Goosander

The vagaries of birding were well demonstrated today. Two reports on SOS, one of a Goosander on the lower pond at Petworth Park, the other, that the fields above the North Wall Pagham were awash with waders. The final score was Petworth 1 Pagham 0. The Goosander was present but difficult to photograph and Pagham was DOB - Devoid of Birds.

Photographing a distant bird with white plumage on a dark pool in morning sunlight was a bit of a challenge which resulted either in blown plumage or underexposed bird. However, those that I could rescue are here.

When I approached the lower pond I was greeted by a rather odd sight and sound, 8 Egyptian Geese up a tree, calling for all they were worth. As I walked under the tree they relocated to the pond resentful of my intrusion.

Definitely a "whacky" bird

There were two anglers present but they reported nothing caught, not surprising considering a tree full of Cormorants nearby.

Now I know I'm not a real photographer and a million miles away from being an artist but I can appreciate what old Lancelot "Capability" Brown was up to in engineering the landscape. The trees and the views of the lansdscape of Petworth defy proper capture on camera pixels. You just have to stand there and observe its splendour as the light changes throughout the day.

On finishing at Petworth I decided to forego the hunt for a Black Brant at West Wittering, seduced by the North Wall being awash to the gunnels (gunwales to landlubbers) with birds. Bit of a mistake, all too apparent on arrival, the creek was nearly empty and Breech Pool contained a handful of Teal and Mallard. Out in the North Fields stood a lonely Grey Heron and a single Curlew occupied one of the flooded parts of the field. Where did they all go?

An empty Breech Pool

Not a lot in the creek

There are still berries available in the hedgerows but the only taker today was a single Blackbird.

I noticed these plants growing between the sluices, not sure what they are but they only seem to occur in the one location, very odd indeed.

 

Subsequent to some research I believe these are Tree Mallow, Lavatera arborea which is becoming something of a pest in coastal habitats, spread by its floating seed heads.

 

 

Out and About

With the weather forecast of dry weather until early afternoon I decided to see if I could find the reported Goosander at Petworth Park. So, in cold and frosty conditions, I arrived at the small pond to find it more or less frozen over. With only a small triangle of open water the resident Mallards were looking really miserable. No sign of any Goosander and one of the Egyptian Geese that frequent the area had left the pond and was extremely reluctant to return. Then Martin hove into view and we spent a half an hour trying to find something to fill up the pixels. Andrew House passed by and reported a no show on the large lake, which was frozen also. So it was off to Pulborough Brooks with a possible chance of a Brambling, reported to be using the feeders at the main entrance - zilch found. Eventually, after a bacon baguette and a hot steaming cup of tea we made our  way down to Fattengates to try to locate the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that had been seen just five minutes previously. However, we couldn't pass up the chance of a Bullfinch or two and an obliging Wren on the zig-zag, thus arriving at the courtyard after the LSW had departed. Such is life!

Arlington Reservoir

To my 3 readers who have come visiting with the expectation of images of the Arlington Osprey then I offer humble apologies. For some unfathomable reason all the high contrast photos that I took today are unusable, normally I process raw images in PSE9 and adjust for white balance etc when first opening the image. Today, shots that appear to be OK on the camera - sharp focus and correctly exposed, when downloaded appear awful. Furthermore, any other adjustments in PSE9 appear very "steppy" and produce really odd artifacts in the image. - investigation is ongoing.  I have uploaded the lower contrast images but even these are lacking the sparkle that is apparent on the LCD screen of the camera - even on the closest zoom - a bit of a disaster.


Anyway with the forecast of clement weather and reports of a good range of birds at Arlington I ventured forth at an early hour. On arrival I walked straight round to the dam wall where, in the south west corner, there was a profusion of Linnets and Pied Wagtails with a large proportion of juveniles of both species. Tucked in the corner by the farm there was a single Egyptian Goose in the company of three Canada Geese. 




Walk like an Egyptian

Out on the reservoir there were at least eight pairs of Great Crested Grebes, the two nearest to me looked as if they could go into display at any time but obviously finally thought better of it. On the dam wall close to the water there were six Common Sandpipers, normally there would be more but the water levels are very high and the "beach" that is exposed just after the outflow tower is well under water.




Common Sandpiper



Common Sandpiper - flat image quality

Sure enough the Osprey turned up at about 0630 and stayed circling the reservoir until about 0730 when it slowly wandered down the Cuckmere River, not having attempted a single dive. At the far end of the dam I found a pair of Turtle Doves, one dropping down to the waters edge for a drink, just as I lined up the camera two dog walkers came through the gate and I  waved goodbye to the birds. Still, nice to know where I can have another go.


It was nice to catch up with Dick again, ever cheerful and helps raise the spirits when they flag. I am fairly sure that he got good shots of the Osprey and he was certainly keen to show me his Sandpiper shots. Also, I met two nice birders from Pembrokeshire, hope they enjoyed their visit to Sussex




Not a wader

So if the weather holds fair as promised by the Met Office it will be another visit to capture the Osprey if I cannot sort out the problem with the camera.

The presence of a herd of cattle behind the dam wall provided plenty of flies for the Wagtails, Swallows and House Martins





Father and son