Window to Wildlife

 I woke to the melodic notes of a Rufous Collared Sparrow singing outside our bedroom window, and peeping through the curtains, found it perched on a post at the edge of the garden. Tim then spotted an Eared Dove roosting in the middle of a tree across the road. Merlin picked up a Sparkling Violetear, and eventually I managed to spot it foraging at the top of the same tree, twitching its tail rhythmically as it called. Then a pair of Great Thrush came into view and perched on the telephone wire - tall, leggy birds with orange legs, bill and eye ring making them quite distinctive. Next, Tim spotted a Shiny Cowbird as it alighted on the top of the same tree, a fairly large black bird, with glossy purplish hues highlighted by the early morning sun. And finally, to complete our pre-breakfast tally, Tim also found a Tropical Mockingbird perched between the telegraph poles. Not  a bad start to our Ecuador birding. Shining Cowbird Quito is located at a high elevation, so to help accl...

 I set out for a walk to Brooklands Park yesterday afternoon, on a dry but rather gloomy day. The long-staying female Goosander was still present, and a single Brent Goose was also noteworthy, neither being common species at this particular location. As always, there were decent numbers of Little Grebe bobbing on the surface, making frequent dives.  As I watched, I realised one of these diving birds was not a Little Grebe, looking rather more black and white, and a little bigger. The light was dreadful, and the bird was on the far side of the lagoon, so I rang Jo P and asked if I could pop round for a look from her garden. Luckily she agreed, and from here we could see the bird much more clearly, and I was able to confirm it was a Slavonian Grebe. Although not uncommon in Sussex, most birds are seen offshore, and records show this is the first confirmed sighting on the lagoon since 1954!  Fortunately the bird hung around, so the following morning we both headed over once ...

 After an arduous shopping trip to Chichester today, we sought some nature therapy at the always rewarding Pagham Harbour, taking a walk at North Wall. White’s Creek was bathed in low light, making viewing difficult unless you were positioned to view birds away from the sun. Redshanks and Wigeon were dominant here, whilst on Breach Pool there were a number of Snipe, unusually feeding right out in the open, presumably due to the cold weather.  Wigeon Continuing along the path, a few Curlew and Grey Plover were feeding, and a single Dunlin drilled into the mud amongst the Redshanks. In the stream, we noted a Water Rail give its distinctive squeal, then shimmy across, red legs trailing behind, as if walking on the water. On the fields and rife near Halsey Farm, there were good numbers of Curlew and Black-tailed Godwits feeding, a single Brent Goose drifted lazily up the rife, and a flock of whistling Wigeon rested on the water and adjacent grassy bank. But the highlight, was a magnif...