Sunday 22nd January - Winter Fuel

We haven't had much in the way of severe winter weather and even towards the end of this week when I was in Glasgow for work it was just damp, grey and windy. The Weatherman is hedging his bets for next week saying there is an equal probability that we will have mild windy and wet weather or that severely cold weather will set in with risk of snow in all areas !. If I tried to present the equivalent scenario at work (there is an equal probability that we will make lots of money or we will be severely loss making) I would be marched out of the office - .. there's a thought !

The fallen tree, or trees - there was a mixture of Hornbeam, Alder and Hazel. have been chainsawed into large logs that I spent Saturday splitting into fire size pieces - we haven't used the fire that much but it is a good one and we shouldn't have to buy any wood ever again ! I also put up 5 bird boxes, with Adie's help, that I had brought from Greyhound. One was the round-holed Great Tit type the others were the open style. The property had a couple of bird boxes up before we arrived including 2 swallow nests and an owl box in the big barn all of which unused (I think the owl box is one that should be put on a tree not in a barn as it's not open enough). So will eagerly wait for Spring to see how these a viewed.

Sunday ,I started fairly early at West Wittering - the key to East Head is to arrive before the Dogs, not only because I find birding whilst being sniffed and barked at extremely off putting, but the birds are flushed by the marauding hounds. There was quite a brisk wind blowing down the channel and the water was choppy, so only 3 Red-breasted Mergansers were on the water, but a lone Sandwich Tern must have been one of the small number wintering around Chichester Harbour. The dunes held a few Stonechats, Reed Buntings, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits and I located the 3 Snow Buntings that had been frequenting the tip of the Head, although understandably they were a little flighty. Snowshill Marsh had a good selection of common birds. Little Egret, a few Wigeon and Teal, Grey Plover, Black-tailed Gowit, Redshank, Knot, Turnstone,  Dunlin and around a dozen sleeping Snipe. The Brent Geese were gathering back in the fields as the tide was high with a large flock of Golden Plover.
I was intending to call in at Fishbourne, but decided against this with the tide being so high. and briefly called in on a couple of the Chichester Gravel pits without recording anything exceptional other than more Coot than I've seen before on one lake.
I headed inland to Rackham, where from the viewpoint I saw 3 White-fronted Geese and a Ringtail Hen Harrier. My final stop was at Coldwaltham, where rather than walk around the brooks I went to the sewage works. I had a Peregrine fly by and then a Woodcock, which was a nice surprise. The Chiffchaffs in the bushes were into double figures, although to me all resembled collybita with no sign of the tristis race bird that had been reported.

Snow Bunting - West Wittering

Snow Bunting - 1 of 3 birds

Lapwing

Male Bullfinch at home - taken through grubby window -still aiming for a better shot.