A Tuesday visit to Pulborough, rather than the usual Wednesday, was a good choice with AA mentioning a sat-out Nightjar over the previous two days. Within minutes she stopped me just before buying a coffee with word that the 'Tuesday crew' had it all scoped-up in the conifers at Fattengates. Mostly still but occasionally gaping, shuffling around and wing and tail stretching before settling back down for another nap. This was present all day until dusk but didn't reappear on Wednesday for PW et al. A quick look through notes showed this to be my first Nightjar in seven years - where does the time go!! Further checking showed the only other daytime perched up Nightjars were in Bulgaria (2010) and at Obedska Bara (1978), then in Yugoslavia but now in Serbia.
Four Cattle Egrets, four Stonechats and two Reed Buntings feeding amongst a mass of Goldfinches and a perched up Kingfisher were the best of the rest An eagle was apparently hiding in the vegetation of its 'usual tree' but invisible to me and everyone else in the hide without a scope.
Later, at WWT six Cattle Egrets and increasingly noisy and active youngsters in the hidden nests. Another Kingfisher, a brief flyby, and a Great White Egret constantly striding away from a typically irate Mute Swan.
A brief coffee outing Thursday produced a dashing Hobby chasing a passerine south over Hilliers but it seemed to lose interest and slipped off westwards.
And Friday saw pulses of Swallows heading north into the wind as the rain eased with birds over the house, more over the harbour and even birds over Warblington whilst stopped at the railroad crossing.
