Window to Wildlife

 Today I travelled over to Blue House Farm in Fambridge. Unfortunately when I arrived I discovered that the hides were not open which was a disappointment, but there was still the possibility of a whinchat or wheatear which I have seen over there in the fields and on the wire fences at this time of year in the past.  Although I did not find any wheatears this time there were 3 whinchats present which meant the trip was not a complete waste of time. After an hour or so I decided to move on to Hanningfield Reservoir which is about 12 miles away from Blue House Farm.  I was hoping to see some migrant waders there but the only waders I saw were common sandpipers, a black tailed godwit and a lapwing. However, someone I met told me that there was a garganey visible from the Rawl hide and sure enough when I got there it was still present, right in front of the hide at the edge of the water.  So it was a successful morning after all, although I still need to find a wheatear ...

 This was the first Shoreham District Ornithological Society outing since lockdown began, way back in March. We led a small ‘bubble’ to ensure social distancing, starting at 08.30. The scrub habitat alongside the footpath was perfect for migrating birds, with bramble and elderflower bushes laden with berries. However, few birds were seen this morning, just the odd Whitethroat, Blackcap and Willow Warbler. A small group of Mediterranean Gulls and five late Swifts flew overhead. We reached the Emsworth Channel on a rising tide and there were plenty of waders feeding on the exposed mud, predominantly Turnstones, Black-tailed Godwits in assorted colours as they moult from summer to winter plumage,  and Greenshank, with a few Curlew and Whimbrel also present. Some Common Terns were soaring and diving, catching fish in the channel. In The Deeps we found Little And Great Crested Grebes, together with Gadwall and Tufted Duck,  plus a number of Coot. Herons and Little Egret were p...

Today I visited Hanningfield Reservoir hoping to see the wood sandpiper which was seen there yesterday. Unfortunately there was no sign of it today but the other unusual bird reported yesterday, which was a bar-headed goose, was present. Although probably an escaped bird it is nevertheless a very pretty goose and it was a bird I have never seen before. People had also reported arctic terns recently but although I saw a tern with  a red bill with no visible black tip, it appeared to be orange red rather than blood red and looked to be the same bill length as a common tern which was next to it. The legs were not noticeably shorter than the common tern either so I tend to think it was just a common tern where, as the Collins bird guide says, the black tip of the bill can become very small especially by mid summer. An unexpected bonus was the discovery of a lesser spotted woodpecker which was on the main trunk of a tree at a height of about 6 feet and so provided a perfect view especia...

 Another excursion to Abberton with Andy, arriving around 8AM. There was just time for a quick scan from the causeway before the heavens opened and poured out bucketfuls of heavy rain. Fortunately we were just yards from the car, so were able to shelter in comfort. An interesting outcome of this downpour was the arrival of several hundred Cormorant, which landed on the water, their yellow heads all pointing in the same direction, and lit up in great splendour as the sun burst through to form a lovely rainbow, appearing to rise from the surface of the water. As the rain cleared they suddenly took off again en masse, disappearing as quickly and silently as they had arrived. There were 23 Little Egrets roosting in the trees alongside the reservoir, and later in  the morning we encountered several Great Egrets from the other causeway. There were also Common Terns feeding over the Reservoir, but sadly no Black Terns. Andy was pleased to catch up with both Common and Green Sandpiper...

Today I made a return visit to Old Hall Marshes after a disastrous day there on Thursday last week when I took a wrong turning on the 3 mile circular walk and didn't realise my mistake until I was about 4 or 5 miles away from the reserve and had to retrace my steps. It had been a very hot day and I was exhausted. This time I successfully found my way around the circuit.. I arrived about 4 hours before high tide and to begin with there were only black headed gulls to be seen. About half way round there was still not much in the way of birds but I suddenly caught sight of a hare in the grass field next to a path with no public access.  I then watched through the gate as it moved onto the path and  started coming towards me.  After a few minutes it turned round and moved away only to return again a few minutes later.  I don't know whether it saw me or not but I was able to take quite a few photos of it before it finally entered the next door field once more and dis...

Another full day of birding, meeting Becky at Pagham Harbour. We started at Church Norton around 8am looking out over the harbour on a falling tide. There were good numbers of Sandwich Tern roosting on the grass beside the harbour wall, and these gradually spread across the mudbanks as they were exposed as the tide receded, leaving a series of shallow channels. After some time, Little Terns began to appear, like dainty fairies, poised momentarily with brilliant white shining wings vertically aloft,  before plunging head down to the channel to capture a tasty fish. When roosting on the mud alongside the Sandwich Terns, they looked tiny in comparison, and their white foreheads and yellow bills contrasted clearly with the black head markings. We were only able to locate a single Common Tern here, in fact a juvenile, and were pleased to be able to successfully identify this, with assistance from the Collins bird app! There were good numbers of both Curlew and Whimbrel present, and some...

On a beautiful sunny but breezy afternoon we travelled to the Cuckmere meanders in search of migrating waders which had been reported earlier. The place was heaving with visitors and we rated our chances as low, but in the channel beside the main river we struck lucky with our target birds, despite the high pedestrian traffic. Firstly we located a juvenile Wood Sandpiper, poised at the corner of a small creek and bobbing its tail up and down in the characteristic manner of many sandpiper species. It scurried along the edge feeding actively, showing its long yellow-green legs and brown mottled back, together with prominent supercilium extremely well. We have seen this bird several times now and have become confident in identifying it. Tim managed some decent photos too: Wood Sandpiper We continued along the track to a small lagoon sheltered from the beach. Here a distant Little Ringed Plover only revealed its identity in flight, when it flashed plain wings, lacking the white wing bars o...