Window to Wildlife

  We led an excellent SDOS trip to Warnham today, managing not just a lovely selection of birds, but that real rarity of late, sunshine!!! Fourteen members on the minibus were joined by nine members who had made their own way by car, so we split into 2 groups in order to accommodate everyone in the hides and make things more manageable.  On the millpond there were plenty of Tufted Duck, a few Teal, and Great Crested Grebe in stunning breeding plumage. Some bathing gulls, mostly Herring Gull, were in front of the hide, but also a couple of dark Lesser Black-backed Gulls that revealed their yellow legs as they rose above the water. Lesser Black-backed Gull (Andrew Farquharson) Bird of the day must have been the Siskin - they were everywhere around the feeders at both Bullfinch and Woodpecker hides, and their constant gentle twittering song filled the air as we walked along the path. The feeders also attracted plenty of Blue and Great Tits, but sadly nothing rarer. Goldfinches, ...

 A short trip to Goring Gap today was successful in achieving a couple of new Sussex ticks for the year. Along the beach we encountered just two Sanderling, lovely grey birds with white bellies, black bill and legs, scurrying along the shoreline as the waves broke against the beach. As they reached each breakwater they took a short flight over to the next section of beach, where they continued their run beside the lapping waves. A single Turnstone was the only other wader seen.  Sanderling Out on the sea, several distant Red-breasted Mergansers swam amongst the waves, with a mixture of regular gulls.  Returning via Widewater, eight Teal and a Black Swan were the most notable birds found. Black Swan

 A rather foggy day as we set out this morning, and although it improved a little as the day progressed, visibility was never great, hampering our birding a little, but not dampening our spirits, and we still managed a good tally of birds across the day. We arrived at Pagham visitor centre to use the facilities, but with the fog lingering we decided to linger and went to the hide at Ferry Pool. The back of the pool and adjoining fields were invisible, with the fog low and thick, so we focused on the birds we could see! The regular wintering wildfowl were present in reasonable numbers, with Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal and Mallard all on view, plus a few Gadwall. On the wader front there was a small group of Black-tailed Godwits foraging in a wet, muddy field to the right of the main pool, together with a couple of Redshanks chasing each other around a narrow channel. A number of Avocet, Lapwing and Oystercatchers roosted on the small islands or banks within the main waterway. A few Pied ...

 We had a brilliant couple of hours at Wood Lane nature reserve, spending most of our time between the two hides, finding a nice mix of species. Teal and Shelduck were upending in the water, and three Oystercatchers roosted on a muddy bank. A wader sat at the side of the pool, in poor light, but when it turned its head, the distinctive curved bill confirmed it was a Curlew.  Moving round to the next hide, there were plenty of Black-headed Gulls and a striking Cormorant with beautiful breeding plumage. Foraging around the muddy edges a Green Sandpiper and probable Common Sandpiper were of interest. Cormorant The following day we headed after school run to Colemere where Goldeneye had been reported. Unfortunately the weather had turned against us, with the water swathed in gathering mist. However, we could just make out several drake Goldeneye swimming at the back of the pool. A more obliging, but less spectacular female was found much closer to the path, enabling a more satisfy...

We started with a walk around the arable fields, where bird life was disappointingly limited, with just a few Long-tailed Tits moving through the hedgerows and a Great Spotted Woodpecker that flew briefly into the top of a tall dead tree. We took a track down towards the pools, which quickly became rather muddy and squelchy! On the second pool, which we hadn’t ever viewed on previous visits, we found Great-crested Grebe and some Tufted Ducks. Reaching the woodland at the end of the track, we turned left to reach the hide at the back of the main pool. Again, this was very wet underfoot, and we had to pick our way through the vegetation. Here we found five dainty Siskins,  together with Goldfinch and Chaffinch.  Siskin On reaching the hide, we could just see through to the pool, where a few Pochard were gathered, and in the trees a mobile but silhouetted bird, eventually revealed itself to be a Reed Bunting. A Cetti’s Warbler was heard calling from the reeds. As we retraced our ...

 We planned a birdwatching day in Cheshire today, heading initially to Mow Cap where a Shore Lark had been reported over recent weeks. We walked past the historic castle here along a muddy track, arriving at a gate beside a muddy and marshy field. Kayte quickly spotted the target bird feeding amongst the grass and puddles just a short distance from the gate. We had failed to find a Shore Lark in Norfolk this year, so it was great to pick up this bird here, and it was a lifer for the others in the family group. Also of note here was a Raven being escorted away from the area by an aggressive Carrion Crow! Blurry mobile phone shot, Shore Lark Next we drove to RSPB Burton Mere, a wetland reserve. There were plenty of Avocets here, feeding close to the visitor centre, together with good numbers of Lapwings, and a few Oystercatchers dispersed amongst them. A couple of Golden Plover stood on a muddy island, then a troupe of Black-tailed Godwit flew in, settling by the water’s edge. A Mars...