Window to Wildlife

 After such a great and busy January, the pace of birding slowed down this month, with half term family commitments having an impact. Our major outings have been reported in separate posts, but across the month we have completed a number of local walks as I strive to achieve my goal of 10,000 steps per day, and we have gradually added to the year list off the back of these walks.  On 2nd February, a walk along the river and up to Lancing Ring and Steepdown gave us just one Corn Bunting, a new tick but a disappointing tally. Presumably the numbers will be substantially higher as the season progresses. A visit to Warnham on 5th February was very enjoyable. We searched in vain for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, but on the way home were pleased to spot a Little Owl perched on a distant wall. On 9th February, I took a late walk in dreary conditions around the River Adur, and was thrilled to encounter a Sparrowhawk which dashed past me in the gloom, but alighted on a metal ledge beside ...

 We had a cracking day at the Warnham reserve today. We arrived shortly after opening time at 10AM, and had a leisurely wander around the reserve. We had a quick scan of the lake, but there was little of interest there, although we noted a Cormorant sat on a post had developed a white spot on its flank, indicating it was coming into breeding plumage, a welcome harbinger of spring.  Reminding us that it was still winter, (although the temperature was making that very clear already!) a handful of Redwing were sat in the tree tops. Around the feeders at Bullfinch hide, the main activity was from Blue and Great Tits, so we didn’t linger here. Arriving at Woodpecker Hide, we noted it was already very busy with both photographers and birds. On the ground Chaffinches were foraging and I quickly spotted a couple of Brambling, male and female, fly down to join them. That set the photographers off! The male was particularly striking, with black head fringed with grey, as is typical for ...

 The weather was rather dull this morning as we set off for Sherwood Rough, but at least it was an improvement on our last visit, when thick fog had severely restricted our viewing. As we began to climb the slope from the car park, we immediately, encountered a flock of finches, but only managed to get onto two Greenfinches which settled in the treetop. Climbing the hill, we heard Goldcrests and saw them flitting busily in the foliage as we passed.  Traversing the path on the ridge, was pretty disappointing, with limited bird song or activity, save an elusive Song Thrush. Suddenly a flock of finches appeared over the woodland and settled in a distant tree. Through the scopes we could see Greenfinches, but the light was atrocious and apart from the yellow wing flash it was hard to make out any features. We thought we had Hawfinches too, but struggled to get a decent view. We continued on, moving closer towards the birds, and eventually managed to get confirmatory views, when on...