Ospreys, Whinchats and Merlin at RSPB Medmerry near Chichester

15th September 2024

What a cracking trip out to West Sussex today.  8 of us enjoyed one of our best birding days of the year, with over 60 species seen, including some really special ones.  

Pride of place was shared on this occasion:-

• Ospreys are one of my favourite birds and today we saw at least 2, initially in the distance, but later on flying overhead.  What a magnificent sight they are, especially here in Sussex where they do not breed - we only get to see them arriving in the spring or departing the country in the autumn.

Courtesy of Andrew Burns

• Its not very often we see a Merlin but today was one of those halcyon days when one was on site.  Earlier reports suggested that one was to be seen perched on a post close to the Stilt Pool where we were headed.  We went one better when Mark spotted the bird flying towards us and we were all able to get superb views as it whizzed by. 

Courtesy of Phil Aylen

It was all over in a few seconds but the experience will live in our memories for a long time.  Incredibly Phil found time to get a photograph.

• As the saying goes "you wait ages for a bus then 2 come along at the same time" works with birding too.  On Friday, at Oare Marshes in Kent I saw my first whinchats of the year and today we saw at least 2 more. They were showing well in the bushes close to the fence line about 50 metres away but the heat haze caused problems for the photographers.  We also saw yellowhammers, linnets and stonechats in the same place.

Hirundines were flying around us continuously as we made our way around the reserve.

·    They were mainly swallows but there were several house martins and a smattering of sand martins at times.

 

There was a good selection of birds at the Stilt Pools.

·    Star wader, for me, was undoubtedly the greenshank which was moving along the edges of the pool and putting on a really good show for us, as shown in Phil’s photographs.

 

·         This common sandpiper wasn’t bad too.

Courtesy of Ian Hodgson

·   There were also two knot showing briefly at the Stilt Pools before they were scattered by a marauding raptor.

 

We made a brief stop by the sea where most of the group had lunch while the remainder headed back to the car park for theirs.

·   At least two sandwich terns patrolled over the shoreline.

 

Courtesy of Andrew Burns

Other interesting bird sightings included:-

·         At least 4 kingfishers were seen today, 2 at Medmerry and 2 more at Pagham Harbour.

·         This lovely hobby was seen quite early on near the Easton Viewpoint.

Courtesy of Phil Aylen

•  There was a lengthy debate as to whether the raptor shown below was a honey buzzard.  In the end, after seeking expert guidance, it was agreed it was a common buzzard.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

•  A Dartford warbler was seen briefly at the start of our walk before it was scared off by a family picking blackberries.

• We saw several kestrels, at least one sparrowhawk and a raven today.

We visited the Ferry Pool and surrounding area after lunch and found a number of interesting birds:-

• As well as the regular mix of avocets, black-tailed godwits, lapwings, shovelers and teal there was a green sandpiper.
•  In the nearby channel there was a kingfisher alongside the mallards and redshanks. 
•  Some members also witnessed an unsuccessful attack by a sparrowhawk on a grey wagtail.

Finally we drove round to Church Norton where we added to our noteworthy findings:- 

• It was low tide so there were birds on the mud looking for food.  Among them were a whimbrel and a curlew that had just flown in together and landed some 30 metres in front of us to provide the perfect opportunity to compare and contrast the key ID features.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

• There was another discussion as to whether a distant plover was of the grey or the   golden variety.  This time we could not reach an agreement so we took the majority decision that we were looking at a grey plover!
• As we headed back to the car park,via the churchyard, the best we could see was a chiffchaff/willow warbler flitting around in the trees forming the hedge.  There was no sign of the wryneck that had been reported earlier in the day. 

Courtesy of Phil Aylen

Several members of the group had never visited Medmerry RSPB before so this was a memorable introduction for them with so much going on. 

 

It was a good decision to start here, as the long walk down to the Stilt Pools might appear too daunting had we left it to the final session.

 

 2024 species count=202

Osprey at Weir Wood Reservoir Tuesday 10th September 09.00 to 11.00

 At last - an Osprey at Weir Wood on a volunteers day!

There have been several sightings this year but none on Tuesday mornings when the volunteers are working.  Not now - today an Osprey was present for a couple of hours, viewable from the car park at the west end.

I turned up early, hoping to see one, only to be told by my colleagues that an Osprey had been fishing but had just flown off.  My disappointment was soon quelled however when a lady visitor found it perched on a tree near Pintail Bank.  We enjoyed uninterrupted views for over 30 min.  We were hoping to see it fly but it stayed put.  

• Ian managed to capture the view with his camera ....  

Courtesy of Ian Hodgson

• ....  and Richard got close up views by digiscoping with his mobile phone.

Courtesy of Richard Allan

Sadly my colleague and I had to leave to carry out our weekly snake survey.  Walking away from an Osprey is not easy!

An hour later, back at the car park, we could still see the bird in the same position.  This time it took flight and flew west down the reservoir and out towards Whillets where we had just come from.  The views were outstanding - alas our photographers were no longer with us so no flight views were possible.

Happy days!

2024 species count=200

August birding continued - sandpipers, black terns and tree pipits.

 

Press Ridge Warren, Ashdown Forest with the Ashdown Bird Group - 9th August.

On one of our raptor watches, one of the bonus birds for me was tree pipit, my first of the year.  There were 2 in the canopy of the nearest tall tree.

Pagham Harbour,  West Sussex - 12th and 19th August 2024

I made 2  visits to the Ferry Pool at RSPB Pagham Harbour to see the semipalmated sandpiper.  On both occasions the bird had its back to me and spent most of the time asleep!  This was only my second "lifer" this year - my 370th UK bird overall.

On the second visit with Martin we also saw a little stint and several curlew sandpipers.

Scotney Sand Pits, East Sussex - 22nd and 26th August 2024

I had no luck locating the pectoral sandpiper on the sand pits.  On both occasions there were many green sandpipers, several curlew and common sandpipers and a very nice wood sandpiper.

This was a haven for waders and, incredibly, a brand new site for me!  

RSPB Dungeness - 26th August 2024

After our visit to the Scotney Sand Pits Martin and I carried on to Dungeness where we saw our first black terns of the year from the ARC Hanson Hide.  There were 2 flying around before settling on one of the islands.

There were also at least 4 cattle egrets, a glossy ibis and 12+ garganey on show today. 

2024 species count=199

More updates - Honey Buzzards, Nightjars etc

 

Sorry but I have been a bit neglectful to the blog lately.  The birding goes on however and I have some pretty impressive sightings to bring you!  

Ashdown Forest,  Sussex

Lots of my time has been given over to nightjar events and honey buzzard surveys.  

• The former is a forest staple and this year has been very successful with lots of sightings at various places.
• The latter is new and burgeoning with more and more honey buzzard sightings in the area.  The best place to view these fabulous birds is the newly designated site beyond the old Llama Park.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

Pagham Harbour 1st July 20204

• On 1st July I finally got to twitch the spotted redshank at Pagham Harbour,  Chichester.  It took me 3 attempts before I got to see the bird.  It was always present early morning but every time I made the 75 minute journey I arrived too late. 

 Desperate times call for desperate measures so today I was up with the larks and lo and behold I got my reward with fabulous views of the bird on the Ferry Pool

The Mens 14th July 2024

This was a trip with the Ashdown Bird Group to the north west corner of Sussex.  Most of the excitement came from the butterflies and dragonflies on the reserve, except for a couple of exceptions when the birding grabbed the headlines.

• At 2 different locations on the site we came across 2 spotted flycatchers  flitting around in the trees adjacent to our path.

Courtesy of Phil Aylen

Courtesy of Phil Aylen

Oare Marshes, Kent  28th July 2024

This was a visit to the north Kent coast with the Ashdown Bird Group where a fabulous outing added 4 birds to my year list.

• For the 12th year in a row the Bonaparte's gull has returned to this site and I was pleased to be there once again to greet it.  

Smaller than the black-headed gull behind it,with a jet black head, now fading, and with a black bill, this bird is legendary in Kent.  

Below is the same bird photographed a month earlier, in the same place, now in full summer plumage!

Courtesy of Kent Ornithological Society and Facebook

• Also seen here were a couple of green sandpipers, a sleepy spoonbill and some golden plovers, associating with the lapwings in the photograph below.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

Cuckmere Haven, Sussex  2nd August 2024

Tonight I went down to the beautiful Cuckmere Haven to twitch the black-winged stilt.  

Thankfully the bird was still there despite the hige number of casual walkers etc.

Keep the faith!

2024 species count=194

Updates: American Golden Plover, Wood Sandpiper, Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and Spotted Redshanks.

Things tend to go very quiet at this time of year and I have to travel quite a bit to see any new birds for my 2024 Year List.  On 3 out of 4 occasions I had to head west to Pagham Harbour, near Chichester - a round trip of over 100 miles each time.

Friday 7th June 2024  -  Pagham Harbour East, Sussex

 An American Golden Plover was reported on Wednesday and, after initially resisting the urge to twitch this bird, I finally succumbed and made the trip.  I joined a group of 5 birders who were looking for it at low tide, along the channel near White's Creek.  After a few minutes I found it in the scope and alerted the others.  It was very distant and was associating with the Grey Plovers.

Friday 14th June 2024 - Ferry Pool, Pagham Harbour, Sussex

A week later I made the same trip, this time to the Visitor Centre and the Ferry Hide to see a very close Wood Sandpiper.

Monday 1st July 2024 - Ferry Pool, Pagham Harbour, Sussex

The Spotted Redshanks proved more problematic.  Initial attempts were unsuccessful - each time I arrived too late, the birds having left earlier.  Today however I arrived at 06.00 and found both birds, in breeding plumage, showing very well, close to the hide

Tuesday 25th June 2024  Weir Wood Reservoir, Sussex

If all the above were out-and-out twitches, this one certainly was not.  After completing my weekly snake survey I was walking back through the woods to the car park when I met up with 4 of the other volunteers.  They were looking for a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that Ian had seen near the top of a nearby tree.  Quite soon we got a sighting - of two birds, probably juveniles, in the canopy.  When they took flight we got a clear view of both of them.  What a bonus - right here in our own back yard!

2024 species count=188

Cirl Bunting in Sussex!

Monday 3rd June 2024

Portslade, Sussex

News came out of a cirl bunting on the South Downs just outside of Portslade so I made the short journey down the A27 to see it, arriving there about 4.30 pm.  

Boy was it worth it.  The bird was showing very well, and singing away, at the top of a tree barely 30 metres from the group of onlookers.  

Courtesy of Richard Allan

After 15 minutes or so it made a short flight to another tree and started singing again.  Just after 5 pm it took off and was lost to sight, temporarily, before returning.

This is a bird is normally seen in Devon and possibly Cornwall but hasn't been seen in Sussex for over a quarter of a century, when it was a regular breeder -  no wonder it caused such a stir.

I never thought that I would see this bird in Sussex - marvellous!

2024 species count=184

Honey Buzzard in the Ashdown Forest

 31st May 2024

I invited Martin to join me for a morning trip to the newly announced raptor viewing point in the Ashdown Forest. 

• Despite some concerns about the deteriorating weather we were rewarded with a spectacular view of a honey buzzard, with the bird following a flight path from SE to NW and passing directly overhead.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

Just the Job !

2024 species count=183