Hotting up!

The weather might be doing its utmost to convince us that we're still in summer, but it's clear that we're getting into ornithological autumn proper now, and there's been a fair bit of excitement at Pulborough Brooks recently.

Waders have really got moving in the past couple weeks, with highlights including two Wood Sandpipers on 8th August (plus a couple of other heard only records), up to three Greenshank (31st July), a splendid summer plumage adult Spotted Redshank (31st July) and an impressive count of 17 Green Sandpipers (31st July) along with the usual fare for the time of year. Sadly one of this year's juvenile Avocets didn't make it, as it was looking senescent on 31st July and was finally finished off by a Lesser Black-backed Gull on 1st August, despite the efforts of the RSPB staff to catch it and take it into care.

Short and shaky clip of the two Wood Sands at Pulborough earlier... pic.twitter.com/7mzi6SxgOW

— Matt (@mostlyscarce) August 9, 2020

Spotted Redshank and Greenshank

                                                        

Avocets

Other recent highlights have include five Cattle Egrets and three Med Gulls on the North Brooks on 30th July, the former of which I managed to get from the attic. The Egrets were preceded by their larger cousins on the 19th when three Great White Egrets dropped in on the North Brooks, followed by one on the 24th. A Curlew flew south down the Arun calling loudly early on 6th August followed by another west over the garden on the 10th (which Pete Hughes had earlier had on the North Brooks), while early on the 7th the first Tree Pipit of the autumn/year flew south over the horse paddocks just north of Wiggonholt Church. The same morning also produced a Pied Flycatcher in the Oaks near the church, found by Alan Baker - perhaps a species we'll record again this autumn, given the amount turning up in the southeast this week!

Cattle Egrets, photo: Phil Thornton

Great Egrets, photo: Mark Bloss

As many other birders have been noticing it's turned into an extraordinary summer for Crossbills. In the three years I've been patch watching Pulborough, I'd had maybe half a dozen records of the species before this summer. Since this irruption kicked off in June their unmistakable 'jupp'ing calls have become a regular feature of my visits to the reserve. Recent records include what sounded like a small flock over the visitor centre on 13th July, one south over the North Brooks on 14th July, five south on 17th July, four on 20th July, two north on 21st July, heard only records on 2nd and 3rd August, six west over the church on 4th August, two north on 8th August and one over on 10th August (David Campbell).

With my patch yearlist now on 145 and easterlies forecast for a couple more days followed by more early next week, I'm quietly confident that this could be the year I hit 150...

Garden Warbler

Stonechat

Spotted Flycatcher

Autumn?

Yes, it’s that time of year again when birders unsettle their friends, families and unsuspecting Twitter followers by dropping the A word into conversation as often as possible.

Meteorologically and astronomically speaking of course it’s utter nonsense but there can be no denying that the breeding season is over for many birds and return passage is now well underway, as has been evidenced by the amount of waders at Pulborough these past couple of weeks.

All the usual familiar species are beginning to trickle back through, and in some good numbers already with high counts of 50 Black-tailed Godwits (3rd), at least eight Green Sandpiper and nine Little Ringed Plover (12th), and smaller numbers of Greenshank (two on the 8th), Redshank, etc. A nice male Ruff just coming out of breeding plumage was present on the 9th while a Curlew flew over on the 10th.

Juvenile LRP

Best of all have been a group of six Avocet present intermittently from the 5th to the time of writing - my highest count of the species here. On Saturday I noticed that one of the birds is colour ringed and I've now received the report back from the ringer, Graham Giddens. The bird (a male) was ringed as a chick at Needs Ore in Hampshire on 16th June 2014. Since then it has toured around the Hampshire coast and wintered every year at Poole Harbour. This year it successfully reared four young with an unringed female at Normandy Marsh near Lymington. Interestingly, these six all appear to be adults so perhaps the male has left the female with the young and tagged on with this new group for summer break in West Sussex.

The ringed male Avocet on the North Brooks

Other non-wader bits of note recently include a very early returning Whinchat on the 6th - my first on the patch this year - and the first signs of Mediterranean Gull dispersal with three present on the afternoon of the 10th. Could this be the year Pulborough gets a Yellow-legged?

Is this thing still on?

Can it really be a whole month since I posted anything on here? Been so busy with Extinction Rebellion stuff lately that birding has rather taken a bit of a back seat at times and blogging/catching up on nocmig even more so.

I'm not even going to attempt to summarise everything that's happened at Pulborough in the past five weeks or so and will simply endeavour to make my posts rather more 'little and often' from now on. Suffice to say it's been a relatively quiet spring so far with my own patch year list at least ten species down on this time last year and wader passage still yet to really get going. The cold northerly-dominated spell in late April/early May is clearly holding a lot of stuff back, it seems.

Highlights of the past week or so have been a lingering septet of Whimbrel - usually on the Mid Brooks although venturing onto the north side for a time on the 4th - a pair of Black-tailed Godwits and 1-2 Little Ringed Plovers. Gary Trew had an Oystercatcher on the 30th which sadly had gone by the time I got there in the evening. At least two singing Cuckoos are on site now with a third bird seen - possibly a female - in flight past Hail's View on the 4th. Nightingales were rather later arriving this year than last with the first singing male heard on the 15th. This was joined by at least another three over the next few days but this past weekend I've only been hearing a couple singing around the nature trail, so some have either moved on or quickly paired up and stopped singing.

Whimbrels at West Mead, photo by Paul Davy

Other bits of note from earlier in the spring were my first patch Osprey (at last!) over the North Brooks on 21st April and a Stone-curlew which I picked up on nocmig flying over on 22nd March. Two drake Garganeys were kicking around for a while in April but seem to have moved on now. Lapwings and Redshanks are again breeding in good numbers it seems, with the first Lapwing chicks already waddling about on the Mid Brooks and receiving much adoration from visitors.

Garganey on the North Brooks, 21st April

It may still have been chilly in the wind this morning but my first Broad-bodied Chaser and Dingy Skipper of the year were an encouraging sign of warmer days to come and mid to late May was when things started getting really good last year so I'm hopeful that spring isn't a total write-off just yet!

Greenshank at West Mead on 20th April

Amorous Redshanks at West Mead, 5th April

LRPs at West Mead, 5th April

Broad-bodied Chaser, 6th May

Dingy Skipper near Wiggonholt Church, 6th May

Kestrel at West Mead, 6th May

Med Gulls - this flock of 16 flew north on 12th April, part of what was a good passage for them this year

Stone-curlew over Pulborough, 22nd March

Dreaming of a White-rumped Christmas

An unusually leisurely start at Pulborough this morning after a rather late night saw me heading first to West Mead hide where the highlight was a Peregrine and a Marsh Harrier dogfighting distantly and at some height over the Arun, causing much alarm among the hordes of Lapwings and wildfowl which were swirling around over the Mid Brooks. After a good scan here the brisk south-westerly was beginning to turn my hands numb and make me wish I'd remembered a scarf, so I headed off to Winpenny which I thought would offer a bit more shelter (it didn't). As I approached I could see the Lapwings were all still airborne with a Redshank calling among them - not a bird I've seen here much since the breeding birds left in late summer.

Marsh Harrier, photo by Ed Stubbs

The main pool in front of the hide was the fullest I'd seen it since the spring, with just a few grassy spits and islands still visible in the water, the main one of which was decorated with a good covering of Lapwings. It didn't take me long to pick out two smaller waders among them, one of which was clearly a winter plumage Dunlin. The other bird held my attention for longer. Another birder came in and delivered the usual 'much about?' to which I directed his attention to the two Calidrids. He wasn't convinced either was anything other than a Dunlin and left soon after. I began to doubt myself. I briefly redirected my attention to a preening Peregrine and a Kingfisher which gave a nice flypast in front of the hide. But still I kept going back to this wader. It was only a fraction smaller than the obvious Dunlin but something about the proportions was all wrong. The bird appeared slighter and rather more 'squashed' in its build, with a shorter bill and a clear supercilium, but most striking of all was its long, pointed rear end caused by the primaries extending beyond the tail, giving an overall more Stint-like shape to the bird.

White-rumped Sandpiper

I was by now in no doubt that this was no Dunlin but couldn't immediately place what I was dealing with. The general shape put me in mind of the Baird's Sandpiper I'd seen at Cuckmere Haven last year but I didn't remember that bird having such a strong supercilium. This bird also had dark streaks extending down its breast as far as the flanks, also unlike Baird's. Then I remembered the White-rumped Sandpiper I'd seen at Lodmoor five years ago and it dawned on me this could be what I was looking at!

I sent out some pics to a few people and put them on Twitter and soon the replies started coming back thick and fast... "A bit W R Sandy shaped", "could be a White-rumped Sand?", "have you seen the rump?". Others such as Martin Gray and Josh and Ed from BirdGuides were more confident based largely on an ID feature I had overlooked but which was clearly visible in even my relatively poor phonescoped shots: the pale base to the lower mandible. Suddenly everything went a bit mad. The news was out. My phone went into hyperdrive. People were on their way down. It's the kind of moment that every patch watcher dreams of! I tried to maintain my cool and was determined to get a clinching look at that rump whilst also juggling various text, Twitter and WhatsApp conversations as well as phoning in the news to the visitor centre.

 

At some point while all this was going on I briefly lost sight of the bird and was faced with the distressing prospect of being the only observer and having to explain to everyone that arrived that they 'should have been here five minutes ago'. Luckily, a few minutes later it returned (although it seemed like far longer) and as it cruised back down onto one of the grassy spits the sunlight caught the white uppertail coverts beautifully. Yes! It really was a White-rumped Sand!

A coach party from Eastbourne RSPB group arrived at this point, who looked rather incredulous when I excitedly pointed them in the bird's direction. It was a lifer for many of them and I was more than happy to let those without scopes have a look through my own. After a while the group headed off, all very grateful for the unexpected highlight of their day. Then the hide seemed very empty for what seemed like an eternity until Dave Buckingham called and said "Matt, I'm at West Mead. Where are you?". My blood ran cold - I'd been so buzzing at the realisation of what I'd found that I'd got the hide names muddled up! "Winpenny! It's at Winpenny!" I exclaimed, and soon enough there came the sound of approaching footsteps and the hide again filled up very quickly. The bird went AWOL for a time when it flew up with all the Lapwings but thankfully came back a little later, albeit rather more distantly, and all who came in the next few hours connected. With the horizontal drizzle hampering visibility and blowing in through the hide windows I said my goodbyes to the bird and birders around 13:45 but it was apparently still showing well up until nearly 15:00 at least.

Evidently only the thirteenth Sussex record - only two of which were in this century - and my 149th species at Pulborough this year, it's fair to say that if there is to be a 150th bird on my 2018 patch list it will have to go some to top the excitement of today! Either way, hopefully the WR Sand sticks around for many other birders to see and hopefully get some better photos of.

White-rumped Sandpiper and Dunlin together, photo by Ed Stubbs

The benefit of hindsight

The Temminck's Stint which overwintered at Pulborough Brooks last year was a much talked about and much enjoyed bird, being the first wintering record in Sussex since the mid-1970s. It became a regular feature of my patch visits from December to March but was sadly never seen again after the 'Beast From The East' so presumably it either perished or was wise enough to fly further south to escape the weather.

News of the bird broke on Saturday 9th December 2017 when Pulborough regular Alan Baker clinched the ID with good views from West Mead hide and called it in to a somewhat incredulous operator at one of the bird news services. There has, however, recently been some discussion between Alan, me and the county recorder, Mark Mallalieu, as to exactly when this bird actually arrived on site. The confusion has arisen thanks to there also being a Little Stint recorded on a number of occasions during November and Mark is, understandably, keen to clarify exactly when the Temminck's arrived and the Little did a bunk.

Alan reported seeing a Stint from the Hanger towards the end of November which flew off before he and others present could get a decent look at it, but his general impression was that it wasn't the Little Stint. I actually saw the Temminck's on the morning of the 9th but distantly from Winpenny and foolishly assumed it to be the Little again. I do remember noting that the bird seemed rather skulkier and browner on the back than I would have expected for Little Stint but having not seen either species so late in the year before I'm pretty unfamiliar with their winter plumages. Indeed, prior to the Pulborough Temminck's I had only seen one before, a summer plumage bird at Tice's Meadow in Surrey back in May 2013.

After further queries from Mark I revisted some shaky phonescope footage I took of a Stint, again distantly from Winpenny on the 25th, which at the time I again assumed was Little, but having studied it further and with the benefit of hindsight I am now of the opinion that this was in fact the first confirmed sighting of the Temminck's - and Mark agrees.

This is one of those valuable lessons in birding. I knew when I moved down to Sussex and started patchwatching Pulborough that waders were not my strongest subject and a winter plumage Temminck's Stint in totally the wrong part of the world in December was a pretty good curveball for the birding gods to throw at me in my first year here. Of course, what I ought to have done, in this era of social media and instant messaging, was to share the videos with people and got some second opinions at the time - which is precisely what I'll do if something like this happens again. That's one of the things I love about birding though - we're always learning!

Greenshank invasion!

An hour at the Brooks this morning produced a single Black-tailed Godwit, the Grey Plover again and three Ringed Plover. While at Winpenny with Alan Baker I picked up a flock of waders flying in which I initially took to be Godwits, but as they came into land it became clear they were all Greenshank - 22 of them to be precise! Quite a sight and certainly the most I've seen in one place in the UK, although I know there have been larger counts at Pulborough in the past.

Sadly this doesn't really do justice to the spectacle but you get the idea! 11 of the 22

Later in the day Alan Kitson reported on Twitter that the Temminck's Stint was again on show at Winpenny along with ten Ringed Plover and singles of Common Sandpiper and Snipe. The latter is interesting as I recorded one on nocmig a couple of weeks ago so perhaps they are breeding nearby.

A brief visit after work produced the 22 Greenshank still at Winpenny along with three Ringed Plover but no sign of any of the other unusual waders. A flash of movement at Fattengates Courtyard alerted me to a Blue Tit nest in the old wall here though which was nice to see.

Waders galore! (Part two)

Another excellent day for waders at Pulborough today with the Curlew Sandpiper and Grey Plover both still present for my dawn visit along with two Dunlin, nine Black-tailed Godwits and ten Ringed Plover. Also of note were a couple of Redshank chicks at Winpenny and a flyby Kingfisher on the North Brooks - my first here for a while.

Later in the morning news came out on Twitter via Alan Kitson of first a Wood Sandpiper then a Temminck’s Stint, all with the aforementioned crowd in front of Winpenny Hide.

By the time I got back there after work, around 6 this evening, all but the Grey Plover and Wood Sand had gone. The latter was a very welcome year tick though - I’ve missed a couple in recent weeks - taking my 2018 Pulborough list to the grand total of 140!

Waders galore!

A really enjoyable couple of sessions at the Brooks last night and this morning with some long awaited high quality wader action.

I headed straight out after work yesterday with the forecast thundery showers filling me with hope for a Black Tern, given the numbers turning up at various inland sites.

In the event this particular species didn't show up but a flock of thirteen Black-tailed Godwits and two LRPs on the North Brooks was a good start and, as the rain approached, I made my way over to Winpenny Hide. Here I quickly got on a Spotted Redshank - presumably the same bird that was present on Friday, although where it had been hiding all weekend is anybody's guess. As the rain got heavier a Grey Plover appeared seemingly out of thin air, followed closely by two Dunlin, looking very smart in summer plumage.

All the above waders were still present this morning and had been joined by three Ringed Plover (Gary Trew had four later on) and a resplendent Curlew Sandpiper. I was really pleased with the latter as it's one of a few species I narrowly missed out on last autumn.

Both Grey Plover and Curlew Sand were Pulborough lifers for me and take my patch year list to 139. Let's see what else this week has in store!

(Please excuse the grainy phonescope pics - poor light and distance too much even for my bridge camera)

Spotted Redshank

Grey Plover and Curlew Sandpiper