An unusual dry and bright day was forecast today and without any significant birds to see within Sussex I headed back to Thursley to see whether I could get a better view of the Rustic and Little Buntings, potentially in better light for a picture.
I arrived shortly after 8am when the sun had risen and was still low in a blue sky. Since last week the site was even more waterlogged than before, so I walked slowly through the water to the same area as last week.
3 notable differences to last week. Firstly, I think many birders both near and far had the same idea about a dry day with a bit of sun and unlike the 3 Kings, over 40 people turned up, even though token social distancing was employed, it was still too many for my liking in the circumstances we are in. Secondly, there were less Buntings around than a week ago, probably c6 Reed Buntings rather than the c30 last week. Lastly, the very bright sun made viewing tricky as I couldn't quite get an angle with the sun behind.
I stayed for 3 hours, in which time the Little Bunting put in 2 appearances, dropping onto the ground and sitting in a puddle for a reasonably long period of time, but the Rustic made no appearance at all when I was there, apparently making a very brief appearance early afternoon, but it would appear that it is becoming more difficult as the Bunting flock has started to disperse.
Also seen were 2 Woodlark, Dartford Warbler, 15 Crossbill and a Red Kite, it was fairly pleasant standing still for that time in a muddy puddle with a bit of Winter sun on the face.
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| Thursley Common |
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| Typical Thursley bog |
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| Little Bunting |
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| Little Bunting |
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| Little Bunting |
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| Little Bunting |
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| Little Bunting
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