At last !!! .... and an early start

Today's local walk gave, yet again, point blank views of the heron in the flattened reeds; taking my eyes off it for a few seconds meant that I missed its lunch. Just some 'licking of lips' and a bulge in its throat!! Elsewhere a tree had been cut down since yesterday and the general tramping down of vegetation around it gave Blackbird and Robin some more feeding opportunities but opened up the views into which popped a silent Water Rail, the first I've  seen here since December 2017 and, unsurprisingly, a year tick. The Pochards from yesterday had decamped elsewhere but the semi-resident drake Gadwall popped out, tempted by a family of duck-feeders with a bag of grain.

Slightly more surprising  was a brood of fourteen 1-day-old Mallard chicks - I'm  guessing the earliest I've ever seen. 

Little things

Number 30 takes it up to 21,000 pieces!!

Six of the twenty or so Shovelers today in nice bright conditions - one of the best days of the year so far although not predicted to last. Shame the phone camera is about as useful as a potato!! On the bright side two very smart drake Pochard were a real surprise as they are very infrequent here (Hants GoB shows only four previous singletons in seven years!!). No other changes although with such a poor start to the year weather wise, Covid and no real opportunity for birding, getting year ticks is pretty easy - and so Pied Wagtail was added to the list, typically full of nervous energy and flittering around the pavement adjacent to the crossing, and brought the year total to a pathetic 39 rather than the more usual 130-140 January total. 

First for a while... plus local owls.

 

After the spring and summer blitz on jigsaws over the first lockdown and subsequently, a winter hiatus was broken with this above, one of a two-pack purchased from Age UK the day before everything shut for LD2.

A short car outing yesterday (within reasonable Covid rule distance) on a suitable tide, saw virtually nothing from the harbour mouth, neither grebes, divers nor sea duck and only few distant waders. Moved to the sea front where it seemed as if all the town's  dog walkers were out and the prom and beaches covered in people. The walk to the furthest east of this hideous eyesore of a site took ages at such a slow hobble with just 60+ Sanderling for company, being continually moved along the shoreline by an endless stream of pooches!! Other birdlife was pretty much nil and, unsurprisingly, no obvious signs of the previous day's  Black Redstart. However, both Little Owls were at home roosting 30 yards apart  in the recesses in the old fort wall albeit typically motionless.

Staying (very) local.

 Just a short local walk with a calling Cetti's of note, the first I've had here this winter but still not cold enough  to draw in any Water Rails.

Shoveler much reduced to less than ten unless the rest of last week's birds were tucked away on the island. The heron was again hunting but much further out and well concealed this time and a couple of Cormorant flew in to roost from the west.

With the local coffee shop still open and doing business there were more people carrying takeaway drinks, now presumably NOT labelled 'picnics'(!!), than were wearing masks. For my part - needing to shield until at least covid jab presumably February/March time - I'll  continue to wear mine.

The last few days have seen a surge in garden bird activity with Goldfinches reappearing, lots of House Sparrow and Starling activity and Blue Tits checking out neighbour's nest boxes - I think they sense spring is just around the corner.

The local foxes seem particularly vocal these last few weeks with barking individuals in and around the garden most nights usually triggering security lights multiple times.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night....

 ...well, certainly pre-first-light. In the days between  Xmas and New Year a male was chortling away by 06:45 although  sometimes 'late on parade' and silent on the coldest and wettest mornings. Nice to hear some bird noise that isn't raucous Herring Gulls!!

So from LD2 to tier 3, then tier 4 and the inevitable overnight move to LD3 with the situation deteriorating nationwide and personal issues needing me to shield until the spring and the (currently) group 5 classification for Covid vaccination. DrT suggested a possibly earlier appointment due to current drugs and immune system issues but time will tell. Luckily M has had both of her shots.

The last ten weeks, since the brief visit to Pulborough, has seen just hospital visits - another tomorrow - a sole visit to a major supermarket and one local walk.

For the most part life in general, and birding in particular, is being lived vicariously through blogs, vlogs, YouTube channels, podcasts and social media (whilst avoiding COVidiots, conspiracy nutters and Trump and his merry band).

The local walk saw a very close and 'focussed' Grey Heron ignoring the crowds just yards away with phone cameras and so intent on the job in hand that a close Brown Rat was ignored, but surely a potential lunch item. Just a single roosting Little Egret, 30 or so Shoveler and two or three times as many Tufted Ducks - really must make an effort to count them next time. No passerines other than a Dunnock by the path singing stronger than either of the two birds back in spring. Sadly the spring Peregrines, reliable most days, decamped to elsewhere in town and now have the prospect of recently installed, or at least soon to be installed boxes, courtesy of KB/HOS at.

Locally, pleased for MW to have a Yellow-browed Warbler on several dates in his garden this week; one here or round the pond would be very welcome.

LD2 and #BWKM0 again

A first visit to Pulborough since Lockdown 1 last Wednesday was followed the next day by start of Lockdown 2 and probably means no more visits this year. 

Caught up with PW, JU,KN plus Richard (immediately furloughed again!) and Michael and spent the whole time sat by Reception Pond where a couple of Woodlarks and singles of Raven and Sparrowhawk were the best. Precious little wildfowl on the South Brooks and no harriers.

Later at WWT, with just a short visit to Ramsar Hide only, the species list for the day crept up to a respectable 61 species -not bad considering minimal walking. Sad to hear of two long-term staff members leaving in the weeks ahead. Snipe and Water Rail put on a good show but again no harriers and even Kingfisher was a no-show.

For LD2 Pulborough and WWT remain open(no access to hides tho') with takeaway food and drink only, whilst Titchfield Haven is totally closed for the duration  - curious as the HCC run 'sister site' at QECP is managing to keep their cafe open for takeaways.

Unlike LD1 in spring with life bursting out, birdsong and arriving summer visitors it's going to be much harder to enjoy #BWKM0 but I'm  guessing those with productive local patches will do OK. With places like reserves etc staying open to some degree and the addition of 'recreation' to 'exercise' in the list of permitted activities hopefully getting out slightly further afield than the local patch will be OK. 

And below, last indoor coffee for a while.

Wiilllssonnnn!!!!!

 

Sussex records of Wilson's Phalarope from Birds of Sussex(Paul James).

1971: An adult female at Arlington Reservoir on 25 September, at the Cuckmere Haven oxbows on 26-27 September and then on the long pool' near the northwest corner of Pagham Harbour from 28 September to 6 October Birds 65: plates 50b, 78a and 78b) when it was mindlessly shot.

1978: An adult along the eastern side of Pagham Harbour on 21 October 1979: An adult at Sidlesham Ferry on 26-27 August.

1984: An adult female at Ternery Pool, Rye Harbour on 30 June and 1st July
An adult at Sidlesham Ferry on 12 October.

1985: A first-winter at Ternery Pool, Rye Harbour on 9 October

1987: A juvenile moulting into first-winter plumage at Sidlesham Ferry from 18-
26 September (Brit. Birds 81: plate 19).

1991: An adult male at Sidlesham Ferry on 3 June

The presence of a Wilson's Phalarope in Hampshire got me reminiscing  about previous encounters with this species; an unrecorded but probably single figure count in Canada, 250+ in Texas and five in the UK - or was it four?? My own notes from the past are pretty 'thin' at best and it took some input from JAN via SDOS to track down the last bird above (my fifth). This was seen after a day's outing to Hanningfield Reservoir for a Bridled Tern which, needless to say, had departed. I'm  guessing a stop at a roadside phone box and a call to Birdline SE prompted the return to Sidlesham. Until now I didn't realise this was a one-day wonder. Sadly, last month's Pennington bird would have been the first since the Cley bird seven years ago and a Hampshire tick but the drive and particularly the walk from the car park was beyond me.

It also prompted thoughts about birds names with the BLM/BAME/George Floyd effect providing further ammunition in the US for removal of honorifics. I'm  not sure if they (the AOS/ABA)  intend to rename all birds named after 'colonial' explorers and naturalists or to only focus on those with some history of involvement with the confederacy, slavery, oppression of Native Americans or if every 'baby' is going to be thrown out with 'the bath water'. Personally, I've  always found it fascinating to find out who these people were and read about it in various books by Richard and Barbara Mearns (Biographies for Birdwatchers being the first), Bo Beolens (Eponym Dictionary of Birds), Stephen Moss (Mrs Moreau's Warbler) etc. Much is now available  via Wikipedia allowing for erroneous info.

But back to Alexander Wilson who went from a weaver and part time poet in Scotland (- how much money was there in poetry 200 years ago??-)  to The Father of American Ornithology encouraged  by another naturalist William Bartram (who had Bartram's Sandpiper named after him  - many years ago being renamed to the less-than-accurate Upland Sandpiper, the 100 or so that I've  seen being on land barely above sea-level and the first of which was on a freeway divider  strip outside Houston!! No mountains there). So, if the Americans have there way what will happen to AW's phalarope, storm-petrel, plover, snipe and warbler?? 

So far the first casualty is McCown  (rightly or wrongly and no political slant here from me) whose longspur seems to have been renamed Thick-billed. Will West and East Palaearctic honorifics also be subject to scrutiny? Will we lose Pallas, Bewick, Radde, Baer, Przevalski and so on or will their human rights credentials prove to have been 'on point' by 21st century  standards??