Two Trips Today - Mixed Fortunes

Thursday 27th August 2026

 Today was officially House Martin Day - at least as far as I was concerned. I had decided that, one way or another, I was going to find one.  This was not, however, a new quest. I’d been trying for some time.

Weir Wood Reservoir? Nothing.

Stodmarsh? Nothing.

Minsmere? Nothing.

Oare Marshes? Nothing.

Dungeness? Nothing.

I was beginning to think House Martins had been removed from the British bird list without telling me.

So where, eventually, did I find one?

 

Uckfield. 

And not even at one of the traditional local spots. The Water Treatment Works had been a reliable haunt for me in the past, but recent housing developments have put a stop to that. Instead, I found them in the most ridiculous place imaginable - my own back yard!

I headed down to Fernley Park, where I used to walk our dogs, Odin and Bronwyn, and stopped at the pond viewing area in the middle of the estate.  And there they were!

 House Martins

Flying happily overhead, apparently completely unaware that I had spent the best part of the summer travelling around the south-east looking for them.  It took me barely 15 minutes to find them.

Fifteen minutes!

Clearly, my birding strategy needs some work.

 Having achieved the morning's objective far quicker than expected, I headed home and  joined Sue for lunch. With the House Martin safely in the bag, I decided to make the most of the day and headed off to Chichester for another three targets:  Osprey, Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper.

 

Mixed Fortunes in Chichester

Things didn't go quite so smoothly in the afternoon.  I made what, in hindsight, was a rather poor tactical decision. Instead of going straight to Thorney Island and looking for Ospreys at The Deeps, I decided to visit Church Norton first.  The Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper had both been reported there the previous day, while Church Norton had also produced some good Osprey sightings recently.

 Unfortunately, the tide hadn't read my itinerary.  It hadn't gone out as far as I had hoped, and the channels were still surprisingly full of water. After a fair amount of searching, I eventually located the Little Stint - although I have to admit that the credit belongs to a visiting birder from Croydon, who was the first to see it and pointed it out to me.

The Curlew Sandpiper, meanwhile, was playing hard to get, and there was no sign of it or the Osprey.

 

                                                                      Thorney Deeps

 Eventually I decided to try my luck at Thorney Deeps, checking both the west and east ends. The Osprey had been seen on the eastern side earlier in the day, so I arrived full of optimism.

                                                                   Naturally, it had gone!

 

A House Martin Victory

In the end, the day produced just two of my targets - the House Martin and Little Stint - but I'm not complaining.  After all, the House Martin had been the main objective, and it provided the best moment of the day. 

New species for the 2026 Year List:

188  House Martin

189  Little Stint