Monday 19th January 2025: Dell Quay and Apuldram, then West Dean woods

 We had a day out with Bernie and Steve today, visiting various sites in West Sussex. We started at Dell Quay, with the tide fairly high, and the water very calm. There were plenty of regular water birds here, including many Teal and Wigeon, and a large group of around twenty Shelduck. More interesting was a group of three Goldeneye, two drakes and a single female, the males very striking with their bold black and white plumage, and constantly diving.

Goldeneye, m

A distant, diving water bird on the far side of the water, spotted by Tim, gradually drifted nearer and eventually we were able to identify this as a Slavonian Grebe, black and white, with a peak at the back of the head and sloping forehead. This was a new year tick, and a bird we don't always get to see very well.

Redshanks, Oystercatchers and Lapwings were plentiful, and a single Greenshank strode elegantly across the muddy margins of the water.

Greenshank

On the far bank of the creek, a tree held around a dozen Fieldfare , whilst looking towards the marina a field contained a large flock of Brent Geese, with a few scattered also around the edges of the water.

After scanning for some time, we moved on to Apuldram, parking by the church, and taking a path lined by trees and bushes, where we encountered several regular tit species and a lovely Firecrest, very active in a holly bush. Walking across the field towards Fishbourne Creek, we found a small flock of Greenfinches, a few Fieldfares, and a single Redwing. 

At the creek, we added Curlew, and a busy group of Turnstones foraging amidst the Teal. On the foreshore were several Snipe and a single Jack Snipe, plus at least ten Rock Pipits in the salt marsh. A Cetti's warbler was heard, but typically remained unseen.

On the water, we watched one of the drake Goldeneye displaying to the female with a bold head-throwing movement. Elsewhere a Great-crested Grebe developing its chestnut head-feathering as it moulted into  breeding plumage was another indicator that Spring is on its way.

After tea and cake at a local centre, we headed inland to West Dean Woods. The light was not great here, with a hint of mizzle in the air, and birdlife was limited, although a Buzzard and Red Kite were seen on the wing. Again there were good numbers of Fieldares, perching in the trees with drooping wings, then dropping down to the grass to feed. A tight flock of Redwing flew across the valley into a clump of trees.

Chaffinches were plentiful too, and eventually we managed to locate our target species, when Bernie spotted a group of Hawfinches fly into the treetops. We all had sustained scope views of these large, colourful finches, as they sat here for around ten minutes, at least eight birds were present. In the poor light, the white tips of the tail were really prominent, a feature I wasn’t particularly aware of before today.

It had been an excellent day, and I had added four new birds to my year list, and enjoyed great company. As always when birding with Bernie, I had also learnt several new bird identification tips, so went home feeling very satisfied after a rewarding day.