Friday 7th May - A day out of Sussex

I'd been speaking with Gary Howard on and off throughout lock-down and with the gradual lifting of lock-down restrictions we wanted to meet up for a day birding -  somewhere. We had agreed in advance to make it today, but didn't decide until last night as to where to go, eventually opting for a drive into Suffolk as most other places were relatively quiet and Suffolk seemed to offer the most birdy options.

An early start saw us arrive at Foxhall Heath, near Ipswich, around 7.15am, A small patch of light woodland and park-like open areas next to a small stadium which seemed to house Speedway, although obviously not recently.

A few steps from the car we heard and saw an unexpected Nightingale, which was a good start to the day. Plenty of Blackcaps and Common Chiffchaff were calling, but our target was an Iberian Chiffchaff, which had been reported here for around a week. We walked over to the area it was last reported hearing a couple of Common Chiffchaffs. It wasn't long before the distinctive song of the Iberian Chiffchaff came from an open Birch directly above me. We spent a little while getting decent enough view although the bird was pretty active and didn't hang around to pose for pictures.

Happy with our fill of the Iberian Chiffchaff, we then drove to Trimley marshes, which is close to Felixstowe docks and was a place I hadn't visited before. It was reported that the walk out to overlook the floods was at least 45 minutes, we somehow wrongly assumed that this would be an exaggeration and we might make the distance in half the time. We set off confidently with a brisk walk which took at least the suggested time if not more, maybe we are beginning to understand it might now be an age thing !!. There were a good number of Lesser Whitethroats in the hedges with a smaller number of Common Whitethroat, Blackcaps, Cetti's Warbler, Reed Buntings, Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers. A good number of hirundines hawked over the open water, Swifts, Swallows with fewer House Martin and Sand Martin and a distant Marsh Harrier hunted over the reed-beds. On reaching the river sea wall, the tide was high and a few Brent Geese lingered on the shingle edge with Shelduck, Oystercatcher , Ringed Plover and a Med Gull called out across the River.

We had to overlook the floods, of which there were three, from the sea wall as the hides on the reserve remained closed and we were the only visitors here. Our principal target was Temminck's Stint of which two had been reported yesterday.  Our initial scans of the flood produced very little with a few Redshank and a couple of Black-tailed Godwits being the only visible waders. A single Spotted Redshank was picked up at the rear of the second flood, then we spotted a smallish wader distantly on the third flood, but it was too far to distinguish from where we were standing, so we walked quickly to the end flood to view. The wader turned out to be a Common Sandpiper and we couldn't see much else around the muddy fringes except for a Yellow Wagtail. We thought we were out of luck but as we returned to the middle flood a small wader was seen asleep slightly hidden in vegetation near to the back of the flood, but eventually it moved, showing itself to be one of the Temminck's Stints. After a small wait it was slightly flushed by a Shelduck and then a second Temminck's Stint joined it. Both birds remained fairly distant but we were please that we found these good Spring birds.

We returned to the car then headed North to Carlton Marshes, about an hours drive towards Lowestoft. Our last visit here was in 2018 to see an American Bittern and it was a surprise when we arrived at the newly laid parking lot and a huge new space-age visitor centre. Last time there was only a portacabin. The visitor complex had several built in Swift boxes near the roof-line with Swift recordings blasting out across the marsh, all the Swifts were sensibly keeping their distance !.

We walked out onto the marsh and headed to a raised earth-bund path which had excellent views over the whole area. Lots of hirundines were hawking over the marsh, Sand Martins, Swallows and a good number of scared Swifts. We walked to the far side of the marsh and quickly found the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, which was in the company of c15 Ringed Plover. The pristine plumage of this bird could be appreciated through the scope, making me realise that this was probably the first spring Buff-breasted Sandpiper I've seen in the UK.

A small number of Dunlin also held a single Curlew Sandpiper. Little Ringed Plovers were on the marsh as were Avocets. 2 Spoonbill flew over and a Hobby was seen, which surprisingly spooked the waders. A Grasshopper Warbler was reeling in the reeds in front of where we were standing and it showed briefly a couple of times and although close it was largely obscured in the reeds. Then the heavens opened, we managed to make it under a field shelter and wait out the passing showers. Wandering back to the car taking in this great reserve. The big area of marshy fields had obviously been newly scraped which makes such a difference in attracting passing waders (unlike Pagham at the moment !).

It was quite late in the afternoon and there was little us to tempt us with any more diversions o we made our way back South of the river having accumulated an excellent list for the day.

Iberian Chiffchaff

Iberian Chiffchaff

A view over Trimley Marshes

Brent Geese

Carlton Marshes, just before a soaking

distant Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Spoonbill

Grasshopper Warbler

Grasshopper Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Thursday 6th May - Sea passage quietens down

Even though the last few days, by date, can be a bumper time for seabird passage, when the winds are not in the right direction it becomes very quiet and that seems to be the case this year. Optimism remains as always, with the cold April and start to May, Spring does seem a little slow to get going this year.

Monday 3rd May - Selsey

Another trickle of birds this morning. the wind was SW F4 and it remained cool but not quite as cold as it has been.

There were a number of Sandwich Terns (50+), Common Terns (20+) and Little Terns (15)  but these were moving back and forth rather than migrating, suggesting most are from the Harbour colony.  The highlight of the morning was 3 Arctic Skuas. A few groups of Common Scoter, which totaled nearly 150, but just singles of Whimbrel, Bar-tailed Godwit and Red-throated Diver were an indication of how spring passage has slowed. 16 Brent Geese showed there are still remnants of wintering stock somewhere which are just leaving for their breeding grounds. A Hobby flying in was the best of the inbound migrants also 10 Swifts, 22 Swallow a single House Martin and a single Yellow Wagtail. 

Tuesday / Wednesday 4th/5th - Home

The Tawny Owl at home was again visible the last 2 days in the gully, it's presence always given away by the commotion of small birds spearheaded by the 'chinking' Blackbirds.

Much else at home is the same but busy with activity, 4 Siskins are still visiting feeders, 2 Greenfinch 2 pairs of Goldfinch and one of Chaffinch, the Mallard pair are still on the pond and the pair of Pied Wagtail seem to have nested in a Clematis Montana on the front of the house. A male Great Spotted Woodpecker is a continuous visitor to the feeders suggesting he has a mate on eggs somewhere close-by. Jackdaws are nesting in the chimney, Blue Tits in the nest box at the side of the barn, Wren, Dunnocks and Robin in the hedge by the gully, a Firecrest still singing by the Chicken Pen and 2 Blackcaps in song and a Chiffchaff near the second field. Blackbirds and Starlings already have young and at least 3 pairs of Stock Doves are in the gully trees. A Hobby flew over on the 4th and 2 Swifts were seen the same afternoon.

A female Pheasant was sitting on a clutch of 12 eggs in the flowerbed outside the backdoor, it was always going to end one way with the fox a daily visitor.

Tawny Owl

Tawny Owl

Thursday 6th May - Selsey and Church Norton

An even quieter morning !!!! - It has really slowed down. There seems to have been a daily shift to a late afternoon wind that is a bit stronger and a bit more Southerly which has led to the odd report of Pom Skuas, but most action is further East from here. The mornings remain quiet.

The limited  highlights this morning were a Black-throated Diver and 2 Hobbys in from the sea. I curtailed the sea-watch earlier than normal at 9am and went to Church Norton. A Lesser Whitethroat was calling along the edge of the Severals, my first of Spring, there were at least 8 Common Whitethroat and further along the path to the harbour a single smart Whinchat which was also my first this year. I then spent a while watching the Tern colony in the harbour. It's still a great sight watching the Tern activity as the tide fell, although Tern Island is dominated by c250+Black-headed Gulls, Sandwich Terns are doing well with 50+ birds there were c20 Little Terns and 4 Common Terns. The local Peregrine sent everything in the air a couple of times, but it generally headed into the harbour rather than attack the terns or gulls. Only a small number of waders were in the harbour with a couple of Ringed Plover, 6 Bar-tailed Godwit, 12 Whimbrel, 12 Dunlin and 2 Turnstone.

Whimbrel

Whinchat

Whinchat

Whinchat

Little Tern

Sunday 2nd May - A cold finish to April

The theme of North Easterly winds, cold and frosty clear nights, with the exception of a few showers on Wednesday afternoon and no rain for a month, continued through this week. That said the Spring arrivals continued, albeit a trickle rather than a flood and a few birds have been seen this week  which felt quieter than last week.

Tuesday 27th April - Selsey 

A light NE wind this morning, the normal frost and a big full moon, this can sometimes indicate that there will be migration, but if there was, not much of it was visible this morning.

The sea was generally quiet and even though diligently watched until midday we mustered up 3 Great Skuas, a distant Manx Shearwater, 30 Bar-tailed Godwit and c50 Whimbrel... the only decent bird was a Pomarine Skua which I magnificently engineered to miss with Paul Bowley by taking an excursion to check the bushes for grounded migrants. There was little compensation initially with just a single Wheatear on the beach but nothing in the bushes although later a newly arrived Garden Warbler, my first this year, was found in the oval field bushes remaining furtive but giving brief snatches of song and brief views and turned out to be the highlight of the morning.

The full moon was still showing first thing.

Whimbrel

Common Tern

Garden Warbler

Thursday 29th April - Black Down 

Another visit to Black Down. After yesterdays showers I perhaps held out more hope that there might have been something more interesting laying low, but with the frost and initially clear skies and a strong breeze even the resident birds were keeping a low profile. I had a close male Redstart singing and a further pair of Redstart near Ridden Corner A Cuckoo was calling in Cotchet Valley but remained unseen and only 2 Tree Pipits were seen. The Woodlarks have substantially reduced their aerial song-flights as no doubt they are nest-tending. Dartford Warblers and Stonechats were there and still plenty of Crossbills and Linnets. No raptors seen at all.

Redstart (male)

Dartford Warbler

Tree Pipit

Common Whitethroat

Willow Warbler

Friday 30th April - Selsey 

Another quiet Selsey trip, with a NE F4 wind and again an early frost, there were few highlights with 3 Great Skuas, c130 Common Scoter, 12 Swallows and 3 Yellow Wagtails being the most notable.

At 10am I went to the North Wall at Pagham. Despite the lack of rain there are few suitable freshwater wader habitats around Pagham at the moment with both the Ferry Pool and Breach Pool containing high water levels with little exposed mud, which is a little frustrating at the time of year when Spring wader passage is starting. The reedbeds and bushes however were full of the sound of Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers, Whitethroats and Cetti's Warblers. A Marsh Harrier was patrolling the back of the reedbeds and the two nearby fields were sufficiently flooded  to attract a variety of waterfowl and a reported Wood Sandpiper. A very good looking male Garganey was out on the flood and my first seen this year. A smallish wader was at the very back of the field and a few observers had pointed this out as the Wood Sandpiper, the visibility at that distance was challenging due to the significant heat shimmer through the scope. When a couple of walkers went through the back of the field the wader flew a bit nearer but turned out to be a Greenshank with a rather short bill. 

Garganey (male)

Greenshank

Marsh Harrier

Saturday 1st May - Fernhurst 

For the first of the month and another frost I decided to walk from the house towards Lower House Farm and check the fields, returning via the horse paddocks with a hope that maybe a Ring Ouzel, Whinchat or Wheatear would have pitched in. A singing Yellowhammer near the farm was good and 3 Swallows seemed to be back in the stables there. A Cuckoo could be heard somewhere towards Black Down House and a couple of singing Firecrests were on route. The horse paddocks produce nothing bar a couple of Rooks. I decided to walk up to a scrub plantation where last year I had a Nightingale. A Garden Warbler was singing near there but there was disappointingly no sign of any Nightingale present, they only infrequently push through this far West, 5 miles North East to South East from here there are plenty. Willow Warbler, Blackcaps a couple of Whitethroats, a Skylark and a Raven were seen on the way back.  

Yellowhammer

Common Buzzard

Sunday 25th April - An even busier Birding week.

It's been great. Being able to have a number of birding sessions over the last week with a couple of really good seawatch days at the end of the week, it's what Spring birding is all about, watching visible migration with always the chance of something more unusual.

Tuesday 20th - Selsey

It was fairly quiet this morning but not unpleasant, with a very light easterly wind. A single White-fronted Goose was a surprise and the Long-tailed Duck was seen. Otherwise 2 Arctic Skuas, Great Skua, 4 Red-throated Diver, 2 Great Northern Divers, 14 Whimbrel, 11 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Common Terns, 2 Little Terns, 14 Swallows and 6 Sand Martins.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Whimbrel

Wednesday 21st - Pagham / Honer Reservoir

This morning was spent on  a bee-keeping course and news that a male Ring-necked Duck was still present near Pagham on the small farm reservoir at Honer, had me going there this afternoon. The short walk out from the main Pagham Road passed the sewage works where there were a number of Swallows, Sand Martins and my first 2 House Martins of the year. There was a Wheatear on some rough ground and my first Whitethroat of the year in one of the hedges with several calling Cetti's Warblers close-by. The reservoir was viewed through a Hawthorn hedge over the fence and among a number of Tufted Duck was the very smart male Ring-Necked Duck which I viewed for about 45 minutes feeding at the back of the reservoir. There were also a pair of Gadwall several Mute Swan and a Shelduck on the water.

A really smart looking rarity for the day.

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck

Thursday 22nd April - Local

I walked early from the house back to where I'd seen the Lesser Spot last week. I had recalled it spent rather a long time on one tree although slightly at the back of the tree from where I was looking. I re-positioned myself this time so I had a view up to the other side of the tree, although the sun was behind I could clearly see a hole in the tree. I waited for just over an hour and then the male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker flew silently into the tree and started working away at the hole, including into the hole, chipping away, and intermittently spraying the chips out of the hole. He could fully immerse himself leading me to conclude that the hole must be nearly finished. The activity lasted for 12 minutes before he flew out a short distance, called a couple of times then flew off - fantastic and something I've never witnessed before.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (male)

Excavating the nest hole

more hole digging

Room with a view

Friday 23rd April - Selsey

Always with anticipation, the 35 minute drive to Selsey early in the morning and still with a frost on the car first thing, but wondering what the morning session will bring. Despite the chill, the wind this morning was a promising E veering ESE and F4. It perhaps took a while for lift off, but it was a great morning withe the undoubted highlight 3 Pomarine Skuas, of which one was pretty close. Also Great Skua and 6 Arctic Skuas, a Black-throated Diver, 5 Red-throated Divers, 2 Great Northern Divers, a flock of 14 Little Gulls, c100 Common/Commic Terns. Ducks were represented by 114 Common Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, 7 Shelduck and 6 Shoveler. There was a small wader movement with 40 Bar-tailed Godwit, 22 Whimbrel, 4 Knot, 4 Grey Plover and 2 Sanderling. A single Yellow Wagtail a couple of Meadow Pipits, Wheatear,  22 Swallow, 12 Sand Martin and 2 House Martin were inbound smaller birds and then topped up with an inbound Merlin and a Marsh Harrier.

A really enjoyable session in good company.

Common Terns

Kittiwakes

Pomarine Skua

Sandwich Tern

Bar-tailed Godwit and Arctic Skua

Avocet

Arctic Skua

Bottlenose Dolphin

Saturday 24th April - Selsey

I returned to Selsey this morning on the basis that the winds were at least as good as yesterday with an Easterly F4-5. It was a very busy morning and right from the start there were birds moving.

An early Atlantic Puffin was a bit of a surprise, as I hadn't seen one here for a few years. The largest numbers went to ducks with over 1,800 Common Scoter but also 14 Velvet Scoter.  The first, albeit small, movement of Terns this spring was seen with over 200 Common / Commic Terns, 2 Arctic Terns, c200+ Sandwich Terns, 42 Little Terns and 34 Little Gulls and 10 Kittiwakes. The highlight again were 3 Pomarine Skuas together later in the morning with 2 Great Skuas and 2 Arctic Skuas. Waders continued to move through with 97 Whimbrel, 14 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 19 Sanderling 2 Knot, 2 Grey Plover and 3 Lapwing. The first Hobby of the year was seen flying in and 3 Yellow Wagtails, 3 Alba Wagtails, 22 Swallow, 2 Sand Martin and 2 House Martin.

An exciting morning that was a highlight of the week.

Whimbrel

Little Gulls

Little Tern and Common Terns

Gadwall

Arctic Skua

Whimbrel

Brent Geese

3 distant Pomarine Skuas