Red-crested Pochard

Out early this morning in Stygian gloom and rain of diluvian proportions. The optimistic forecast on the BBC predicted that it would brighten from the west - so what did we do? Ventured east of course, mainly to see if the drake Goosander was still present at the Widewater. Unfortunately not, but a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers were close by. The female, perched on a block of concrete, gave an unusual pose. Oh that the light had been better.

We could see some brighter weather on the western horizon so we made our way to Chichester Gravel Pits. A second go at the Dusky Warbler. Finding the bird would have been nice and photographs even better. As we arrived another birder indicated that he thought he had the DW in front of him. Unfortunately, try as we might, nothing materialised except for an obliging but extremely active Cetti's Warbler. Not quite nailed but at least some pleasant shots in some really welcome sunshine.

 

An all too frequent view of Cetti's Warbler

 We met Owen Mitchell who kindly informed us of the whereabouts of the female Red-crested Pochard, not only that, he accompanied us to the location so that we would not miss it. Of course we duly arrived and there it was - gone! Only a few minutes later we discovered it swimming across Triangle Lake, getting closer all the time. In fact it posed perfectly for us before disappearing with a few Mallards.

 

Finally, I convinced Martin that a trip to Pagham North Wall would be a most rewarding experience.  Yet again I have to admit that I was wrong, apart from Wigeon, Teal and several flocks of Lapwings, very little was out and about in the increasing westerly winds.

Cetti's Warbler

I guess that if you blog about birding it would be easy to just report successful days out and omit the failures. Of course this depends upon your yardstick of success, Yesterday Martin and I travelled to Dungeness where, in birding terms we had a great day, for me a failure as I ended up with an awful lot of bad photographs.

We arrived at the ARC side of Dungeness at about 0800, no other cars were in the car park and we found the ARC hide to be empty and had it almost to ourselves for the next two hours - bliss! There was a sharp westerly breeze and I expected the birds to be sat in the lee of the hide - wrong! - the birds, mainly ducks were spread far and wide. First up was a distant fly by of a Marsh Harrier then another, then another. I reckoned on a least ten sightings, probably more. At one time we had four harriers in sight at the same time and another where three and a Buzzard were present, albeit at a distance.  Next to arrive on the scene was a Great White Egret parading itself in front of the empty viewing screen, meanwhile an amorous Goldeneye was performing a fantastic display ritual to some uninterested ladies. Whilst all this was happening we had a flyby of a Kingfisher close to the hide windows, then Martin spotted a distant Bittern landing in the reeds of the far bank, the bird remaining in view at the edge of the reeds for some time.

I could hear a Cetti's Warbler calling in the reeds to the right of the hide and decided to investigate, opening the right hand side window I was amazed to see the bird foraging in the scrub immediately below the window. Talk about being frustrated, my lens far too big to get focus, for the first time I was asking a bird to move away. Anyway what usable shots I managed to get are shown below.

An eccentric head throwing display that didn't do a lot for the two females watching.

Having had more Kingfisher, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier flybys and yet another Bittern we left the hide for the car park. On the trail a birder just in front of us flushed both the GWE and a Bittern from adjacent pools.  Next port of call was Boulderwall Farm, just over the road, home to the most famous flock of Tree Sparrows in Kent. I had guaranteed Martin close up shots of them on the feeders by the farmhouse. To my amazement not a bird to be seen and my credibility out of the window, then slowly, two or three at a time the birds began arriving from a bush across the road. They seemed to put off by the strong breeze but eventually they showed.
The GWE or should I say 'a'  as there are 7 of them reported to be in the area, flew by and landed in the pool next to the road. So, leaving Martin with the sparrows, I nipped onto the road and managed a record shot.

Why do Bitterns always crash land?

A really smart bird

A quick call in at the Visitor Centre and then away to Scotney Pit where there were monstrous amounts of wildfowl, all viewable from the comfort of the car. Despite much searching we found no hidden rarities, though we did get a Ruff roosting on the bank with three Redshanks. Before we left, a flock of Barnacle Geese, probably more than 30, arrived and landed on the grass. These are the usual residents and in with the flock were three Emperor x Barnacle hybrids that I had seen last year. On the far bank we spied yet another Marsh Harrier, they seem to be everywhere.

Making our way back to Eastbourne we paused at the "Colonel Body Memorial Lakes" at Pett Level, similarly filled with large amounts of wildfowl, oddly enough the Shoveler were more numerous than at Scotney. Oh and a Marsh Harrier quartering the far bank.

The Bonaparte's Gull at Princes Park had been reported as being present during the morning, but of course during our vigil it didn't show

So there you have it - a paradox - great birding - poor photography. The true measure of the day is that when Martin dropped me off at home I thought "What a great day - when are we going again?

Cetti's and Snipe

A new venue for me, very impressed by the wide open spaces but not by the long walk to the hide! First observation was the sheer number of Cetti's Warblers calling, not from the usual position in reeds but most birds in bramble or hawthorn bushes. I nearly got a clear shot of one but they are quick and never pose.

Cetti's Warbler

Cetti's Warbler

Cetti's Warbler

When I got to the hide there were plenty of Gulls to be seen and it was nice to see a few Lesser black-backed in with the horde of Black-headed, Mediterranean and Common Gulls. A pair of Common Snipe posed well whilst feeding in the grass immediately in front of the the hide. There was a fairly cool easterly blowing in to the hide so I stood outside in the sunshine to warm up and was rewarded by a very loud Chiffchaff in full song.

Lesser Black-Backed Gull



Common Snipe

Common Snipe

Common Snipe



Chiffchaff

The Jackdaw flock resident in Camber Castle rose as a single unit and it was pretty obvious that there was a raptor about - a Peregrine that flew straight over me and by the commotion coming from the lake was creating havoc there too. 




Camber Castle Jackdaws

All the Great Cormorant nesting sites appear to have been occupied and throughout my visit there was a constant procession of birds carrying large amounts of vegetation of various kinds.




Every Home Taken

On the walk back to the car park I passed a small flock of Shelducks - they didn't move but they all stood up an kept a wary eye on me until I was well past

We are watching you