Significant change in weather to a more traditional wet and windy autumnal flavour will surely see the influx of late vagrants and winter visitors. As I type, I've just seen my first Redwings of the autumn, a flock of c30 flying into the trees at the back of the field. - So time to head south !
I'd not planned any more trips this year but today I'm off to Zimbabwe for 12 days to visit my brother - Not a birding trip by any stretch, but the bins will be firmly attached where ever we go - which will be fishing on the Zambezi .
I've finally finished the Australia report on the separate page and my year list is stuck on 1,354 after the last trawl through and I probably won't add too many to that in the next couple of weeks given the overlap with South Africa - but it should go up a bit.
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
Saturday, 4 October 2014
Thursday 2nd October - Inland Fog
With the bright. calm and hot weather continuing the mornings have remained quite misty. I went to Blackdown again this morning after the school-run thinking that by 8.30am the fog should have lifted, but the fog was holding on, there was still a pea-souper until about 9.15am.
Fog is fairly useless for birding (along with high winds, driving rain or blizzards), but it doesn't mean the birds aren't there- you just can't see them. This year I've been to a few places around the world where a high hillside or mountain near to the coast will become a migrant trap with a bit of fog (Bach Ma in Vietnam being memorable for flocks of Japanese Thrush with Red-throated, Siberian and White's Thrush) and in a way that's the general idea of what I hope for when I go to a foggy Blackdown, with it being the highest point in Sussex but other than the odd Ring Ouzel I've yet to find it can complete with anywhere on the South Coast, probably being 20 miles nearer the coast would help.
As the fog cleared to bright sunshine there was a stunning display of cobwebs full of dew and glistening across the heather and scrub.
I could hear several Meadow Pipits calling and recorded 8 as the fog started to lift, until then had made do with Coal Tit and Goldcrest. Stonechat were in the usual places, I counted 5 in total and the only sign of a migrant fall was 5 Song Thrushes together before they flew off calling with a single Mistle Thrush.
I encountered 2 Long-tailed Tit flocks both of which had several Chiffchaff, and one also with a Treecreeper and a Firecrest. The only other bird of interest was a flyover Lesser Redpoll - the first one this autumn, a single Kestrel and 2 Ravens being the other birds of note.
Fog is fairly useless for birding (along with high winds, driving rain or blizzards), but it doesn't mean the birds aren't there- you just can't see them. This year I've been to a few places around the world where a high hillside or mountain near to the coast will become a migrant trap with a bit of fog (Bach Ma in Vietnam being memorable for flocks of Japanese Thrush with Red-throated, Siberian and White's Thrush) and in a way that's the general idea of what I hope for when I go to a foggy Blackdown, with it being the highest point in Sussex but other than the odd Ring Ouzel I've yet to find it can complete with anywhere on the South Coast, probably being 20 miles nearer the coast would help.
As the fog cleared to bright sunshine there was a stunning display of cobwebs full of dew and glistening across the heather and scrub.
I could hear several Meadow Pipits calling and recorded 8 as the fog started to lift, until then had made do with Coal Tit and Goldcrest. Stonechat were in the usual places, I counted 5 in total and the only sign of a migrant fall was 5 Song Thrushes together before they flew off calling with a single Mistle Thrush.
I encountered 2 Long-tailed Tit flocks both of which had several Chiffchaff, and one also with a Treecreeper and a Firecrest. The only other bird of interest was a flyover Lesser Redpoll - the first one this autumn, a single Kestrel and 2 Ravens being the other birds of note.
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| Couldn't see much to start with !! |
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| Spiders had been busy |
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| A couple of Meadow pipits resting up |
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| A better view as it cleared but birds remained thin pickings. |
Thursday, 2 October 2014
Wednesday 23rd September - Pagham
A morning on the coast started at Selsey at 7am, under particularly grey skies and a Westerly wind, I was the only one there for a couple of hours although there wasn't too much on show with 65 Gannets, 11 Mediterranean Gulls, 8 Sandwich Tern, 3 Common scoter, 2 Brent Geese and a single Kittiwake. 3 eclipse plumage Eiders were on the sea and a very distant skua sp was probably an Arctic Skua. A few large groups of Swallows flew West totalling around 150 birds.
I then went to Church Norton with the bushes and scrub remaining fairly quiet with just a few Blackcaps around the churchyard. The patch of scrub just visible over the fence near the priory held several more Blackcaps, Spotted Flycatcher, Whitethroat and Song Thrush. The harbour itself was also quiet with only one or two Grey Plover, Black-tailed Godwit and several Redshank, although a Peregrine sitting on one of the islands probably kept the numbers down. I relocated over to the North Wall which was more productive. White's Creek held 4 Curlew Sandpipers for a few minutes as the tide was rising and 50+ Golden Plover were with Redshank, Ringed Plover, Dunlin and 2 Greenshank . The Breech pool had a roost of c100 Black-tailed Godwits, 9 Spotted Redshank and 4 Common Snipe. (there was a further Spot Red in the harbour). a Water Rail ran along the back of the pool and 3 Stonechats were on the fence at the back. A Kingfisher was sitting on one of the posts and a Sparrowhawk and Kestrel flew over, several Reed Buntings were flitting about and a Sedge Warbler was still around in the reeds. A single Sand Martin was seen in with a trickle of hirundines passing through.
I then went to Church Norton with the bushes and scrub remaining fairly quiet with just a few Blackcaps around the churchyard. The patch of scrub just visible over the fence near the priory held several more Blackcaps, Spotted Flycatcher, Whitethroat and Song Thrush. The harbour itself was also quiet with only one or two Grey Plover, Black-tailed Godwit and several Redshank, although a Peregrine sitting on one of the islands probably kept the numbers down. I relocated over to the North Wall which was more productive. White's Creek held 4 Curlew Sandpipers for a few minutes as the tide was rising and 50+ Golden Plover were with Redshank, Ringed Plover, Dunlin and 2 Greenshank . The Breech pool had a roost of c100 Black-tailed Godwits, 9 Spotted Redshank and 4 Common Snipe. (there was a further Spot Red in the harbour). a Water Rail ran along the back of the pool and 3 Stonechats were on the fence at the back. A Kingfisher was sitting on one of the posts and a Sparrowhawk and Kestrel flew over, several Reed Buntings were flitting about and a Sedge Warbler was still around in the reeds. A single Sand Martin was seen in with a trickle of hirundines passing through.
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| View along White's Creek as the tide rises |
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| Kingfisher on the breech pool |
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| Spotted Redshank having a bath |
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| Spotted Redshank and preening Black-tailed Godwit |
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| Sleeping - mallard, Lapwing, Godwits and Spotted Redshank. |
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