Brooklands Park, Patching and Hickstead

Brooklands was rewarding this morning, with the drake Pochard, a local rarity, showing on the lake, along with two Little Grebes, nine Teal and a Grey Heron. The rough patch by the lake held a female Stonechat, four Reed Buntings and two Meadow Pipits, while another Chiffchaff was by the works access road. A Kestrel was on distant wires. The family of Mute Swans all still survived but two intruders were seen off. A glance offshore revealed two Red-breasted Mergansers and four Great Crested Grebes.

adult drake Pochard

adult drake Teal

adult Black-headed Gull which regularly winters on site, apparently christened locally as 'Lumpy'! I also read a metal ring on an adult Black-headed Gull: ST833

I couldn't resist another look at Patching, where the 'Northern Treecreeper' showed well but this time I concentrated on watching it rather than obtaining further photographs. At least one of the Firecrests was also still present.


At Maidenhead Aquatics, Hickstead, I had a Grey Wagtail.

Goring Gap, Tilgate Forest, Sullington, Washington and Hickstead

Goring Gap produced two Common Scoters on the sea, four Red-throated Divers, 11 Red-breasted Mergansers, 10 Great Crested Grebes, two Gannets, a Redshank, five Oystercatchers, 28 Grey Plovers, 22 Turnstones, 23 Sanderlings, 15 Dunlin, three adult Mediterranean Gulls and a singing Skylark.

On the way to picking Ingrid up from Gatwick I stopped at Tilgate Forest, noting two Crossbills, two Lesser Redpolls, six Siskins, two Bullfinches, three Buzzards, three Treecreepers and two Nuthatches.

Ingrid had a job managing a fish tank in Sullington and I roamed the nearby countryside while I waited for her. A Little Owl showed nicely and another called nearby. Six Redwings, two Linnets, three Buzzards and a Green Woodpecker were among the other birds noted.

Little Owl at Sullington

Working our way home, a Red Kite flew over the road as we passed through Washington, and a Treecreeper was singing in the Maidenhead Aquatics car park in Hickstead.