Window to Wildlife

 Another SDOS walk, although this time we were off duty participants, with others leading the walk. It was a lovely sunny morning and the route took us through varied scenery, ensuring a good mix of birds. As on so many of our recent walks, Common Whitethroats were everywhere, but the highlight today was the Lesser Whitethroat, with several birds seen and heard across the walk, and one particularly obliging bird giving some cracking views. Lesser Whitethroat (Lance Bellers) Several Barn Swallows were seen feeding low over the meadow, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker posed in a nearby tree. Several Goldcrests also showed surprisingly well, and Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Greenfinch were all seen. A pair of Reed Buntings chased each other around the bushes too. Goldcrest (Lance Bellers) Chaffinch Red Kite, Buzzard and Kestrel all were seen soaring or hovering over head. Near the Downslink heronry, alongside a few geese and herons, a Lapwing was spotted, with a few more displaying further ...

 After a morning working on the computer, it was good to get out for a walk in the afternoon sunshine, taking a leisurely stroll along the river towards Cuckoo Corner, then continuing across the field beside one of the reeded ditches. Along the river on a rising tide, looking wonderful with the blue sky reflected in the water, we were surprised to find a number of Oystercatcher upstream form Cuckoo Corner, with three disappearing around the corner towards the iron bridge, and two found sat in a fallow field. Near the old tollbridge we found a group of five around the muddy island, but we did not know if these were the same birds seen earlier. Elsewhere, several Little Egrets pottered around the muddy edges, with one revealing its striking yellow feet as it flew past. And Tim did well to pick out a single Common Sandpiper meandering on the mud. In the scrubby vegetation beside the ditches we were pleased to see and hear a pair of Sedge Warbler on the bramble, together with a Common ...

 We took a day out with Sue M today in search of some heathland specialists. The birding in these places is always quite hard going, relying on birdsong to assist in finding the birds, and with strong easterly winds, it proved hard work today. We started at Iping Common, where the highlight was a couple of Dartford Warblers that popped out on the top of some bushes. They didn't linger for too long, but everyone got a decent, albeit brief view. They are always an exciting bird to find. A Willow Warbler sang loudly from a birch tree and this was another bird we managed to see well. A group of three Swifts overhead were Sue's first for the year. Dartford Warbler (Sue Miles, not taken today) Moving on to Amersham, it was a little less breezy, and I could hear a distant Tree Pipit, but we struggled to locate it. Taking a walk along one of the tracks, I almost trod on a Woodlark feeding unnoticed on the path in front of me while I was scanning the treetops to try to find one! Fortuna...

 With Tim occupied doing the wetland bird survey on the Adur, I took myself off to Beeding Brooks, using my bus pass for the first time! I had a great time, looking for summer migrants associated with this wetland habitat. As I walked to the wetland a singing male Blackcap perched in an overhead tree, and I paused to enjoy his cheerful song. The reed lined ditches were full of noisy warblers, with three Reed Warblers chuntering their monotonous song in a small area. They were incredibly hard to find, staying low around the reed bases, but I just managed a few fleeting glimpses. Cetti’s Warblers exploded into song from a number of scrubby bushes, and although typically secretive, I did manage to spot one briefly as it flew across the track. Only one Sedge Warbler was found, a cheerier and more ‘buzzy’ song than the Reed Warbler, but with some perseverance I enjoyed an excellent view.  Blackcap Moving onto the meadows,  a Kestrel was hunting and a pair of Skylarks soared sk...

Thirteen SDOS members met at the car park at Seaford Head where we were leading a walk, and we enjoyed an abundance of summer migrants. Bird of the day was the Common Whitethroat - they were everywhere! Singing cheerily, pirouetting skywards in display flight, then floating gently down to perch atop a bush. Everyone enjoyed great views, and it was good to refamiliarise ourselves with their song and key identification features. Common Whitethroat (Andrew Farquharson) As we progressed slowly with ears alert through Hope Gap, we found singing Willow Wablers, Chiffchaffs and both male and female Blackcaps. A few Lesser Whitethroats were heard but sadly not seen. The explosive song of the Cetti’s Warbler burst forth at several points, but unsurprisingly it too refused to show itself. Blackcap, f (Lance Bellers) On the open grassland at the bottom of the Gap we found several Meadow Pipits, a pair of Linnets, and on the low scrubby vegetation a pair of Stonechats. Meadow Pipits ( Andrew Farqu...

 We enjoyed an interesting conference today organised by Susses Ornithological Society, with some excellent speakers and interesting presentations. However, it was a little frustrating to have news come through of a pair of Black-winged Stilts arriving at Pulborough Brooks. So at the end of the day, we hotfooted it home to get the bins and drive off to Pulborough, where we were very pleased to find the birds feeding in front of Winpenny Hide, albeit at some considerable distance and with very poor light, with the bright sunlight reflecting off the water. This species does not always hang around, so we were mighty pleased to get it ticked off on the same day. A great result! Black-winged Stilts

We were supporting another Shoreham District Ornithological society outing today, and hoping for an influx of summer arrivals. The day did not disappoint, and we added several new species to our annual lists and enjoyed reacquainting ourselves with familiar songs not heard since last summer. We got off to a fine start with a few snatches of distant Nightingale song as we gathered in the car park. Near the visitor centre a lovely Song Thrush fed on the lawn, before flying up to a nearby tree where it serenaded us beautifully with its melodic notes. Song Thrush As we descended through the zigzags we found several Blackcaps, burbling tunefully, with several males and a female, with warm brown head,  seen well. Noisy Chiffchaffs were everywhere, constantly chiffing and chaffing away as they flitted actively through the canopy. There had clearly been an arrival of Whitethroats, our first of the year, and snatches of their scritchy scratchy song accompanied our walk, although some birds ...

 We took the grandchildren to Warnham nature reserve, a great location to get up close and personal to wildlife. From the visitor centre overlooking the pond we saw Egyptian Geese, Great crested Grebes and a rather lovely Kingfisher perched on a swaying reed. Kingfisher On the distant bank I could just about make out a pair of Little Ringed Plover. Unfortunately they didn’t venture any nearer and it took Emilie ages to get onto them, but it was a new year tick for us, so we were very pleased anyway. Moving on to Bullfinch and Woodpecker hides, we enjoyed watching a variety of tits and finches at close range. There was nothing unusual here but it was lovely to see the delightful and acrobatic Long-tailed Tits and a Great Spotted Woodpecker making the most of the feeders. On the ground a lovely Stock Dove hoovered up the scattered seed and I was able to point out to Emile the features that distinguished this from the more common Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove As we followed the path round t...