Following Dorian and Bernie's post on SOS we knew it was time to make another of our annual pilgrimages - this time to the "Yewsual Place". The large Yew tree on the north west side of Cissbury Ring, thank you to all those who cared enough to give up their time so that his tree could be saved from the actions of a mad "gardener". This year, this fine example of Taxus baccata is covered in bright red fruits - very poisonous to humans but a delight for Ring Ouzels, Mistle Thrushes and Song Thrushes. When we arrived I flushed a female Ring Ouzel down the hill but she paused just long enough for a positive ID, later a large male left the tree and disappeared into the scrub further round the hill, its distinctive flight giving the ID. We were then joined by Josh, who generously shared his scope with us, thanks Josh. Carrying camera, lenses and bins is a sufficient load for me, when travelling uphill the scope has to stay behind.
With things being a tad quiet we made our way to the rifle butts and it wasn't long before we were in business, at least two birds - maybe more, their "chacks" giving them away, Sadly they were quite flighty but at least they perched long enough for some decent record shots.
A final visit to the Yew Tree gave no more sightings. On the way over I stumbled across a magnificent specimen of the Parasol Mushroom, Macrolepiota procera, a basidiomycete fungus with a large, prominent fruiting body resembling a parasol. It is a fairly common species on Cissbury Ring but this year only one specimen found. Whilst photographing the mushroom I realised that the shot gave no idea of scale so I placed my Swiss Army Knife on top and I can tell you that it is about 9cm in length.
It was nice to be out birding and at last there seemed to be lots to see. We set out fairly late in the morning, avoiding the early rain, and hoping to see the long staying Ring Ouzel in the horse paddocks in Warner's Lane down in Selsey. Unfortunately the bird had gone - "should have been there the day before". Never mind, there had been something of a fall and the paddock was becoming well populated by Wheatears, there were also several Redstarts in attendance. It is apparent that the paddocks have a large population of rabbits, something that Reynard was attempting to address.
Next up was a visit to Church Norton where we gained information of a Ring Ouzel on the West Side. The bird was easy to locate, a large male sat up high in the gorse, unfortunately it spooked and relocated to a blackthorn clump some distance away. Whilst we were keeping an eye on this bird, a second specimen turned up and at one time they both occupied the same tree. We hung around to try and improve our shots but unfortunately the bird was always at distance.
Amusement was provided by a Linnet that was obviously nest building but it would appear that small feathers are at a premium.
Next stop, the Visitor Centre just to enquire after any birds of note. Nothing to keep us occupied so we decided to visit the North Wall. Dave Shepherd was in attendance and put us on to a Cuckoo, we had seen and heard one on the other side of the harbour but this one was happy to perch and give us good views but not in camera range We had previously seen a Little Grebe on the nest in one of the pools, so it was time to check up on any offspring. I suspect that this is a fairly young and inexperience mother because of the rather open siting of the nest, but at least one chick has survived and has the undivided attention of its parent.
Plenty of Whimbrel out in the harbour and on the return trip to the car we had great but distant views of a Whinchat resplendent in full summer plumage.
And finally..... a usual suspect.
Today I finally qualified as an OAP, not a milestone, more a bump in the road. My good lady had promised to take me out for a pub lunch but a bit of a disaster over the weekend with a molar crown meant an urgent visit to the "Fang Farrier". So by mid morning I had been patched up with a temporary repair along with copious amounts of gum numbing injections. A pub lunch was out of the question so I was given leave to go birding. Over a cup of coffee, most of which dribbled on to the latest copy of "Bird Watching" I decided to have a bash at the Ring Ouzels on Cissbury Ring.
I must tell my 4 readers that on my 38th Birthday I ran up the Rock of Gibraltar in 38 minutes, some may think that a pedestrian pace but I must clarify that I stopped for a pint half way up. So on my 65th birthday I crawled up Cissbury Ring, how long it took I am not sure but I did pause several times before the summit and only drank water.
I was searching for the "Yewsual place" or the Yew tree where all the Ring Ouzel action was reportedly taking place. As always I was just a day too late, the vicious westerly had put everything into hiding, nary a bird to be seen. After a pause of 20 minutes I decided to make my way, slowly, to the Rifle Butts, which in the end was a good decision. Looking down on to the butts I could make out the familiar figure of Martin peering through his trusty Canon 500mm, sure enough a Ring Ouzel was present. In my haste to descend to his position I forgot that wet chalk is as slippery as ice and went base over apex, thank goodness neither my camera or lens sustained damage, I however, collected numerous bruises and some strained joints - obviously not a Spring Chicken any more.
Anyway, distant views of the bird and a year tick - most satisfactory. On the photographic front a most obliging and good looking Red-legged Partridge that we had photographed over a month ago was still in residence and incredibly allowing an approach to about 15 feet, talk about confiding, this bird just didn't see humans as a threat. It probably realises that life expectancy outside the National Trust property is very short at this time of year.
