Dartford Warbler

 

It is always good to see an unusual bird turn up close to home and a Dartford Warbler within walking distance, in a local park, was an opportunity not to be missed. 

The location Brooklands was unexpected. It is a run down recreation park and small lake on the seafront in Worthing although in fairness it is in the process of being converted into more of a nature park. An "outdoor interactive classroom and science learning resource" I think they will be calling it.

There is a small area of rough grass and low vegetation close to the lake that has attracted a couple of Stonechats and a Dartford Warbler. There is not much cover and there are a lot of dogs about but the birds seem quite happy in the area.

The birds displayed typical behaviour with the warbler following the Stonechats, staying low in the undergrowth and feeding low and on the ground, whilst the Stonechat stays high and prefers to perch on top of the undergrowth. It is typical of behaviour seen on the commons in the north of the county and is often the easiest way to find a Dartford Warbler.

The arrangement seems a bit one sided in favour of the warbler. It has the Stonechats providing an early warning system and alarm calls for any dangers and it has longer to forage for food as the Stonechats probably locate good foraging areas for it as well as providing a level of cover. I cannot see any advantage for the Stonechat and there must be an impact on their foraging from loss of food to the warbler.

There doesn't seem to be any attempt by the Stonechats to drive the warbler away although they do seem to move on a bit more rapidly when they have a Dartford Warbler in attendance.

As you would expect I took a lot more pictures but Dartford Warblers are not the easiest of birds when it comes to getting good images. They prefer staying in cover and it is difficult getting them in focus.

January has drawn to an end and it seems to have deliver a lot of rain but there were also some good birding days towards the end of the month. The highlight must be the Sabine's Gull which will probably also be the highlight of the year. I did go back for another look but I couldn't really improve on the pictures I had.

Sabine's Gull

Sabine's Gull

Other observations on the month - more Firecrests and Bullfinches than I usually see in a year.

Bullfinch - a female this time and easily a match for the more showy male.

Firecrest

More Wrens than usual but no Yellowhammers or Siskins and I only found a Corn Bunting on the last day of the month.

Wren

Corn Bunting

And who can resist a Long-tailed Tit.

Long-tailed Tit

Sabine's Gull

 

It has probably been eleven years since I missed seeing a Sabine's Gull that was present on the Brighton seafront. I think it was only there for a day but the memory of having missed it, has been there in the back of my mind ever since. Then a report of one just over the border in Hampshire, a couple of days ago, gave an opportunity to purge the failure from my memory.

Fortunately I spotted the report whilst checking e-mails at six in the morning, just after getting up  to make an early morning cup of tea. By seven thirty I was standing on the sea wall at Southmoor Nature Reserve in Langstone Harbour waiting for the sun to come up.

It didn't look promising, it was cold and dark with the wind was gusting towards gale force and there were a lot of gulls in the area. Spotting one gull, amongst the hundreds in the reserve and on the sea, was proving difficult particularly with the scope moving about in the wind.

My luck was in though, the sun came out and one of the birders that turned up had seen it the day before and knew its favourite feeding area. Sure enough within a few minutes it made an appearance and started giving good views as it was dip feeding in the shallow water.

Even better it was a full adult in summer plumage with dark grey hood and yellow tipped bill so no problems with the identification.

Fortunately the bird was feeding in the pools inside the reserve so standing on the sea wall you had the sun behind you, although this then gave problems with high contrast levels.  So not perfect but certainly a lot better than the usual South Coast problem of having to photograph out to sea into a low winter sun.

I watched for about an hour hoping to get a picture of the distinctive upper wing pattern but it proved difficult to see.

The number of birders gradually increased with one of the photographers eventually stepping over the fence into the reserve to get a closer view. He was on his own for a time but the the second crossed the fence, then a third and in a short time most of the twitch was in the reserve on the edge of the pool.

To be fair the bird did not seem to be spooked in the time I watched but it did move further away. For new people turning up there was little choice. The view from the sea wall was obstructed by all the people in the reserve and to see the bird they all had to join the throng. Sad really, does anyone read the birdwatchers code these days, birding etiquette seems to have gone out of the window.

Fortunately I had seen enough and made my way back to the car. If the bird is still around in a few days time I might go back. There is always a better picture to be had.