Window to Wildlife

 We visited Ferring Rife today, hoping for a late addition to the year list with reports of a Yellow-browed Warbler via a local WhatsApp group. On our arrival there were a number of other birders present, and the bird had recently been seen, but it was apparently quite mobile, flitting across the rife and along the hedgerows, but often returning to a favoured tree. After some time, we spotted the bird flitting Goldcrest style amongst the branches of the hawthorn tree with ivy growing through. It was not easy to track, but glimpses of wingbar, the pale pinkish bill and of course the famed yellow brow, proved conclusive in confirming it was not a crest but our target bird. In poor light, photography was not easy, and Tim couldn’t manage more than a blurry silhouette. However  we got chatting to some fellow birders, and Chris has kindly agreed I can use his super photo shown below. Yellow-browed Warbler (Chris McGrath) This is only my second sighting of this species, and I confes...

 John and Andy headed down to Sussex for a final opportunity to add a few more ticks to their annual lists. With a Great Northern Diver and Eider Duck having been reported over recent days, we were hopeful of a positive start around Southwick canal and the harbour area, but frustratingly neither of these birds were visible today. However, a brief conversation with another birder, led us along the beach at Southwick to some rock groynes where three Black Redstarts were busy feeding, flitting between the shingle beach, a metal fence and the rocks; a quick flash of the red tail each time they flew. When perched, we were able to observe the distinctive ‘shimmering’ of the tail. A subtly beautiful species, and a new tick for both boys, which took a little pressure off after the failed sea birds. Black Redstart Our next stop was Shoreham Harbour, where we again failed to find our target species, the Purple Sandpiper, despite being seen by Tim the previous day while conducting his Webs su...