The Downs, Sullington, Petworth Park and Warnham LNR

A day with Phil. Two Corn Buntings on the downs off Titch Hill included one singing. A couple of Red-legged Partridges announced themselves and a flock of over 60 Pied Wagtails was feeding in the fields. Other sightings included a Raven, a Stonechat, a Sparrowhawk, male Kestrel, 40 Linnets, a Reed Bunting and a flyover Lesser Black-backed Gull.

A quick stop at Sullington secured views of a Little Owl.

Little Owl at Sullington

 We visited Petworth Park in the hope of Goosander. We had no luck on that point but a hearty pub lunch made up for it! We did have two Mistle Thrushes, two Egyptian Geese, a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker, three Pochards, 32 Tufted Ducks, a Redwing, two Green Woodpeckers and two Great Crested Grebes.

We changed our original vague plans and ended up at Warnham LNR for the rest of the afternoon. Two Marsh Tits, eight Pochards, two Gadwall, six Teal, four Reed Buntings, two Nuthatches, two Treecreepers, a Great Crested Grebe, a Grey Wagtail and the nesting Grey Herons (at least one was sitting) were the highlights, along with a pair of very showy Great Spotted Woodpeckers.

male Great Spotted Woodpecker at Warnham LNR

Grey Heron on nest at Warnham LNR

drake Pochard at Warnham LNR

Reed Buntings at Warnham LNR

Steep Down and West Worthing

Steep Down this morning featured three Chiffchaffs, three Ravens, 26 Corn Buntings (some singing, and a flock of 21), 16 Skylarks, two Stonechats, 19 Pied Wagtails, 300 Common Gulls, a Buzzard, four Reed Buntings, 22 Linnets and five Meadow Pipits.

Ravens at Steep Down

Corn Buntings at Steep Down

Dunnock at Steep Down

Later, a Redwing was in a tree near my house in West Worthing.

Highdown and Steep Down

A morning walk at Highdown featured a Reed Bunting, six Stonechats, four Yellow Wagtails, 62 Meadow Pipits, two Bullfinches, seven Goldcrests, a Whitethroat, 10 Blackcaps, nine Chiffchaffs, nine House Martins, 24 Swallows, a Sand Martin, two Skylarks, a Buzzard, a Kestrel and two Mallards.

male Stonechat at Highdown - an influx today

Late in the afternoon I took a brief stroll around Steep Down, logging another six Stonechats, six Meadow Pipits, a Corn Bunting, 70 Linnets, 30 Goldfinches, a Whitethroat, two Blackcaps, two Chiffchaffs, two Kestrels and a Buzzard.

Steep Down, Canons Farm, Banstead Woods and Oare Marshes KWT

The day started at Steep Down, with three Wheatears, an adult male Peregrine, a Willow Warbler, six Chiffchaffs, six Swallows, a Goldcrest, four Meadow Pipits and a Sparrowhawk the best on offer.

It was then up to my homelands to lead the annual Autumn Migration Tour for the Canons Farm & Banstead Woods Bird Group. Given the weather, it was yet another particularly challenging walk, though the participants seemed to enjoy it well enough. The best bird, a Hobby, was unfortunately too fast for most people to get a view of, and a Yellow Wagtail was merely heard as it flew over. Other stuff included four Yellowhammers, 35 Swallows, a Meadow Pipit and two Kestrels. A Sparrowhawk tussled with two of the five Buzzards seen.

Banstead Woods offered a Bullfinch, a Treecreeper, and a few Nuthatches and Goldcrests.

In the afternoon, I took my old friends from school, Panos and Francis, who wanted to get a taste of some birding, to Oare Marshes KWT. Happily, this resulted in me finding an adult American Golden Plover among the Golden Plovers on the East Flood! A very elegant and beautifully marked bird, it was still in about 75% breeding plumage and had attitude, occasionally charging at its European companions! It conveniently stayed mostly at the front edge of the flock and wasn't too distant, providing a great opportunity to study just my third individual in Britain. This bird represents the eighth record all-time for Kent. Two juvenile Curlew Sandpipers, a few Ruff, Knot and Avocet, and a couple of Snipe were some of the other waders present. Water Rail, Yellow Wagtail and Cetti's Warbler were heard.

adult American Golden Plover (centre) with Golden Plovers at Oare Marshes KWT

Steep Down and Pulborough Brooks RSPB

Today just felt like birding at its best. I was semi-reluctant to spend the little time I had this morning at Steep Down but I drove home so glad that I did. My main target was the Quail, remarkably still on territory, and I did eventually succeed in hearing one short burst of song from the bird. Among the grounded migrants were singles of Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher and Lesser Whitethroat, plus five Whinchats, three Wheatears and four Willow Warblers, while flyover action involved 20 Yellow Wagtails, a Tree Pipit, a juvenile Marsh Harrier and, least expected, a Snipe. I couldn't resist constantly re-setting my scope on a nearby pylon to admire a pair of Peregrines taking an easy start to their day, preening and surveying their territory before eventually taking off. Two Sparrowhawks buzzed a flock of some 400 Linnets, while other farmland birds included two Grey Partridges and 13 Corn Buntings. I also noted two Ravens, a Reed Bunting, two Swifts, 11 Swallows, a Kestrel, five Buzzards, two Skylarks, two Meadow Pipits, a Grey Heron, two Green Woodpeckers, eight Whitethroats, three Blackcaps and a Chiffchaff.

Peregrines at Steep Down

juvenile Marsh Harrier over Steep Down

Corn Bunting at Steep Down

Sparrowhawk at Steep Down

Spotted Flycatcher at Steep Down

Wheatear at Steep Down

Wheatear at Steep Down

Whinchat at Steep Down

After sorting some stuff out at home, I headed out again, this time joined by Ingrid, to Pulborough Brooks RSPB. Once we had spent a while peering into the ponds at newts, we set out and bumped into Chris and Juliet. While we were chatting, I clocked a Honey-buzzard circling overhead! It was in view for several minutes as it gained height alongside a Buzzard - I think the first time I've seen these species directly side-by-side - before it was lost to view. Result! Just before we left Chris and Juliet, they noticed two Spotted Flycatchers in a nearby hedgerow. When we finally made it to the North Brooks, we found three Green Sandpipers, 37 Lapwings, three Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a few Shoveler and Teal but little else. A Stonechat, two Treecreepers, two Green Woodpeckers, a Bullfinch, two Nuthatches and three Buzzards were among the other birds we logged.

Honey-buzzard over Pulborough Brooks RSPB

Honey-buzzard (left) with Buzzard over Pulborough Brooks RSPB

Honey-buzzard (right) over Pulborough Brooks RSPB

Spotted Flycatcher at Pulborough Brooks RSPB (these have always been into the light for me this autumn so far! [i.e. today and yesterday])

Steep Down and West Worthing

A long to-do list sapped most of my inspiration this morning so I ended up just having a short walk at Steep Down, enjoying the songs of Corn Buntings and Skylarks. 17 Linnets and eight Meadow Pipits were present. Two Swallows were visible in the distance, the hedges were busy with Whitethroats. I flushed a pair of Buzzards off some roadkill on the way out, and crossed my fingers that a lorry wouldn't come the other way as one of the birds took off low with the carcass and struggled to gain height. Fortunately it met nothing oncoming!

Walking back from the shops mid-afternoon, I discovered where my local Swifts are nesting, seeing perhaps 20 birds dashing low around a parallel street and some birds entering nest holes or alighting on the edge of eaves. In the evening, an adult Mediterranean Gull flew over the garden.

Cissbury Ring/Steep Down

An hour's walk with Ingrid featured two Grey Partridges, Bullfinch, three House Martins, Stonechat, Yellowhammer, a couple of Green Woodpeckers and a few Buzzards, Swallows and Red-legged Partridges.