10/06/2020 A Red-footed Falcon on the South Downs

Wednesday 10 June 2010
near Beeding Hill on the South Downs

This afternoon I made the short trip by car to Beeding Hill to check out the red-legged falcon that had been reported on Rare Bird Alert.  After a 15 minute walk SE along Monarchs Way I joined other Sussex birders, at the bottom of the hill, who were already watching this lovely bird.

• Initially it was perched on a fence, 50 metres or so from us with its back to us - irritatingly!  It dropped to the ground, giving better views, before jumping back on to the fence.

courtesy of Ian Barnard and Twitter

• Soon it took flight and we were able to enjoy excellent flight views.

courtesy of Ian Barnard and Twitter

• It then landed on a fence, actually on Monarchs Way, on the opposite side of the hill to us.  The views were still very good.
• Things really got better when it was disturbed by a couple of walkers who were coming down the hill towards us.  The bird took flight and headed towards us, landing on a  fence post just 25 metres away.  We really were spoiled by the stunning close views.
• It then took flight again, this time flying up the hill on our side before landing on a fence post once again.

With clouds gathering and looking ominous, I headed back to the car park, arriving just in time as the heavens opened.

What a terrific birding experience - 45 minutes of pure bliss!

09/06/2020 My First Marsh Warbler!

Tuesday 9 June 2020
Kings Mead, Ware, Bedfordshire

Last Saturday, a marsh warbler was reported at King's Mead on the outskirts of Ware in Bedfordshire.  Since then successive accounts have told of the bird singing well and showing on and off.  When it was seen again early this morning, day 4, I decided to go for it.

• I arrived just before 13.00 and the bird was singing away in its favoured bush 50 metres away; it was not showing however.   
• After 20 minutes or so I got my first, very brief, view as the warbler emerged from the dense centre portion of the bush, before disappearing again.  
• Not long after I got another view, this time much clearer - but once more all too brief.  

I was feeling really confident at this point and couldn't wait to get a good scope view.

• Alas, all went quiet from there on and over the next 2 hours we hardly saw it again and, worst of all - it stopped singing!
• I left just after 16.00 hours and went home.  

• Looking at the news there were no later sightings.

Word has it the best sightings and singing occurred early morning, although the  outstanding event  seems to have been just after a thunderstorm over the weekend, as the sun came out.

courtesy of Stuart Fox and Twitter

• A  disappointing finale to what had been a promising start!  
• Still it's great to hear a marsh warbler singing on English soil and the sightings, albeit short, were very sweet.

24 hours on and I feel much better about my experience.  I must have been one of the last people to see this bird as there have been no further sightings since my visit.

Range and Habitat

Marsh Warbler: Former resident breeder, now rare summer breeder in England. Grounds are likely restricted to south-eastern England near Kent. Arrives at breeding grounds in late spring or early summer. Winters in east Africa. Prefers scrub areas of dense vegetation with tall bushes.

INTERESTING FACTS

• The Marsh Warbler likely has a secure population within Europe, however the UK population has fallen and is of serious conservation concern.
• Vagrants of this species have been recorded as far away from each other as Iceland and Madeira.
• This warbler is an excellent mimic and on average incorporates the songs of 31 European and 45 African species into its repertoire.

06/06/2020 Black-winged Stilt at Rye Harbour, Sussex

Saturday 6 June 2020
Rye Harbour NNR

Went for a late afternoon/early evening twitch down to Castlewater on the Rye Harbour NNR.  Worryingly, as I made the long trek to the hide, some returning birders reported that they had not seen the black-winged stilt that had been reported there earlier.

• Thankfully the bird was there and showing very well from the hide.  It was on the far side of the water feeding on one of the small islands and looking majestic in the evening sunshine.
• On the way to the hide I was accompanied by scores and scores of low flying swifts - you don't see one for ages then over the next week or so you get hundreds!
• House martins also provided a welcome backdrop as I was watching the stilt - flying low over the water.

Terrific experience - plenty of exercise and a rather special bird to boot!

03/06/2020 Week 3 of Easing of Lockdown Restrictions

Nothing much to report this week!  Despite the extra freedom Boris is allowing, we stayed in lockdown going out only to walk the dogs, exercise and do a minimum amount of birding.

Knepp 28/05/2020

After the wonderful experiences at Knepp last week, I felt a desperate need to see a turtle dove.  Remember I had heard them frequently but a sighting proved elusive.  With this in mind, last Thursday I decided to go back once more but this time with a specific brief to see one.

• I was on site just after 7am and by 7.15 am I had succeeded when a delightful turtle dove was showing near the top of a dead tree - a couple of hundred metres away but giving great scope views.
• By way of a bonus and prior to seeing the turtle dove, I also saw another cracking cuckoo - also in a dead tree.

By 8 am I was on my way home to surprise Sue and the dogs - job done!

Exercising

• More swifts this week.  The best show was tonight on my way home from the town centre after my long walk.  There were scores of them flying low over the roof tops and making a hell of a racket - much to my delight.

Dog Walking

• Nice to see the mallards with their new chicks on the pond near my home.
• Even more pleasing was the sight of our local moorhens with at least 5 new chicks in tow as they swam around the pond.
• Several really good sightings of green woodpeckers in the play area adjacent to the pond and another, of a pair, at the Millennium Green on one of our longer walks.

Quiet week but delightful still!

27/05/2020 Week 2 of Easing of Lockdown Restrictions

The second week of the easing of lockdown saw more frantic activity from me as I tried to catch up with the birds in the area.

Wednesday 20/05/2020      Hobby

David, a local birding friend, and myself visited my patch in the Ashdown Forest looking for honey buzzard.  Conditions were ideal - it was warm and dry with a little breeze. 

• There were lots of buzzards showing, but, alas, none of the type we wanted. 
• We did however see 2 hobbies, flying high above us and showing well in our scopes.

Thursday 21/05/2020         Acres Down in Hampshire

The next day I decided to travel to Acres Down in Hampshire to see if I could have more luck there with honey buzzard and also to check out the wood warbler situation. 

• On both counts, I failed miserably.  There was so little activity it was unbelievable - no-one I met had seen either species.
• On the way home I called in at Church Norton to check out the terns.  The hot weather had brought out people in their droves so I just spent a few minutes looking before retreating to the car and going home.  I did see the sandwich terns and the common terns but soon gave up on the little terns.  

Saturday 23/05/2020   Swifts and Swifts!

Astonishingly, I had not seen swifts in 2020 but today, in very windy conditions, I managed  to see them, at 2 different locations.

• whilst walking the dogs with Sue in the fields by the hospital in Uckfield we saw 2 swifts fly by high in the skies above us.
• that same evening, at West Rise Marsh near Eastbourne, there were scores of them flying over the water. 

Monday 25/05/2020     Quail

I wanted to address the tern issue again and was undecided whether to go back to Church Norton near Chichester or to try Rye Harbour.  The matter was settled when news came through of a quail singing on the South Downs above Sompting on the way to Chichester.  This time I travelled down in the evening to avoid meeting the bank holiday revellers.

• I called in at the site indicated by the grid reference but could not hear the quail.  I had just started to go back to the car when, 50 metres or so away, the quail was calling - not from the edges of the corn field but from the adjacent scrub by the path.  It was only a brief call, unlike the last time I was in this area and the bird just wouldn't shut up! 
• I waited a few more minutes and then heard the unmistakable call again to clinch the ID.  There was no chance to get a visual on this elusive bird in the dense scrub.
• By way of a bonus I saw my first corn bunting of the year as I was walking to the quail site.  It was singing away at the top of a bush by the footpath.
• at Church Norton, I had the place to myself and sat on the bench watching the terns enjoying the evening sunshine.  This time at least 2 little terns were showing well on the edges of the water and occasionally flying around.

Tuesday 26 May 2020    

 Nightjars and Tawny Owls at Churlwood in the Ashdown Forest.

Last week I spent so much time looking for nightjars at the Old Airstrip and at Hindleap that I forgot to check my own patch at Churlwood.  Alastair had sent me a message to confirm they had returned so I paid a visit.

• On the way to Churlwood, a tawny owl flew in front of the car.  It crossed the A22 just outside of Uckfield as it moved from one wooded area to another over the road.
• At Churlwood, around 9.10 pm I heard a nightjar churring and it repeated this every 5 minutes or so for the next 20 minutes. 
• Despite the good conditions, the light was poor and I never managed a sighting.  Not to worry though - my aim was to confirm its presence to maintain a 100% attendance record since I took on the patch.

Another good week with lots of birds seen.

20/05/2020 Week 1 of Easing of Lockdown Restrictions

It is exactly one week since the lockdown restrictions were eased to allow travel by car.  Our dog walking was still based in the area around the home - we never use the car to transport the dogs to the popular sites - and I managed to see my first house martin of the year on one such walk. 

I took the opportunity to use the car to venture out further into the Sussex countryside to do some birding on my own.  Two tried and trusted venues - the Ashdown Forest, only 15 minutes away by car, and the Knepp Estate, involving a longer drive of 45 minutes or so - were obvious starting points. 

Ashdown Forest

Old Lodge NNR

I managed 3 trips to Old Lodge, looking for spring migrants.

• I had early success with redstarts, seeing a female on my first visit and a stunning male on my second.  I was also delighted to find a couple on my patch at Churlwood later on in the week.
• tree pipits were in fine voice and present in good numbers.  I witnessed one performing it's unmistakable song flight - the tree pipit rose a short distance up from the tree, and then parachuted down on stiff wings.
• woodlarks were prevalent.
• I heard the cuckoo several times but it was always a long way off so I couldn't get a  sighting.
• willow warblers were singing out all over the reserve.

Nightjars

I made 6 successive visits to the forest around sunset to see if the nightjars had returned.  In each case, despite the clear skies, there was no moonlight so visibility was poor once the sun had set.  Venus was showing well though!

• the first 2 nights at Hindleap produced no nightjars but I did see at least 3 roding woodcocks. 
• the next 2 nights I visited the Old Airstrip but there were no nightjars or woodcock there either.  I had to settle for another cuckoo calling in the distance and a very vocal tree pipit.
• on Sunday night I heard a nightjar churring at Hindleap about 9.10 pm but I was unable to see it.  I also called in at the old airstrip on the way home and heard a churring nightjar there too - but, again, no sighting.
• on Monday night things changed dramatically.  I had a brilliant view of a nightjar at Hindleap - the bird flew right by me, less than 10 m away.  A second bird was churring away in the distance so clearly we are starting to get an influx here.  
• also on Monday night there were at least 3 churring nightjars at the Old Airstrip and I managed a very poor fleeting view of one of them. 

The signs look very good for nightjars again! 

I prefer to go to Hindleap where there is more chance of seeing woodcock but the Old Airstrip, with its more open aspect, offers easier viewing and it's possible to view till later.

The Knepp Estate

I made 2 early morning visits to the Knepp Estate, targeting turtle doves and  nightingales.  The weather conditions were superb with bright sunshine and very little wind.

This was truly an astonishing visit - the place was teeming with interesting birds.

• on at least 5 occasions I heard turtle doves purring away in the trees - the most I have ever encountered here.  The only real disappointment was not being able to see any of them.  Each time I was faced with tall bushes/vegetation preventing me from seeing into the nearby trees where the birds were.  
• nightingales were singing all over the place with at least 5 territories encountered on my rounds - again the most I have ever had there.
• white storks were showing all around the site.  The moment I will cherish most was seeing 6 of them flying above me.  To see such magnificence here in the UK was mind boggling.
• whitethroats, lesser whitethroats, blackcaps, garden warblers etc, etc, were present.
• after 6+ attempts, I finally got to see a cuckoo and boy was it worth the wait!  One was showing brilliantly in a tree just ahead of me and I watched it till it flew a hundred metres to the next tree where I watched it again.

This place just gets better and better. 

I was so disappointed when our East Grinstead RSPB group conducted tour had to be cancelled due to the corona virus outbreak.  This was a brilliant compensation.

Rodmell to Lewis Riverside Walk

 I treated myself to an evening walk along the River Ouse from Rodmell (of Virginia Woolf fame) to Lewis to finish the first week of freedom.

The birding was nothing to write home about with lots of other people following this route but I did manage to add some new birds to my year list.

• reed warblers and sedge warblers were obvious additions.
• 4 common sandpipers flew past me on the outward journey and again on the return leg.

An unbelievable amount of birding this week with lots of migrants seen.  Plenty of exercise too, with well over a marathon walked this week, maintaining my lockdown average.

11/05/2020 Lockdown summary

Monday 11 May  2020
Uckfield Area

Sue and I have stuck rigidly to the lockdown rules, going out only with the dogs in the area within walking distance of the house. Thankfully we have managed to get groceries through online delivery or occasionally click and collect so we haven't set foot inside a supermarket - yet! 

Used the car only 3 times, mainly to collect groceries.

My birding experiences have been regular but very restricted - obviously.

•  On my regular dog walking route we would always find the following birds:

carrion crow, jackdaw, starling, magpie

collared dove, woodpigeon

blackbird, song thrush

house sparrow, dunnock

robin, wren, blue tit, great tit, coal tit

 great spotted woodpecker, greenfinch, chaffinch, goldfinch

mallard, moorhen, grey heron

herring gull

• I get regular sightings (and soundings!) of green woodpecker in the fields nearby, especially early on in the lockdown.  They are more subdued currently but still present in good numbers.

• In the woods, less than 100 metres from my home, I occasionally come across nuthatch.  Early on it looked as if they might be nesting there but it has gone very quiet lately, suggesting that things didn't go well.

• I have had fleeting views of bullfinch and jay.

• I heard, then saw, my first blackcap of the year on 15 April as I was walking Odin (my male lurcher dog) over by Buxted Park.  Since then there has been a steady build up of this species as you would expect and now I hear them everywhere I go.

• 2 days later I heard, then saw, my first whitethroat of the year as I took Odin out through the woods into the fields towards the Old Laundry.  Since then I have made regular sightings but not as frequently as the blackcaps.

Our dogs, Odin and Bronwyn, came down with a bug and were confined to home for a few days, so I took the opportunity to walk further afield as part of my exercise routine.  During this time I met other walkers and in the ensuing conversations came to hear about local nightingale sites.  On 2 out of the 3 sites I was told about I did indeed find nightingales.   Unbelievably, there have been regular sightings for years - here, right on my doorstep!

• My first sighting was in the evening of 20 April on the southern end of the town on the path to Isfield.  The nightingale was singing away merrily and came within a few metres above me, totally unaware of my presence.  Unbelievably Sara rang me as I was watching the bird but it wasn't fazed by the call and carried on singing.   I was able to share the moment with Sara and Jen as they listened to the beautiful song.  On the way home I saw my only swallow so far this year as it flew low past me heading east.

• I went back on the morning of 23 April but could not see/hear the nightingale.  Thanks to the help of a fellow birder I did manage to see my first lesser whitethroats and garden warblers of 2020. 

• On 2 May and again on 9 May I heard then saw a nightingale at a second site, this time on the SSE side of town on a footpath down to Halland.

• The only other new addition to my year list was a cracking grey wagtail I saw at Tickerage Mill near Blackboys in the stream close to the house formerly owned by Vivien Leigh of "Gone with the Wind" (1939 blockbuster film) fame! 

With travel opening up a little on Wednesday, I am hoping to get back on my patch at the Ashdown Forest to catch up on some other migrants that I have not seen yet.