WWT again

As yesterday was a fine looking day with plenty of sunshine and, for the most part, just light winds a few hours birding was called for and, feeling lazy, WWT was an easy choice. In the event of weather change or absence of birds it's a nice place to sit and catch up on a massive backlog of reading matter and coffee. 

As it was the weather played ball and there were even a few birds, enough to justify a Bird Track entry (see below).

The Goosander was still present earlier but no-one I spoke to had seen it so either well tucked in or out on the river.

The male Peregrine flew in and perched high up on the hanger and didn't move for about two hours; the female was harder to find being in the largest tree to break the skyline that they sometimes favour.

Different species from last week were Glossy Ibis (1), Cattle Egrets (c25), Lesser Redpoll(2), Sparrowhawk and heard only Water Rail.

The ibis was day-roosting with Egrets and almost impossible to see whilst looking into the low winter sun but eventually did a nice anticlockwise circuit of the pond before alighting on an island.

Two Kingfishers were very noisy but didn't sit up on show like last week. 

Again, like last week, no chance of harriers etc with a 2pm departure- maybe one of the January late opening days will be an opportunity for them.

Chiffchaffs were obvious and noisy and I'm sure there were more onsite than I recorded.

Still plenty of wasp activity with a queen being relocated out of the restaurant by another visitor and otherscbuzzingbaround the hides. A Common Darter was a surprise and, I'm certain, my latest ever.

https://app.bto.org/birdtrack/pubcon/shared?subId=SUB50963269

The view from Lapwing hide and the impressive success of the Sand Martin holes.

Health check

Thursday saw a brief walk at QECP after a finance 'check' at the bank and bookended by a coffee and a rainbow-inducing rain shower. Little on offer bar a flyover kite, a close but unseen Firecrest and a flyover Lesser Redpoll.

A visit to Chichester LCE saw a Sparrowhawk over Via Ravenna and a Kestrel on the way back into town. Nice to try out the new stabilised Swarovski scope. A good size but noticeably heavy (a kilo and a half - heavier than my old ATS!!). As with the ATC no chance of a stay-on case, no extendable hood and no-one present could confirm, or otherwise, whether the threaded barrel would take a filter although it was suggested one fitted might degrade the image - not sure about that though.

Locally, just six Shoveler and at least one Chiffchaff, the vegetation being too overgrown to look for Water Rail although no sounds as yet. Last year one was here from mid- November onwards so maybe there's one or more skulking away in there somewhere.

WWT

Wednesday's outing was curtailed before it started. A hundred yards from home and noise from the rear of the car turned out to be a puncture.

Call out to a local firm had the problem fixed (at a cost!) but too late to warrant setting out again despite the fine weather.

And so today if was off to WWT, arriving just on opening time. A coffee to get me going was the first order of the day, also giving time for the last few spots of rain to disappear.

There were no surprises bird-wise but a final birdtrack total of 61 species seemed fair return for so little effort. Notable absentees were Water Rail (seen by others; I did not even hear one), Raven, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Cattle Egret and Marsh Harrier. Not being able to stay late precluded the two, now regular, roosting Hen Harriers,  Barn Owl and vocal Tawny Owl/s, the latter three species recorded by others. With a bit more time 70 species would have been achievable - pretty good for 65 acres and what is in part at least a zoo.

Bird track link here:-

https://app.bto.org/birdtrack/pubcon/shared?subId=SUB50875909

Highlight of the day was meeting up with Tony and Jean for the first time in many years, probably well before COVID. They were with a friend who kindly drove them as Tony no longer does so being seventy-nine yesterday. A very obliging Kingfisher perched up on a usual tree to our delight as we chatted and was enjoyed by the restaurant customers. Several more fly-bys as the day went on and another brilliantly well lit view perched up to the left of Ramsar hide whilst sat on my own.

Farlington with SDOS

Today was a meet up with SDOS for the first time in a long while and it was nice to catch up with some 'old faces', namely SM, CH and TH plus a few people I know by name and several new people.

The weather wasn't quite as hoped for with a little unexpected drizzle and the tide was too high for optimum birding but a total of about 47-48 species were seen with a male Marsh Harrier the best, very obliging Stonechat, a nice murmuration of Dunlin and Grey Plover and a solitary Bar-tailed Godwit, my first for  a while.

One or two Rock Pipits included a Norwegian ringed bird which none of us realised was ringed until after the photo was downloaded!!

Details as follows:-

Green X9Z

Bird was ringed in 2020 as an adult, so at least 2 years old, at Maletangen, in Norway, about 1434km or 900miles as the pipit flies from Farlington Marshes. (See map).

Since 2020 the bird has been recorded most winters at Farlington, on dates between mid-October and early January and had already been reported to the Norway team in 1st and 5th November.

The reed bed looks terrible after the saltwater incursion so not really any chance of Bearded Tits. 

After leaving the group to enjoy lunch at the info centre a Raven flew over whilst packing up the car.

And needless to say the weather improved greatly as the walk came to an end!

October almost done

A pretty fallow period for some weeks with just a Black-throated Diver off Hill Head, one of the adult eagles in its usual tree at Pulborough and numbers of audible but mostly unseen Siskins and Redpolls, with a dozen or so of the latter feeding in trees along the zig-zag at Pulborough. Also three different Marsh Harriers (male, female and juvenile) at PB but no winter thrushes yet.

An audible only Crossbill was at Stansted as I was exiting the car.

Yesterday was a brief non-birding visit to the sea front with the above views. Massive numbers of walkers on the prom, mostly with pooches in tow - all the same breed and part of Schnauzerfest as above - that one was definitely new for me!!

Today, after Chichester, a few minutes at Warblington produced six Cattle and one Little Egret, a hovering Kestrel and two westbound Crossbills. A few minutes later at the Farlington  carpark a Marsh Harrier was quartering over the marsh but high tide precluded anything else.

Some nice, fine Autumn weather

Yesterday, a visit to TH started with a group of Eider, fourteen strong, from the 'seawatch bench' with a couple of noisy Sandwich Terns calling from the beach.

IC told me of the trapped and ringed Yellow-browed Bunting at Abbotsbury; doesn't seem as if it was seen again - not that twitching ANYTHING out of county is on the cards.

Meonshore was full of local photographers commenting on the much reduced water levels and struggling to get pictures of the two Little Stints, two Grey Plovers, two Common Sandpipers, single Curlew Sandpiper and three Glossy Ibises. Snipe, hunkered down, numbered about ten, mostly on the usual island.

Although distant, it was nice to see two Hobbies hunting well to the north against a background of high and distant hirundines which typically disappeared as they dispersed higher.

A lone Reed Warbler flew in front of the hide and later a single Water Rail was on the muddy margins of the river at low water.

And finally a Clouded Yellow barrelled southwards.

Today, locally just White spp butterflies, Speckled Woods, Common Darters and Migrant Hawkers with the first local Cetti's Warbler for some time calling from the scrub adjacent to the bus-stop.

Mostly sparse!!

Today, a brief visit to Chichester, where despite very nice conditions, little insect activity in the gardens. A Large White on Verbena bonariensis and a very fresh Small Copper, presumably third gen, below plus a Green Shieldbug in the wildlife garden which, after small scale re-landscaping, seems to hold less insects!!

Just a few inbound and invisible calling Meadow Pipits and Grey Wagtail over rooftops. A couple of days ago a single Raven was at home gronking away from the top of the conifer.

In the Community Orchard just calling Chiffchaff.

Yesterday was an early start for an 07:30 meet up with CP at GWH and the last moth session of the year. Probably not worth getting out of bed for, being sunny but cold although less windy than overnight. A tatty Scarce Bordered Straw was new but the Barred Sallows uptaking moisture from the moss on the picnic table were nice to watch as were very fresh specimens of L-album Wainscot and Angle Shades. An ichneumon, later identified as Eutanyacra crispatoria, was the only notable by- catch. A few pictures below. Back home by 09:20

Saturday morning at home had a typically small moth catch (30/18) but a second Golden Twin-spot made it worthwhile and, unsurprisingly, Lunar Underwing and Clancy's Rustic were NfY. Probably only one or two more sessions in the next couple of weeks assuming still, dry and moonless nights.

Pictures to follow.