Birds, wildlife and travel
An evening trip out to see some Turtle Doves looked to have been in vain, but one turned up as we were about to give up and gave us some cracking views. No purring, but it would have been drowned out by the Nightingale belting out from the bush behind us.
Wood Warblers aren’t doing well in the south. Not long ago they bred regularly in Sussex, but now we have to go to the New Forest to find them and they’re getting harder there too. Fortunately we had one today, and it was reasonably cooperative. There are a few pictures from last weekend too.
Another sunny day and an afternoon that started well with a new bird for the house list, in the form of a Honey Buzzard on its way north. No photos of that, but a Bee Fly was laying eggs by the pond. A trip to Pulborough yielded the hoped for Tawny Owl chicks, Nightingale and Adders.
There’s much to be said for a pre-work seawatch. On a good day it can send you into office buoyed up with early success. Today it made the prospect of a morning’s work an attractive improvement.
Still, the reward came in the garden this afternoon. A flock of 11 Red Kites drifting east at lunchtime was remarkable as we have only had singles before at home, but pride of place goes to the magnificent male Redstart that took up residence in the back field. It wouldn’t cooperate enough for a decent photo, but these digiscoped ones show it reasonably.
Colder today and relatively bird free. On the upside, the Adders today were a bit more torpid than yesterday’s Grass Snake.
After finding a large Grass Snake in the pond (which slithered off before I got the camera) we went for a look around the commons. It was warm and pleasant in Sussex today. and the birds were enjoying it. A final stop off at Cissbury Ring for the seven Ring Ouzels there at the moment had a bonus in the form of a Black Redstart too.
About an inch fell last night in Worthing, giving us just enough for a snowman.
We’ve been up to the Burgh a few times this year, but failed to find the Short-eared Owls and female Hen Harrier that have overwintered there. On Saturday that changed, with views of three owls and the harrier, although in poor light.
Or possibly the west. We went to Weymouth today to twitch a Ross’s gull, a rare vagrant Arctic gull that breeds in northern Siberia, Greenland and a few bits in the far north of Canada. The expectation was for a long vigil as the bird is mobile and, while it has some more regular haunts, it is unpredictable. The reality was much better, a wait of less than an hour before it came and showed superbly. What a superb bird: tiny and exquisitely dainty.
This week brought snow to Britain and Worthing was no exception. In our back garden we had a drift up to half an inch deep. Something of a let down, considering everywhere else seems to have had a proper fall, but it has been just as cold here as in the rest of the country, and that brings birds to us.
There was a significant westward movement of Lapwing on Wednesday and some of them stayed: we had a flock of 44 today, along with a Golden Plover, which is only the second time we’ve had one at home. A few Snipe and a brief views of an uncooperative Barn Owl brightened up a dull Friday afternoon, but our biggest surprise came on Saturday night when our efforts at spotlighting failed to find any waders, but found a couple of Badgers in the field behind us.
Apologies for the quality of the photos: it has been very dark.
