Having been knocked out of action for some time by a nasty chest infection, I was delighted to get back in the field today. The intention was to ease back into birding but it ended up being a full day out! First up was Dell Quay, where I spent an hour scanning the waders and wildfowl. Most importantly, the
Long-tailed Duck was still present, diving frequently to the south, near three
Red-breasted Mergansers. 300 or so
Dark-bellied Brent Geese were present, along with good numbers of
Teal and
Wigeon. Waders included singles of
Spotted Redshank and
Bar-tailed Godwit, as well as numbers of
Grey Plover,
Dunlin,
Redshank,
Curlew,
Oystercatcher and
Lapwing. A
Kingfisher was hunting from moored boats and a
Peregrine flew over.
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| Long-tailed Duck at Dell Quay |
I met up with Phil Wallace at Pulborough Brooks mid-morning but this turned out to be an unwise choice of location as the floods were shrouded in heavy fog. We did hear a
Golden Plover fly over, though, and the calls of
Snipe and
Wigeon were evocative in the mist. A
Mistle Thrush,
Fieldfares,
Redwings, four
Bullfinches and a
Treecreeper were noted along the trail. Throughout our visit a noisy
Raven was touring the site.
Coldwaltham sewage works was visited fleetingly in the hope of some
Chiffchaff action, though just three were seen and all were
collybita. A
Grey Wagtail broke into song, a handful of
Fieldfares and
Redwings were seen, plus a
Bullfinch.
Sherwood Rough mid-afternoon produced at least three distant
Hawfinches, plus a
Yellowhammer, a
Marsh Tit and three
redpolls.
As the light faded, we managed to squeeze in a visit to Amberley Wildbrooks, looking from the Rackham Viewpoint. Through the mist we caught sight of a ringtail
Hen Harrier, a
Short-eared Owl, three
Buzzards and a
Kestrel while hordes of
Wigeon and
Teal called.
