Eyes to the skies

Expect the unexpected is a good rule to abide by in birding, and it's fair to say the period covered in this blog post has produced some surprises. Firstly, I didn't think I would be writing this with one arm in a sling (more on that later) and that I would have got very good at using my binoculars with the remaining good arm. Secondly, I didn't have such an inland wader curveball as Knot on my list of expected species when I set out on this year's local big year list effort a few months ago, having only had one previous local record six years ago. Even more unexpected was the fact that it was a migrating individual flying over the farmland a few hundred metres from home! Again, more on that later. 

It's fair to say though that September has been unexpectedly good in a local context (albeit free from the influx of American passerines further west...), and even an enforced period of close to home birding on foot has produced some quality moments and a number of local year ticks or eBird hotspot ticks. Indeed, the 1km area from home is receiving a good amount of daily coverage now, which is oddly well-timed as we head into autumn proper. 

Weather-wise, September has evidently been warmer overall than either July or August this year and as I write this in early October, it is still pleasantly warm and largely fine. It's hard to believe we are entering the season of Redwings, Fieldfares and Bramblings when it still feels like late summer. A staple of my birding time during these dying days of September though has been the more or less constant southward trickle of hirundines and Meadow Pipits reminding us that, whatever the weather, the days are now longer than the nights for the next six months, and the cold and dark are on their way, sooner or later. 

21st September

A brief stop-off at Waltham Brooks en route to Knepp this morning produced just a handful of Gadwall and at least two heard-only flyover Siskins. 

An hour at Hail's View on the way home was more productive, with highlights including three White Storks, two Great White Egrets, a fly-through White-tailed Eagle (mobbed by a Raven which was making the most extraordinary high pitched, wader-like call as it did so), two Marsh Harriers, two Green Sandpipers and a juvenile Hobby. What an unthinkable line-up most of those species would've been round these parts not so long ago!

White Storks and Great White Egret

Great White Egret (left), Little Egret (top) and White Storks

Raven and White-tailed Eagle

22nd September

A walk from home in the morning was largely uneventful aside from a few Swallows and Meadow Pipits flying through south/south-west. Upon arriving home, a juvenile Hobby flew over the garden, mobbed by a Jackdaw. 

Hobby and Jackdaw

A session up at Amberley Mount late morning proved quite lively, especially for Meadow Pipits which must have numbered at least 300 across the various fields, with a few trickling south. Also on the move overhead were Swallow (78 south) and House Martin (255 west/south-west). Ten Red Admirals were also noted flying powerfully south. One of the adult White-tailed Eagles was drifting about over Rackham Hill then later flew straight overhead towards Arundel. Also of note were a Wheatear at Downs Farm and five Cattle Egret with the cattle down at Amberley Wildbrooks. 

Wheatear

White-tailed Eagle

A brief look at Waltham Brooks in the afternoon produced a single Little Grebe, two Snipe and four Tufted Duck at the main lake and a strong easterly movement of Swallows. 

23rd September

A beautiful early autumn morning saw me heading out from across the farmland towards the river, which was soundtracked by Meadow Pipits and Siskins overhead plus a heard-only Yellow Wagtail going south. Around 07:15 I was alerted by an unfamiliar call to a wader flying fast overhead heading south-west. It called again 'whet whet' and i managed a few seconds good views through bins of a relatively compact medium sized wader with long wings, greyish underwings but otherwise plain underparts and a medium length bill (longer than say Golden Plover but not as long as Dunlin). It took a while of checking calls online and my Collins app to be sure what I had seen and heard was a Knot - a wholly unexpected addition to the the local farmland hotspot and 1km year list! Amazingly, it's six years to the day since my only other local record of the species - when one was on the North Brooks at Pulborough in 2017.

Later in the day, highlights from the garden included a basking male Migrant Hawker and 33 of the White Storks from Knepp drifting over Amberley.

Reed Bunting

White Storks

Migrant Hawker

                                        

24th September

No real birding today thanks to skateboarding related misadventure which ended me up in hospital with a dislocated and fractured shoulder!

25th September

My first day of convalescing from my shoulder injury started with a short walk from home around the local farmland. Aside from a light trickle of Swallows and Meadow Pipits south/south-west it was relatively quiet on the bird front. Once the sun started to get up further the insects sprang into action and I ended up spending a good while watching a patch of ivy near home which was heaving with Ivy Bees, various wasps and hoverflies and a couple of Red Admirals.

Batman Hoverfly

Tiger Hoverfly

Red Admiral

26th September

Skywatching from the local fields mid-morning and early afternoon proved to be fairly quiet for the most part, with just a light trickle of House Martins south/south-west. The first vismigging Skylark of the season was nice though, heading west, as were ten Siskins (seven east and three south-west).

27th September

Another day restricted to birding on foot near to home which ended up being dominated by some fairly lively vismig. A morning session split between the high ground to the west of Watersfield and the farmland close to home yielded 252 House Martins, 95 Swallows and 27 Meadow Pipits south and a few Siskins in various directions. I'm unlikely to be able to use my proper camera for a while due to my knackered shoulder but photographic interest today came from the scenery and a Common Marbled Carpet moth which flew across the lane in front of me on my way home. 

Looking south from one of my local vismig spots

Common Marbled Carpet

A late afternoon session back out in the local fields started well with a flock of 12 Golden Plover south. A rush of Swallows east/south-east were followed by a Hobby which dropped down to just inches above the ground as it powered through, while at least 60 House Martin drifted through south-west as I was heading for home. 

28th September

A really enjoyable and lively couple of hours out this morning, a mix of vismigging combined with a check of the lake and the scrub at Waltham Brooks. At the latter, the highlights were three returning Wigeon (my first of the autumn) and around 80 Lapwings which took flight from Widney Brooks, plus two flyover Ravens. There were the usual two or three vocal Water Rails about plus a similar number of Cetti's Warblers.

Vismig was lively too and produced a few bits of interest, starting with two Woodlarks south over the farmland near home - my first record for this eBird hotspot (107 for the hotspot and my 127th species in my 1km from home recording area this year). This was followed by a little wave of Swallows heading east/south-east and a few House Martins south/south-west. Then, on the walk home, two Snipe flew high west - my first vismiggers of this species this autumn. Vismigging continued in the garden with two Yellow Wagtails north, another Snipe south-west and further little pulses of Swallows and House Martins.

29th September

Not much birding today but a brief skywatch from the local farmland produced a flurry of Swallows and Meadow Pipits south and two Reed Buntings south-west.

30th September

Seven Raven west over the garden first thing set the scene for another relatively lively early morning vismig session. Meadow Pipits were the main movers today, with 55 south in an hour plus a few Siskins and Swallows over and two Skylarks west. Water Rail and Kingfisher were heard along the river at a misty Thorndale Bridge. The Meadow Pipit movement continued throughout the day, when I was able to step outside and check, with direction of travel shifting to more of a west/south-westerly track late morning. A Hobby was over the fields near home late morning, taking the opportunity to harass some of the passing Swallows and House Martins. In the afternoon I checked Waltham Brooks which produced a female Marsh Harrier flying downriver and a few Swallows heading south-east. 

Looking east across the Arun from Thorndale Bridge

 

Late August

And just like that, one of the longest and most bird-filled months of the year comes to a close.

I recorded 129 species in August this year, mostly in Sussex, including three UK year ticks and multiple local year ticks, including Tree Pipit, Whinchat and Honey Buzzard.

Weather-wise, August has ended much in the same vein as the rest of the month: intermittent warm sunny spells, punctuated by some torrential downpours or sometimes just grey and murky days. 

I'm still missing a lot of really gettable species for the year round here, and am excited for what local birding might bring in the coming weeks and months. Bring on the autumn proper!

22nd August

After dropping B at nursery this morning I stopped off at Pulborough for a scan of the South Brooks from behind the visitor centre, followed by a brief check of the wooded edge of the heath. The best on the South Brooks were two each of Greenshank and Green Sandpiper and singles of Hobby and White Stork, while a Spotted Flycatcher was on the edge of the heath. 

Later in the day, two Yellow Wagtails south/south-west over Codmore Hill north of Pulborough represented my first passage birds of the autumn.

Kestrel

23rd August

An eclectic day, starting with a short walk around the local farmland, which produced a lively passerine flock as the rising sun caught the willows and oaks. In among the more common species were at least 4-5 Willow Warblers and singles of Redstart and Spotted Flycatcher.

Spotted Flycatcher

En route to Knepp I very briefly stopped off at Amberley Mount for a scan from Downs Farm which produced a few Whitethroats but little else.

Knepp itself was good (I was co-leading a garden safari) with flyover Yellow Wagtail and Raven over the walled garden and a Spotted Flycatcher flying from the garden area to the trees to the west. 

On the way home I stopped in at Waltham Brooks which again yielded a Redstart in the scrub near the main lake and a White-tailed Eagle in flight over Widney Brooks. 

Another brief look at Amberley Mount late afternoon didn't reveal any new birds of note, but I did see my first Hornet Robberfly on one of the paths - what amazing insects they are!

Hornet Robberfly

24th August

An early loop of Pulborough Brooks proved fairly quiet for waders with just four Ruff and two Green Sandpipers on the North Brooks, while the South Brooks held a third Green Sandpiper and a heard-only Greenshank. Passerine activity was relatively limited due to the time of day and cloudy conditions but at least three Spotted Flycatchers and a couple of Garden Warblers were noted around the trail. From Winpenny, a White Stork (GB0S from Knepp) and the usual very pale Buzzard were the most obvious species.

Buzzard

White Stork

Mid-morning I headed down to Littlehampton with B for a stroll along the West Beach. This was somewhat curtailed by the rain, but nonetheless we managed at least 25 Ringed Plover, three Sanderling and 15 Sandwich Terns on the beach, with others of the latter feeding offshore. A Wheatear very briefly alighted on the fence near the cafe and a couple of Yellow Wagtails were heard flying over. 

25th August

A great little session up on Amberley Mount this morning produced a pleasing selection of species, with migrant passerines again the stars of the show in the form of two Spotted Flycatchers and singles of Whinchat and Redstart. At least one Yellow Wagtail was heard flying over. Four Grey Partridges flew up from near the farm buildings at Downs Farm as I passed. 

Spotted Flycatcher

Whinchat

Redstart

26th August

I started this morning at Waltham Brooks at first light, which proved a worthwhile choice, as one of the first birds I encountered was a Tree Pipit flushed up from the long grass between the railway line and the main lake; amazingly my first record of the species anywhere in 2023, and a particularly welcome 1k and Waltham Brooks tick (123 and 131, respectively). Other highlights here this morning were two Lesser Whitethroats and a Garden Warbler with a couple of tit flocks, a heard-only Kingfisher, and at least 45 Greenfinches leaving roost near the lake. 

A second 1km walk around lunchtime was cut short due to torrential rain, but a late afternoon excursion on foot west home from home proved very good. Having picked up a Spotted Flycatcher on call behind the sports pavilion at Watersfield playing fields, further exploration of Watersfield Common produced rather little until I got to Sandy Lane on the eastern side and found at least two more Spot Flys in an oak here. I figured I needed to get up to the fenceline right by the tree to get the best views - and to check what else might be lurking in the mixed flock (I had already picked up a couple of Willow Warblers kicking about). As I did so, it became clear there were many more Spotted Flycatchers all the way along the hedgerow between where I was stood and the playing fields. Indeed, a proper scan all the way along produced an absolute minimum of ten Spotted Flycatchers (including two fluffy young ones) plus a bonus Redstart. Amazing scenes!

Redstart

Spotted Flycatcher

27th August

No birding today.

28th August

A couple of local outings on foot today, either side of social stuff in Midhurst. The first walk around the local fields this morning proved fairly quiet, though early afternoon two of the White-tailed Eagles drifted high over Watersfield, heading roughly west, chasing each other and tumbling like Ravens as they went. 

Another walk out to the local fields late afternoon was made worthwhile by first a Hobby drifting high south-west overhead, followed by at least two heard-only Crossbills seemingly heading roughly the same way; my first in the 1km this year (124 for that particular list) and my 102nd species in the Watersfield Farmland hotspot. 

Migrant Hawker

29th August

As I had a free morning I decided to put in a couple of hours up at Amberley Mount in the hope of some good passerine action. Redstarts were the stars of the show, with an absolute minimum of nine around, probably more. Other highlights included eight Grey Partridges, three Wheatear and a lone Spotted Flycatcher. 

Grey Partridges

Wheatear

Redstart

The spectacular finale to my walk came in the form of a White-tailed Eagle powering up the valley from the direction of Arundel and straight over the Downs a relatively short distance to the west of me. It was clearly carrying some kind of prey, though it was hard to make out exactly what. 

White-tailed Eagle

With still another hour or so to spare before I needed to head up to Knepp, I decided to pop down to Goring for a quick seawatch in the hope of connecting with a Balearic Shearwater or two (over 200 had been seen off Selsey earlier in the morning). In the end there was to be no such excitement, just a few Sandwich Terns and Gannets offshore and a Turnstone on the beach. 

Turnstone

30th August

A funny, mixed day. A look at the reservoir near Petworth again held three Common Sandpipers and a high count of 43 Tufted Ducks. A walk up to the north-west of Petworth produced a single Swift flying among dozens of Swallows and House Martins.

A late afternoon stroll around the local fields near home was enlivened by an immature Goshawk powering through low and fast into the trees on Lodge Hill, scattering dozens of Rooks and Jackdaws in the process. Not a 10km or 1km tick for this year but my first for the Watersfield Farmland hotspot (species number 103) and still an exciting bird to encounter, despite their rapid increase in this part of the world. 

31st August

An early walk from home out to Thorndale Bridge wasn't particularly productive, though there was a nice scattering of common warblers in the willow scrub just west of the railway bridge, including Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler and Whitethroat.

That was about it for birding today, although a rather late Swift flying over Farnham early afternoon was noteworthy. I don't tend to see many after the end of August.