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

 

July Skies

Another mixed bag from the past ten days or so, as we teeter on the brink of August and the start of the harvest or Lammas season (1st August - halfway between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox).

I think that means I'm officially allowed to start using the 'a' word now? It's certainly fair to say the weather has been decidedly autumnal for the most part in the past fortnight. The dominance of low pressure, Atlantic weather systems delivering day after day of squally, grey, drizzly conditions has been particularly strange and unsettling given the news and images coming from further south in Europe. I remember something someone said to me a few years ago which has really stuck with me - nobody alive today has known what it's like to live in stable climatic conditions, and that is becoming more and more evident as each year passes.

In the context of local birding and other wildlife watching, it's been a fairly quiet and unremarkable period again, although it's clear we are experiencing a particularly good year for butterflies after a slow start back in the spring. It's been the best Purple Emperor season at Knepp since the best ever year of 2018 and everywhere I look at the moment I seem to be seeing Red Admirals. I had a pretty extraordinary count of ten together on the garden Buddleia the other day!

20th July

I headed out late morning for a fairly lengthy walk from home up towards Fittleworth to scan the valley across the Rother to the north. Raptors were out in force, with multiple Red Kite and Buzzard, at least three Kestrels and a single Sparrowhawk noted during an hour's skywatch here. 

Otherwise it was a relatively quiet session, though at least 35-40 Swallows around the stables at Ashurst were nice to see, as were two juvenile Green Woodpeckers in the same area. 

21st July

A quick look at Pulborough Brooks this morning, scanning the South Brooks from behind the visitor centre. Among 14 Little Egrets (there have been up to 21 recorded here in recent days) were singles of Greenshank and Green Sandpiper on the pool at West Mead while three Red Kites were soaring together in the distance.

En route to Knepp I briefly stopped to check the pool at Southlands Farm in West Chilt which again produced a Green Sandpiper. 

Knepp itself was again on fire, with a female Purple Emperor greeting me as soon as I arrived at the Operation Wallacea campsite. Out in the wildland with my group, highlights included a Barn Owl flying from a known nest site, the very vocal Sparrowhawk family near their nest site and a group of 31 White Storks kettling together over the Exmoor herd towards the far southern end of the estate.

Purple Emperor

After Knepp I headed down to Goring to catch up with David C. While we were chatting by our cars, a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull flew past with a juvenile Herring Gull in tow. After poorly David headed home I indulged in a c.45-minute seawatch from the beach which proved to be quite lively, with three Whimbrel and two each of Dunlin and Mediterranean Gull heading west, and two each of Sandwich Tern and Gannet feeding offshore. 

Whimbrel

Mediterranean Gull

22nd July

This morning I headed down to Medmerry, primarily for work-related reasons but it was a nice opportunity to have a little walk about and check out the Stilt Pool, which yielded singles of Common Sandpiper and Black-tailed Godwit among the Oystercatchers, Cormorants and Black-headed Gulls.

On the way home, with rain due to start at any minute, I had a quick check of the private site near Petworth which produced a juvenile Little Ringed Plover and at least 80 Swifts but little else of note.

No more birding after that as the weather turned decidedly October-esque, with heavy rain and wind - lovely!

23rd July

A brief look at Waltham Brooks en route to a day working at Knepp proved fruitful, as the very last bird of the session was a 1km year tick and Waltham Brooks lifer in the form of a Whimbrel powering south/south-west overhead and disappearing down the valley towards the Downs.

Knepp delivered again on the Turtle Dove front (it's been an astonishing year for the species there) with one seen flying up from a main path not long after I arrived. Otherwise it was mostly about the butterflies today, including what surely must be one of the very last Purple Emperors of the season.

A quick scan of the pool at Southlands Farm in passing on my way home again produced a lone Green Sandpiper. 

24th July

After dropping B at nursery I popped to Pulborough for a quick look at the North Brooks where I found a decent selection of waders - 10 Avocet, 24 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Green Sandpiper, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper and a single Greenshank - and, sadly, a rather sickly looking adult Mediterranean Gull. 

Avocets

Black-tailed Godwits

25th July

Not much birding today, but it was a pleasure to lead a safari for members of the RSPB Youth Council at Knepp. Highlights included two Turtle Doves (one singing and displaying and another in flight), two Sedge Warblers (Hammer Pond) and my last Purple Emperor of the year. 

26th July

A diverse day which started with a walk from home up to the river at Thorndale Bridge, and a brief skywatch from the fields near home. It certainly felt autumnal, with a lovely fresh feel to the air and a light mist over the river, but it doesn't feel as though the season has quite got into swing yet, ornithologically speaking. Highlights were a Little Egret high east, adult and juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls high south and a Water Rail squealing along the river.

Little Egret

Swallows

Mid-morning I headed back down to Medmerry for work. While I was there I had a look at the Stilt Pool which yielded 3 Common Sandpipers, a Green Sandpiper, several Oystercatchers and a heard-only Ringed Plover. A quick look at the sea produced 3 Sandwich Terns, 8 Mediterranean Gulls and a single Gannet. While I was down at the coast I also dropped in to Church Norton briefly which produced a pleasing selection of waders including at least 3 Whimbrel, 2 Sanderling and a Bar-tailed Godwit.

Sandwich Tern

Early afternoon I met up with David C at Pulborough, and a stroll round the reserve produced a few bits, notably 10 Avocet, 2 Green Sandpipers and 3 Black-tailed Godwits on the North Brooks and a single White Stork (GB6S from Knepp) following the tractor around on the South Brooks, just like they're supposed to!

Brown Argus

27th July

A drizzy day, with more than a hint of autumn in the air, only exacerbated by the sound of a Curlew flying over Knepp Castle as I was in the orchard prepping for a garden safari. Other highlights here included a heard-only Raven and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth; the latter very obligingly dropping in to feed on a Buddleia as I had stopped with my group to chat about the importance of nectar sources in a garden!

On the way home I dropped in at Waltham Brooks for half an hour which produced another heard-only Raven, two Cetti's Warblers in the reeds and willows by the main lake and seven Gadwall on the lake itself.

28th July

A walk from home this morning, checking local fields and scrub and a skywatch proved fairly quiet aside from a Hobby terrorising the Swallows before flying off north.

A check of Amberley after dropping B off at nursery produced singles of Redshank, Raven and one of the White-tailed Eagles. 

29th July

Another local session on foot early morning proved quite productive with a Hobby again chasing Swallows about, a Peregrine high south-west and at least 50 Swifts drifting slowly south. That's more like it! I'm excited for my first full autumn vismigging from this area, I do think the funnel effect of the Arun Valley so close to the South Downs could be quite interesting.

Later in the morning, a Big Butterfly Count in the garden at home produced an impressive ten Red Admirals together on the Buddleia. I honestly can't remember such a good summer for the species, they just seem to be everywhere at the moment!

Red Admiral

30th July

A really enjoyable couple of hours out first thing this morning, although it again was feeling unseasonably fresh ahead of the rain that arrived later in the day. First up I checked the private reservoir over near Petworth which yielded very little aside from a noticeable increase in Little Grebes and a flock of at least 450 Jackdaws in flight off the nearby fields.

A visit to Lavington Common produced a Spotted Flycatcher in the pines round the car park and a family group of at least four Dartford Warblers a couple of hundred metres north of the car park. 

Dartford Warbler

Finally, a stake-out on the viewing platform at Burton Mill Pond produced a welcome return encounter with the red-ringed Great White Egret I last saw here back in late January. She's 'ACA', a female ringed in the nest at RSPB Ham Wall back in May 2022. Interestingly, another juvenile from the same ringing scheme, ACJ, has been hanging out at Warnham LNR quite a bit recently - so definitely worth taking a closer look at any individuals of this species you see out and about in Sussex.

Great White Egret

Late afternoon, a Hobby made two low passes over home, first heading south-east, before flying back west.

31st July

Another very autumnal day, weather-wise, with a blustery south-westerly and drizzle/light rain persisting until mid-afternoon. After dropping B at nursery I swung by Pulborough for a brief check of the North Brooks. As I walked down, a tight group of around 25 Swifts drifted west. On the North Brooks were 36 Black-tailed Godwit, 30 Lapwing, 16 Black-headed Gulls and singles of Greenshank and Snipe, the latter only making its presence known when a Buzzard flew through low and flushed everything. 

On the way home a quick scan from the river bank near Greatham Bridge produced an incredibly close encounter with a Kingfisher, dashing past upriver. A return visit to Waltham Brooks late afternoon produced another or the same Kingfisher in flight over the main lake, a Hobby flying east, Peregrine south and a juvenile Marsh Harrier hunting and drifting north. 

Marsh Harrier

What happened to summer?

It’s fair to say that 2020 has been a very strange year. A global pandemic, a spring in lockdown, an incredibly wet late winter followed by the hottest, driest spring on record... and now here we are in early July and weather and birding-wise it’s already feeling distinctly like autumn.

Late June/early July is traditionally the slump of the birding year, with weeks often passing without any new additions to the year list. In the past three weeks though I’ve added a handsome six species to the patch year list: Wood Sandpiper, Crossbill, Siskin, Redstart, Cattle Egret and Common Tern.

I've recently finished reading Simon Barnes' excellent On The Marsh, the following extract from which seems particularly apt...
"...we had seen a delightful gathering of golden plovers. They were still in their summer breeding plumage and yet these sumptuous colours were beginning to fade, were already a little rough round the edges.
They had gone over. They had completed their breeding: they were on the move. For them, autumn had arrived. Just think: all those people getting ready for what they thought were their summer holidays, unaware it was already autumn.
Jeremy Sorensen, former warden of the RSPB's Minsmere in Suffolk, used to claim that summer didn't exist at all. Looking at the world in his entirely bird-centred - avicentric - way, he was convinced that there were three seasons only: you might call them breeding, dispersal and survival. We were already in the second of those seasons, so far as some species were concerned."

When we went into lockdown, back in March, spring was just getting into its stride. Now, with pubs and hairdressers about to reopen, we birders are already looking ahead to the promise of autumnal delights, and recent days have delivered a very satisfactory selection of dispersing birds to Pulborough Brooks.

Waders in particular seem to be moving through earlier than usual, presumably indicative of failed breeding attempts. The Pulborough-grown Avocet family remain on the North Brooks, the juveniles now looking very grown up and stretching their wings in between extended naps. Today there were seven adults present too, let's hope some of them take a liking to the Brooks and return next year and we have more than one breeding pair in 2021. Black-tailed Godwit numbers are starting to increase again now after the first handful returned from Iceland last weekend; today there were 39 present, all still looking resplendent in their breeding colours. Other classic early returning species such as Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover have been on the increase too, with up to 9 Green Sand and 14 LRP in the past week. Less expected was the Temminck's Stint found by Jon Winder on Monday afternoon and seen again by Matt Palmer on Wednesday.

An adult Common Tern made a brief pitstop on the North Brooks on Sunday morning before flying south, while an adult Cattle Egret flew straight through heading southwest early on Monday. On Friday evening Pete Hughes broke the news of an adult Spoonbill on the North Brooks, which was still present as of this lunchtime; the third record of the species at Pulborough this year, and perhaps the fourth different individual. Then, early this afternoon, Lyn and Mike Hunt found two Redstarts in the species' eponymous Corner; a remarkably early date for returning birds, although evidently Matt Palmer also had one on Wednesday.

If it's this good in the doldrums, then my hopes are high for an excellent autumn to come!

Spoonbill

Common Tern (honest!)

Redstart