Curious about the Patching area, I headed there this morning. I'd heard bad birding reviews of Patching Pond but looking at the satellite map I thought it worth a go. There was not a single bird on the water but a flock of 23
Long-tailed Tits moved through. On to Patching Hill then. There I found a
Firecrest, a
Red Kite, two
Buzzards, four
Yellowhammers, two
Bullfinches and three
Skylarks. A
Song Thrush was in voice. A limited venture into the Angmering Park Estate featured a noisy
Raven, a flyover
redpoll, two more
Firecrests, a
Treecreeper, a couple of
Nuthatches, etc. A
Red-legged Partridge was heard beyond the woodland.
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| Yellowhammer at Patching Hill |
In the late afternoon I visited the downs near No Man's Land. I realised I'd picked a bad vantage point for scanning for raptors but it was too late to change. Two
Grey Partridges and four
Red-legged Partridges were the best on offer.
