A heavy overnight frost greeted me at 6.30 am this morning. Maybe not quite the first of the Winter but we haven't had many cold and clear spells. The big bird news earlier in the week was a Spanish Sparrow which had been identified visiting houses in Calshot in Hampshire (not far from where I saw the Junco last week). I do have an aversion to going birding in other peoples back gardens, but I hadn't seen one of these birds before, it wasn't far away, and the bird had been seen by the road rather than having to queue to get into someones house. The fact that it was over 10 years since one of these birds had appeared in the UK meant that it was likely to be busy ! - and it was.
I arrived at about 7.45, just as light was appearing and stood with a couple of hundred other birders on a quiet roadside verge staring at a hedge on the other side of the road, the bird roosted in that hedge and would appear before going off to feed with other sparrows in the local gardens. Right on queue, the
Spanish Sparrow appeared in the depths of the hedge for about 15 minutes before briefly hopping up in a better view and then flying off to start feeding, luckily I happened to be standing almost immediately opposite where it appeared. OK it was just a Sparrow, but it was a fairly well marked bird, and just as I like looking at smart Tree Sparrows, this bird was attractive in a Catalan Sparrow type of way. With the early light I didn't get any great pictures, but there will be plenty on the internet and there was a TV camera there (mainly filming the birders) so it won't be lacking in publicity.
I moved swiftly on and headed towards Blashford Lakes , same location as last week . I called in at the water meadows in Harbridge, where an arable field held 7
Bewick Swans, 2
Egyptian Geese, and a
Whooper Swan in with a hundred or so
Mute Swans. At Blashford I first went to the North Hide of Ivy Lake, and within minutes a
Bittern walked in front of the hide into reeds and caught a fish, flushing a
Water Rail in the process - marvellous - It would have been better if the hide didn't have permanant glass windows and the sun wasn't directly head -on, but it was a great bird to see fairly close. I bumped into James Hunter entering the South hide and he quickly found the
Ferruginous Duck that was missing in action last week.
Back in Sussex, at Burpham, I was successful in seeing the
Rough-legged Buzzard, which gave a couple of flight views before perching on a grain bin and preened for hour, with both male and ringtail
Hen Harrier,
Peregrine, Red Kite, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, and
Common Buzzard, with the usual supporting cast of
Grey and Red-legged Partridge, Corn bunting, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting and
Skylarks.
I arrived home late afternoon to continue some wood cutting. The garden still had some life in 3
Bullfinches, along with
Redwing, Pied Wagtail, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Long-tailed Tits.
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| Spanish Sparrow |
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| Just at dawn - A flamenco lisp to the 'Cheep' |
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| Whooper Swan with Mutes |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Grey Partidge at Burpham |
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| Grey Partridge showing his 'heart' |
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