Here comes the sun... and there it goes!!

 

Wednesday at Pulborough was the best day of the year with good strong sunlight, little cloud and virtually no wind. The most obvious feature was the number of Brimstones and singing Chiffchaffs. A few close Snipe and singles of White-tailed Eagle and Great White Egret were the best of the birds on a day when the water had receded considerably in comparison to last week. Sadly, three photogenic Adders had gone to ground and worse was to come with both CL and I independently walking past what would have been my first Grass Snake of the year; and other peoples photos were frame-fillers. Gggrrrr!!

After lunch on the Black Pond bench we had a look at the Early Colletes colony - two weeks ago just a single individual, today many thousands. And a brief and distant Hummingbird Hawkmoth was a nice bonus.  Gorse and Hairy Shieldbugs above.

Near the cafe first Beefly and Osmia bicornis of the year, an Andrena minutella  potted by CL and several rove beetles - with maybe a 1,000 species to choose from, who knows what they were - Paderus spp or thereabouts?

Overnight into Thursday the moth trap was out at home and produced a small capture (7 of 5) but unlike last week when all the moths were outside the trap on the fence today they were all inside and, best of all, Herald was NfG and not a species I've seen in other peoples traps.

Breakfast at SC found a strongly singing Firecrest within earshot.

Later, a local walk found a few Andrena flavipes, those above being in a 'pile-on', Beefly, Anthophora plumipes,  the above Green Shieldbug, the first Speckled Wood of the spring  and two each of singing Chiffchaffs and Cetti's Warblers.

Finally on Thursday, a Bloxworth Snout (above) was flushed from the waste bin but luckily perched up for ID and a photo on the door frame.

Friday, a coffee outing to Liss had a tumbling Raven heading westwards during a shower escorted by a Crow but neither kites nor Buzzards.

And Saturday at TH was spoilt by cloud, the odd squall and a horribly cold westerly wind which ensured no chance of any insects nor migrants. Even the Siskins remained hidden.

Spring still struggling to arrive

 

Today, a few Andrena flavipes hunkered down out of the inconvenient southerly wind, were the only insects in a quick tour of the south facing hedge. Unsurprisingly, no Beeflies here yet.

And these, some of 300 or so Brent in the sanctuary, will only be here for a little while longer with so many being seen by coastal watchers steadfastly ploughing their way back east in recent days. 

 

Wednesday into Thursday saw the moth trap out at home. The small single-bulbed Heath trap surrounded by so many street lights (kept on all night) ensured a pretty minimal catch. In fact the trap was empty!! But luckily the fence panels held an Early Grey, three Oak Beauty, Small Quaker, Common Plume and Diurnea fagella. The first three species were the first in seven(!!) years here as I haven't run the trap earlier than May in recent years, and the latter was NfG/T.

Pulborough, Wednesday morning, started after the now rather too frequent Bacon Bap and coffee starter. The journey over and weather were a little better than the previous visit but still too cold and windy for 'mini-beasts'.

The Water Pipit was a little better and the Wigeon were out in numbers close in to the hide along with a single Oystercatcher (relatively unusual here). This Lapwing was paired up and mated in front of us; its other half was nest scraping. An earlier-present Spotted Redshank had gone to ground but a distant LRP, shadowing a nervous group of sixty Black'wits, was a nice addition to the the year - I'm guessing the first record of the year.

And this kite was cruising the south Brooks soon after a sub-adult male Marsh Harrier.

Finally, this Adder, male AA71 was in the usual spot and was the first sighting of him this spring.

 

With a little more time than usual I chose to spend the afternoon at Arundel WWT where a single Marsh Harrier,  the male Peregrine and about fifteen Cattle Egrets were the best on offer. A few singing Chiffchaffs and the above flowers - Cuckooflower, Herb-Robert and Marsh Marigold - at least made in feel a little spring like. Sadly, I left it just a little too late to see the Great White Egret which left the reserve a few minutes before arriving at Scrape Hide. Like Pulborough earlier, the Snipe were very watchable as usual.

And or course this confiding male Mandarin brought a welcome splash of colour while checking out the barrel nest and rather vocal to boot.

And it's out with the macro lens!!

 

Andrena flavipes, Phaonia subventa, Pisaura mirabilis, Anthophora plumipes, Vespula vulgaris, Meliscaeva auricollis and Eupeodes spp.

Despite the cold wind the sun was heating up more sheltered areas which produced the above inverts plus a few Eristalis tenax, Syrphus spp, Bombus terrestris and honeybees especially near the tops of flowering blackthorn.

No birdlife to speak of and no further sightings of the colour-ringed gull.

Not a site tick after all!!

 

A glorious sunny (but cold - ice on windscreen) start to the day and all was well until Chichester where the eastbound A27 was shut at Sainsburys due to flooding. Within minutes of starting the alternative route via Petworth the sun had gone and it was 'front-and-rear-foglight' weather. A coffee and a bacon bap from Maureen (just back after 8 months off ) gave the fog some time to disperse. Eventually the W4BLRs got a message from NB that the Water Pipit (above) was showing in front of West Mead so CL and I returned and found it being watched by NB, CH and Ron Bewley who provided the picture above. 

An eagle flew south along the river but little else of interest birdwise other than a few Lesser Redpolls and a briefly perched Sparrowhawk on the heathland. A couple of Cettis and a single Water Rail were heard below the hanger.

Later, after the sun had come out, Carey managed to find a Gorse Shieldbug (Piezodorus lituratus), a couple of Seven-spot Ladybirds and, best of all, the first Early Colletes bee of the year (Colletes cunicularius). The gorse flowers were being attended by honeybees, bumblebees and Eristalis hoverflies.

I'd assumed the Water Pipit was a welcome site-tick but a check through notes showed one here on the 2nd February thirteen years ago!!

A few days previously the ONLY colour-ringed Black-headed Gull I've ever seen on the pond got away before I could get any details, lured by people with birdseed on the far side. A Little Egret roosting with two Grey Herons was only the second in the last twelve months.

IC's video footage of lowland Gorillas and Shoebill was the highlight (almost) of Mondays visit to TH along with four harriers including the extravagantly displaying male and this Siskin below, one of 10-15 adjacent to the Meadow Hide junction.