Arlington Reservoir with the Ashdown Bird Group

 

Friday 3^rd October 2025

09.00 to 12.30

Arlington Reservoir

Ashdown Bird Group

(6 members present)

 

Trip Report

This morning’s visit was dominated by the weather.  With strong winds and rain predicted, it initially looked as though it would not go ahead. However, at the last minute, a possible slot of better weather was forecast.  That’s how it turned out, and by the time we arrived at the venue, the rain had eased, and we decided to go ahead.  Tim S joined us for the first time.

 

Route Map

 

We met in the car park and then spent the morning and early afternoon following the clockwise route around the reservoir.  When we got back to the start we then looked for woodland birds in the nearby trees on both sides of the road.

 

Given the adverse conditions, we were both surprised and delighted to accumulate a species list of 45 birds.

 

 

 

We got off to a flying start, seeing over twenty birds in the first fifteen minutes.

• One of the first was a distant Red Kite.
• The first wader we saw was a Common Sandpiper moving along the edge of the reservoir.  It showed up regularly from then on and was especially photogenic at the dam end of the reservoir.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

 

Just after half an hour in, we saw our second raptor.

• This stunning Peregrine drew our attention after it was spotted high up on one of the pylons in the field adjacent to the reservoir on the western edge of the reservoir.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

Arlington is famed for its gulls and we saw several today.

• By far the most ubiquitous were the Black-headed Gulls.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

• There were several Great Black-backed Gulls around.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

• We were delighted to pick out this Common Gull.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

 

On the eastern side, at the dam end, we met the full force of the wind.  This, however, was where we saw most action.

• The Common Sandpiper was still around.

 

By now, our attention had been drawn to other waders.

• This solitary Ringed Plover was a welcome sight.

 

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

• There were three Dunlin close by.

Courtesy of Ian Hodgson

 

 

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

• On the concrete fringes, Linnets kept going ahead of us.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

 

We paused for some time at the southern corner of the reservoir, just before Polhill Farm, to take a good look at the many birds that had collected there.

• Most of them were Mallards.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

• There were three Pochards as shown below with two Coots.

Courtesy of Ian Hodgson

• A Kingfisher put in a brief appearance.
• In the vegetation near the reservoir we saw several Chiffchaffs, a Long-tailed Tit and a Goldfinch.
• We expected to see some returning Wigeon and Teal but there was no sign of either.

 

The back of Polhill Farm is a well-known hotspot for several birds and so it proved today.

• There has been a strong presence of House Sparrows in recent years.

 

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

• By now we were seeing quite a few Swallows, again not unexpected.

 

• This area is also favoured by corvids like this Rook.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

On the return, the western leg had a few sightings.

• Most significant was a Hobby, which flew across the water and away from us.
• This was one of several sightings of a Little Egret.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

• These Egyptian Geese popped up at several places along our route.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

 

Back at the car park we decided to look for woodland birds in the tree-lined areas between the reservoir and the road.  We were palpably unsuccessful!

• This Ash tree, with its lilac coloured leaves, intrigued Ian and became the primary focus of attention.

 

Courtesy of Ian Hodgson

Courtesy of Ian Hodgson

Ian’s subsequent research suggested it was either a Raymond Ash or an Autumn Purple Ash, with him leaning towards the former.

 

Our final action saw us cross the road into the woods to continue our search for woodland birds.  Here, too, we drew a blank.

• We did, however, finish on a high when we heard and then saw two stunning Ravens.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone left feeling happy that we had eked out a good birding trip when none seemed possible, and we were all delighted, if somewhat surprised, to learn that our species count had reached forty-five.

 

 

Thanks, John, for this trip – I am sure Arlington Reservoir will feature more in our plans from here on.

Thanks, Ian and Martin, for the lovely photographs.

Thanks, Tim, for taking a leading role in this, your first outing with us.

 

 

 

 

 

Species List:

 

Name:	Count		Name:	Count
Black-headed Gull	1		House Sparrow	24
Blackbird	2		Jackdaw	25
Blue Tit	3		Kingfisher	26
Canada Goose	4		Lesser Black-backed Gull	27
Carrion Crow	5		Linnet	28
Chiffchaff	6		Little Egret	29
Common Gull	7		Long-tailed Tit	30
Common Sandpiper	8		Magpie	31
Coot	9		Mallard	32
Cormorant	10		Peregrine	33
Dunlin	11		Pied Wagtail	34
Dunnock	12		Pochard	35
Egyptian Goose	13		Raven	36
Goldcrest	14		Red Kite	37
Goldfinch	15		Ringed Plover	38
Great Black-backed Gull	16		Robin	39
Great Crested Grebe	17		Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon	40
Great Spotted Woodpecker	18		Rook	41
Great Tit	19		Starling	42
Grey Heron	20		Swallow	43
Greylag Goose	21		Woodpigeon	44
Herring Gull	22		Wren	45
Hobby	23

Species count = 45

 

 

 

Bob Hastings

2025 species count = 190

No new birds