25/01/20 Firecrests at Arundel

Saturday 20 January 2020
Birding with Mark and Elizabeth Y

Alan P and myself were invited out for the day by Elizabeth and Mark Y.  Unfortunately, Alan was ill so did not travel. 

We spent the morning at Arundel WWT and Swanbourne Lake before moving on to Burpham and The Burgh. 

It was a mild cloudy day with little or no wind.

 

Arundel WWT and Swanbourne Lake

The last few days have provided a bonanza for photographers at Arundel WWT with firecrests showing well at close quarters.  That is how it was for us with at least 3 and probably 5 appearing regularly throughout our stay.

courtesy of wildlife_uk and twitter



• Nearly all our time was taken up with the firecrests but we did get round the reserve to see most of the usual suspects and the captive wildfowl from around the world.
• We looked for mandarins on Swanbourne Lake but had no luck.  There were far too many visitors for them methinks!

Burpham and The Burgh

• We had lunch at Burpham before viewing the 3 bewick swans in the valley below.
• On the Burgh, try as we may, we were unable to find any short-eared owls or hen harriers.
• We did however see red kite, kestrels, a merlin, a marsh harrier, several ravens, buzzards and a barn owl.
• Mark had a cracking view of a grey partridge in his scope and this was probably the stand out view of the afternoon.

An excellent day out!