all manner of birds including a Curlew which started to sing, albeit distantly from my vantage point on the river bank. That's now the third or fourth record of singing Curlew in the area recently, following on from recent reports of two birds together at Pulborough. Could it be too much to dream that a territorial pair may attempt to breed somewhere in the valley?

3rd May

A fine and rather chilly morning with an easterly breeze. Being as the next week or so is looking very hectic I decided it was my last chance to get over to Byworth for my second South Downs Farmland Bird Monitoring survey early visit of the season. The square, SU9820, proved to be quite productive last year with highlights including multiple singing Skylarks and even a flyover Whimbrel! This morning I managed 42 species in 90 minutes including Cuckoo, Nightingale, Red-legged Partridge and Stonechat (the latter just outside the map square but still nice to see).

After this I headed over to Knepp for my first Stork Safari of the year. By now it was a beautiful spring morning and a perfect one to be out and about in the Southern Block. The storks put on a great show, feeding chicks on several of the nests, all to a soundtrack of Nightingales and the abundant Lesser Whitethroats and quite a few Garden Warblers too.

An afternoon walk round the local farm fields produced a few Swallows, a couple of Swifts and Sand Martins and the continuing singing Nightingale, which today was clearly audible from the bedroom window as I was working upstairs. 

4th May

This morning I was at Knepp again, leading a dawn safari. There had a been a couple of reports of Turtle Dove back on the estate this week, so I was very pleased to see two flying over mine and my group's heads during the safari, which also featured many singing Nightingales and the usual assortment of Sylvia warblers in abundance.

Whitethroat

On the way home I stopped off for a quick look at Waltham and Widney Brooks, both of which were fairly quiet, though a singing Lesser Whitethroat and flyover Yellow Wagtail near Greatham Bridge were both 1km year ticks.

A look at the private reservoir near Petworth late afternoon in the hope of terns and waders proved relatively successful in terms of the latter, with 4 Common Sandpipers, a pair of Little Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin present. It's definitely not been quite so spectacular here for waders here as it was last spring, when eight species were recorded here in April and May. 

Far better for waders so far this spring has been Pulborough Brooks, where I again headed this evening on my way over to Knepp, primarily to see the spectacle of the 70+ Ruff that had been reported here earlier in the day. There had been some remarkable movements of this species across England today, with a flock of 14 over Beddington Farmlands in Surrey/London and three-figure counts in Lincolnshire. Sure enough, scanning from the tea terrace at Pulborough I didn't struggle to find the flock of at least 65 still actively feeding and scurrying about, occasionally all springing into the air as one group. From memory, my previous record count of this species here was 26, so it's fair to say today smashed that!

5th May

I couldn't resist heading back over to PB for another look at the Ruff/general wader madness this morning. I was actually quite surprised to find at least 60 still present, especially given as it had been a relatively clear night. There were still two Wood Sandpipers in among them too, along with four Ringed Plover, two Dunlin and a single Greenshank, along with the resident Avocets, Redshanks and Lapwings, the latter of which now have a few chicks scurrying about. 

Some of the 60+ Ruff at Pulborough

6th May

Not much proper birding today. A check of the scrape at Hadworth Farm in passing late afternoon/early evening produced a pair of Gadwall, a few Swallows and a Grey Wagtail. 

Blink and you'll miss it...

Well, somehow it's almost the end of April already. Not quite sure how that happened! Still, we're well and truly in the thick of the freneticism of peak spring now, which is partly why it's taken me a bit longer than usual to finish this latest update on my local birding.

I haven't been able to get in the field quite as much as usual this spring, for various reasons, but it's clearly already been a good one, with a decent arrival of migrants in the past fortnight. One thing that is encouraging about this spring is that, after several atypically dry and cold Aprils on the trot, it all feels a little more 'normal' this year, with the ideal mix of warm sunshine, showers, and winds from all directions. Indeed, it really feels as if no hour is the same, let alone each day.

I'm heading towards May with my local year list standing on 131 and my 1km list on 109. So it's certainly not looking like a record-breaking year but, as was the case in 2022, I am just trying to embrace the mantra of enjoying birding as and when I can get out and relishing the special moments that make it all worthwhile.

 12th April

Another one of those days where I went out briefly, not expecting much. After a very unusual lie-in I decided to just dash out to check the local fields before starting work, and almost immediately stumbled across a spanking male Redstart in the horse paddock halfway down our road. I fired off a few record shots (it was quite flighty) before the ominous black cloud towards the south-west arrived and it started to pour down, so I sprinted home.

Redstart

Thereafter it was a typical April day, with sunshine and showers and a strengthening chilly wind. After finishing work I headed over to the farmland and reservoir near Petworth, just as the most biblical rain and hail arrived. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say... so I put both my coats on, grabbed my umbrella and headed out of the car. In the end, it wasn't particularly worth the soaking, although I enjoyed 45 minutes or so under the umbrella watching the 120-130 hirundines feeding low over the reservoir, the 15 or so Swallows in particular almost hovering and skimming the surface of the water like Storm-petrels. There were at least five House Martins too, otherwise the rest were all Sand Martins. 

13th April

Not much birding today but I was leading a dawn safari at Knepp first thing which produced at least three singing Nightingales, including two together in the same tree.

Up at my mum's house later in the day, I saw my first Speckled Wood of the year in the garden. 

14th April

Some light drizzle and a light south/south-westerly wind this morning felt good. I headed out on foot to check some of the local fields. The best bits for my efforts were my first Cuckoo of the year, singing distantly to the east, the nearby singing Nightingale again and a singing Skylark. Also noted were a Raven carrying food, a Greenfinch with nest material and a flyover Little Egret heading south-west - surprisingly my first one in this hotspot since we moved to the area back in September!

After dropping B off at nursery I briefly stuck my head in at Waltham Brooks which yielded presumably the same Cuckoo I'd heard earlier, seemingly singing just across the river towards Amberley. Other bits of note were singing Willow Warbler, two each of Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat and around 25-30 hirundines, mostly Sand Martins but with a few Swallows and a single House Martin mixed in.

In the evening I was heading over to Petworth for Roger Morgan-Grenville's book launch, so decided to pop into the farmland and private reservoir there for a little look. The low cloud and easterly element to the wind felt absolutely ideal for producing something good, especially Little Gull, but in the event there wasn't a great deal doing aside from the largest congregation of hirundines I've seen so far this year (around 200, mostly Sand Martins but a good 20 House Martins and 10-15 Swallows) and a singing Willow Warbler.  

15th April

This morning I headed over to Pulborough Brooks for a walk around, and a catch-up with Joe Bassett, the former warden. Aside from an attempted rescue on a sadly nearly dead female Mallard hung up in a barbed wire fence, it was an enjoyable couple of hours with at least five each of singing Nightingale and Whitethroat, two pairs of Avocet, two Mandarin, four Tufted Duck, decent numbers of Swallows and Sand Martins and a singing Woodlark as we were leaving. 

An evening walk around the local fields was relatively quiet aside from a single House Martin and four Swallows, and flyovers of Raven and Grey Heron. A pair of Sparrowhawks were also up together near Besley Farm. 

Later in the evening, a text from Mark McManus alerted me to two Garganey showing well on the main lake at Waltham Brooks (Pete H and Alice P had had three birds there earlier in the day) so I made an impromptu decision to dash over to see them. Typically, as I arrived Mark said they had just vanished! Still, it was nice to catch up with Mark and we enjoyed several singing Sedge Warblers, a heard-only Barn Owl and also at least two Snipe calling in the darkness.

16th April

An early start this morning for a dawn safari at Knepp, the highlights of which were my first visuals on a Cuckoo this year and my first Lesser Whitethroat of the year, along with multiple singing Nightingales.

On the way home from Knepp I decided to stick my head in at Waltham Brooks for yet another bite of the Garganey cherry. I'm pleased to say I connected at last! A single drake deigned to show itself on the main lake for a few minutes, even giving a few croaky calls at times. There were also at least two Nightingales singing - one near the main lake and another up by the railway bridge.

Garganey - at last!

Much of the rest of the day I was up in Surrey doing non-birding stuff, but an evening walk round the local fields produced various spring goodies including at least seven Swallows zipping about over a field of cattle, and a Mistle Thrush with its bill stuffed full of worms and caterpillars.

Mistle Thrush

17th April

I spent the majority of today leading a Wildstarts tour for a couple from West Sussex. Their target species were Kingfisher and Dartford Warbler at Burton Mill Pond and a nearby heathland. Three hours at Burton Mill Pond produced almost 50 species but sadly (and unusually!) no Kingfisher. Highlights here were at least two singing Reed Warbler, three singing Firecrest, two Mandarins, two House Martins and seven Egyptian Geese. Weirdest of all was the strange grunting call we heard three times in reeds towards the south-east corner of the main pond. It was reminiscent of the flight call of a Bittern but clearly coming from dense vegetation near the water's edge. We couldn't see anything, but I did wonder afterwards whether it might have been a Night Heron... Sadly, further visits later in the afternoon and in the evening didn't yield any more clues as to what it might have been, so unfortunately one that got away!

On to the heathland site, where I'm pleased to say we connected with a Dartford Warbler, much to the couple's delight! Other highlights here were at least six Woodlark, a singing Whitethroat, two Ravens, a single Swallow and lots of Brimstone butterflies, including my first females of the year. Also noted on the wing towards the end of the (by now quite warm) walk here were Speckled Wood and Peacock.

Woodlark

18th April

A switch to north-easterly wind again and a rather brisk morning, which didn't feel particularly 'rare'. Nonetheless, I headed out early to check the local fields near home which yielded a 'new in' singing Whitethroat, the now regular singing Nightingale (that's already been present two weeks!), and a Barn Owl in flight over a field literally just a couple of houses behind ours. A brief check of the river, Wharf Field and the north-west side of Amberley Wildbrooks, meanwhile, produced two more singing Nightingales, a pair of Grey Wagtails and the singing Cuckoo again.

The weather felt conducive to grounding some waders (and, sure enough, later in the day there were plenty of inland records of Bar-tailed Godwit popping up on BirdGuides and the first Greenshank of the year at Pulborough) so I made two visits to the private reservoir near Petworth. Sadly, no unusual waders were to be found here, although it was nice to see the pair of LRPs displaying. A Willow Warbler was still singing nearby and there were at least 70-80 hirundines feeding low over the water, mostly Sand Martins. 

It was also nice to confirm the first egg in our garden Robin nest this afternoon (thanks to Paul Stevens, who is tall enough to see in!).

Robin egg

19th April

No real birding today, but it was great to see the local Swallows back on territory on our street, whizzing around over our garden and in and out of our neighbours' car ports.

20th April

Not a great deal of birding today, though a lunchtime walk around the local fields produced a very welcome Swift, flying west. Not quite my earliest ever, but very close! Also of note was a newly arrived Whitethroat singing in a hedgerow near home, though it still feels like numbers of these are quite low at the moment.

21st April

An early start this morning for a walk from home to Waltham Brooks and back via the local farmland. Highlights in the latter were the continuing Nightingale singing well near Besley Farm and two singing Willow Warblers in close proximity just west of the western entrance to Waltham Brooks. Highlights actually on the reserve itself were a good selection of warblers including at least two each of Sedge Warbler, Cetti's Warbler and Whitethroat. There were at least two Nightingales singing there again too, near the main lake and another near the railway line, and the Cuckoo was in fine voice again over beyond the river. 

After dropping B off at nursery I swung by Pulborough for an hour on the southern side of the reserve, viewing the South Brooks from Hail's View. Best from 51 species here were a local year tick Greenshank, single Avocet, at least four Redshank, a distant singing Nightingale and a singing Firecrest in Black Wood. 

Back at home late morning, and my working efforts were temporarily distracted by two Shelduck flying around over the garden - the first garden record.

Finally, a late afternoon visit to the private reservoir near Petworth produced (amazingly/shamefully) my first Green Sandpiper of the year, plus a single Little Ringed Plover and a displaying pair of Great Crested Grebes. At least 220 Herring Gulls were drifting about, heading roughly east, with at least one Lesser Black-backed Gull among them.

22nd April

Again, not loads of birding today. A short walk around the local farmland was largely uneventful save for the usual couple of Swallows, the singing Nightingale again and Starlings with nest material.

In the evening I was at Knepp, leading a dusk safari, which produced several singing Lesser Whitethroats, Nightingales and a Cuckoo.

23rd April

Another rather grey and drizzly start to the day, so I headed out to check out a few local water bodies and wetland sites. First up, a brief look at Fittleworth Water Meadows in passing, which produced a displaying Lapwing and four Little Egrets. Next, the private reservoir near Petworth for my monthly WeBS count, which didn't hold a huge amount aside from two Great Crested Grebes, four Gadwall and a Little Ringed Plover, as well as a few Swallows and Sand Martins. On the way home I stopped off at Burton Mill Pond for a quick look, which yielded my first Common Sandpiper of the year as well as the rather incongruous sight of the resident pair of Great Crested Grebes doing a few flying circuits before settling back down on the water. I actually can't recall the last time I saw this species properly in flight in an inland setting. Last of all, I stopped to check the flooded field near West Burton which yielded a single drake Gadwall along with a few Mallards, including a brood of ducklings. No waders here today but it really is looking very good at the moment so it's a spot I plan to check semi-regularly in the coming days and weeks. 

Common Sandpiper

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebes

24th April

A rather cold and sunny start to the day, so I decided to head over to West Burton for my first South Downs Farmland Bird Monitoring survey visit of the season. In all honesty, this square was pretty underwhelming last year, and so it proved again this morning, with not a single Skylark, Yellowhammer or Linnet to be seen. In fact, the only bits of note were singles of Willow Warbler and Whitethroat and a couple of pairs of Swallow.

After this, I decided to pop back and have a look at the flooded field/scrape just north of here, as mentioned earlier. Encouragingly, as soon as I pulled up in the car and started scanning, a Green Sandpiper flew up and across to the far side. After a while, I lost it altogether, but still not a bad start to my first proper check of what I suspect will become a regular haunt in the coming weeks.

Hadworth Farm scrape, near West Burton

  

25th April

After dropping B off at nursery this morning I decided to head up the Downs - specifically Amberley Mount again - in the hope that the chilly north/north-easterly wind might have dropped in some passerines. Sadly, it wasn't to be, as the only migrants noted were a couple of Swallows, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and a single Whitethroat. Other highlights from an hour and a half up there were two Yellowhammers, a pair of Grey Partridge and a Peregrine. 

Grey Partridges

A lunch break walk around the local fields proved to be fairly lively, with the local Cuckoo and Nightingale both in fine voice, at least 30 Linnets busily flitting and chatting away in the hedgerows and Dandelion-covered fields, and both Orange-tip and Comma on the wing. Over a hundred hirundines were swirling around high over Waltham Brooks, with two each of Swallow and Sand Martin flying fast and low over the rooftops on the edge of the hamlet.

Early afternoon, I lifted my head from my laptop and a glance out of the window produced a couple of very high Buzzards followed by my first Hobby of the year - two in fact! - hawking high over the garden. 

26th April

Another cold and blustery start, with spots of rain blown in on the stiff east/south-easterly wind. After dropping B at nursery I decided to stick my head in at Amberley Wildbrooks for the first time in a little while. Here I found a good gathering of Swallows (35 or more) feeding over the east side, where I also found a Greenshank lurking among the Lapwings and Redshanks. A flyover Shelduck was, surprisingly, an Amberley tick (well, according to eBird anyway!). One of my small-scale ambitions from my birding in 2023 is to get my Amberley list past 100, to join the likes of Knepp, Burton Mill Pond and Pulborough Brooks in my top-scoring local sites. Greenshank was 99...

On the way home I stopped to check out the fields and reservoir near Hardham for a few minutes. Here I noted a Linnet with nest material and a singing Whitethroat, but my attention was suddenly grabbed by the close call of a Little Ringed Plover. I crossed the road to check the field to the south and, sure enough, found a pair in the stubble field there. Quite an unusual sight to see them scurrying about among the Jackdaws!

Little Ringed Plovers (you might need to look closely...)

Working from home later in the day, my gaze was distracted by a Hobby and at least three Swifts dashing past the window, so after lunch Kate and I headed out for a walk round the local farmland. This proved to be quite a lively session with first a Peregrine dashing low west with prey then three Hobbies up together, hawking over towards Waltham Brooks. A bit later on I noticed three over towards the south and quickly realised these were different birds, as the other three were still in sight. This really put the wind up the local Swallows which were whizzing about, alarm calling over the stables and cow fields! A Nightingale was singing well over towards the back of Coldwaltham Sewage Works. 

Finally, I dropped in at Pulborough late afternoon, as it sounded from messages from Chris and Juliet Moore as though a mini wader fest was underway there. Pleasingly, I quickly managed to locate the Wood Sandpiper and two Greenshanks from Winpenny hide, later joined by a summer plumaged Dunlin, while at least one Ringed Plover was heard but not seen. Seven species of wader in just over an hour wasn't a bad haul at all, and served to remind me just how good this site can be at its best. Indeed, I have been guilty of neglecting it a little this year, what with one thing and another, but given the condition of the habitat at present and the selection of species on offer today, I think I will make more of an effort to visit less infrequently in the coming weeks!

Greenshanks

Wood Sandpiper