Winter 2016 - Goring

As followers of this blog may know, one of the area's I try and keep an eye on in winter months is at Goring, especially the roosts that accumulate here on the surrounding fields. This has proved fairly fruitful, with Iceland and Glaucous Gull's being found here in previous winters. Some crisp winter morning's allowed for some of Goring's resident birds to be photographed

Black-headed Gull - this individual had started to moult into it's breeding plumage very early!

Common Gull - hoping a Ring-billed Gull will drop in with these guys one day!

Kestrel - has been favouring the east side of the gap and can sometimes be seen hunting the back fields

Magpie - always look daper this time of year, a bird full of character

Sanderling - this individual on the beach with colour rings, unfortunatley unabe to retrieve any information on this individual as some rings are missing from it's left leg as is the bird's foot. Dave Potter also photographed this individual last winter at Goring. 

December 2016 - Rose-coloured Starling - Crawley

This young Rose-coloured Starling has been residing in gardens in Beachy Road in Broadfield, Crawley and paid this bird a visit in early December. Juvenille's are usually a drab affair, but this bird was already moulting and if it hangs around, who knows, we may well see it as a full adult and a completly different looking bird. The locals are feeding the bird well and were very friendly and inquisitive about the birds presence, hopefully it will hang around....

This photo featured in February's 2017 Birdwatching magazine

December 2016 - Local Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting are pretty regular along our local stretch of beach here in Worthing, I never tire of seeing them and they are generally confiding although this individual was pretty flighty and took some tracking down, not really a surprise considering how busy the area gets with dog walkers/joggers etc, The bird only remained in the area for around 4 days, but proved rather popular with local birders and photographers when it did show. It mainly fed along the coastal path, but I also observed this individual feeding in the ploughed field opposite the beach with Skylarks, flying back to the coastal path calling as it flew

Short video of the bird here on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RAzpGaVEvA

September 2016 - Sussex Birds

September on the Sussex coast enabled me to catch-up with a couple of scarcities. The Red-backed Shrike at Newhaven Tidemills showed brilliantly during it's stay. I went on a Saturday and the light faded as I was there but was great watching the bird hunt insects and also singing. I also have video footage whilst Yellow Wagtails were calling as they migrated overhead.

The Wryneck at Climping was not so easy and was typically elusive, I managed a quick record shot as it flew up from the beach into nearby cover and only gave very brief flight views before finally coming back to the beach again a couple of hours later, 

Red-backed Shrike - Newhaven Tidemills - September 2016

Wryneck - Climping - September 2016

Portland April 2016

23rd - 24th April 2016 - Portland weekend

Another weekend visit to Portland, staying for the night a Portland Bird Observatory and catching up with Gary and Glen and all the Portland regulars. Leaving early, I stopped off at Acres Down in the New Forest for a stroll. As soon as I parked up and opened the car door, the distant sound of a calling Cuckoo was a first for the year for me. Pretty surreal as temperatures were barely touching 4 degrees! Plenty of birdsong and at times difficult to pick out the different species as each tried to over-power the other in the continuous dawn chorus. Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiff chaff were abundant, but the highlight for me was a singing male Common Redstart, on territory, there song is one of my favourite and very distinctive. A couple of Crossbills flew over as did some very vocal Siskins. No sight or sound of any Wood Warbler so was time to head to the car to continue my journey to Potland and warm up.

Dolphins - distantly off Cheyne Weare - Portland

 



 Reed Warbler - Culverwell - found this bird apparantley a first for the year at the 'bill'

 

Wheatear - always a delight and in good numbers too

Arriving in Weymouth and conditions good, I checked out Lodmoor, parking at the north end and did the circuit dodging dog walkers, cyclists and joggers. There was lots of hirundines hawking the reserve, mainly Sand Martin's but Swallow, House Martin and my first 6 Swifts of the year were seen higher up. Cetti's Warblers were everywhere and another yeartick in the form of a Lesser Whitethroat was rattling away and seen briefly. Was surprised to find no waders on the reserve and little else of note was seen but heard the 'pinging' of Bearded Tits as I walked through the reedbed along with many Reed Warblers. Only 2 Sedge Warbler were seen and heard 

As I drove towards Portland, Martin Cade had tweeted that a pod of bottle-nosed dolphins were heading along the east cliffs off the bill. I decided to check off the car-park off Cheyne and within minutes I was watching the dolphins as the headed north, counting at least 8 and they were constantly being mobbed by gulls. I headed round to the prison as would gain closer views, but despite waiting here, they failed to arrive. Whilst here, the local gull and crow population were going mental, a Common Buzzard floated over-head and not the hoped for Osprey.
Glen had messaged to say they were watching a Ring Ouzel in the crown estate field, so headed down to the obs and struggled to park for a while as car park full as where the road-side verges. There was an army of birders lined up in the top fields and the thoughts of a rarity that had just been found flashed through my mind, but was a false alarm as everyone was watching a Redstart! A quick trudge around the top fields produced some good birds, Redstart, Short-eared Owl, Whitethroat, Wheatears dotted around. The Short-eared Owl was just viewable sat tight in a tree near the barns. There has also been new stables constructed up here now and appears to be some work/developing going on in the barn area, hopefully not too much! In Culverwell, I managed to pick out a Reed Warbler that showed well, returning to the obs, Pete proclaimed it was a first for the year for them so was pleased with that!
By now Gary had arrived and after a quick catch up and seeing a male Redstart in the hand, we headed to Cheyne to look for Wall Lizards, but no luck here today. A Wheatear, Blackcap and Peregrine made the stop worthwhile though. Onto Ferrybridge to see what was on offer there. Little Terns showed well with at least 4 birds present, at times fishing quite close, but the light was all wrong for any decent pics. Plenty of Sandwich Terns also fishing on the Fleet. Back at the obs, the Dolphins were putting on another show, viewed from the garden. We decided to head out for the evening early to catch the FA cup semi-final between Man Utd and Everton also meeting up with Joe Stockwell, followed by a Chinese takeaway and more beers back at the obs to conclude the day!

Peregrine Falcon at Cheyne

 



Little Terns at Ferrybridge - light all wrong for decent pics but glad to get some record shots 

  

After a great nights sleep in the cottage at the obs, it was time to go again and hopefully find and see some decent spring migrants. The wind was all wrong for a sea-watch, but a single Bonxie and Arctic Skua were a nice bonus. A Firecrest showed briefly in the front garden along with a single Goldcrest. The wind was stronger than yesterday and was pretty damn cold making searching for any grounded migrants difficult. We checked out the top fields again, there was an obvious fall of Wheatears and was nice to find a male Yellow Wagtail that showed nicely before moving off north, another bird was also seen but again, did not hang around. The Short-eared Owl was sitting out in the open giving stunning, but a little distant views near the barns. A female Redstart was also a nice find as was a female Pied Flycatcher in Culverwell which Gary did well to pick out. Chilling at the obs, I caught a couple of snippets of a reeling Grasshopper Warbler in scrub next to the obs. It literally reeled for no more than 5 seconds at a time and I failed to get anyone else onto it. I thought I was going mad and starting to doubt myself, but Pete confirmed there was one reeling at the bottom of the garden and Julian had heard one earlier too. Later on, I heard it reeling again this time more distantly but enough to clinch it....no need to get the ears checked just yet :-). Time to head home, but got distracted by some good birding at Reap Lane and Barleycrates where giving the barns a good grilling, we found a couple of smart Whinchat, along with 2 Common Redstart. Blackcap and Wheatear were present in good numbers and a couple of Whitethroat passed through. A smart male Sparrowhawk was perched up and seeing what tired migrants he could pick up for tea!

A great weekend and good company, many firsts for the year happily ticked off, just love birding on Portland this time of year, just never know what you may see , on land and sea.

Thanks to Martin, Pete and all at the Obs for another great stay!

 

 Holly Blue - again ' another first for the year for me'

 

 



March 2016

28th March 2016 - *Sussex Mega* - American Wigeon at Pulborough
Gordon Beck had found a drake American Wigeon at Pulborough Brooks on the evening of the 27th and news filtered out via the SOS website and the Sussex Birders Facebook page. Forecast for the morning was bleak as storm Katie rattled in over night, I was up before light but was left questioning my sanity as I looked outside and saw the storm ripping through everything in site. A tweet from Ian Barnard had me moving though as the positive news was put out early that the bird was still present. There has only been one previous accepted record for Sussex so heading out into the storm was a no brainer and was soon on-site having passed several fallen trees en-route. The hide was fairly empty and good scope views were obtained as the bird sheltered on the far bank with 3 other Wigeon, occasionally swimming, feeding before going to sleep on the bank. There was at least 30 Sand Martins on the north brooks along with 2 Swallows, 2 Pintail and a Firecrest was found along the zig zag track which showed well. Good to see so many local birders out in force, it has been a while!

26th March 2016 - Patch Gold!
An hours sea-watch off Worthing was fairly productive with my first Sandwich Terns of the year seen here, 3 in total and all going through singly, other than that there were small groups of Common Scoter and Brent Geese going through. 2 Red-throated Diver and 2 Fulmar all east were also noted. I decided to head to the patch to check for any passerines, looking for Wheatears on the beach here a male Peregrine headed low overhead. No luck with Wheatears, I tried the compound area and soon heard the call of a parakeet, the bird called again and soon picked it up high over the houses above Sea Lane, it circled around a couple of times before heading overhead and headed off high eastwards! A patch tick in the bag, ok, not a migrant but these are pretty scarce on the south coast. I then picked up another familiar call and was soon watching another patch tick in the form of the delightful Firecrest that popped out in the nearest bramble patch, there was at least 2 birds seen with maybe a third. I was amazed to find these birds on the coat in spring, but soon realised via other news feeds, there is an obvious influx of this species along the coast! Coming away from the sea-watch early, I missed a Arctic Skua, Bonxie and a Balearic Shearwater which again is birding for you, you cannot see everything!

25th March 2016 - Arundel WWT and Heyshott common
Managed to see the Great-grey Shrike that Chris Janman had reported on the SOS site, gaining good scope views when the bird eventually gave itself up. 2 Red Kites, Marsh Tit, Stonechat and Siskin were also on site. At Arundel WWT provided a couple of singing Chiffchaffs, Water Vole, Grey Wagtail, Brimstone and Peacock butterfly whilst a Peregrine was seen at the hanger

Local West Sussex birds -
A few local year-ticks been added recently with a trip to the north end of Pagham Harbour and church Norton, taking in the ferry pool, aswell as a quick morning visit to Climping. Highlights included a Spotted Redshank in White's Creek, 2 Avocet at breech pool and 4 on the ferry pool which also hosted my first Green Sandpiper of the year. A Whimbrel was also in the harbour from Church Norton. A visit to a undisclosed heathland found a singing male Dartford Warbler, the same site saw many Siskin's flying about. I connected with one of the Siberian Chiffchaff's at Coldwaltham before another failed attempt for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker's ended the day on a low. Brimstone, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock were all on the wing at various locations. 2 Grey Patridges were in the horse paddock at Climping whilst Red-legged Partridge were seen at ferry pool and the entrance road to Church Norton

 

 



18th - 21st March 2016 - Weekend in Weymouth
A family break in Littlesea enabled me to catch up with the Pallas's Warbler at Portesham which showed very well once located, calling several times too. Some nice record shots were obtained but the light was pretty poor for photography. Saw my first Sand Martins of the year at Lodmoor

 

 

 

 

 



 



16th March 2016 -
Another quick look at Shoreham Fort only 2 Purple Sandpipers being noteworthy, birding pretty difficult in a nagging easterly wind. No passerines on offer and very little at Widewater

 



12th and 13th March 2016 -
Great to be back out in the field again after a 12 day stretch at work was greeted with spring sunshine on each day after the murk had cleared. Stuck local with highlights being 2 Purple Sandpipers and Wall Lizards at Shoreham Fort, 2 Short-eared Owls at the dogs trust field a Shoreham airport, 2 Little Owls, Raven, 4 Fieldfare at Warningcamp, a smart male Blackcap(2016 patch tick) and a Mediterranean Gull at Goring. No Wheatears yet but just a matter of days

Elsewhere in Sussex, the Glossy Ibis is still being seen at Pett Level, the Glaucous Gull was seen in Shoreham Harbour and Goring.





 



3rd March 2016 -
Had a free morning so headed inland again and spent a couple of hours to no avail in looking for a Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, perfect conditions this morning with morning sunshine and a light breeze. The place was alive though with small woodland birds including Marsh Tit and good numbers of Treecreepers were seen (see below)
I am sure I will be back to try and see this elusive Woodpecker in their regular/traditional haunts, as I said earlier in the year, determined to get out more this year and doing so ! Wish I had the day to explore these parts and light was perfect for photography. Great to bump into George Kinnard and Luke Dray there too...wonder if they found any??

 

 

Matter of days til the first Wheatear. Garganey, LRP's and Sand Martins arrive on these shores so should stir things up a bit.

 

Elsewhere in Sussex, there is a White-fronted Goose and Chichester GP's on trout lake, recently been a pair of Red-crested Pochards on nearby Ivy Lake and a Green Sandpiper has been on Siddelsham Ferry Pool. The Glaucous Gull is still around and frequently seen these days at the entrance to Shoreham Harbour, but has also been seen at Widewater and along the Adur by the new footbridge. Nearby, a Short-eared Owl is still in residence at Shoreham airport.2 Black-necked Grebes are on the Long Pool at Rye and 2 Siberian Chiffchaffs are still at Coldwaltham sewage works. Divers are still around with 5 Great-northern at Selsey and a smart Red-throated Diver is at Arlington Marshes



February 2016

28th February 2016 - Local Birding

Up early and headed inland for a spot of local birding in the hope of finding Lesser-spotted Woodpecker and to see what else I could find. Started off at Waltham brooks, a very cold morning I arrived a little too late to catch any owls flying around but a nice fly-over Red Kite drifted over and small flocks of Fieldfare were buzzing around by the water treatments. Here I was hoping to find the 'tristis' type Chiffchaff which has been over-wintering here, I managed to see a Chiffchaff but this was no Siberian type and despite spending some time here I found to locate the 'tristis'. A look at a inland site for Lesser-spotted Woodpecker proved negative, good to bump into Gordon Beck  and Jake Gearty there who both had the same idea. Myself and Gordon came away empty handed, but we put in some time to find this elusive bird. Jake arrived after us and connected with one on the other side of the wood from where I was searching, that's birding for ya!

27th February 2016 - London 're-visted'

Had the opportunity to return to my old haunts in South west London today, with my daughter Robyn in tow, took full advantage of exploring the WWT at Barnes which is mostly known now as WWT London. Ring-necked Parakeets were around the entrance on the lakeside trees and Robyn enjoyed feeding crisps to 2 Robins by the main entrance, 1 of these was a strange looking bird with no tail and black and white striped belly (will upload a pic soon) and perhaps this Robin is a fan of the nearby Fulham football club!. As with last weekend, the wind was hampering any birding and just the usual species were observed with no sign of any Bitterns which would have made the visit worthwhile. Plenty of new enclosures and collections to keep Robyn occupied though but the Otters were asleep and not on display today! It was only a brief visit so not a huge amount of species seen, a pair of Pintail and 11 Fieldfare over was probably the highlights but good to re-visit a site that I have not been to now for over 8 years and a first visit for Robyn. We spent the rest of the day at the Natural History Museum where the extinct Great Auk and Dodo looked mighty impressive!

 Ring-necked Parakeet - they love SW London !

 

Another bird doing well in these parts - the Egyptian Goose 

London / Barnes WWT



20 & 21st February 2016 - Weymouth and Portland

Spent the weekend at Portland Bird Observatory for what was a bit of a Widercoped re-union and the first time in 3 years that we have all got together !
I picked Seth up in Southampton and headed to Blashford Lakes for first light, disappointed to find gates locked and all hides locked so restricting our birding somewhat. We spent the best part of an hour checking out the woodland and the main lake from the viewing mound behind the Tern hide. A large flock of Siskin above the woodland hide created a explosion of noise as they called and sang, Coal Tits were also vocal and typical woodland species were picked up here. A couple of Bullfinch were seen scampering away as we walked the car park of the Tern hide. From the viewing mound a distant Grebe was most probably the Slavonian Grebe that has been reported from here but was too far off to clinch for certain. 2 Egyptian Geese were on one of the scrapes but bemoaning the lack of access we got back in the car and headed for Portland, our destination for the weekend.
Radipole was our next stop and a nice flock of 13 Mediterranean Gulls were in the car park and a quick trek around the reserve produced 2 Marsh Harrier's, Bearded Tit, Water Rail and many Cetti's Warbler's. The famous Hooded Merganser is still knocking around since turning up 8 years ago and was showing well by the visitor centre.
Next destination was Portland harbour and we viewed from Sandsfoot Castle picking up 7 Black-necked Grebes, several Great-crested Grebes and good numbers of Red-breasted Mergansers. The wind started to pick up by mid-morning and we took to the shelter of Osprey quay to continue a scan from a different angle but produced very little. By now the others started arriving with Glen and Gary freshly in. Nothing of note was seen from Portland Castle and birding conditions worsened and was very windy at the bill as we dropped our luggage off at our digs for the night at Portland Bird Obs. We decided to head inland as felt it might be more sheltered there and had a good couple hours at Lodmoor with Gary finding a Spoonbill and a different Marsh Harrier flew over the reserve and promptly disappeared. No real numbers of waders were to be seen but a Kingfisher and a large flock of Lapwing kept interest going.
Another scan in the harbour produced a Slavonian Grebe and a Great-northern Diver but no sign of the flock of Black-necked Grebes we had seen from here earlier in the day.
We retired to the obs prepared for the night ahead, a table for 8 has been booked for the 8 Kings....to be continued......

Widerscoped re-united - photo courtesy of Glenn Maddison

 

 

On the Sunday, several were struggling from the night before and the weather was struggling too, strong winds made birding around the bill very difficult where some time was spent scanning the sea, highlights being a Bonxie moving through in the races and Fulmar, Guillemot and razorbill all added to the trip list. Some respite mid-morning allowed for a Firecrest to be heard in the garden and 2 Chiff-chaff's seen. We spent some time searching Chesil Cove and Portland harbour but little was to be found, a single Black-necked Grebe from Portland Harbour was little compensation for the effort put in, weather really did not help. It was a little more sheltered at Radipole where some time was spent photographing some of the Med Gulls that were present in the car park here until chased of by a kid on a scooter! The Hooded Merganser was showing well again in it's regular spot, a Water Rail showed pretty well by the visitor centre and a Marsh Harrier was seen again at the north end of the reserve. By now, majority of the group had split up and dispersed for their journeys home.

 

Was a good weekend and catch up with the old widerscope crew...the facebook page is still going strong as the website has died, but is still worth a read if you haven't done so already! Thanks to Martin and the Portland crew at the Bird Observatory for putting up with us all for the weekend, hopefully back in April! 



16th February 2016 -
A morning visit to Arundel WWT produced plenty of Buzzards above the hanger enjoying the winters sun, with at least 7 individuals on display. 5 Redpoll were seen and 2 Firecrest were also seen on the reserve, proving very popular with photographers. Being half-term and a sunny winters day, the reserve was heaving with people so made a sharp exit.  Stopped by at Patching pond on the way home to find the Great-crested Grebe was present in it's full breeding plumage, hopefully they will breed here again this year.

On the birding front, very quiet this time of year although a Glaucous Gull was seein off Shoreham fort today, maybe the Goring bird re-locating.

8th February 2016 -
The advanced 1st winter Glaucous Gull was still in the fields at Goring Gap this afternoon, sheltering from the stormy winds.

7th February 2016 -
3 Mediterranean Gulls were seen on Littlehampton east beach with one bird sporting full summer plumage. At Goring 8 Stock Doves were noteable feeding in the fields just offshore