Wednesday 25th June 2014
Ashdown Forest
Honey Buzzards
Started at 11.30 on my patch in the Hillsdown Farm area looking for Honey Buzzards. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful despite a stay of nearly 3 hours. I saw at least 6 Buzzards but alas all of them were Common Buzzards. Never mind! I learnt a lot and still managed to see several Corvids and Hirundines, a Great-spotted Woodpecker and several Chiffchaffs. The weather was excellent with clear views and superb scenery.
Nightjars
From 21.30 to 22.15 my luck changed and I saw Nightjars at all 3 sites I managed to visit.
At Hindleap there are at least 2 territories and I had super views of a Nightjar at each of them. In both cases the male Nightjar flew within 20 metres of me -an amazing experience. Churring was evident from 21.40 and was my main starting point in locating the birds. The only Woodcock of the night flew overhead at 22.00. To be fair I arrived too late to see the main Woodcock activity.
At Churlwood at 22.15 I also saw a Nightjar at close quarters and the views were good on this clear night.
A lovely day with contrasting fortunes!
Wednesday, 25 June 2014
24/06/2014 The Eagle returns! 3 hours of bliss!
Tuesday 24th June 2014
Gills Lap Car Park
Ashdown Forest
I spent some time at Gills Lap on Sunday afternoon following reports of the Short-toed Eagle being present in the morning. Unfortunately it had gone by the time I arrived and was not seen again that day. On Monday it failed to show again, leading to speculation that it had finally left the area.
On Tuesday afternoon I got a message on my I-phone, from Rare Bird Alert, saying it had returned and had been seen around 15.25. By 15.50 Sue and I arrived at Gills Lap to join a small group of birders who quickly pointed out the bird on a dead tree on the hillside opposite.
With really good lighting conditions the views were excellent and we savoured them for about 40 minutes. The eagle relocated to a small tree on the edge of the wood for the final 10 minutes or so and although slightly further away, the views remained superb.
Then to our great joy it started a 30 minute flying display just in front of us. As you would expect it was quite majestic as it glided around. Every now and then it would lower it's legs, like the undercarriage of an aeroplane, and hover like a Kestrel, presumably looking for snakes or lizards on the ground below. Watch the Youtube video clip by following the link below for a good views of this behaviour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juCEaDSQyuA&feature=player_embedded
It then settled atop a small tree on the edge of 500 Acre Wood (of Winnie the Pooh fame) for the next 90 minutes or so, relocating once but only a few metres west to another low tree.
Unfortunately we had to leave with the bird still present.
What a lovely surprise - 3 hours of pure bliss with a bird we thought had left the area. If anyone had told me a few years ago that I would miss an England World Cup match to go bird watching, I would have told them they were crazy but that was the case and I barely gave the matter any thought - it was a "no brainer".
Gills Lap Car Park
Ashdown Forest
I spent some time at Gills Lap on Sunday afternoon following reports of the Short-toed Eagle being present in the morning. Unfortunately it had gone by the time I arrived and was not seen again that day. On Monday it failed to show again, leading to speculation that it had finally left the area.
On Tuesday afternoon I got a message on my I-phone, from Rare Bird Alert, saying it had returned and had been seen around 15.25. By 15.50 Sue and I arrived at Gills Lap to join a small group of birders who quickly pointed out the bird on a dead tree on the hillside opposite.
 |
| Short-toed Eagle Library picture |
Then to our great joy it started a 30 minute flying display just in front of us. As you would expect it was quite majestic as it glided around. Every now and then it would lower it's legs, like the undercarriage of an aeroplane, and hover like a Kestrel, presumably looking for snakes or lizards on the ground below. Watch the Youtube video clip by following the link below for a good views of this behaviour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juCEaDSQyuA&feature=player_embedded
It then settled atop a small tree on the edge of 500 Acre Wood (of Winnie the Pooh fame) for the next 90 minutes or so, relocating once but only a few metres west to another low tree.
Unfortunately we had to leave with the bird still present.
What a lovely surprise - 3 hours of pure bliss with a bird we thought had left the area. If anyone had told me a few years ago that I would miss an England World Cup match to go bird watching, I would have told them they were crazy but that was the case and I barely gave the matter any thought - it was a "no brainer".
Sunday, 22 June 2014
21/06/2014 M40 Red Kites
Saturday 21st June 2014
M40 Motorway
Sue and I made a flying visit to Cumbria to see family. On the return journey we counted 60+ Red Kites flying over the M40 between Oxford and High Wycombe.
What a lovely interval between the long journey down south from Workington and the start of the busy M25 leg to our home in Sussex.
M40 Motorway
Sue and I made a flying visit to Cumbria to see family. On the return journey we counted 60+ Red Kites flying over the M40 between Oxford and High Wycombe.
What a lovely interval between the long journey down south from Workington and the start of the busy M25 leg to our home in Sussex.
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
18/06/2014 Who said there was a shortage of Turtle Doves?
Wednesday 18th June 2014
Knepp Estate
West Sussex
I took up an invite to join Paul on one of his early morning bird surveys at the Knepp Estate just off the A24 in West Sussex. He was confident of showing me several Turtle Doves as he has had a bumper year with them at this site. We got going just after 06.00 and it was not long before we could hear the characteristic "purring" of the target bird.
Over the next two hours we managed to see at least 7 Turtle Doves, flying overhead, resting on the tree branches and a couple demonstrating very clearly their display flight pattern. It is hard to believe that we have seen so many of this increasingly rare bird on a single site.
Paul thinks there are nine and possibly even more this year.
Wow! What a good investment of a couple of hours.
Obviously we saw more than Turtle Doves and below is an impressive list of sightings, the pick of which was a Garden Warbler which showed well on a branch of a nearby tree.
Today's species list :
Garden Warbler
Mandarin
Blackcap
Buzzard
Green Woodpecker
Great-spotted Woodpecker
Wren
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush (10)
Coot
Moorhen
Black-headed Gull
Swift
Swallow
House Martin
Willow Warbler
Whitethroat
Lesser Whitethroat (heard)
Skylark (20)
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Carrion Crow
Cuckoo
Greenfinch
Bullfinch
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Pheasant
Goldfinch (30)
Grey Heron
Pied Wagtail
Jay
Kestrel
Lapwing
Magpie
Mallard
Reed Warbler
Dunnock
Turtle Dove (40)
Starling
Today's minimum species count = 41
Knepp Estate
West Sussex
I took up an invite to join Paul on one of his early morning bird surveys at the Knepp Estate just off the A24 in West Sussex. He was confident of showing me several Turtle Doves as he has had a bumper year with them at this site. We got going just after 06.00 and it was not long before we could hear the characteristic "purring" of the target bird.
Over the next two hours we managed to see at least 7 Turtle Doves, flying overhead, resting on the tree branches and a couple demonstrating very clearly their display flight pattern. It is hard to believe that we have seen so many of this increasingly rare bird on a single site.
Paul thinks there are nine and possibly even more this year.
Wow! What a good investment of a couple of hours.
Obviously we saw more than Turtle Doves and below is an impressive list of sightings, the pick of which was a Garden Warbler which showed well on a branch of a nearby tree.
Today's species list :
Garden Warbler
Mandarin
Blackcap
Buzzard
Green Woodpecker
Great-spotted Woodpecker
Wren
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush (10)
Coot
Moorhen
Black-headed Gull
Swift
Swallow
House Martin
Willow Warbler
Whitethroat
Lesser Whitethroat (heard)
Skylark (20)
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Carrion Crow
Cuckoo
Greenfinch
Bullfinch
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Pheasant
Goldfinch (30)
Grey Heron
Pied Wagtail
Jay
Kestrel
Lapwing
Magpie
Mallard
Reed Warbler
Dunnock
Turtle Dove (40)
Starling
Today's minimum species count = 41
16/06/2014 Short-toed Eagle - in Ashdown Forest!
Monday 16th June 2014
Ashdown Forest
Old Airstrip
In my rush to help Sara move house yesterday I forgot to take my iPhone with me with almost disastrous consequences. Paul and Andrew tried to email me, text me and left voicemails to alert me to the exciting news of a first ever sighting of the Short-toed Eagle in Sussex and only the third ever sighting in the UK. Thankfully, a day later, it was still there and showing well at TQ425 301. Sue and I joined friends and over a hundred birders for this splendid event.
The Old Airstrip, where the bird was seen most often, is adjacent to my patch in the Ashdown Forest strangely enough. We got particularly good views of the Eagle hunting close by and then spectacular flight scenes as it rose up above the trees. After an hour we had to leave in order to get down to Sara and Jen's to continue with the house removal. Hopefully it will stay around a while and we can get more views as it is such a rarity.
Addition to Life List of UK Birds:
Short-toed Eagle (262)
Addition to 2014 UK Bird List:
Short-toed Eagle (237)
Ashdown Forest
Old Airstrip
In my rush to help Sara move house yesterday I forgot to take my iPhone with me with almost disastrous consequences. Paul and Andrew tried to email me, text me and left voicemails to alert me to the exciting news of a first ever sighting of the Short-toed Eagle in Sussex and only the third ever sighting in the UK. Thankfully, a day later, it was still there and showing well at TQ425 301. Sue and I joined friends and over a hundred birders for this splendid event.
The Old Airstrip, where the bird was seen most often, is adjacent to my patch in the Ashdown Forest strangely enough. We got particularly good views of the Eagle hunting close by and then spectacular flight scenes as it rose up above the trees. After an hour we had to leave in order to get down to Sara and Jen's to continue with the house removal. Hopefully it will stay around a while and we can get more views as it is such a rarity.
 |
| Short-toed Eagle Library picture |
Addition to Life List of UK Birds:
Short-toed Eagle (262)
Addition to 2014 UK Bird List:
Short-toed Eagle (237)
Thursday, 5 June 2014
01/06/2014 and 03/06/2014 Nightjars and Woodcock.
Sunday 1st June and Tuesday 3rd June 2014
Nightjars at Hindleap
After dusk
On 1st June, almost two weeks later than I would have liked, I finally found time to make a flying visit to the Ashdown Forest to look for my beloved Nightjars.
Thankfully they have returned again this year with a pair showing well from "Brian and Jane's" wooden seat about half a mile down the hill from the car park at Hindleap. There were also a couple of "roding" Woodcocks in the sky above the trees.
I stayed for 15 minutes before heading up the hill to look at another Nightjar territory, in the same area as last year, adjacent to the car park. I couldn't stay too long as I wanted to check out my own patch at Churlwood to see if any had returned there as well.
At Churlwood there was indeed yet another, my fourth Nightjar of the night. A hectic visit but a very productive one.
I can now look forward to a summer enriched by watching these splendid birds.
The following Tuesday I returned to Churlwood to see the Nightjar again in almost the same position. Whislt I was waiting, I was entertained by several Tree Pipits, one of which sang continuously from the top of a low bush. Marvellous!
Addition to 2014 UK Bird List
Nightjar (236)
Nightjars at Hindleap
After dusk
On 1st June, almost two weeks later than I would have liked, I finally found time to make a flying visit to the Ashdown Forest to look for my beloved Nightjars.
Thankfully they have returned again this year with a pair showing well from "Brian and Jane's" wooden seat about half a mile down the hill from the car park at Hindleap. There were also a couple of "roding" Woodcocks in the sky above the trees.
 |
| Nightjar Library picture |
At Churlwood there was indeed yet another, my fourth Nightjar of the night. A hectic visit but a very productive one.
.png) |
| Nightjar Library picture |
The following Tuesday I returned to Churlwood to see the Nightjar again in almost the same position. Whislt I was waiting, I was entertained by several Tree Pipits, one of which sang continuously from the top of a low bush. Marvellous!
Addition to 2014 UK Bird List
Nightjar (236)
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