Red Kite

 

It has been a while since I last wrote a blog. My new Years resolution was to be all around getting out more, taking more pictures, and writing more blogs. Then the third lockdown came along and my resolution was blown apart. I couldn't even find any interesting insects in the garden to write about.

I usually take my daily exercise close to home but I have manged a few short trips into the countryside, carrying the camera to record obliging birds and a sandwich which I always eat on the move so it doesn't count as a picnic!

It has resulted in a slow start to the birding year but there have been a few good opportunities. Probably the best being this perched up Red Kite. I first saw it at a distance and took a couple of record shots then gradually moved closer taking pictures as I went, all the time expecting it to take flight.

Red Kite

There wasn't much cover around but then with raptors and Owls I have usually found it best to stay out in the open rather than try to creep up on them. You just have to take a zig-zag approach and take your time, stopping regularly and pretending to be a sheep. It watched me closely but did not seem concerned. I took around fifty shots as I approached. These last two being at around twenty metres where I was stopped by a barbed wire fence.

I was then backing off slowly, happily surfing the shots on the back of the camera, when the kite had the last laugh by making a low pass over my head whilst I was looking the wrong way. Probably just it's way of warning me off its territory and of making it clear who was in control.

Red Kite

A walk around Shoreham Fort and Harbour gave me this female Black Redstart in the boatyard but not sightings of the Purple Sandpipers that frequent the pier or of the Dartford Warbler that has been seen along the beach walk.

Black Redstart

A couple of weeks before Christmas I had been over to Marsh Farm at Sidlesham to look for the Richards Pipit. I did see it and I did get a picture but the bird was distant and there were frequent bursts of torrential rain,  so the pictures were poor.

Richard's Pipit

I went back in early January with the idea of getting a better picture and of adding it to the new year bird list but I was a day too late. It was seen the day before I went but has not been reported since. Still a walk over from Pagham and around the farm and Sidlesham area, gave a substantial boost to my new year list.

It is strange to recall that ten years ago Cattle Egrets were rare birds and I would travel miles in an attempt to see one. Now they are a common bird on the Selsey peninsular. This one amongst twenty plus feeding in one of the Marsh Farm fields.

Cattle Egret

Long-tailed Tit

Song Thrush

Stonechat

Also, whilst passing through Arundel I decided to stop off for a walk around Swanbourne Lake to look for the Mandarin Ducks. It was probably the riskiest walk I have taken all year. Arundel was packed with cars and people and there were groups feeding the ducks, walking and picnicking all around the lake. Fortunately the Mandarins prefer the more secluded areas.

There is no doubt, that the countryside and a few hours out (socially distanced) birding, can make all the difference during these difficult times.

Long-tailed Duck

Friday and great weather for taking pictures but where to go, Amberley Wildbrooks for the Swan Geese (escapees) or West Rise Marsh for the Slavonian Grebe, Long-tailed Duck and an outside chance of a Richard's Pipit. In the end I settled for West Rise Marsh.

The Slavonian Grebe was easy to find. Scan the lake until you see a couple of birders, walk round to where they are standing and the bird was happily feeding just a few metres away. It was nice to have a subject that does not swim or fly away as soon as you appear but I was still not happy, too much wind and reeds blowing across the picture every time I pressed the shutter button.

Slavonian Grebe

The Long-tailed Duck was a bit harder to find. I knew where to look but for a long time I could not locate it. It seems to spend most of its time under water, only surfacing for a few seconds at a time. I did eventually get a few shots although most were of its rear end as it disappeared under the water yet again.

Juvenile Long-tailed Duck

Gone

I spent about an hour looking for the Richard's Pipit but the marsh is a big area and with no starting point it was a bit of a lost cause. This is a bird that tends to stay on the ground running through the long grass and disappearing into dips and gullies. It may still be there but I couldn't find it.

Shorelark

Or should it be Shore Lark or perhaps more correctly Horned Lark. Whatever the name it is a relatively rare bird and a much sought after prize at this time of year. I have never seen one in Sussex so the quest has always involved a trip to the north Kent coast. Previous years it has been to Reculver but this year one was being reported at Minster on Sheppey.

The birds tend to frequent shingle beaches feeding along the strandline and usually have a small territory to which they stay quite loyal. We knew where to look for this one and despite a fisherman, with three or four rods, having set up in the middle of its territory, it was not too difficult to locate. We had good views but picture opportunities were a bit limited. There were regular disturbances from dog walkers, litter collectors and some of the more ignorant members of the Minster community but, a bit like a Snow Bunting, the bird just flew off, circled and then relocated close by.

At one point the bird flew up on to a rock and offered great picture opportunities if we could just get a little closer but we missed the opportunity when the bird was flushed by a passer-by.

As well as the Shorelark, Sheppey offered the opportunity of seeing a Richard's Pipit. We drove to the other end of the island and down a potholed dirt track to the the little hamlet of Shellness. This is about as remote as you can get in the Southeast of England. We parked up and walked a couple of hundred metres out into the Swale NNR. 

The pipit was a bit harder to find but we did get some help from one of the local birders. It stayed in the long grass and gave very few picture opportunities. The pictures shown here are just record shots. They are posted small as they are heavy crops and poor quality but they do at least show sufficient detail to confirm the sighting as a Richard's Pipit.

Sheppey is always good for raptors and we saw quite a few circling high in the sky. Buzzards, Red Kites, Marsh Harriers, and Hen Harriers. Others also had sight of a male Hen Harrier but I could not get onto it. I had to make do with Dave's commentary of its progress through the sky. A pity but I doubt that I could have been confident with the identification at the distances involved.

Richard's Pipit

Today's target was the Richard's Pipit on Horse Eye Level. The bird has been around for a while although apparently it has not always been easy to locate. However, with it being reported a few times recently and always from the same location we thought it was worth giving it a go.

I picked Dave up and we headed over to the levels. I had never seen a Richard's Pipit before and I cannot say that I was very confident on my ability to identify it. Checking the Collins the night before, it looked very similar to the Tawny Pipit. I was sure that I would be able to tell it from a Meadow Pipit if the two were close together but I was not so sure on my ability if there was only one of them there. A Tawny Pipit should have moved on by now but I was really concerned that my identification would be done on the basis of find a large Pipit and assume that it was the right one. Not really very satisfactory. I needed a picture to take home and study.

Fortunately we arrived at the site to find Bernie Forbes and Dorian Mason already searching the area. Usually I like the birds to myself but this time I was glad of the expertise to help confirm the identification.

Richard's Pipit

Bernie found the bird and although it was very distant I managed to get good views. I could see it was not a Meadow Pipit, it looked large and had a thrush like feeding behaviour, running through the grass and lunging at the insects. It was nice to feel confident that you are on the right bird but having Bernie there to explain what I should be looking for helped a great deal.

We had about fifteen minutes watching the Pipit before it disappeared into a dip and failed to re-emerge. It took about an hour of searching before we managed to relocate it, this time much closer to the road, which is where both these pictures were taken. It was still a long way off and the pictures are a massive crop but at least I have my record shot.

Richard's Pipit

Whilst waiting for the Richard's Pipit we had good views of Marsh Harriers, Stonechat, Short-eared Owl, and could hear Cetti's Warblers in the reeds.

We headed back via Jevington for another look at the Rough-legged Buzzard. It was there but not feeding this time. It took a few short flights but was heavily mobbed by Crows and Jackdaws. 

Rough-legged Buzzard

You certainly could not complain about a shortage of birds. As well as the large flocks of Crows, Rooks, and Jackdaws, there were probably two hundred plus Stock Doves and we also had a flock of Skylarks through that must have numbered over four hundred. There were also three or four Common Buzzards in the area including one particularly brutish looking individual.

Common Buzzard

At about half past two, with the light already starting to fade, we headed for home. We made a brief stop at Widewater on the way to see the Mergansers and to have a quick look out over the sea. There were thousands of Gulls stretching along the coast as far as the eye could see. Fortunately the light had gone by then so we did not have to stop and inspect them all searching for a Caspian.