Bearded Tits

Farlington Marsh is a great site, it's just a pity about the road noise from the A27 and today, with a slight north wind blowing, the smell off petrol and diesel fume polution drifting across the marsh. Still it's worth a visit especially at this time of year when the Bearded Tits are showing.

We arrived about 0830 and made our way down to the reedbed. Dave could hear them calling and we soon had sight of a flock of seven or eight. A great result and we could have gone home happy. Except, that then another small flock arrived, then another and another and so on. We had estimated twenty five to thirty birds on visits in previous years but it was soon clear that the numbers were well above that this time.

I counted thirty five birds in flocks of 16, 14, and 5 heading off in rapid succession towards the eastern side of the reedbed. Yet there were still dozens visible over the area we were watching and many more that were hidden within the reeds. It was impossible to carry out a count but a conservative estimate would be 60 and the number was probably closer to a hundred.

At one stage this small tree held about fourteen Bearded Tits but unfortunately I was too close and had too much lens on so could not get the picture.

Photographic opportunities were a bit limited. We were standing on the west wall and looking east into the reeds which means that you are taking shots into the sun. If you want pictures I would suggest going along mid afternoon when the sun will be over your shoulder.

I am not sure if these birds are all resident at Farlington or if some are just passing through but the numbers seen are hugely encouraging. Lets hope that a few of them move along the coast and take up residence at Pagham Harbour.

Spotted Flycatcher

Sometimes you go out with a plan and it works - yesterday. Sometimes you go out with a plan and it doesn't work - today. I had wanted to see a Merlin. It's been at the top of my list for a long time now, a bit of a bogey bird. The only Merlin that I have seen were a couple of dead ones that we picked up off the road near Scotney Pit.

There was a Merlin reported at Farlington Marsh yesterday so I though I would give it a go. No luck, the best I could manage was a Kestrel. Still I had a good day, I saw a lot of birds and even got a few good shots.

Linnet - rather dull at this time of year

Linnet

Sedge Warbler

Wren

The Bearded Tits were seen at Farlington today but not by me. They are probably still feeding on insects and will be easier to see once they change over to the reed seeds in the winter. There were also Yellow Wagtail in with the cattle but the grass was long and I could not get a clear shot of them.

Next stop was Church Norton where I got some close views of the Spotted Flycatchers from the hide.

Spotted Flycatcher

Then round to the North Wall. The water in the Breech Pool was back to a reasonable level and with mud showing again the waders were back. I missed the Spotted Redshanks so the picture opportunities were limited to the Black-tailed Godwits and Snipe.

Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit

Snipe

Swallows and House Martins were hawking over the pool and gathering on the overhead cables. It will soon be time for them to leave. 

To finish off I had a Long-tailed Tit flock moving through. For some reason they always raise the spirits.

Long-tailed Tit

I didn't get the Merlin but it still turned out to be a good day. Nothing really exciting but a lot of good birds to see.

Eider

Monday was forecast to be a reasonable day and with a few loose ends to tidy up we started off at Fareham Creek and the Eider that we had dipped on last week. I thought we had missed out again but just as I was about to drive off Dave spotted it flying in with its mallard cohort. We had to relocate to the recreation ground to get decent views. The promised sun had not materialised and it was difficult to hold the camera still in the gusting wind but we still managed to get a few decent shots.

Eider

Its a smart looking bird, it flies well and there did not appear to be any rings on its leg but it is not quite as smart when it comes to picking a mate. It seems to have taken a fancy to a female mallard and was paying her close attention with a lot of displaying and calling.

Eider and Female Mallard

Next stop was Farlington Marsh to look for the Short-eared Owl. We watched from the viewpoint for a while but it was no fun in the cold wind and we decided to move on. On the way out we found a number of waders being pushed up on to a small island by the incoming tide.   Amongst them were half a dozen Knot. This is not a bird that I manage to see close up very often. In fact it was on a short list of only five birds that I had seen and not  photographed. So another success and the list is now down to four.

Knot

Grey Plovers with Knot in the foregound

   Onwards to Pagham Harbour. We couldn't find anything much at Church Norton. The Ferry Pool had lots of birds  but other than the two Ruddy Shelduck there was nothing unusual.  The Slavonian Grebe was still on the Lagoon. The pictures this time are an impovement but they should have been better.

Slavonian Grebe

Catching plenty of fish

To finish off the day we stood on the North Wall and watched one of the local peregrines feeding on an unfortunate wader as thousands of the birds she had spooked flocked and swirled in the air above her.
                                                                                                

Ruddy Shelducks

Skip to the end if you are only here for the Ruddy Shelducks - but you will miss some good pictures.

There being no confirmed sightings of the Worthing Pacific Diver we thought we would head over to Farlington Marsh for another go at the Bearded Tits. With the sun in the wrong direction for taking pictures of the Beardies we decided to do a circuit of the marsh first. Good as we picked up a lot of birds on the way round, not so good as when we got to the Beardies spot they had moved back into the more distant reedbeds and we could not get a picture. Another target missed perhaps but actually we had a great time and came away with some good pictures.

Best bird of the day must be this female Stonechat that seemed to have no fear and was not going to vacate a good feeding area just because we had turned up.

Female Stonechat - not going to be intimidated

Busy feeding and using a lot of perches

I'm not sure what she has caught here.It looks like a caterpillar but what is the shiny bit in the middle?

Stonechat and caterpillar - I think

 A male Stonechat turned up although he seemed to be doing more looking than feeding. Unfortunately I cannot read any of the information on his leg ring.

Ringed Male Stonechat

There was also a Meadow Pipit feeding in the same area

 

Meadow Pipit

 
There was clearly a lot of food in the area but the local Robin did not look happy about sharing it. The Meadow Pipit and Male Stonechat were soon chased off but the female was still holding her ground when I left.

Robin

The marsh and mudflats to the south of the sea wall were covered in geese. Brents being the most common. As always we scanned them all looking for a White-fronted or a Pink-footed but no luck as usual. It would be a lot easier if they would stay in one place but they were forever taking off and relocating.

Brent Goose - just the one!

They can turn the sky black when they take off on mass and the noise they make calling to each other as they fly is amazing. It is difficult to capture the effect in a picture.

Just a small fraction of the whole flock

Further round the marsh we found some more of the usual suspects.

Dunnock

Goldfinch

And, although we could not see the Beardies there were Reed Buntings feeding in the reedbeds.

Reed Bunting - well camouflaged in this setting

To finish off the day we headed over to the North Wall at Pagham Harbour. The water in the Breech Pool looked high  again so there were very few waders about. Fortunately we met up with Dave Shepherd who put us on to a couple of Ruddy Shelduck out in the harbour.

I always take a lot of convincing on these distant finds and like to get a decent picture. However, looking through the telescope and with both the Daves already convinced I was happy that I was looking at the real thing.The pictures below are not good but they serve as a record as to what was seen.

View across the harbour from the North Wall - 700mm lens

Two Ruddy Shelduck and one Shelduck

Colours and lighter head more visible in this shot

We waited around for a Ring Tail or an Owl to appear but with the sun setting it was time to head home.

Time to go home

Bearded Tits and Others

I spent most of Sunday over at Farlington Marsh with Dave looking for the White-fronted Geese. We must have searched over a thousand Geese but could find no sign of our target bird and I returned home without a single picture.

The White-fronted were reported again on Monday so we decided to give it another go. There was some encouragement early on when we saw a flock of about sixteen Bearded Tits and also had glimpses of a Cetti's Warbler. A good start but there were no pictures and as lunch time approached it was becoming clear that the White-fronted were not on the Marsh.

All very depressing and it was looking like another days birding with very little to show for it. Then out on the marsh Dave saw his lucky black rabbit from last year and suddenly lots of birds started to appear.

A Marsh Harrier flying over, a Buzzard sitting out on the marsh, and a Kestrel that was to give us some great views. We found the Kestrel first sitting in one of the bushes by the side of the path.

Kestrel

Later we watched her hunting from another tree then catching and eating some unfortunate small mammal.

Hunting

Decapitating its lunch

Trying for the big mouthful

Resting after lunch

The bird seemed unconcerned about people and even allowed a dog walker to pass within about twenty feet whilst it was sitting in the tree just above head hight.

Whilst watching the Kestrel we also had a pair of Stonechats close by on the sea wall.

Stonechat

Stonechat

We also managed to refind the Bearded Tit flock we had seen early in the morning. They were moving deep within the reed bed and were difficult to photograph but I did manage a couple of record shots.

Bearded Tit

Bearded Tit

There was still no sign of our target species the White-fronted Geese but by this time we were a lot less concerned. We will catch up with the geese another day.

In the afternoon we decided to head back into Sussex and visit Pagham North Wall. Recent changes to the drainage there have resulted in a lower water level and a lot more mud which should start to attract more waders.

It is probably also the reason why we found four Water Rail out on the mud feeding around the edges of the reed beds. They are not the most sociable of birds and they spent a lot of their time squealing at and fighting each other. Great to watch but it's just a shame they were not a bit closer.

The Chase

The Fight

A Victor

Much more enjoyable birding today with a lot of new bird behaviour observed. Lets hope the weather holds and we can have a repeat tomorrow.