Dartford Warbler

I went looking for a Merlin today. It's one of those birds that I have never really seen and for which I have certainly never managed to get a decent record shot. There had been one reported on the west side of Medmerry and with a Dartford Warbler also reported at Park Farm it seemed worth a trip out.

Park Farm proved to be a nice walk but there was no sign of the Dartford so it was on to Medmerry. Initially it looked promising. A bird flew through, low and fast with crows in hot pursuit. It looked a good possibility, so I set off on a slightly slower pursuit. The crows turned back and the bird disappeared from sight. Then I picked up something sitting on a post. A careful approach and I had it - except that it turned out to be a Kestrel. A different bird or the one chased by the crows? I will never know.

Kestrel

It wasn't all bad news though, a little further along the track I found another Dartford Warbler. As is their way, it stayed mostly low in the gorse, just occasionally appearing for a few seconds out in the open. It was a case of point, shoot and hope for the best, but after about half an hour of trying I did eventually get a shot that was in focus.

There were plenty of ducks on the Stilt Pond but very little else. Distant flocks of Brents, Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Linnets, Goldfinches but nothing to get exited about. The weather had been threatening all day and the light was poor so I decided to head for home.

On the way back to the car a couple of unusual geese attracted my attention. Two Bar-headed Geese in with a small flock of twenty two Canada Geese. It was interesting to see that these were fully integrated into the flock. The one below being on point duty whilst the rest of the flock were feeding.

So another day of meagre returns. West Sussex still seems a bit slow when compared with the rest of the country.

Bean Geese

I had a poor days birding on Tuesday. Not much flying and misty, cold, and overcast weather that made it unpleasant to be out. The only highlight was that we managed to see the two Bean Geese at Arundel. They were very difficult to spot even with the telescope and we were on the wrong side of the river for a closer approach. However, I went home confident with the identification. This morning I woke up and knew that I would not be satisfied unless I got  a record shot of this scarce bird.


Fortunately it was possible to get a little closer approaching from the East of the river and using the railway line for cover. The birds were still distant but visibility had improved and pictures were possible.

Bean Geese

Although the makings on the two birds are slightly different the experts agree that they are both the Tundra variants.

With Greylag Geese for size comparison

The sun came out midday. Not what I was expecting or what any of the forecasts had predicted. Rather than heading off home I decided to walk along the river bank to see what was about. Plenty of birds and one big surprise when what looked like a blow up toy came floating down the river along with some Canada Geese.

Canada Geese and a Bar-headed Goose

A Bar-headed Goose, I have seen reports about it in other parts of Sussex but it still comes as a shock when you see it. Everything about the bird looks wrong, even the way it sits in the water.

It is a Central Asian high altitude species so this is most likely an escaped feral bird and is not recognised on the British list.

Looking more lifelike

A little later I spotted another escapee but this one has been around as a species for a couple of hundred years and is recognised on the British List.

Egyptian Goose

To cap a good afternoon a skein of geese flew over and landed in the river in front of me and in the middle of them were the two Bean Geese I had been stalking all morning. I thought I was going to get some good shots but by the time I had moved out from behind the reeds and got the camera focused they had taken fright and were airborne again.

My picture flying away

Another day of low expectations and good results. I just wish someone could get the weather forecast right so I could make plans a couple of days ahead.