End of Year Top Up

 To finish off the year I thought I would catch up with a few birds to grow my year list.

23rd December 2021

Cuckmere Haven

The weather was very wet so I decided to cut my losses and head for the gull roost at Cuckmere Haven.  Thankfully the weather on the coast was much better with no rain.  

There were hundreds of gulls in the roost, mainly Great Black-backed Gulls with some Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls.

• There were 2 obvious Caspian Gulls that I could pick out.  There were several other candidates but I could not be sure of these - I was hoping to bump into Matt Eade to get some help with the less obvious ID's.
• I also saw 1 adult Yellow-legged Gull but again there were probably more. 
• On the east side of the river, just north of the scrape, I was delighted to see a Short-eared Owl foraging along the small grassy area adjacent to the path.  Every now and then it went down to avoid the walkers who were heading to and from the estuary but it soon re-appeared. 

I returned to the same place on 29th December with much the same weather pattern.  This time however the roost held only 100 gulls or so with no obvious Caspian or Yellow-legged Gulls.  The other gulls were much further north and east and too far away to get a decent view even with the telescope.

30th December 2021

Burpham, near Aundel, West Sussex

I was so sure of twitching the 3 Bewick Swans that were wintering in the Arundel area and I was flabbergasted to "dip" on this my final trip out this year.  The birds were actually further upstream just north of Amberley but the news didn't come through until after I had returned home.  

Yesterday they were at Burpham and on New Year's Eve they were at Burpham - that's the way it goes.

New Year's Eve

I decided to stay at home today and still managed to end my birding year on a high.  As I was walking the dogs in the dark around our estate I was delighted to hear the "twit twoo" calls of the Tawny Owls from the high trees in the neighbourhood.

Happy New Year!

 

More Hawfinches

Tuesday 21st December 2021

Bedgebury Pinetum

Kent

Martin wanted to go to Bedgebury to check out the site for hawfinches.  He has fond memories from a visit he made years ago.  Recent advice form the Kent Ornithological Society indicated that the situation has radically changed and numbers have since plummeted.  However we did get a reported sighting yesterday so off we went.  David, also a great fan of Bedgebury, gave us a map showing his last hawfinch sighting a few years ago.

• For a long time we saw absolutely nothing . Then, just on 15.00 hr as we were about to give up, Martin spotted one in a nearby conifer.  It was showing really well on an exposed branch.  We enjoyed lovely views for around 10 minutes before it flew away.  The image shown is an actual photograph and not a digiscoped image as in my previous posts, illustrating just how close we got to this magnificent bird.

courtesy of Martin Jeffree

The closest I have ever been to this bird was at Sizergh Castle in Cumbria with Brian in March 2015 when the birds were feeding on the ground a few metres from us.  Unfortunately we didn't have a camera with us that day.

Only a single bird today but what a view!

Wednesday 22 December 2021

Heathfield with David

I joined David at the Heathfield site after lunch today, arriving just before 14.00.  He was watching 6 hawfinches as I arrived but by the time I had set up my scope they had all gone!

We waited and waited but it was beginning to look like they would not return. Then just around 15.50 I spotted 3 of them in the tall deciduous tree straight out from us. Five minutes later they were joined by another 3,  all  6 showing really well in the canopy.  Then we settled back to enjoy 30 minutes of uninterrupted viewing until 4 of them dropped down to the thicker foliage, presumably to go to roost.  The other 2 took flight, one flying right and the last one going to the right.

This is turning out to be my best ever year for sightings of Hawfinches!

Welney in the Mist and Fog

Sunday 19th December 2021

06.30  to 09.00

My last trip of 2021 was supposed to be a showpiece event.  I booked for "Swans awake", organised by the WWT at Welney in Norfolk, to observe the swans as they took flight from their their overnight roosting sites.   Here's the advert I responded to.

"Join our warden before dawn to watch the stunning sight of thousands of swans waking up on the wetlands.

Time: 6.30am - 9am

Cost: adults £12, children £5
Pre-order a breakfast muffin for £4.95 to enjoy at the end of the morning. We have either mushroom & emental os sausage and bacon to choose from.

Each winter thousands of Bewick's and whooper swans make their winter migration to the UK, to escape colder countries. Bewick's are the smallest and rarest of the three swan species in the UK. Being much more timid than the larger whooper swans they tend to stay away from the swan feeds, so venturing out early gives you the best chance to see them.

The haunting landscape of the Fens fills with the sound of swans calling to one another, their large feet slapping the water as they take off and their wing beats as they pass over head.

During the event we will use the best locations available to view the roosting flocks flying out, towards the end of the event the birds on the main lagoon are given their breakfast before returning to the visitor centre.

Weather permitting.

BOOK NOW"

However the weather soon changed these grand plans and very little went according to schedule. 

 
I was on the road at 02.30 in order to make the 06.30 start.  The weather was awful - damp with mist and fog all the way up, making driving very difficult even on the deserted roads.

  
Worse was to follow.  The fog proved to be a game changer for the main event too.  

• We waited for sunrise to see the swans  - I joined the group in the Lyle Hide which overlooks the area where the Bewick swans would normally roost.  Not today though, ominously it was devoid of swan sounds between 06.30 and sunrise and when daylight arrived there were no Bewick swans at all and there were precious few birds at all.  The theory has it that the dense fog and wet conditions were conducive to the swans staying out in the fields with very little danger.
• When we returned to the main hide there were only about 20 whooper swans on the water but as the 08.30 feeding time approached the numbers grew but never at any significant rate.  There were no Bewick's at the feed at all!
• It wasn't all doom and gloom though.  I did manage to see my first tree sparrows in over 2 years as well as a couple of barn owls, lots of ducks with pintail the pick of these.

What a shame for the organisers of the event and what an anti-climax for we punters. 

I even went looking for the Bewick's in the surrounding areas but the visibility rendered the exercise futile.  

Up to 5 smew had been reported at Fen Drayton in the last few days so I called in there on the way home. The visibility was again awful and the conditions underfoot very unpleasant and after a while I gave up and headed home.  

The weather was the clear winner today - thank heavens for the owls, tree sparrows and ducks.

Hawfinches at Heathfield

15/16 December 2021

Following last weekends successful Hawfinch sightings at West Dean Woods I was delighted to have the opportunity to look for them nearer home.  David Williams had agreed with Sussex supremo Mark Mallalieu to monitor a site at Heathfield - just 15 minutes away by car.  As instructed we arrived at the site early - around 12.30. 

• The first Hawfinch arrived about 13.50 and was quickly joined by others until we had a total of 10 happily occupying the upper branches of the hornbeam trees.  

                                 

courtesy of David Williams

• Around 14.30 they departed, so quickly that we both missed it.  
• Shortly afterwards I saw a single Hawfinch fly in and land on the top of an adjacent tree and it stayed there until 14.55 before dropping down into the lower branches and thicker foliage. 
• The supporting cast included a lovely Grey Wagtail enjoying the recently created pool in the field a few metres away from us, Siskins and  lots of Redwings.

Exciting times on my doorstep!

• Next day David and I returned just before 14.00  but this time too late to see the Hawfinches arrive.  They were in place and more were joining.  Again the final total was 10 birds.
• The birds were spooked by something and flew off around 14.25. Incredibly, a lone bird flew in like yesterday, stayed on the upper branches until 14.55 before dropping down the tree again at 14.55.

deja vu! 

Fishbourne Creek and West Dean Woods with Paul James and Group

Saturday 11th December 2021

12 of us met up (eventually) at Fishbourne Creek to enjoy a really spectacular morning's birding with 9 staying on to make the trip north to West Dean Woods and go one better and see a couple of real winter Sussex specialities in the afternoon.  

All in all there were over 70 species seen. Thankfully Alan P kept a list and was there from the start, unlike me who didn't read Paul's email and arrived 30 minutes late.  Alan's list is shown below.

Fishbourne Creek

• I missed out on the Red-breasted Mergansers and Goldeneye at the start and they wern't there at the end when we returned to the car parking area.  

Many of the birds were the same as when I last visited with the East Grinstead RSPB Group on 21st November 2021 but there were a few notable additions this time and I have listed them below:-

• We had a couple of Yellowhammer sightings that we didn't get last time, presumably because of the strong winds then.
• A Rock Pipit, a Kingfisher and a Yellow Wagtail were seen at the far end of the creek.
• At least 4 Greenshanks were present as well as a similar number of Spotted Redshanks.

A surprising number of birds were seen, especially when you take account of the fact that the visit was at low-tide.

West Dean Woods

There was only one thing on our minds when we relocated to West Dean Woods for the pm session - HAWFINCHES!  We were not disappointed,

• Andrew and I arrived first at Staple Ash Farm and within minutes Andrew spotted one in the treetops nearby.  Unfortunately it flew off before we could assemble our scopes. 
• Shortly afterwards, when the other 7 group members turned up, we got our scope view of one in a different tree.
• We had superb views of at least 6 more Hawfinches from the slopes near Monkton Farm.

courtesy of Paul James

• As a bonus we saw at least 3 Bramblings which were in with the chaffinches.

What a reunion!

Short-eared Owl at Cuckmere Haven, Sussex

Thursday 9th December 2021

Cuckmere Haven, Sussex 

I went down to the Cuckmere this afternoon hoping to find a Caspian Gull or a Yellow-legged Gull in the roost.  

• There were lots of Great Black-backed Gulls and several Herring Gulls but there was no sign of the target species.
• What I did find however was a Short-eared Owl on the eastern side of the river just below the start of the Seven Sisters walk.  It was flying low over the grassy areas, landed on a post for a while until it was disturbed by a nearby walker and then it disappeared for a while.  Thankfully it reappeared and all in all I managed 4 decent sightings - all of the same bird presumably.

A lovely late afternoon session at my favourite beauty spot on the south coast.

Ashdown Bird Group visit to Pulborough Brooks and The Burgh

Sunday 5th December 2021

Ashdown Bird Group

Twelve of us turned up at RSPB Pulborough Brooks where we spent the morning, spotting over 50 species.  9 of us then relocated to the Burgh for the afternoon session where we pushed our list count past the 60 mark.  The weather was dry but overcast and quite windy.  

                                               RSPB Pulborough Brooks

The highlights from the Pulborough session are shown below:-

•  At least 14 drake Pintails were seen and the views from West Mead Hide were particularly impressive 

• A Peregrine Falcon drew our attention as it perched on top of a mound with its back to us.  Occasionally it took flight but soon returned to the same position.

• The waders included Wigeon, Teal, and Black-tailed Godwit 

A Lesser-spotted Woodpecker was seen on the reserve but alas not when we were looking.

The Burgh

Thankfully the wind had eased by the time we got to the Burgh.  The highlights were:-

• 14 Grey Partridges were seen in the field adjacent to the track we were on.

• There was lots of activity in the skies above with scores of Starlings on the move.  Common Gulls were lively too with 26 counted at one time.  At least 7 Red Kites were on show.  At least 3 Buzzards were seen.  

• There were lots of chaffinches moving along the hedgerows and among them was a single Brambling - my first of the year.

All pictures courtesy of Alison Playle.

A really good day out with my birding friends.

3 Divers in the same harbour

Thursday 2nd December

Sovereign Harbour

Eastbourne 

The unusual occurrence of 3 divers in a small local harbour took me down to Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne .  It was a glorious afternoon with bright sunshine and clear skies but very cold.

It didn't take long to locate the birds - the Great Northern Diver and the Black-throated Diver first then, after a little walk the Red-throated Diver was spotted.  All were in the outer harbour at low tide and the views were second to none.

courtesy of Ian Barnard and Twitter

courtesy of Ian Barnard and Twitter

courtesy of Ian Barnard and Twitter

There was a strong supporting cast too with a Guillemot and several Great-crested Grebes.

Superb birding and so convenient.