Greenshank and Green Sandpiper

 

A trip along the coast to Pagham Harbour and Medmerry delivered some good birds. Pride of place goes to the Greenshank, always the most elegant of birds. This one on the Stilt Pool.

There were also Avocets on the pool and a Black Redstart on the rocks at the breech, neither of which were within camera range. Fortunately there were also three Black Redstarts by the windmill on the eastern side of the breech. Also, just inside the breech, a Purple Sandpiper on the shore with a flock of Ringed Plover . Good scope views but again too far away for a picture.

Moving round to Selsey the Green Sandpiper was showing well in the roadside pool close to the Ferry Pool......

......with a Spotted Redshank in the Ferry Channel.

Not many smaller birds around, just brief sightings of a couple of Dartford Warblers and a Cetti's heard but not seen. The usual birds around the feeders at the RSPB visitors Centre and another Long-tailed Tit posing for its picture to be taken.

Pagham Breech Pool

There is still life in the the Breech Pool even if it's only during periods of drought. The pool, at the back of the North Wall Pagham Harbour, could always be relied on to produce something worth viewing even when all other sites were birdless. However for the past couple of years (since the RSPB took over responsibility for the area?) no one seems interested in controlling the water levels in the pool. First it was allowed to dry out completely, then through last winter and the first part of this year water levels were far too high. Waders could not feed or roost, mud banks and reed beds were under water and birds like the Water Rail just disappeared from the area.

It is difficult to believe that the landowners and bodies like the RSPB and the Environmental Agency were happy to sit back and see such a wonderful site gradually deteriorate.

I still call in occasionally, just for old times sake. Today it was like a blast from the past. Water levels were down and birds were using the shallower parts of the pool to feed and roost. Not in the numbers seen previously but it's better than nothing. Reed Warblers could be seen climbing around in the base of the reeds and the place looked alive again, although no sign of the Water Rails.

Greenshank and Spotted Redshank

Greenshank

Spotted Redshank

Black-tailed Godwit - one of twenty on the pool

Colour ringed Black-tailed Godwit

and a couple of other birds from recent trips out

Whitethroat

Young Song Thrush feeding well

Also a bonus from the visit to the North Wall, a Ruddy Shelduck out in the harbour although too far away for a picture.

Odiel Marshes

The Odiel Marshes sounded too good to be true. Easy access, good selection of birds, excellent views from the road which runs through the heart of the area, and particularly good for photographers. We had to go and of course, it was too good to be true. It was worth the visit but we did not see the selection of birds we were hoping for, the light was poor and the road was closed blocking access to the last four or five kilometres of the peninsular.

Best bird of the day was undoubtedly this juvenile Osprey, blue ringed LHO, hatched 12th June 2017 at Aberfoyle Scotland. He is carrying a lot of bling and a backpack but still a great bird to see.

Perhaps I should start collecting pictures of GPS packs!

There was a good selection of waders around but nothing exceptional and no sign of the Red-knobbed Coot that we had been hoping for.

Curlew

Greenshank

We then spent the rest of the morning checking out a mixed Gull and Sandwich Tern flock before heading back to the Coto Donana. Unfortunately nothing close enough for a decent photograph.

Sandwich Terns, Audouin's, Lesser Black-backed, and a Kittiwake seated bottom left

Interesting ring information. As well as the Osprey we had two Spanish and three Portuguese ringed Audouin's and a ringed Sandwich Tern. Perhaps it is not common practice to report ring sightings in this area but I was surprised that none of the five Audouin's had been reported since hatching between three and five years ago.


Memory of the day, the flocks of birds we could see wheeling over the peninsular well beyond the road closure that stopped us. We could have walked but we had already experienced one session of torrential rain and there was no cover to be seen.

Red-necked Phalarope

Monday, we spent nearly five hours sitting in a hide at Titchfield Haven, waiting for a Semipalmated Sandpiper to turn up - it didn't. Which is probably just as well, as I am not sure that I would be able to tell it from Little Stint even at close range.

The drive home after missing a bird is always a bit depressing but we didn't let it get us down. This morning we were up early and over to Pagham North Wall hoping to find something unusual - we didn't and to make matters worse there were no reports of any good birds in the area. Running out of ideas we decided to go over to Thorney Island to have a look for the Red-necked Phalarope and I am pleased to say this time we were in luck.

The Phalarope has been there for  a few days now but has been distant for a lot of that time. Today it was just out of photographic range for most of the time but did make a couple of short forays into closer waters. It was then a case of trying to get a clear shot through or over the reeds and hoping that the light was reasonable.

We got a few record shots but it could have been better. If you are going to have a look at it, the late afternoon sun will give you the best lighting. For us, today, it was just too hot to stand around for a few hours waiting for things to improve.

To find the bird, park up at the triangle at (SU757049), cross the road and follow the footpath west to the beach. Turn left (south) and follow the seawall footpath for about 200 metres to the Little Deep (SU752048)

On Sunday we walked from Reculver out past Cold Harbour Lagoon. A short stop for pictures gave me the birds below.

Greenshank

Knot

Bar-tailed Godwit

Spotted Redshank

Wheatear

and this looks like another Little Stint - white braces on its back clearer in other shots

A couple of shots from Titchfield, taken whilst we were waiting for the Semipalmated Sandpiper that didn't show.

Ruff

Common Snipe

And two from last week at Pagham North Wall

Curlew Sandpiper and six Dunlin

Low flying Buzzard

The hot weather seems to have caused the autumn migration to stall. Am I alone in looking forward to the cooler and more productive days to come.

Red-necked Phalarope

Yesterday was a bit of a mixed bag. A short seawatch at Selsey Bill delivered one Gannet and a couple of Terns. Fortunately there was a small flock of House Martins gathering mud for nests that helped relieve the boredom.

House Martin

I made a couple of stops at the Ferry Pool to look for the Black-winged Stilt. It was there both times but right at the back of the pool and beyond the range of the camera. The pool held a good selection of the usual birds but nothing really close enough for a decent picture. The Greenshank below is probably the best of the record shots.

Greenshank

The day looked a bit of a washout until, when cooking dinner at 19.30, an alert came through for a Red-necked Phalarope on Widewater Lagoon. I had seen one on the Ferry Pool only four days ago but as with most sightings at that location it was too far away for a picture. Widewater is much smaller and usually offers much closer views. I abandoned the cooking and made my way over to Shoreham to join the gathering band of local birders.

Scope views were excellent but in the gathering gloom picture opportunities were limited. They are not brilliant but these are the only pictures I have of this species.

Red-necked Phalarope

The bird looked as though it was going to roost for the night so I was up before dawn and over at Widewater by 0500, but it was a wasted trip. There was no sign of the Phalarope.

Can't complain though. I am now down to a shortlist of just six birds that I have seen but failed to photograph.

Dusky Warbler and Hume's Leaf Warbler - Good views but just too fast for me to get in the camera's viewfinder and focus on them.

Arctic Skua  and Green-winged Teal - too far away

Woodcock - I had a picture but didn't think it was good enough so deleted it. Bad mistake.

White Stork - I was too busy watching the bird and forgot to take a picture.

Who needs a year list when faced with this challenge?

Garden Warbler

I woke up this morning to what looked like a thick sea mist. I live close to the coast so there was always the hope that by the time I got to the top of the road I would be back in sunshine. No such luck this time and when I got to Pulborough Brooks I found myself sitting in a hide looking out at a bank of colourless grey fog.

It's probably appropriate then, that the first bird that appeared was a Grey Heron. The shots of the Heron below are far better than I saw on the day, its amazing what you can do in Photoshop to recover a picture.

Why does it look surprised? Well it had strayed too close to a Lapwings nest and it was under attack.

Look out

a warning pass

Followed by an exhibition of high speed precision flying -
a few inches lower and it would be impaled on the Heron's bill

Still defiant but moving away

and the Lapwing still intent on protecting it's territory

I was surprised that the Heron made no attempt to use its bill to defend itself. I would have thought that a quick stab would have brought the Lapwing down. But then I am thinking like a human and not like a bird. These territorial disputes probably have an etiquette that ensures that neither party gets injured.

With the fog gradually lifting I went to have a look at the Nightingales. An hour listening and watching these raised the spirits but did not give me many picture opportunities. They seem to have an uncanny ability to always perch with small branches in front of them.

In full song

From a distance the North Brooks did not look very promising but I decided to walk round to Nettley's Hide for a closer look. I am glad I did. There were distant views of a couple of Greenshanks and also a Green Sandpiper.

Greenshanks

Green Sandpiper

Linnets, Sedge Warblers, and Whitethroats were also showing well in front of the hide.

Linnet

Sedge Warbler

Whitethroat

The best find of the day, for me, was a Garden Warbler. This is a bird that always gives me problems but this time I managed to locate it from its song.

Garden Warbler

Sometimes you can walk around Pulborough Brooks and not see anything but today it was well worth the effort.

In the afternoon I went down to Selsey, mainly to look for the Sandpipers that have been reported on the Ferry Pool. There were none there on the way through but on returning later I found a Common at the back of the pool, a first for me this year.

I found the local Kestrel on the ground in the pumping station and in the process of devouring what ever it had caught. I grabbed my camera but I was stuck on the wrong side of the road, unable to cross because of the amount of traffic going by. I had to settle for a flight shot later.

Kestrel

A visit to the North Wall was equally disappointing. Last week it was flooded, this week it has the lowest water levels I have ever seen. Whoever controls the sluice gates seems to be doing their best to destroy the habitat.

Little Ringed Plover on the drying up bed of the Breech Pool. It should be under a couple of feet of water.

A great day out spoilt by what seems to be the wanton destruction of one of my favourite birding spots.