Category: Uncategorized

We’ve had a glorious weekend, with cloudless skies.  Yesterday we had poor views of Brambling and Hawfinch at West Dean Woods (no photos there) and better views of Short-eared Owl at Beeding Brooks (too dark, though still no photos), but the Barn Owl failed to show up.

Today we made our first visit of the year to the West Sussex Commons, and were greeted by a chipping Crossbill as soon as we got out of the car at Ambersham.  Eventually we found it, and then we went onto the common where there were a pleasing number of Dartford Warblers, including one showy one that almost behaved, posing close, but insisting on hiding its head behind a branch.

The other commons were quieter (we were too late for the Woodlark singing) but it was a great day to be outside.

Sunset over the Downs from Beeding Brooks

A very vocal male Crossbill

Datford Warbler, one of at least 7 in the day

The first reptile of the year: a Slow Worm

We had an offsite meeting on Thursday.  Most of the time this would be in a hotel somewhere, and wouldn’t be worth a post, but this was a little different.

The meeting was on No Man’s Fort in the middle of the Solent, so we had a 45 minute boat trip there and back.  Sadly the birding was awful, but the place was fascinating (and the meeting was good too).

The Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth

Nearly finished: HMS Queen Elizabeth

Looking back to Porstmouth with Spit Bank Fort in the foreground

No Man’s Fort: our destination for the day

Homeward bound

We had a walk to Shoreham Harbour yesterday and back over the Downs, in the hope of adding some birds to the on-foot year list.  While we got the hoped-for Purple Sandpiper at the harbour mouth and Greenshank on the Adur, the wind was too strong and the “reliable” Black Redstart and Rock Pipit were sheltering out of sight somewhere.  Still, it was a very pleasant walk and the wind made for some nice seascapes.

A day out in Hampshire today, starting at Hayling Island for some Black-necked Grebes, moving on to Weston for the Long-tailed Duck (we didn’t even need to get out of the car for it, but it was asking to be photographed) and then on to Blashford Lakes.  A mixed bag there, with failure on a Yellow-browed Warbler, but nice views of Water Rail and a Bittern flew past.  Finally we went down to the New Forest for a brief and incredibly distant view of a Great Grey Shrike.

Long-tailed Duck

Siskin

Redwing

Water Rail

Rather a pitiful amount of snow this week.  It’s a sign of the times that this much snow counts as exciting down here.

It wasn’t a great snowman, even before its head fell off, but I think the fox’s final judgement on it was harsh… (paraphrasing from a Bob Rivers Twisted Christmas song)

He’s ginger and his tail is bushy,
And the snowman’s backside is mushy.
He couldn’t resist, oh no:
Yellow snow, yellow snow, yellow snow!

Snow of a different sort today, with a return to the Snow Bunting at Goring Gap, this time on foot.  What a difference a bit of sunshine makes.

A frustrating morning, where we wasted an hour looking where Birdguides said a Snow Bunting was, instead of the location we would have gone had we not known “better”.  Fortunately it was waiting for us when we finally got there and was as approachable as this species normally is.

The Purple Sandpipers at Shoreham Harbour gave us the slip again, but the Black Redstart is always worth a look.  Finally we went over to Ashdown Forest, where Common Crossbills cooperated.

Snow Bunting

Black Redstart

This Turnstone is the Purple Sandpiper replacement service

Common Crossbill

Off to Newhaven today to see the Hume’s Warbler that has apparently been around since last year.  Eventually we got a decent, but not stellar view.  Then on to Shoreham Harbour for another failed attempt to find Purple Sandpiper.  Rock Pipits and Guillemot showed well, though.  Brooklands gave us our first Sanderlings of the year.  Finally we went to Beeding Brooks for a go at the very photogenic Short-eared Owls.  A view of a distant bird lasting maybe a couple of seconds was not what we were hoping for.

Hume’s Warbler on a very brief moment in the clear.

Hume’s Warbler is very similar to Yellow-browed, but its ability to levitate sets it apart.

Rock Pipit

Guillemot

Sanderling

It was time for a long overdue clean of the bird feeders today, so I sat and scrubbed on the doorstep on the patio.  I wasn’t that surprised that the Long-tailed tits still made regular visits to the remaining feeders, only about 4 m away, as they are just plain cheeky.  I was a bit more surprised when a Magpie came down.  My status as irrelevant was confirmed when a Fox appeared at the end of the garden, gave me a look and then walked across the lawn in front of me and went through the hedge.

The year has started birdily.  A day out, but not a bird race, on the 1st got us 97 species, although nothing to photograph apart from a Robin who was just not quite brave enough to take food from me.  On Saturday we caught up with the superb Black Redstart at Shoreham, again in rubbish light, and on Sunday we had a jaunt to Rye Harbour and Dungeness.  Dunge was rubbish, but Rye was good, the start birds were three Twite.  We only saw them well almost at dusk, hence the rubbish picture.  Today’s star bird was a Sparrowhawk: it’s taken 123 species to get one.

All that and a badger from the back window on Saturday night makes it a good start to the year.

Robin

Black Redstart

Twite

A last post for 2018, continuing from the previous one, with a photo of one of the local Herdwicks that finally stood near a camera in vaguely acceptable light.  On a gloomy day, photographing anything smaller than a sheep was pretty much impossible.

Our last moth trap of the year on Boxing Day caught only one moth, but it was a new one for us: a Mottled Umber.

Mottled Umber

Herdwick