Forest and Blashford

Today's still, blue weather with great visibilty made it a first try for Gos this year for me. It didn't take long for a pair to get up and start displaying with a third bird slipping off through the trees and a fourth much more distant bird. Interestingly, the first two up persuaded a pair of Sparrowhawks to follow suit with the more distant bird of the two stooping at the male Gos albeit briefly. Sadly, the supporting cast was a bit thin with just a single singing Woodlark and a few Thrushes.

Later, at Blashford, one of those 'Damn!! I wish I could draw moments' when a hunting Peregrine sat perched up on one of the small cairns adjacent to Tern Hide for 40 minutes, all head-bobbing, fluffed up, drooped wings and fan-tailed presumably drying off from attempting to take duck off the water.

A catch up for the first time this year with John and Jim but precious little on the east side; a colour ringed LBBG on Ivy Lake was too far to read numbers, white on black, so I'm guessing Channel Islands.

Back at Ibsley Water, probably 20 or so Goosanders, 4 or more Med Gulls with one acting as a pointer to a near-adult Caspian Gull called by Nigel and Simon  - I don't think I would have been confident to ID this for certain on my own.
Also, a Ring-billed Gull which, along with many other gulls, was flushed towards Lapwing Hide by a group of fishing Cormorants. The White-fronted Goose was on west shore and earlier the Black-necked Grebe was at the north end. Maybe 9 or so Goldeneyes and a couple of Red Kites, one fairly close in.

A hobble to papershop and library, then around the pond, where a very noisy and photogenic Wren (typically grey weather and no camera) semed to prompt a similarly close, but invisible, Cettis into calling.
Just a few Shoveler otherwise.

Slow start

Continued jip with knees, back etc made for a slow start to the new year with just one species on day 1, a Woodpigeon heard, without opening the doors or going out; a crap day weatherwise.

Monday the 2nd looked better so I did Blashford, Farlington and Warblington, getting to 80 species despite not starting til 10:00, spending over an hour in the car and wasting the last hour of the day with the Warblington Cattle Egrets, despite not 'needing' them after the Harbridge bird earlier. Time 4.5 hours approx. Best bird - Short-eared Owl

Tuesday the third saw the addition of 16 species at Titchfield in about 3 hours including the long staying Snow Bunting. Best bird - Firecrest.

Day four was Pulborough duty day and only produced four new birds, Peregrine being the best.

Day five was a social visit back to Pulborough where just one new bird, 101, Bewicks Swan with a group of five roosting on ice on the south brooks.

A Collared Dove in Petersfield on Friday whilst shopping and a Med Gull in a brief visit to the Oysterbeds mid afternoon in dismal grey conditions got to 103.

Bearing in mind visited sites, main misses so far are Black-necked Grebe, Lesser Redpoll , Great Black-backed Gull and Green Woodpecker.

Probably should have planned the 2nd properly, got out before first light and worked east to west to get a three figure score!!