Saturday 29th January - Big Garden Birdwatch

The official one and a good thing so should be well supported - given today was centred around having to pick Hannah up from a school exam thing near Petersfield around midday I decided to do the hour (ish) garden birdwatch this morning- Which I did from 8.30 - 9.30am (give or take).   Still a very grey day and only 3c.

Results as follows using the rules of maximum counts of any one species at one time - last year's results are in brackets.

Pheasant                                 2                        (not recorded)
Buzzard                                  2 flew over         (not recorded)
Kestrel                                   1 in garden          (not recorded)
Sparrowhawk                        1 in garden          (not recorded)
Woodpigeon                          3                         (3)
Stock Dove                           2 flew over          (not recorded)
Great Spotted Woodpecker   2                         (4)
Nuthatch                                1                         (2)
Blackbird                               6                         (5)
Song Thrush                           1                         (2)
Robin                                     2                         (3)
Dunnock                                1                         (2)
Wren                                     1                         (not recorded)
Blue Tit                                  21                       (7)
Great Tit                                6                         (4)
Coal Tit                                 2                         (1)
Marsh Tit                              1                          (2)
Chaffinch                               27                       (12)
Greenfinch                             15                       (2)
Goldfinch                               9                         (not recorded)
Siskin                                    1                          (not recorded)
House Sparrow                     24                        (3)
Magpie                                 2 flew over           (not recorded)
Carrion Crow                       1 flew over           (not recorded)
Jackdaw                               4 flew over           (not recorded)
Total Species                      25

Mistle Thrush                       (not recorded)         (1)
Redwing                              (not recorded)         (3)
Bullfinch                               (not recorded)        (1)
Yellowhammer                     (not recorded)        (1)

So in summary, no real surprises, but good numbers of common birds, particularly the finches which have been building in numbers over the last week, but unlike last year where Yellowhammer and Bullfinch were recorded only the Siskin was uncommon. Chaffinch numbers were particularly high  (which I'm sure I understated but counting them was difficult). The large number of House Sparrows was due to a group which pretty much sat in a bush without really feeding. The Siskin  took to ground feeding rather than the feeders. ( I don't think I recorded flyovers last year). At the peak I probably had nearly 100 birds at one time feeding in the garden, which is great but does feel a little like stuffing the feeders with five pound notes as the food disappears too quickly.

.. and then we went to a party until midnight ......

Smart looking male Siskin was probably highlight of the RSPB garden birdwatch.

Friday 28th January - It's still very cold !

The week has passed without incidence - snuck in another birthday yesterday - yes mine ! -  have definitely stopped counting - a lovely meal out with Sal and the girls last night was more than sufficient reminder.

On Monday I managed another half day birding,  again without much planning did a similar route to Saturday - It was a pretty grey day and not more than 5c, I  started at West Wittering, where Snowhill Marsh held 2 Spotted Redshank,  Greenshank, Little Egret  and a count of 65 Snipe - but no sign of a Jack Snipe, the tide was low and there was nothing in the dunes and the channel had a single female Scaup and c20 Red-breasted Mergansers. Fishbourne Creek again on a rising tide was full of birds, I managed to pick out a Black Brant amongst the flock of Dark-bellied Brent Geese and a Spotted Redshank was visible. The Black-tailed Godwit numbers seemed to have increased again since the weekend in excess of 500 - but no Jack Snipe. I headed inland to West Dean and quickly saw Lesser Redpoll, a male Firecrest followed by 2 Ravens. The Little Owl tree was empty and the big finch flock around Staple Ash Farm held Chaffinches, Greenfinches and House Sparrows only. I then entered gun territory and was constantly dodging trailer loads of tweed-coated shooters - not that our paths actually crossed but just made birding uncomfortable with the constant sound of gunfire - so headed back to the car without a Bambling or Hawfinch but as consolation a Red Kite that took flight from a tree in the woods was a satisfactory end to the afternoon.

Today (Friday) was bright and sunny but deceptively cold -  at most 1c but bitter in the wind. I've been making sure the bird feeders have been topped up this week in advance of the RSPB big garden Birdwatch this weekend - an annual tradition  The bird species tend to be pretty constant at this time of year and looking back at last years' list I recorded both Bullfinch,Yellowhammer and Redwing on the 31st Jan, the former 2 I haven't seen at all around the house this year so comparisons will be interesting. 

I managed a brief walk in the woods this afternoon and saw Buzzard (3), Sparrowhawk (1), Tufted Duck (1), Coot (2), Moorhen (2), Mallard, Great-Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Lesser Redpoll (10), Siskin (4), Bullfinch (1), Fieldfare (1), Great Tit, Blue Tit, Marsh Tit. Photo's recently have been a bit tricky - not least because of the lack of light but also I just seem to be getting camera to bird too late ? ! - maybe another Winter ailment -  so a few rubbish pics below are probably better than none at all.

Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Wigeon, Brent Goose and a Black Brant (back left) - Fishbourne Creek

Black Brant (top bird) with Dark bellied Brents.

Not dust specks on my lens - 2 Ravens West Dean woods.

Male Siskin with Greenfinch / Goldfinch crowd in Garden

Saturday 22nd January - Sussex again

With no great speed I lumbered out of the house this morning. A very grey start and reasonably cold at 4c with a northerly wind. I called in on various gravel pits around Chichester, firstly Drayton then the Ivy Lake complex. Good numbers of common wildfowl were seen. Gadwall, Wigeon, Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Coot, Great Crested Grebes, a single Goldeneye and 2 Pintail, but nothing more unusual.
Onto Fishbourne Creek on  rising tide produced large numbers of waders with a flock of c350 Black-tailed Godwits but also singles of Little Stint, Spotted Redshank and Whimbrel and large numbers of Dunlin, Knot, Grey Plover, Curlew, Turnstone, Snipe and Little Egret. The channel was full of Wigeon, Teal and Dark-bellied Brent Geese, with 10 Goldeneye including 4 smart drakes. 2 Peregrines came in for lunch and caused chaos before successfully catching a Grey Plover in mid-air. I stopped briefly in Amberley to look over the very flooded brooks, and picked up c60 White-fronted Geese but the weather was getting very grey and I lost momentum so headed home.

The garden birds seem to be very static in numbers although a 30 strong flock of Redwings are frequenting the adjacent field and a Long-tailed Tit flock has been foraging the hedgerow.

Long-tailed Tit - normal variety

Redwings in field next to house

Friday 21st January - Winter Doldrums

Just that time of year when nothing progresses quickly. A mixed week of weather (not that I've seen much of it) with a couple of clear, cold and frosty nights with a brilliant full moon, and as I've found good nights for Tawny Owls. I seem to still have the ability to make an acceptable 'hoot' blowing through my thumbs, or it's never been acceptable just that it often provokes a response from any Tawny Owl in the vicinity. I had 3 responding individuals on Wednesday night although they didn't really come close enough for me to head off with the torch and try and locate them.

Depending which train I get to London , I am now just starting to see daylight on the later morning trains and in between reading the paper and the normal dozing off have added the usual Ring-necked Parakeet to the Peregrine I saw when approaching Waterloo at the end of last week. Birds need to be large enough or obvious enough to identify from a speeding train.

Saturday 15th January - Gullable

A damp, windy  and very grey week did little to lift the spirits. A Friday largely getting sorted on various domestic fronts allowed a brief wander into Ebernoe woods , where 10 Lesser Redpolls and a record 3 Tufted Duck ! on the Trout Pond Lake were the highlights. Garden bird numbers still seem a little low given the time of year (probably the hard weather and my absense of feeding over xmas have contributed) and although plenty of Redwings and Fieldfares in adjoining fields,  a male Siskin probably the only less common visitor in the week I've been back (and the 2 days I've see daylight !)

Keen to get out for a full days' birding on Saturday, and  I hadn't met up with Gary since well before xmas, so the plan for a day out took shape when on Friday the confirmation of Britains' first ever Slaty-backed Gull at Rainham in Essex sealed the agenda.

I picked Gary up at 6am, followed by Josh then James. A confident crew arriving in plenty of time (at 6.45 about an hour before light)  at the Riverside car park near Rainham Marshes in Essex on the Thames .

A few things to say about both the site and our target before proceeding. Firstly I spent 6 years driving from West Sussex to Barking on a daily basis, taking the very same same route, and nothing against the good people of this part of Essex (some of which remain good friends) but if the world were likened to body parts this particular area would either be in the vicinity of the rectum or deep in the armpit, not least for the aroma. Secondly on the avian front - I hate Gulls !! Maybe it's due to their scavenging habits around refuse, the unappealing gull squawk or their ability to look identical across multiple species (and in Sussex Gull numbers even in coastal areas are relatively small). I respect those birders who nonchalantly scan through a gull flock individually identifying and ageing each participant. I believe I suffer from the ornithological disease called 'Gull-Blur', which means that a scan through a gull flock results in the afflicted proceeding with swearing and cursing and pronouncing 'they all look the bloody same'.

So how to describe the next nine hours is tricky. Our vague plan was to assume (and we were all fairly confident) that we would find and see the SB Gull well enough at some point in the morning to allow for the second half of the day birding elsewhere,  probably in Kent with various other target species...........

After a short stroll from the car in half-light we found the viewing area where the gull had been seen the previous day. We stood at the top of a tall muddy bank that had little room between the muddy slope down to the path and the chain-link fence - joined by 700+ other birders !  The other side of the fence were a few thorny bushes that allowed a just-better-than-partial scope view through the fence to the rubbish tip which rose high into the distance. The fresh refuse was being worked by bulldozers in the morning, and amongst the flying mattresses a couple of thousand gulls foraged and this is where our target bird had been seen the previous day.  The only downside was that feet positioning had to be certain to prevent a backwards tumble and soon the mud had a concreting effect on the legs. Despite the strong wind being head on making standing for a small length of time marginally uncomfortable, there were some positives ....  the temperature was in theory around 10c, although very grey skies at least no rain, the stench from tip didn't seem too strong until after the bulldozers had stopped working around midday.

Needless to say the bird in question was a no-show.

About 2pm we walked a few hundred yards to view another field where the dispersed Gulls were resting and then back again until we gave up the day at last light (around 4pm).  Along with the several thousand commoner gull species, supporting cast members included 4 Caspian Gulls, 3 Yellow-legged Gulls, an Albinistic/leucistic Herring Gull, a single 1w White-fronted Goose and some distant Wigeon and Pintail.

The company was good and we had a laugh (mainly at ourselves), and as can happen with all birding excursions even with the best of planning the birds do their own thing, so a bad days birding is always better than a good day in the office (a borrowed cliche !). However in these days of human rights even a convicted felon would not be forced to stand in mud staring relentlessly at refuse for 9 hours.

Several hundred birders either staring at rubbish or taking a break on the path. - all asking why ? 

Saturday 8th January - Winter Birding

The shock after being away somewhere warm is more stark with the lack of daylight as well as the drop in temperature. Commuting to London at this time of year means journeying in the dark both ways so I've hardly seen daylight since returning. The train was also full of sick people as was the office - oh help ! - I was at least going to get my UK birding list for the year off to a start today.

I headed out early (still dark !) down to Selsey Bill, getting there just after 8am, without a real plan for the day just thinking I'll visit a few sites. Overnight the rain had been heavy and very windy but the forecast was no rain and the winds to gradually drop. Spent a good couple of hours at Selsey hiding behind the wall in a  strong westerly. The birds were as follows. Slavonian Grebes 2 on sea and flying around, Red-necked Grebe 1W,  Brent Goose 7W, Red-breasted Merganser 32W, Gannet 22W, Common Scoter 1E, Razorbill 2W, Guillemot 1E, Auks sp 5, Red-throated Diver 7E, Eider 10W, Little Gull 1W, Kittiwake 2W, Rock Pipit 1 around beach with 2 Meadow Pipits and  Pied Wagtail after enough coffee time for a move.

On to Fishbourne Creek on a rising tide, a good number of common waders Dunlin, Redshank,  Knot, Grey Plover, Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits, Snipe, Curlew and Ringed Plover. A rintail Hen Harrier was marshaling the far bank of  the creek. Several Goldeneye a few Wigeon, Pintail and a flock of Dark-bellied Brents flew into the channel, a group of Canada Geese had a single Greylag and a White-fronted Goose as companions. The wind however had picked up and skies had darkened, which made viewing difficult into the wind (both watery eyes and jiggly scope) so none of the more prized waders that seem to Winter here were picked out. After a banana, back round to Pagham spit, a scan of sea showed 3 Red-throated Divers a close Razorbill, 6 Common Scoter and a few Great Crested Grebes another Merganser flew up the channel. The tide was high and large wader numbers were congregating , but no new species. Several Med Gulls were around the spit and harbour (c20). The lagoon had 2 female Scaup with a single Pochard and Tufted Ducks (although they were all asleep). Large numbers of Brents were flying into the harbour much further down the North Wall, rather than wander in that direction I decided to head inland. A fleeting look at Drayton Pit added Shovelers and Gadwall to the day list. Then stopped at Rackham overlooking Amberley Brooks and found the flock of White-fronted Geese that have been wintering in the valley saw about 40 birds, but many of the 100 strong flock were out of view. Good numbers of Wigeon and Teal were present and this end of the Arun valley appears to have really come into its own this Winter with good numbers of wintering birds. Stopped briefly at Pulborough to get some bird food rather than see any birds then onto Burton Pond (It was now around 4pm). A superb Bittern was showing well through the scope just in front of the reed bed and put on an excellent performance for the next half hour before it flew into the reeds. So a good dose of daylight and 87 birds at a relaxed pace .

6th January 2011 - Back to Blighty

Happy New Year !! - Arrived back last night with all going to plan having had a fantastic trip to Sri Lanka. Have done a seperate page with pictures to cover the trip. Just a big thanks to Wildlife trails for all the arrangements and to Nimal our driver, Nayana our naturalist and to all the new friends we met. Would have to conclude the trip surpassed all our expectations.