New Year, new list!
With Andy staying overnight, our first bird of the year was a silhouetted Herring Gull flying over the garden in the morning half light. After breakfast we headed off to Pulborough Brooks arriving at 8.15 and quickly totted up a variety of tits on the feeders including Coal Tit and a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the tree above and a Moorhen feeding below.
As we headed down the path there were a number of Redwings in the trees and my friend Becky was thrilled to see her first ever male Bullfinch, looking resplendent despite the grey, dull conditions. Several Song Thrushes were singing in the New Year, then sharp-eyed Becky spotted a Nuthatch working its way down a trunk. A flock of pink lollipop Long-tailed tits chattered through the trees with their high pitched tsee, tsee, tsee calls.
Water levels were very high on the main part of the reserve and there were good numbers of Shelduck, Teal, Wigeon, Pintail and Shoveler on the brooks. A few Dunlin were feeding amongst good numbers of Lapwing and a small cluster of Black-tailed Godwits roosted with their heads tucked under their wings. A single Snipe was noted skulking in the grass and we had lovely views of its stripey head markings in the telescope. An obliging Goldcrest was also feeding in the brambles right in from of the hide giving some lovely close views. Further round the reserve we also encountered some Gadwall and a group of Cormorants in the trees.
After soup at the RSPB cafe, we drove the short distance to Waltham Brooks where Andy located a Fieldfare feeding on the red berries in someone's garden and a Firecrest in a small bush near the sewage works. Chiffchaff and a lovely Green Woodpecker which landed on a grassy hummock were also pleasing additions to our growing list.
Next we stopped at a viewpoint overlooking the flooded Amberley wild brooks. Visibility was very poor here, with distant views and murky light, but we had Marsh Harrier, Red Kite and Black Swan as new additions ( although the Black Swan is not officially recognised on the British list as it is not deemed to have a self-sustaining wild population).
Finally and with the light fading, we headed up to the Burgh, part of the Norfolk Estate which is attractive to raptors due to the conservation strips around the field edges. Here we had another Red Kite fly overhead, a small covey of Grey Partridge and a beautiful ghostly Barn Owl which floated away from us down a farm track.
We ended the day with a total of 62 species - a pleasing start to the New Year and Andy confirming this was the best start he had ever had.
As we headed down the path there were a number of Redwings in the trees and my friend Becky was thrilled to see her first ever male Bullfinch, looking resplendent despite the grey, dull conditions. Several Song Thrushes were singing in the New Year, then sharp-eyed Becky spotted a Nuthatch working its way down a trunk. A flock of pink lollipop Long-tailed tits chattered through the trees with their high pitched tsee, tsee, tsee calls.
Water levels were very high on the main part of the reserve and there were good numbers of Shelduck, Teal, Wigeon, Pintail and Shoveler on the brooks. A few Dunlin were feeding amongst good numbers of Lapwing and a small cluster of Black-tailed Godwits roosted with their heads tucked under their wings. A single Snipe was noted skulking in the grass and we had lovely views of its stripey head markings in the telescope. An obliging Goldcrest was also feeding in the brambles right in from of the hide giving some lovely close views. Further round the reserve we also encountered some Gadwall and a group of Cormorants in the trees.
After soup at the RSPB cafe, we drove the short distance to Waltham Brooks where Andy located a Fieldfare feeding on the red berries in someone's garden and a Firecrest in a small bush near the sewage works. Chiffchaff and a lovely Green Woodpecker which landed on a grassy hummock were also pleasing additions to our growing list.
Next we stopped at a viewpoint overlooking the flooded Amberley wild brooks. Visibility was very poor here, with distant views and murky light, but we had Marsh Harrier, Red Kite and Black Swan as new additions ( although the Black Swan is not officially recognised on the British list as it is not deemed to have a self-sustaining wild population).
Finally and with the light fading, we headed up to the Burgh, part of the Norfolk Estate which is attractive to raptors due to the conservation strips around the field edges. Here we had another Red Kite fly overhead, a small covey of Grey Partridge and a beautiful ghostly Barn Owl which floated away from us down a farm track.
We ended the day with a total of 62 species - a pleasing start to the New Year and Andy confirming this was the best start he had ever had.
 |
| Grey Partridge at The Burgh (digiscoped by Tim) |
 |
| Goldcrest in front of the hide at RSPB Pulborough (Andy's photo) |
Comments