Other than a Peacock  butterfly, first of the year, barrelling around the library and off into the distance,  this male Pollenia spp was the only obvious insect. The single Gorse bush is still keeping Honeybees busy. The refuge was empty due to disturbance from a contractors vehicle. This Sparrowhawk appeared out of nowhere and was into the light so I was  pleased just to get it in frame and recognisable; whatever this camera set up is good for it ain't difficult light or action and earlier a couple of Long-tailed Tits were impossible to find and focus on with the relatively poor EVF.

A pair of Peregrines were incredibly high overhead and even with muted but still audible calls between them were tough to find in a bright blue sky with 8x30s. They dived at each other and flashed their talons and eventually slipped away northwards.

Yesterday a quick check on the Brambling flock found them along the main track going north east from the car park about 250 yards along but flushed by a string of dog people and kids. A calling Treecreeper was the first this year and 2-3 kites were over the A3 and surrounding fields.

The Swarovski Facebook live broadcast from Costa Rica and Colombia was a nice splash of colour and a big improvement over many similarly themed events on the web since COVID first broke and even better being 'cast' to the TV, something I've not been able to do before. Sickle-winged Guan was a lifer😁😁 

A fairly short, sharp visit to TH was pretty quiet with just a single Marsh Harrier(c/c) visible firstly from Meadow Hide and later from the road. This distant Raven was one of two performing their typical east to west journey over the reserve with a string of smaller corvids escorting them on their way - obviously creatures of habit - where do they go and why?

This Curlew was one of two, rather too distant for pictures, alongside 150+ godwits and a similar number of Wigeon.

Today was a 10 minute look off the Broadmarsh slipway with the first (calling) Med Gull of the year; hopefully one for the 5k patch, and indeed home, shouldn't be too long now.

Several Little Grebe were in the main channel and this one Wigeon was in close washing, drying and preening it's feathers back into place.

Also heard from CL regarding the first Bee-fly of the year at Pulborough, nearly a fortnight earlier than last year's nationally recorded on Bee-fly Watch (Dipterist's Forum).

And, of course, gripped by all the photos of the Sussex American Robin!! Why can't  we have something like that in Hampshire?
 

The most important thing to NOT leave behind!!

(Redshank and Snipe, Gadwalls, Lapwing, half of the seventy or so Sanderlings, Turnstones well camouflaged on shore, Brent surfing the waves, the WFG and female Meliscaeva auricollis enjoying sun and shelter)

 With a kindly neighbour offering to 'walk' M with her four-wheeled frame as part of rehab and physio there was a chance of a couple of hours at TH and maybe the opportunity of catching up with the White-fronted Goose which AR had seen first thing inbound to the reserve. 

Having repacked several bags and rucksacks and sorted through various cables, batteries etc yesterday evening I assumed everything would be in its right place and didn't think twice about a hasty departure from home today. Over a 'kickstarter' coffee, needed after yesterday's virtually sleep-free night, it was obvious that no bins had been packed!! OK, no problem, use the resident pair of 25 year old Swaros in the car boot.... only they'd  been removed after the last garage visit and left at home since!!

So with just a 100-300 lens finding a distant WFG in amongst a plethora of Canada's seemed a bit much but, lo and behold, it was just in front of Suffern Hide and stood out like a sort thumb, being so small.

Other than the above stuff the camera lens just about managed to resolve three flying dots into Eiders.

Bramblings again

 

First signs of spring...

 

...and the swan's are strengthening the nest built some weeks back although still tolerant of various Mallards using it as a dry resting point.

Less tolerant was the out-of-place and slightly bedraggled swan sitting between the burger van and the bench at Eastney whilst watching this Shag being pushed in by an incoming tide and a Common Seal going the other way ; the swan tried pulling my jacket off and hissed away whilst the freeloading Starlings thought it was worth perching on the bench just in case!! The van owner chased 'hissing Sid' off which saved me doing it - there's service for you!!

And some history of the Mulberry harbour Here

Short outing with new lens

 

A quick trip to the park to check the dwindling Brambling flock found about twenty in company of a similar number of Chaffinches, with this one above one of few perched up low, the rest flipping up into taller trees.

Locally this Cormorant was having a wash and the squirrel .... well just doing what they always do.

The refuge field had the usual number of Brent and Woodpigeons plus a few Pied Wagtails and five Jackdaws. Annoyingly the first colour ringed Black-headed Gull I've  ever seen here was far too far away to get any details.