Sleepy Boxgrove

Very few birds around the Priory or the Church, small birds especially, keeping out of the bitter wind. Temperatures still hovering just above zero and the ground in a state of permafrost. Magpie, Woodpigeons, Common Gulls, Starlings, Crows, Blackbird and a Wren in the car park.

Freezing Halnaker

Pagham in the Snow

A quick midday trip to snowbound Pagham Harbour with temperatures just under zero.

First winter snow

While the north-east and Scotland have been getting over a foot, we've had to wait until today for our first snow.....only about 1cm.

Couple of Wrens visited the front garden this morning. Great Tits, Blue Tits and Robin all active in the back garden.

Jay 2 O

Two Jays in the front garden last week, saw another two up on Halnaker Hill today: plus numerous Pheasants sitting around waiting to be shot, a Green Woodpecker, Yellowhammer and a hawk having an aerial duel with a Rook. Suddenly got much colder, Indian summer over?

Pond Life

Harting Down

A first ever venture onto Harting Down was rewarded with another first - a Marbled White. It was too frisky to get a picture though.

Halnaker in the Heat

Temperatures well up in the 80s.

Garden Visitors

A continuation of the dry hot weather. Garden visitors included Greenfinch, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Blackbird, Robin, Blue Tit & Great Tit. Plenty of Bumble Bees on the Chives, still Holly Blues around and a Speckled Wood.

Speckled Wood on Plum Tree

Red-tailed Bumble Bee

Halnaker

Scorching hot day

Bepton & Didling

A drive up through Singleton, Cocking and on to Bepton, Didling and finally Treyford produced some interesting finds on a fine hot day.

Didling Church

Highlights were two Reed Buntings at Bepton and a Red Kite being mobbed by two Crows at Didling.

Speedwell

Summer?

Is May the new summer?

Holly Blue

The recent sunny weather brought out a lively Holly Blue which wouldn't open its wings fully for the camera.

The Serpent Trail

Jackdaw, Crow, Magpie, Robin, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Great Tit, Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Hedge Sparrow, Swift, Swallow, Mallard, Woodpigeon, Goldfinch, Jay, Buzzard, Skylark, Cuckoo. Deer feeding on asparagus. Orange Tip, Tortoiseshell.

More to follow...

Vibrant spring

Maybe it was the harsh winter and the delayed spring, but it seems to me that the birds at least are making the most of the sudden warm spell. Had my first ever view of Great-Crested Grebes performing their mating ritual at Westhampnett Lake; reminded me of Torvill and Dean doing the Bolero. Also saw two Kestrels swooping low and gambolling in and around pine trees at Fontwell, oblivious to the people seated just below. Also saw first Orange Tip of the year. Saw female Linnet at Tangmere.

Spring arrives!

A lovely spring day in and around Horsham.

Fox

Great view of a fox going into a neighbour's garden at around 10.30pm last night.

Burton Mill rapido!

After a week of solid rain, a chance to make the most of a brief spell of sunshine. On the way to Burton Mill Pond had a good sight of a Buzzard over the A285 and Tufted Duck at Seaford College. Cormorant fishing on Burton Mill Pond and up by the old Sweet Chestnuts could see no sign of the roosting Tawny Owl. Quite how he gets any sleep with all those Jackdaws making a commotion is anyone's guess.

Cold Halnaker

Last week - a grey day with a bitterly cold wind. Birds were few and far between, keeping mainly to the gully. Great Tits, Blue Tits, Blackbirds and Robins were all highly visible and busy. Brief sighting of a Stonechat and a good view of two Long-Tailed Tits flitting through the hedgerow.

Swanbourne Lake

Last weekend we took a late afternoon walk around Arundel, taking in Swanbourne Lake. It's not normally a haven for unusual waterfowl, but perhaps because the water level is higher than usual (it's racing out of the sluice at the south-west corner), there were a few additions to the more typical Mute Swans, Moorhens, Coots and Mallard. Most notable were 8 Mandarin Ducks, probably having a day out from the Wildfowl and Wetland Centre over the road, as well as several Pochard and Tufted Ducks.

RSPB Garden Watch Jan 30/31st, 2010

We did this year's RSPB Garden Watch on a very cold, frosty morning. The tally was:

1 Robin

2 Hedge Sparrows

2 Blue Tits

2 Great Tits

4 Rooks

8 Herring Gulls

4 Common Gulls

3 Woodpigeons

1 Blackbird

1 Song Thrush

1 Collared Dove

2009 Garden List

A bit late putting this one together....

The total number of species for 2009 was 22. Just two new additions to our all-time very small garden list.

Blackbird
Blue Tit
Collared Dove
Common Gull
Crow

Fieldfare (new)
Goldcrest
Goldfinch
Great Tit

Greenfinch
Hedge Sparrow
Herring Gull
House Sparrow
Long-Tailed Tit
Magpie
Robin

Rook

Starling
Swift

Willow Warbler (new)
Woodpigeon
Wren

Bang!

Just sitting at home quietly working, when Bang! something hits the conservatory roof. I saw a few feathers and at first thought a Woodpigeon had landed badly. But sadly for the Woodpigeon it was worse than that, it had been caught by a Sparrowhawk and was in the process of being dispatched. Just had time to get a couple of blurred shots before the Sparrowhawk and its prey took off, leaving just a few feathers as a memento.

Ivy Lake

Considering that it is practically on the doorstep and features so regularly on the birding circuit, I thought it about time that I gave Ivy Lake a try-out and it certainly did not disappoint.

With a thick layer of snow still on the ground and most of the lake frozen over, most of the water birds were concentrated around the few areas clear of ice. Huge numbers of Coots dominated the scene, with Herring Gulls, Great Black-Backed Gulls, Mute Swans, Cormorants, Gadwall, Tufted Ducks, Shovellers and Pochard also on view.

Thanks to a very generous birder who let me look through his Swarovski scope, I also managed to see the Red-Crested Pochard in the reeds on the far side of the lake (which had been reported on the SOS recent sightings board) and also a fantastic view of a Water Rail which was again on the water's edge among the reeds. There's always debate about whether Red-Crested Pochards are escapees or wild - the concensus, considering the weather, seems that this one is wild - unlike these which I snapped on a pond in Sandwich in 2007.

Away from the water, two male Bullfinches were busy among the willows, along with various tits - Blue, Great, Long-Tailed and Coal.

Boxgrove Walk, Thaw Begins

With the snow generally thawing on the roads and pavements, but still up to a foot deep in the drifts on the field edges, a midday walk around Boxgrove got off to a good start with a Yellowhammer by the recreation ground, but there were few birds around – Woodpigeon, Rook, Crow, Jackdaw, Collared Dove, Blackbird, Robin, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Starling, Magpie a single Fieldfare and several Goldfinches.

In the churchyard, the weight of the snow had caused huge damage to a cedar tree, bringing down several large branches.

Winter Wonderland

Lots of snow bringing the south of England to a standstill.

The thick snow blanketing the whole of the country has forced birds to forage for food wherever they can and this has meant some new visitors to the garden. A flock of up to 30 Fieldfares feasted on a Cotoneaster in the road and one Fieldfare took up residence with us, chasing away Blackbirds and eating the apples we left out.

Fieldfares feast on berries

Fieldfare in residence.

Other unusual visitors included a single Redwing, a very wary Jay and a Mistle Thrush.

Redwing in the Buddlea

A Hedge Sparrow tried to eat the seed left on the ground, but was given very little peace by a territorial Robin. The other usual suspects were Rooks, Herring Gulls, Woodpigeons, Blue Tits and Great Tits.

The influx of Fieldfares and Redwings is apparently explained by a huge flock of 30,000 Fieldfares and 8,000 Redwings which made it’s way south ahead of the snow in a search for snow-free ground for food.

Deal Turnstone

New Years Day in Deal. High tide and icy cold. This Turnstone decided to stay on the pier.