Week two started with a virtually unbirdable day weather-wise and so a long, slow breakfast at TH ensued whilst watching the rain chuck down.
West facing hide windows and seats were wet and so the north east corner of Meadow Hide was the best place to be. A long chat with DR saw us watching three Marsh Harriers, male, adult female and a third bird too distant and part-hidden to be sure but probably the younger male from the previous visit. Considering the conditions they showed well.
A couple of Ravens dropped into the meadow briefly before departing back eastwards.
The sea was unwatchable.
The following day, all change, with fine warm and sunny weather which made the walk out to Sandy and then Black Point very pleasant. First up was a roller-coastering Sparrowhawk behind the Lifeboat Station, followed by a backlit Great Northern and a few each of Razorbill and Guillemot. The Black-throated Diver/s took longer to find having strayed a long way north, well beyond the North Pilsey buoy but just about doable. A Slavonian Grebe and a couple of Sandwich Terms were best-of-the-rest.
Heath Pond was rammed but added a couple of NfYs in a very brief stay including 'plastic' Black Swans. All the east side scrub has been felled to ground level, probably deemed necessary, but giving birds nowhere to hide.
Lastly a quick pull in at the A27 roundabout added forty or so Avocets to the list.
Yesterday, Monday, was a dismal but mostly dry forecast and so, with other commitments this week, seemed a good opportunity to go on a twitch, albeit reasonably local - just 26 miles - for the Little Bunting at Iping Common. First up was the obvious need for wellies just to get out of the carpark!! It looked as it if might me a bit hopeless on such a dim day especially without any local knowledge, but luckily another birder was waiting on a minor path having seen a few Reed Buntings. I unpacked my bins, pointed them at the first bird I could see and lo and behold - Little Bunting!! It sat still long enough for me to unpack and set up my scope and gave good views whilst 'tic' ing occasionally. Eventually it and the RBs slipped low down into the birch scrub and out of sight.
Apart from a calling Raven, singing Song and Mistle Thrushes and several noisy Green Woodpeckers it was very quiet. One or two scolding Dartfords were disinclined to show themselves in the usual patch of Gorse on the way back to the car.
At Pulborough, lots of water and lots of mud and lots of ducks and geese etc but no raptor activity and no reported sightings of LSW recently - hopefully if it stays in the area it might start drumming next month which would help. The trees between Green Lane and the church were full of Redwings calling and sub-singing, probably 150 or so and Upperton's Field had some nice Fieldfare and just a single Woodlark bringing the years total to 117.
And for a bit of fun I 'signed up' for HOS/KBs 5km square challenge. Just need to break out the map to work out best placement of the square in relation to home.
Below, phone-scoped LB, trees full of Redwings and mud and water!!
