It is usual on our journeys north to have a stopover to try to find something different, this time Martin had come up with RSPB Fairburn Ings near Castleford in Yorkshire. The Willow Tits come to the feeders close by the visitor centre and as it would be a life tick for both of us we couldn't turn down the opportunity. So at 0500 we set off north for our week in Scotland and arrived at Fairburn sometime before 10:00 and I noted that our first Willow Tit was spotted by Martin at 10:04 - not bad.
The locals were somewhat puzzled by our antics, standing next to the feeders, cameras at the ready, they must have thought something good was about.. Several times we had to explain that we didn't have the bird in Sussex and that we were keen to record them. Additionally, there were plenty of Tree Sparrows, another bird scarce on our patch and the friendly Bullfinches visiting the feeders were something I hadn't witnessed before. The fact that we were ignoring a Smew elsewhere on the reserve compounded their amusement.
I don't like photographs of birds on feeders but this time I will have to make an exception as these birds were a bit quick - a raid on the feeder and then vanishing in a few seconds. Lots of receding bum and bare branch shots.
Before we left I studied the British Birds article on the "Separation of the Wiillow Tit and Marsh Tit in Britain" and it basically boils down to song and bill markings. The Willow Tit has an unmarked upper mandible and the Marsh Tit has whitish marks on proximal area of upper mandible. Ha! - no matter - as we were reliably informed that there are no Marsh Tits in the vicinity and every bird on the reserve carries an individual ID. Simples.
Nice to meet Lee who put us on to the feeders next to a nearby viewing screen, at least we could sit down there and a constant stream of Tits, Reed Buntings, Greenfinches and the ever present Tree Sparrows coming to the liberal amount of feed, kept us entertained.
Great to visit another RSPB reserve where the staff are friendly, keen to help with location information and where the policy seems to be to get the birder close to the birds. Unfortunately our fixation on the Willow Tits meant that we were unable to visit other parts of the reserve but it is certainly one for the future, being ideally located adjacent to the A1.
I thought that the little grey cells had come up with a masterplan, with below zero temperatures most freshwater would be frozen, resulting in wildfowl and waders galore being out in the open. Somwhat similar to Eyeworth Pond on Monday. Where to go? A posting on SOS about Pulborough Brooks having numerous Snipe showing along with a friendly Water Rail and a stonking male Bullfinch clinched it. So, just after 0900 we arrived at PB and set off for the West Mead hide. At the bottom of the Zig Zag we encountered several Bullfinches but none were willing to stick around and in Fattengates Courtyard I tried, unsuccessfully, to record a highly mobile Goldcrest. It was at this point that it dawned on us that, yet again, we had been misled by the BBC weather forecast. The promised sunshine was nowhere to be seen, in fact it was downright gloomy. Also, I have doubts that the little grey cells can be trusted - in an ornithological sense.
Onward to the hide, where the improvements to the scrape are paying dividends. Just in front of the windows was a flock of mixed ducks, probably 400 strong. Shovelers, Wigeon, Mallard, Teal and Pintail were all present. Out in the grass to the left of the hide at least 10 Snipe that were slowly moving toward us.
Sadly after this it was all downhill until we returned to the top of the Zig Zag, Winpenny and Nettley's hides returning virtually nothing. Nice to meet Russ out and about on the reserve. On the path back to the VC I managed to record Greenfinch and finally a distant but cracking looking male Bullfinch.
Cutting our losses we departed for WWT Arundel to see if we could find anything there. At least a chance for Martin to get the female Bullfinches that were close to the Sand Martin Hide. From the hide, close views of a Grey Wagtail kept us interested.
After several attempts to capture a Water Rail we slowly made our way back to the VC. Just before the main path the peace was shattered by much wailing - two Moorhens were disputing either territory, partners or both.
Today I visited a venue where normally Martin has to drag me, WWT at Arundel. Two reasons for staying local, a rather dodgy weather forecast and a chance of a Firecrest photograph. I started at Swanbourne Lake, very little to report here, just the obliging Tufties. I checked out the Yew trees on the other side of the lake as we have found Firecrests here before - nothing. Nor could I find a Grey Wagtail in the run off for the old mill. By now a chilly north west breeze was coming down the lake and I thought that a hide might be a better place to be.
Just before I reached the Sand Martin hide I flushed two Bullfinches from the nearby buddleia bushes, I made a mental note to return later. From the hide I had some great views of the Shelducks that had been in to roost overnight. The morning sun was not optimal but at least some of the birds were where I could get some decently lit photographs. Not only do the Shelducks take advantage of the shelter of the reserve, several wild Pochards have decided to integrate with the inmates and are virtually tame.
On leaving the hide I remembered the Bullfinches and sure enough two obliging females had returned to their seed cracking activities. The morning light was just right and the birds really didn't care how close I approached. I guess if they are in this environment then they must get used to people passing by.
Finally I left the reserve via the reedbed boardwalk, still searching for a possible Firecrest. In the car park I had lunch and was scanning the area for a male Bullfinch when two small white "flags" caught my eye. The bird was in the churned up mud at the far end of the car park, where much scrub has been removed and obviously plenty of disturbed food has become available. In addition to the Water Rail there were several Robins, Song Thrushes and Blackbirds foraging in the mud.
A circular trip around Burpham and the Burgh was pretty fruitless, as was the search for the recently reported Little Owl opposite Arundel railway station. By now dark grey clouds were gathering on the northern horizon so I headed for home.
