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.