The Savannah run-around

With spring approaching, the excitement of overshooting migrants turning up on our shores gives us re-newed hope to get out there and find some birds..including our first Wheatears of the year! Taking a shower before dropping the wife off to work, I started to get ready when I casually glanced at my phone....7 messages and a missed call! Panic set in as the realisation that a goodie had been found (locally) ! SAVANNAH SPARROW seen and photographed yesterday just north of Lancing Ring....bloody hell..less than 5miles from home! I had less than 2 hours spare before Robyn had nursery so just had to go for it...was soon on-site (cheers Harry for directions) and the search commenced. There was already a c20 birders gathered just above the car park and the initial info was that there had been no sign so far...with only a couple of birders actually looking through their bins and the rest talking we decided to look further down the track and the surrounding area looked good for the area described by the finder (Matt Sparkes),  no-one knew for sure that this was the right area. The finder had posted that he would be on-site a little later to show where he had taken the photo, but in the meantime we continued the search...all rather hopeful and optimistic. A couple of Linnets were scoped by Jake, another bird perched up proved to be a Chaffinch. In fact there did not seem to be many small birds around at all. A male Kestrel was over-looking proceedings and a Peregrine soared past in the distance. We started to disect the info on hand and agreed that we could quite possibly be searching the wrong area, so it was decided to spread out and see if the area and the bird could be tracked down. Robyn was with me so we headed off along a grassy path that took us out on the downs, the warm spring sunshine making the search pleasant. We walked quite a way to realise that we were probably on the wrong track to head back towards the car park, soon apparent that all the birders here originally had dispersed into other areas or to meet the finder. Either way we had to leave to drop R to nursery but I planned to return before work, I decided to call Harry to find out the latest and that is when the Hoax claim was being banded around and that the area we was scanning initially was the right area...just different fencing to that in the photo! Apparantley, once birders started questioning the photo Mr Sparkes swiftly disappeared! No need to return to the site but I for one cannot get my head around why another birder would do this? I did not have to travel so far this morning to get to this site, but many others did including some Hampshire birders that turned up as I was leaving...I am sure this story will develop further and the truth will be confirmed, but at least we tried and followed up this report...as for the finder..I here Butlins are looking for clowns for the summer...I suggest you apply

Coldwaltham - 2 Black-necked Grebes 11th March 2014

Travelled up to Coldwaltham this am in the hope of seeing the 2 Black-necked Grebes that had been reported there before the floods there finally disappear. Upon arrival it was soon apparent that the water levels had dropped drastically and all the birds were concentrated on the remaining water and there was a lot of birds here too albeit very distant.
I managed to pick out the grebes although very difficult as constantly diving and one individual is in it summer plumage already(something which I used to witness quite frequently at Staines reservoir). The female Scaup was easily found and I was rather pleased to see a female Goldeneye, all birds I had not seen at this site before. Good number of Wigeon, Pintail and a bitter wind were a reminder why the winter birds were hanging on, where would this large number of birds go one this water disappears? The camera stayed well in the bag today!

At lunchtime I checked the Goring area, the fields are also dried out here now and very little in the fields apart from the resident Skylarks and Pied Wagtails. Offshore several Great-crested Grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers...at last some birds on the water here!

More February birds in Sussex

The storms that have battered our shores have produced some good birding locally, enabling closer views of birds(mainly gulls) that are normally only visible distantly offshore...here is a selection ....

 

Glaucous Gull - 1st winter bird on the Southwick Canal

 

Goosander - Found 2 birds originally but increased to 4 at Widewater - all Redheads

 

Kittiwake - this individual was on the Southwick canal - stunning in winter plumage

 

Red-breasted Merganser - Southwick canal, many were seen well on Widewater too

 

Siberian Chiff - Chaff - this individual was reliable at Steyning sewage works

 

Slavonian Grebe - another good bird on the Southwick canal