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

Arundel, Selsey Bill, Petworth Park and Burton Mill Pond

Feeling enthusiastic for tracking down some woodland species, I got to Arundel Park for dawn but the drizzly forecast held true and conditions were far from ideal. In just under an hour staking out the cricket pitch, I had two Treecreepers, two Buzzards, a Nuthatch, a Grey Wagtail and 140 Jackdaws of note.

An hour at Selsey Bill was a spectacular experience, with hundreds of Razorbills streaming by, many at quite close range. The odd Guillemot was mixed in with them while Kittiwakes and Gannets trickled by. Two Slavonian Grebes, a 2CY drake Eider, eight Common Scoters, four Turnstones, six Red-breasted Mergansers and two Mediterranean Gulls were logged. I paused briefly at the Sidlesham Ferry Pool, seeing a Chiffchaff in the car park an assortment of Lapwings, Wigeon, Teal and Shoveler on the pool.

At Petworth Park, I found a redhead Goosander on the larger lake, where other wildfowl included small numbers of Gadwall, Teal, Pochard and Shoveler, as well as two Egyptian Geese. A nice area of scrub and alders held a Chiffchaff, eight Siskins and two Bullfinches. A Treecreeper, two Stonechats, a Mistle Thrush, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and singles of Kestrel and Sparrowhawk also featured.

redhead Goosander at Petworth Park

Burton Mill Pond had two Firecrests, seven Pochards, a Kingfisher, two Treecreepers, three Little Grebes, a Water Rail, a Grey Wagtail, 20 roosting Pied Wagtails and 33 Cormorants.