In like a lion

1st March

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

Amberley Wildbrooks

2nd March

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

Black-necked Grebes

3rd March

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

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

Hen Harrier

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

Egyptian Goose family

4th March

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

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

Merlin

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

5th March

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

6th March

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

7th March

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

Yellowhammer in the fog

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

Stonechat

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

Sunset over a flooded Pulborough Brooks

8th March

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

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

Mediterranean Gull

9th March

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

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

10th March

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

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

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-October

My shoulder injury recovery continues so it was pretty much exclusively 1km from home birding on foot again for this ten day period. It certainly feels as though we have turned a corner, seasonally speaking, as we move into the second half of October. There were still a few summery stragglers making an appearance but I also finally recorded my first Brambling of the autumn (of the entire year in fact, so dire a finch winter as we had last year!). The unusually warm weather has also all but gone now, as I write this, and we have had the first couple of frosts of the year plus the expected October wind and rain. Indeed, parts of the 1km area are getting decidedly soggy now, though not entirely impassable yet.

11th October

A grey and drizzly start to the day saw me checking the moth trap which held a respectable 39 individuals of 21 species, including new for the garden Red-line Quaker, Black Rustic (x 4), Large Wainscot, Barred Sallow, the spectacular Merveille du Jour (x 2) and the migrant Rusty-dot Pearl. Talking of migrants, it seemed relatively quiet on the vismig front overhead while I was emptying the trap, but I did note a couple of Redwings over and eight Swallows powering south.

Merveille du Jour

Rusty-dot Pearl

Black Rustic

Once the trap was emptied I headed out for a loop of Thorndale Bridge, the local farmland and Waltham Brooks. Aside from another group of Swallows heading south-east and a couple of Skylarks south, the low cloud and mizzle seemed to be hampering any migratory activity, so I didn't linger too long at Thorndale Bridge. Highlights here were four Snipe flying about (presumably the same group seen yesterday), a Stonechat, and a female Marsh Harrier which flew upriver. Up at Waltham Brooks the best were two Pintail, three Little Grebes and a single Tufted Duck among the usual wildfowl on the lake plus heard-only Kingfisher, a couple of Swallows and Redwings over. It was also noticeable that Chiffchaff numbers are on the up, with a conservative count of 15 recorded, especially congregating in the sallows on the western side. There was again a curiously calling individual here giving the plaintive 'hew' call, as heard at Thorndale Bridge recently. 

12th October

A similar morning to yesterday. A check of Waltham Brooks again produced two Pintail on the lake along with 10 Shoveler, 13 Gadwall and 15 Teal. Presumably the same quartet of Snipe were again flying about overhead, around 50 Lapwings were up in the air over Widney Brooks and two Green Sandpipers flew over my head near the railway line and dropped down towards the main lake. 

It had been decidedly quiet overhead early morning but on the way home I noticed a bit of a movement of hirundines, so decided to stop off for a skywatch, which proved to be fairly lively. Aside from over 100 House Martins and 20-odd Swallows moving south, the clear highlights were a heard only Golden Plover and a beautiful adult male Merlin which flew fast and quite low over the field where I was watching from, before turning, gaining height and powering off south towards the Downs. Actually my first record for this particular eBird hotspot, although my third record of the autumn locally. 

13th October

A proper October day of wind and rain. Late morning a break in the rain saw me heading out to the local farmland for a bit of a skywatch, perhaps rather over-optimistic given the brisk south-westerly (F5, gusting 6-7). Surprisingly, it was actually a decent 90 minutes, with highlights including three Woodlarks east together (it really is turning into a good autumn for them locally) and a light trickle of hirundines pushing straight into the wind. Particularly impressive was a group of ~20 Swallows which after making one failed attempt to get through fairly high up then dropped down to just a few metres above the ground and powered on into the headwind. 

14th October

The cold morning after the squally night before. Today felt like the first proper crisp morning of the autumn, and I headed out on foot just before 7am wondering if I had under-dressed given the brisk westerly. An hour's skywatching from the local farmland proved fairly lively with a steady stream of Siskins and a few Redpolls, Meadow Pipits, Chaffinches, etc, mostly heading south-west. One species I certainly didn't have on my radar for the third weekend of October was Common Redstart so it took me a moment or two to process what I was looking at when I noticed a passerine flicking about in a nearby hedgerow. Indeed, the way it was lit in the morning sunlight initially brought to mind Red-flanked Bluetail, and it was a heartstopping couple of seconds before I realised I was looking at something rather more mundane, albeit very late. My first record of the species locally since 7th September and undoubtedly my last one of the year. Strangely enough, Ed Stubbs also had one this morning up in Surrey, so perhaps a little late push of Scandinavian ones moving through?

Redstart

The rest of the day didn't include much birding, although a trip down to Worthing with Kate and B (primarily to deliver a Knepp talk) did also include stopping at Marine Gardens for lunch, which featured flyover Siskins (5) and Redpolls (3). 

15th October

WeBS count day today so Kate kindly drove me over to the private reservoir near Petworth to carry out the survey; my first visit here for four weeks (I normally tend to visit at least once a week). It was usual fare on offer really, though 55 Tufted Ducks represented my highest count here, while 20 Pochards was one short of equaling the record count. Otherwise, highlights were 54 Egyptian Geese on the shore of the reservoir and at least 15 Swallows and a couple of House Martins feeding over the nearby farmland.

Later in the day I went for a stroll from home, highlights of which included at least five Lesser Redpolls at Thorndale Bridge plus the three White-tailed Eagles thermalling together distantly towards the Downs. Despite the chilly air temperature the warm sun was clearly coaxing plenty of raptors into the sky, as I also had a Goshawk sparring with a Buzzard to the south of Watersfield. Single Stonechats were at Thorndale Bridge and Waltham Brooks while a few Swallows, Siskins and a couple of Skylarks were noted flying over, heading south/south-west.

16th October

A lively morning of local vismig, first from the farmland near home and then up on the high ground to the west, began with two vocal Merlins briefly dogfighting overhead a couple of hundred metres from home before separating and flying off west and south-east. Another Woodlark flew high-northeast, while there was just the slightest hint of some early Woodpigeon movement. Finches were clearly moving in good numbers but seemed to be for the most part too high, hence the change in watchpoint an hour or so into my watch. From here, almost immediately I was seeing and hearing Chaffinches, while after 15 minutes the distinctive call of Crossbills signalled the approach of a flock flying from north to south which I somehow never managed to get eyes on, but it sounded like quite a few. Just a few minutes later another flock of 14 flew south. Finch totals from the morning included 87 Chaffinches (mostly west), 50 Siskins (mostly west) plus a few Redpolls, Linnets, Goldfinches, etc. Curiously notable by their absence again were thrushes with just five Redwings leaving roost along River Lane the only ones noted. 

Looking south-east from the high ground above Watersfield

17th October

With this welcome spell of easterlies continuing, this morning saw me back up at the high ground to the west of Watersfield for another vismig session. Initially the wind was calm and it was a surprisingly brighter morning than had been forecast, which didn't necessarily suggest much in the way of movement. I was wrong though as, twenty minutes into the watch, I noticed a line of geese approaching high from the north/north-east which I quickly realised had to be Brent Geese, owing to their dark colouration, short necks and generally compact shape, plus the distinctive wavy line flock formation. They weren't calling or, if they were, I couldn't hear it over the strengthening breeze, and because they were really pretty high I also spectacularly failed to achieve anything in the way of a useable record shot with my one-handed bridge camera attempts. Still, one of those memorable vismig moments that put it all into context, as these Arctic travellers near the end of the journey, likely bound for the south coast via Watersfield! Other highlights this morning included the first clearly moving Grey Herons I've seen locally this autumn (two lots of three west), a few Redwings and Fieldfares west (60 and 54), three Swallows south, four Crossbills west and a steady trickle of Skylarks. 

A check of Thorndale Bridge late afternoon produced three Marsh Harriers over Amberley, including a beautiful adult male hunting low over the marsh just the other side of the river from where I was stood, plus a White-tailed Eagle briefly in flight and a female Mandarin flying downriver. 

18th October

A remarkable 58 species in just over an hour at Waltham Brooks this morning including my first Brambling anywhere this year (!) heard flying over, a first winter Goosander on the lake and two Great White Egrets which came in from the west and dropped down near the main lake. There has been clearly been quite an arrival of this species in Sussex as there were also records of seven at Arundel WWT this morning and five at Pulborough Brooks later in the day (perhaps all relating to the same birds) following on from a count of 11 flying past Climping yesterday. 

A rather late flock of House Martins flew over towards Amberley with a Swallow in tow and, on a more wintry note, the easterlies had clearly delivered more ducks to the reserve, especially Wigeon, of which at least 25 flew to the main lake. A flock of 11 Fieldfares were flying about in the scrub while around 30 Siskins were near the sewage works. A few gulls were flying over too, including two Common Gulls.

Goosander (another ropey record shot with my little bridge camera)

19th October

I was giving a Knepp talk in Staines last night, after which I stayed with friends in Surrey before making my way home mid-morning. The walk home from Pulborough station took me past Widney Brooks and through Waltham Brooks and the local farmland. It was all distinctly less lively than yesterday, with barely 30 species recorded at Waltham Brooks this time around. Teal numbers had increased to at least 130 but otherwise waterbird diversity was rather poor with just 80 Mallard, 3 Gadwall, a few Coots and a single Little Grebe. Away from the lake, there were two Stonechats in the scrub and a Mandarin flew downriver. 

20th October

A loop of Thorndale Bridge and Waltham Brooks this morning produced a few bits, especially at the former looking over towards Amberley where there were clearly lots of Black-headed Gulls on the flood water, evidently having just been flushed by a White-tailed Eagle. A Kingfisher flew upriver and several Skylarks flew west. Waltham Brooks was relatively quiet aside from the two Great White Egrets again which circled over the main lake briefly before flying off towards Widney Brooks. Again, several Skylarks flew over and a flock of 17 Redpolls flew over the sewage works. There has been a real absence of winter thrushes the past couple of days, aside from five today over the local farmland.

River Arun near Thorndale Bridge, water level getting high now!

An evening stroll out to Thorndale Bridge revealed another Great White Egret feeding in a ditch just across the river and a smaller egret species in flight over Amberley Wildbrooks which was probably a Cattle Egret. Two fast flying raptors caught my eye and quickly revealed themselves to be an adult male Merlin being chased by a female. They dashed off low through the trees past Quell Farm at high speed and off towards Parham. 

Winter begone!

After a few false starts, I think it's fair to say that spring has well and truly arrived now; both in terms of the weather and migrant birds. Since my previous blog post I have seen several sub-Saharan travelers, my first flowering Blackthorn and my first Brimstone butterfly of the year and each birding session or even just a local walk from home is again garnished with anticipation at the thought of what might be seen. It doesn't matter how many springtimes one experiences, it never gets any less exciting or reassuring to see all the pieces of the jigsaw falling into place at this time of year.

9th March

This morning I headed over to Heyshott Down with Paul Stevens to follow up on a recent report of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker there. Sadly it really wasn't the weather to go looking for this species, with low cloud and intermittent rain and sleet and still a fair bit of snow on the ground as we climbed the hill. Highlights here included two Marsh Tits, at least four Yellowhammers, at least two singing Skylarks and a very territorial pair of Ravens perhaps trying to distract us from a nest nearby.

Mid-afternoon I was heading up to Aldershot so dropped in at one of my old birding haunts, Cutt Mill Ponds, for a quick look. The House Pond was relatively quiet apart from ten Gadwall and four Mandarin, but I was pleased to find three Goosander on the Tarn (two drakes and a redhead). 

10th March

Just a 1k walk this morning through the local farmland towards the river. Unfortunately, the flood water had risen again to such an extent I couldn't get through under the railway bridge and, indeed, struggled to get through at various other points on my walk back home. All in all, a fairly underwhelming session with only 36 Redwing in one of the horse paddocks and 38 Meadow Pipits in another nearby field of note. 32 Common Gulls flew south over River Lane and a Siskin was heard in flight but not seen. Six Gadwall and two Snipe flew up from the marshy ground west of the railway near Thorndale Bridge. 

11th March

Not much in the way of birding today but a short stroll round the local fields in the morning did produce a little flurry of Lesser Black-backed Gull movement, with a dozen north in around 20 minutes (flocks of five, four and three).

Later in the day, I saw my first Blackcap of the year (a male) in my mum's garden in Aldershot. Presumably a wintering bird rather than a freshly arrived migrant but still very nice to see.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls

12th March

It was WeBS day so I headed over to my private reservoir site near Petworth for the monthly count of the birds here. Not much of note on the reservoir itself (I was hoping for an LRP or Sand Martin) but still three each of Shoveler and Gadwall and a few gulls drifting over including a Lesser Black-backed Gull. The local Skylarks and Yellowhammers were in fine voice though and a flock of at least 130 Fieldfare were in the fields near the reservoir.

Yellowhammer

Later in the morning I headed out into the local farmland near home for a short walk, which ended up turning into an impromptu sky watch, as it was clear there were a fair amount of gulls on the move. In 15-20 minutes I noted 176 Black-headed Gulls, 16 Herring Gulls, 10 Common Gulls, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a single adult Mediterranean Gull, all moving north. Various other birders in West Sussex and Surrey were also reporting Meds on the move, so clearly a good day for the species inland.

Mediterranean Gull

13th March

A very blustery morning. I headed over to Waltham Brooks for a quick circuit after dropping B at nursery. The water levels were way up since my last visit. The main lake held at least 60 Wigeon, a few Shoveler, Teal and Gadwall plus a single Little Grebe, while two Snipe flew up from the water's edge. More Wigeon (40-50) were on the flood just across the river on the north-west side of Amberley. Best of all was a female/immature type Merlin which came in from the north and made a couple of fast low passes over the main lake before regaining height and heading off back to the north-east.

Merlin

14th March

En route to meet Ed at his near Godalming I dropped in at my WeBS site near Petworth for a quick check of the farm reservoir, in hope of an LRP or Sand Martin. Sadly neither revealed themselves and it was generally fairly quiet, save for a Great Crested Grebe among the Coots and usual ducks on the water.

After a few hours' work, Ed and I headed out for a wander around some of his 1k area, specifically Eashing Farm where we found at least 60 Chaffinch still on the stubble field just above the river, and 30 Linnet and at least 8 Skylarks in the fields up Halfway Lane, where there were also two Little Grebes on the private farm reservoir. 

Towards the end of the day we decided to head over to Lydling Farm at Shackleford to see if the long-staying Corn Bunting trio were still present. Thankfully we found them straight away associating with around 100 Linnets in the field nearest Chalk Lane. A Surrey lifer for me - and they showed beautifully in the late afternoon sunshine. Other bits from our session here included a couple of Stonechats, a Ring-necked Parakeet (my first of the year!) and a tight flock of around 40 Starlings powering north-east at height.

Corn Buntings

15th March

On my way from my mum's in Aldershot back to Ed's I dropped in at one of my old haunts, Crooksbury Common, for a quick wander around. Here I found at least two each of Woodlark and Dartford Warbler singing as well as a heard-only Siskin and two Grey Herons over, heading east. 

Woodlark

After a couple of hours work at Ed's, it was abundantly clear that there was quite an arrival of common migrants going on in Surrey and Sussex and the draw of the birding opportunities outside the window proved too much, so we headed up to Eashing Fields for a quick scan for a Wheatear. There was no sign of any, although a Stonechat was nice here (and Nuthatch was a hotspot tick for me) but really our attention was distracted by events at Beddington Farmlands where a Stone-curlew had just turned up. We quickly made the decision to head up the A3 to scratch this particular itch (a Surrey lifer for both of us) and, thanks to Zach Pannifer, we were allowed access to the southern section of the site where we clapped eyes on the bird - amazingly the first proper migrant either us had seen this spring! Thanks again must go to Zach for persuading the site manager to allow a few birders to gain access, and of course to the finder, Glenn Jones.

Stone-curlew

With that rather extended lunchbreak out of the way we got back to work on the book, although Ed was soon on the road again - off to twitch the first local Wheatear of the year, found by Abel at Shackleford. On my way home I swung by Burton Mill Pond, hoping for a Sand Martin, but sadly no joy. Tomorrow is another day!

16th March

This morning I was at Knepp, leading a safari for a group from Compassion in World Farming. With the shift to southerly airflow, it felt considerably more spring-like, especially when the sunshine really started to break through around noon. This coaxed up a few raptors, mostly Buzzards, although Peregrine and Sparrowhawk also made an appearance. The White Storks were busy pair bonding and spring cleaning their nests too.

On the way home I stopped off for a quick look at Waltham Brooks. Highlights here included at least half a dozen Chiffchaffs, several singing in spots away from the water treatment works which felt like they were probably 'new in' rather than lingering wintering birds. Hard to be sure though, of course. Also of note were 2 Little Grebe and 6 Tufted Duck on the lake, 2 Stonechats in the scrub and a flyover Peregrine.

Greenfinch

Late afternoon I went for a little wander round the local farmland which produced another singing Chiffchaff in an area I've not heard one before, so this must surely have been a newly arrived bird, and also a female Stonechat in the hedgerow down our lane - also a 'new in' migrant from somewhere. Things are picking up!

Stonechat

17th March

A drizzly morning with continuing southerly winds sounded like an ideal combination to produce some migrants, so I headed back over to the private reservoir near Petworth, hoping for some sub-Saharan goodies. It was clear from the get-go there had been a little arrival of Chiffchaffs, with at least four singing around the area. An initial scan of the reservoir didn't produce anything, although I did think I heard a Little Ringed Plover, but dismissed it as part of a nearby Song Thrush's repertoire. A few minutes later though I picked up what was definitely an LRP in flight, circling over the reservoir before heading off to the west. It returned a minute or two later and circled again before disappearing off to the west/north-west, perhaps dissuaded from landing by the high water levels. Nonetheless, a very welcome first for the year! A couple of minutes after this, two Sand Martins dropped out of the cloud before continuing off north-east - also my first of the year. A little while later three were feeding low over the reservoir, so a minimum of three today or possibly five in total.

An early afternoon skywatch from the local farmland produced a Peregrine and two Ravens over as well as an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull high west, but otherwise no real hint of movement, and no sign of yesterday's Stonechat. Always an annual highlight though, was the first Brimstone of the year dropping into our garden as the sun broke through mid-afternoon.

A short visit to Arundel with Kate and B in the afternoon produced 7 Cattle Egrets on Mill Road Watermeadows, a pair of Mandarin on the Mill Stream and at least one (possibly two) Marsh Harrier over Swanbourne Lake where there was also a Firecrest singing.

Marsh Harrier

Mandarins

18th March

One of those days where the amount of effort put in didn't quite produce the desired reward. A rainy start with a shift to south-easterly winds ought to have produced some goodies, and indeed it did, just not where I was unfortunately! I walked from home early morning out to the river and up to Waltham Brooks, then home via the sewage works and a check of some local paddocks and fields. Despite being out for two hours from first light, the sum total of highlights from this session were 16 Tufted Duck on the lake at Waltham (admittedly a high count here for me), 4 Shelduck over and a scattering of Chiffchaffs. Basically a soaking for nothing! Meanwhile, others were basking in the glory of finding White-fronted Goose and Little Gulls, there were Wheatears aplenty on the Downs and a Garganey turned up at Pulborough...

Later in the day I gave the reservoir near Petworth another go but this was equally without fanfare, with not even any sign of yesterday's LRP or Sand Martins.

Having decided to write the day off entirely as a bad job, I put my head down to work on the book for a couple of hours, after which time Kate suggested a little evening walk down the lane from home. I'm glad I said yes as, just minutes from the front door, I picked up three Sand Martins powering north high overhead - a 1k tick and my first proper migrants this close to home this year. Result!

19th March

Quite a contrast to the previous day, with bright sunshine and a light north-westerly wind to start. I got out early and headed to Waltham Brooks first, in the hope of a Garganey. Sadly no joy, though yesterday's Tufted Duck count was smashed by a total of 23 on the main lake.

Next stop was Pulborough Brooks where I was immediately greeted by the sound of distant Redshank calling on the South Brooks - my first locally this year. There were at least four out there, making themselves heard throughout my visit. I dashed straight over to the North Brooks first to try and find yesterday's Garganey. Sadly I wasn't able to but did find a few lingering Pintail among the usual dabblers, and a pair of Avocet. The walk round the main trail was soundtracked all the way by Chiffchaffs - at least ten singing males here now - and, as I approached Winpenny hide, I heard the distinctive call of a Water Pipit, just in time to see the bird flying off west towards the river. Once in the hide it didn't take me too long to find it again, showing rather distantly at the back of one of the pools. It really has been an extraordinary winter for this species here and elsewhere locally, given their traditionally scarce status in the Arun Valley.

Water Pipit

Later in the morning I headed out for a short walk with B and checked a few of the local fields in the hope of some migrants and was rewarded with a smart White Wagtail in a horse paddock just a few hundred metres from home. This is my absolute favourite thing about migration when birds which are only part-way through their epic journey drop in almost on your doorstep. It's amazing to think this bird will be continuing on its way to Iceland or the Faroe Islands in the coming days.

White Wagtail

As it was Mother's Day, Kate and I decided to head to Arundel for a stroll round Swanbourne Lake late morning. The best bits here were singing Firecrest and at least three Chiffchaffs plus an adult Great Black-backed Gull among the Herring Gulls on the water. Elsewhere in Arundel, highlights were two Cattle Egrets on Mill Road Watermeadows and two Oystercatchers low over the Mill Road car park.

Great Black-backed Gull

Fool's Spring

Many of you reading this will have seen that great meme listing the many seasons we experience in the UK among the officially recognised four seasons - Fool's Spring, Second Winter, Spring of Deception, etc.

I think it's fair to say we're hovering somewhere between the latter two right now. When the sun is out it can feel almost spring-like, but when it's been cold in the past couple of weeks, it's felt really cold - not helped by the dominance of north and north-easterly winds. That said, the daylight hours are getting longer by the day now, with birds still singing at 6PM on sunny days, and much evidence of resident species' breeding cycles really getting into gear. As I write this, the first arriving hirundines have been reported on the south coast and we're just days away from the first Wheatears. We're nearly there!

16th February

A grey and drizzly day for the most part, with a strengthening south-westerly wind, didn't exactly fill me with enthusiasm to get out birding today. Nonetheless, I took a stroll over to Waltham Brooks at lunchtime for a brief session there. The number of wildfowl on the main lake had reduced overall since my last visit, but the diversity of species had improved with at least ten Pintail and six Shelduck among the usual Shoveler, Mallard, Wigeon and Teal. A Little Grebe called several times, out of view, while a flock of around 60 Redwings were in the bushes. 

17th February

As I was due to be away up in Yorkshire at the weekend, I headed out early to do my WeBS count at the usual private farm reservoir site. Nothing particularly unusual here although always nice to see and hear a few Yellowhammers which were in fine voice. Most unusual among the Coots and Tufted Ducks on the reservoir was a lone drake Wigeon which was, remarkably, a site tick! It's pretty crazy to think I've had Long-tailed Duck, Grey Plover and Spotted Redshank here in the past twelve months but not Wigeon!

An out of context Wigeon

Egyptian Goose

A quick check of Burton Mill Pond in passing on the way home produced the first Great Crested Grebe I've seen here this year (at last!) along with the usual scattering of Gadwall, Coots and Tufted Ducks.

18th February

The first of two days away visiting family in Yorkshire and I decided to get up early and head up to the Dales to try and find Black Grouse at what I understand to be their most southerly site in England. I got there before first light, in a howling wind (gusting force 8!), not holding out much hope. A scan of likely fields as the sun came up didn't produce much so I started walking down to a public footpath which took me out towards some fine habitat. Several Red Grouse were strutting about on and near the road, and two Dippers flew down the beck by the road. A little while later I stopped to scan some small trees further down the beck and, sure enough, picked up two female Black Grouse perched in one of them. Only my second British record of this iconic species.

Black Grouse

As I walked a bit closer, a third female flew up from the heather ahead of me and disappeared across the moor. No males seen but still a successful visit - especially as I'd never actually seen a female before! Other highlights here included two Curlew, Peregrine, at least six Ravens and at least two Golden Plover calling loudly but not seen.

Red Grouse

19th February

Day two in Yorkshire and a walk up on the fields above Burley in Wharfedale produced a singing Goldcrest, several Siskins, two Red Kites and a flyover Skylark - the latter a West Yorkshire tick for me, according to eBird!

Not much else to report here really apart from a Curlew flying up from fields by the road as we drove towards Otley on the way home.

20th February

Back in Sussex and, after dropping my daughter at nursery, I decided to drop in at Amberley Wildbrooks, entering from near the castle. A large flock of gulls were wheeling about over the castle and I was pleased to pick out at least two adult Mediterranean Gulls among them, my second local record of the year. Out on the wet grassland in front of the castle were at least 200 Lapwing and 120 Wigeon. Further along past the Swamp, a scan to the east of the path produced a female Merlin perched on a bramble clump, quite near the old building out that way. At least 30 Redwings were in the patch of woodland north of the Swamp, with one or two heard softly singing.

Merlin

Working from home later in the day was enlivened by the sight of five Golden Plover flying fast southwest over the house - my second winter record of this species from home, but my first anywhere locally so far in this calendar year.

21st February

A grey and drizzly morning. I happened to be passing Waltham Brooks so dropped in and walked from Greatham Bridge to the main lake and back. Generally pretty quiet here with even fewer ducks on the lake than my previous visit. 8 Pintail were the highlight along with a heard-only Little Grebe.

In the afternoon I took a short walk up to some local high ground I was hoping might be a good spot for future skywatching, and I wasn't disappointed! Although it's only around 50m above sea level, that's quite high enough in this low-lying area to provide a great vantage point over the trees and houses. I could see as far as The Mens to the north, the South Downs to the south and RSPB Pulborough visitor centre to the north-east. I'm excited to head back there when the weather improves!

The view from the new skywatching spot near home

22nd February

Another grey morning with rain at times. I almost didn't go out first thing but decided to head over to Burton Mill Pond for my first proper walk round there for a couple of weeks. In the end, the rain didn't come to much and it was a largely dry session. It was good to see Great Crested Grebes back on both the ponds along with still quite a few Pochard (~15) on Chingford Pond. Wildfowl numbers are steadily ebbing away locally though, with noticeably fewer Gadwall and Tufted Duck here today. The now usual Woodlark was singing over the vineyard on the western side, moving closer to the main Mill Pond as I was leaving, while three Grey Wagtails were chasing each other about near the boat launch jetty. No Great White Egret today although a Little Egret did fly into the trees at the southern end of Chingford Pond. 

Pochards

I didn't manage to get out again later in the day but did note ~180 Lapwings flying southeast towards Amberley Wildbrooks late afternoon, viewed from home.

23rd February

An early morning walk round Pulborough Brooks proved to be quite lively, with a decent selection of waders on the North Brooks (15 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Dunlin and 3 Ruff), a Water Pipit in flight near the dipping area (behind Adder Alley) and a Peregrine and one of the White-tailed Eagles on the South Brooks.

Mid-morning I headed over to Knepp for a bit of work. In addition to the lively activity of the resident White Storks scrapping over their various nests I also noted nine Teal flying up from the ditches and the pond in the stork enclosure, as well as a Knepp tick Lapwing flying over heading east.

24th February

After dropping B off at nursery I dropped in at Waltham Brooks. Again, reduced numbers of wildfowl on the main lake but still ~30 each of Shoveler and Teal, 4 Shelduck and 10 Pintail. Round at the sewage works at least 3 Chiffchaffs were singing, though workmen in the compoud likely disturbed more birds from congregating here. As I was leaving, two Mute Swans flew north. 

Mute Swans

A lunchtime walk around the local farmland was largely quiet except for a lone Snipe flying around over the open fields south of River Lane and Rooks nest building.

25th February

The weather forecast promised a bright but cold start to the day so I headed out for some more local woodland birding. In the event, there wasn't much sunshine at all, so birdsong and woodpecker activity was a little muted. I did find a flock of at least 30 Siskin though and two Woodcock flushed from bracken cover in an area of woodland near Fittleworth.

Later on, Kate, B and I headed to Pulborough for lunch and a walk around. A bit of sunshine early afternoon sadly didn't last and by the time we headed out on the trail, some really menacing dark clouds had rolled in on the baltic northerly wind and delivered some unwelcome sleety rain. The best I could find here in less-than-ideal conditions were 17 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Dunlin and a single Ruff on the North Brooks. 

Today was also notable for being the day I hit 1,000 days on my eBird unbroken checklist streak. Quite a milestone!

26th February

A rather late start this morning saw me heading over to Waltham Brooks in glorious sunshine to meet Ed for some local birding ahead of a few hours working on the book.

We had a decent haul of 50 species in the hour and a half or so we were here, including at least 20 Chiffchaffs at the sewage works, a female Marsh Harrier in flight to the north, and 8 Pintail, 3 Shelduck and a single Little Grebe on the main lake.

Shovelers

The best was saved until last though as, just shy of the gate exiting the reserve on the river bank, Ed picked up a Water Pipit on call, taking flight from the north-western side of Amberley Wildbrooks. In fact, there were three birds together which may have all been Water Pipits, but we unfortunately didn't get enough plumage detail to confirm this. Certainly, the lead bird seemed a little larger, so perhaps just the one with two Meadow Pipits? This was swiftly followed by a male Marsh Harrier quartering in the same airspace as the two immature White-tailed Eagles. As Ed said: 'incredible 1km scenes!' Incidentally, Water Pipit was my 90th species within my 1km from home area so far this year.

On the walk back to mine we tried a likely looking bit of wet woodland for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker but no joy. Perhaps another day!

Lesser Celandine