Month: April 2020

Steyning is a bit farther away than we normally go at the moment, but it has the nearest Nightingales to home (the clear skies have meant we have had no migrating birds from the house this year).  To maximise distancing and to get there at prime singing time we decided on a dawn raid, leaving the house at 0430.  We certainly weren’t up before the larks, which were singing as we walked up the down, but we were up before the sun – that came up about four miles into the walk.

At Steyning, after a glorious but decidedly cold pre-dawn walk, we had arrived before the Nightingales had thawed out.  We had a bit of a wait, but when they did one gave us a fantastic serenade.  To relive the experience, stand in a blast chiller for about an hour before playing the recording on a loop for about 10 minutes, during which time you can look at the picture for no more than 5 s.

We then moved on to our next target: a bluebell wood.  There’s not many in lockdown distance and our first try had only a few bluebells.  On the way home, though we stumbled across a tiny, but beautiful one.

Up before the dawn

It’s coming

Nearly there

Shouldn’t it be round?

Fallow deer are becoming more common around Steyning, this stag had 9 does with it.

This Nightingale kept us entertained for about 10 minutes, only showing itself once

A bluebell wood at last

You’re desperate for a haircut, but you’ve gripped your wife off on consecutive days on real quality birds: do you dare ask her?  Given that there was no cut-throat razor available, I thought I’d take my chances.  It was a bit of a committee job, but I think I got away with it.  Given that the trimmer was a lockdown purchase, it’s the most expensive haircut I’ve ever had, but it’s certainly not the worst.

I wasn’t offered anything for the weekend, though.

Before: a degree of trepidation

Armed with scissors, a trimmer and a grudge – what could go wrong?

After: several pounds lighter

My best moment as a birder: finding a Hoopoe on my patch.

My worst moment as a birder: watching it fly out of view before Karen got a chance to see it.

There has been an unprecedented influx of Hoopoes into Sussex this month (about 15 birds so far) but the lockdown has meant that even those birds that have hung around have been out of reach, which has been frustrating.  Having been religiously checking paddocks, vicar’s lawns and all short grass around us it was a massive surprise to flush one out of long grass in the evening.  It landed on some cut wood and scrub about 100 m away and sat there for a while: long enough for some record shots.  Before Karen could get to it, it upped and left and we couldn’t refind it.  Having done the same to her the night before with a Turtle Dove, it’s not the best time to ask her to cut my hair.

Here are the dreadful Hoopoe shots and a few other things from the last week.

The Ring Ouzels keep coming: we’ve had at least 10 and probably 13 different birds this month

Stonechat

Early Purple Orchid, one of about 120 spikes in a patch

Spot the odd one out

One of 4 Green Sandpipers we have seen this week

Dingy Skipper

Grizzled Skipper

Common Whitethroat

Wheatear are coming in in large numbers

Hoopoe

Why did it have to fly?

It’s been quiet on the bird front since Saturday, with only a noisy Ring-necked Parakeet adding itself to the house list for the year on Saturday evening.  It’s nice to see, but I hope it doesn’t linger.  Moth trapping has been slow so far – we get very few moths at the start of the season – but Saturday’s haul included a second Brindled Beauty for the house and a first Dotted Chestnut.  In the garden a small Grass Snake has taken up residence.

Brindled Beauty

Dotted Chestnut

Grass Snake

Meanwhile on Cissbury Ring, the ponies were posing.

Our walks continue to be productive, with a good crop of raptors, including our local Peregrine.  A check under the pylon says that it’s partial to a Black-headed Gull.  The local Little Owl has started sunning itself, and on Thursday evening it even had a go at its neighbour, a Barn Owl.  This morning we had more success with a male Pied Flycatcher and a couple of Ring Ouzels, who refused to be photographed.

Peregrine

Red Kite over the garden

Grumpy

A closer view of last weekend’s Hares

Pied Flycatcher

Ring Ouzel

Cowslip

Having had the day’s exercise, I was scoping out of the window and I noticed some movement on the down.  It turned out to be three Hares, not new for the house, but scarce enough to be interesting.  It turned out very interesting, as they started boxing.  It turns out that Mad March Hares are also out of sync this year.  Here’s a terrible digiscoped picture of them.  The female is on the bottom, with her partner between her and the interloper.

Now that the Japan photos are done here’s a few pictures from the garden and the walks around the locality from the last couple of weeks.  We’re incredibly lucky to have the Downs on our doorstep, although this weekend’s stupidity in Brighton might result in us losing even that freedom.

We’ve had some good luck with migrants, although terrible luck with either available camera equipment or the bird sitting in the worst possible place.

One of two Ring Ouzels from today’s walk. Both selected terrible backlit perches.

Brimstone

Comma

Peacock

The Long-tailed Tits seem to be nesting near us this year.

Dartford Warbler (it is, honest)

Green Woodpecker

Corn Bunting

Kestrel

Small Tortoiseshell

Little Ringed Plover

I’ve finished the Japan photos now.  There’s a page here or on the Trips page, with a link to my OneDrive, which has a lot more pictures (and higher resolution and better quality versions of the ones here) and a few videos from the Eagle cruise.