A new Birding Year

 

In some ways 2022 was a disappointing year for bird watching, with only 160 different species seen in the UK. Looking back a few years the count could reach as high as 240. That is a significantly bigger number but then that did always include a weeks winter birding in Scotland and perhaps a willingness to travel further to see the birds.

This year I am determined to do better, if only by a modest degree, so I have set my target as 161. Something to aim for if I am ever lacking the motivation to get out into the countryside.

I can usually get the list off to a good start by spending an hour or so birding the back garden but this year has been a disaster. In a weeks garden birding I have recorded Herring Gull, Crow, Starling and Magpie, with the only small bird being two Blue Tits on the feeders. None of the Sparrows, Dunnocks, Thrushes, Great Tits, Green or Gold Finches or other occasional visitors that I was getting before Christmas. Even our garden Robin has gone AWOL. The Big Garden Birdwatch is going to be a bit of a let down this year.

Fortunately a trip down to Pagham Harbour got the numbers moving with thousands of ducks, waders and geese across the harbour. A really spectacular site when they all took to the air at once. A Peregrine or Sparrow Hawk would have been nice but it was only a light aircraft skimming the reserve.

As usual the waders were too distant for any decent pictures but the Snow Bunting was still present and in the same spot where I had seen it two months ago. By now it must be one of the most photographed birds in the country.

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

There were two female Goldeneye, one in the harbour and the other on the Lagoon and a Slavonian Grebe also out in the middle of the harbour.

Goldeneye

The Slavonian Grebe was a bit distant but still worth recording.

Slavonian Grebe

It was good to get the bird list moving a bit faster. The only wader I think I missed was the Whimbrel that has overwintered for the past few years. I must check to see if it is still with us. A couple of life ticks in the local area or perhaps a few Waxwings would be a good next step.

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.

Snow Bunting

There were a few birds around this morning but with the fog lingering along much of the coast it was difficult to get any pictures.

I picked Dave up and we headed over to Climping Beach to have a look for a couple of birds, Black Redstart and Dartford Warbler, that had been reported there. It was all a bit disappointing. We didn't see any of the target birds although I did come away with shots of a Dunnock and a Goldcrest. Given the light levels, the Goldcrest was a bit of a lucky shot. I was having trouble getting it into the viewfinder let alone pulling focus on it.

Dunnock

Goldcrest

Next stop was Pagham North Wall and another disappointment. This used to be my favourite birding spot but it has been short of birds for most of the year. Godwits, Teal, Curlew, one Snipe and a Spotted Redshank, but there was nothing to really get excited about.

The Lagoon was more promising and we got a few shots of a Slavonian Grebe before it took fright and paddled over to the other side of the water. There was some flood defence work going on over there. Men in orange oversuits, pile driving equipment, welding taking place. Strange that it should be spooked by the two of us lurking behind a gorse bush in our green camo gear and happier over with them.

Slavonian Grebe

One decent bird in the bag and the day was beginning to look up. A short journey around the harbour took us briefly out into the sunlight but by the time we reached the coast again at Selsey we were back into the fog. A quick search and we found the Snow Bunting on the beach by the oval field. As with all Snow Buntings it was very obliging. It was put up a couple of times by dog walkers going past but it always came back and we had some close views of the bird and plenty of time to take photographs.

Snow Bunting

We stopped off at the Ferry Pool on the way back. There were a good number of birds on there with Little Stint, Avocet, and both Common and Green Sandpiper being the pick of the bunch. At least I think it was a Green Sandpiper. The visibility was going again and it was difficult to be sure.

October was a very slow month but this was at least a better start for November. All I need now is for a few of the birds up in Norfolk to be blown down this way,

Slavonian Grebe

I seem to have spent most of the past week at Old Lodge trying to get a picture of the Little Bunting. I think I have seen it, both perched and doing a flyby, but I haven't got a picture and I haven't been able to confirm the sighting. Dave, standing next to me got the picture. Click here to have a look. This is getting to be a bit of a habit on his part. He calls it luck but it's starting to happen too often for that. Even my wife is suggesting that he may just be a better bird photographer than I am!

All I managed to get at Old Lodge were a few shots of the Woodlarks that were busy displaying over the reserve.

Woodlark

For a time it looked as though there would be no pictures for the blog but fortunately the Slavonian Grebe at Arlington Reservoir took pity on me and stayed around long enough to give me a few good pictures.

Slavonian Grebe

The grebe was busy feeding and did not seem to be at all bothered by my presence. In the time I watched, it caught three fish and was still actively feeding when I left. It makes you wonder how many it can swallow at one sitting.

The only problem that I had was its annoying habit of turning its back to the sun when it surfaced with a fish. Trying to get the exposure right on the face, then gives you problems with the neck and tail burning out. I am not sure if this was just bad luck or if the grebe does this deliberately to give it better visibility of its prey.

Other pictures taken over the past week include the Kumlien's Gull at Littlehampton. I am just hoping that it returns next year as a third winter.

Kumlien's Gull

and a selection of Chiffchaffs from Steyning and Coldwaltham Sewerage Farms. There must be a Siberian in here somewhere.

Is that a splash of yellow on its side? - not Siberian if it is

Definitely buff coloured but what about its back and wings?

Looks like the best prospect.

Some good pictures but I didn't get the Little Bunting. Having missed the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker the week before, I am starting to build up a list of places and birds that I need to return to. Lets hope we get some decent weather.

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.