Warnham LNR 22nd June 08 and Nightjars Chobham Common 20th June 08

Warnham LNR 22nd June 08

A more relaxed trip this weekend to Warnham, but still in search of one year tick- Mandarin Duck!
We started the trail at around 12:45pm. From the first hide I saw the Common Terns that are nesting for yet another year and loads of Herring Gulls. The Terns were very aggressive and attacked the Gulls whenever they came near. The usual common stuff was on the feeders providing the first real photo opportunities for a while and I was very pleased with my shot of a Dunnock. My female Mandarin popper out :-) year tick 159.

Photos not working at the moment- see diary page of freewebs.com/southeastbirding (soon moving to southeastbirding.com)

At the feeders there was a showy Nuthatch, juvenile Tits, Chaffinches and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. And at the last hide I got good views of a Great Crested Grebe (its mate was on a nest fending off Herons). A Black-headed Gull flew in and a Jay flew over.
A good day.

Nightjars Chobham Common 20th June 08


After years of letting it slip by, I finally managed to arrange a trip to see the Nightjars at Chobham Common! I didn't think I would be that successful because a friend of mine had gone there earlier in the week and only heard them, and in better weather, so I was wondering if I would even hear them let alone see them.
We arrived at around 9pm and started our walk after about 10 minutes of pointless waiting around for nothing. Within minutes I was seeing Woodcock fly over, though not roding, instead making a high pitched call. I did that silly-dance-with-tissues-and-clap-your-hands thing which I think may have worked because it was not too long before I heard a Nightjar churring! And it was not too long after that until one flew right past me- what a bird and what a great lifer! It settled nearby, though I couldn't see it, and I got to hear it churring more clearly. Meanwhile some more Woodcocks flew over and a Lapwing called. I soon heard one or two more Nightjars. The bird flew back to where it came from and I decided to take the opportunity to do the tissue and clap thing again to see if it would come any closer, but it didn't really work. It flew back again and then once again returned to its original area. A few bats were flying around and by now it was getting very dark. I walked up and down a few times and at one point I could hear a Nightjar churring literally right next to me! I couldn't see it though and when I took one more step I heard its wingbeats as it took off and the clapping of its wings! I caught a glimpse of it as it flew but didn't locate it again.
We started to make our way back slowly and heard the first bird again. As we got back in the car I heard two Tawny Owls making high ptiched noises. As I neared them, I heard them no longer and decided to go.
A very enjoyable night.

Sussex June 1st 2008

I have just got back from my Sussex two site trip. Just before I left home for Pulborough I got a call from a friend saying he was watching the Red-backed Shrike near to Pulborough Brooks. I couldn't stand the thought of him having it and me missing it so I looked it up on Bird News Anywhere but couldn't find enough details to get it into the sat-nav, so I decided to go after Pulborough, when I may know more about it.
On arrival at Pulborough Brooks I had a quick look at the feeders and managed to see a Nuthatch of note as well as the usual garden birds. Interesting birds started right at the begginning of the trail when my friend that I was on the phone to earlier about the Shrike pointed out a Wren's nest. He wanted to get some shots of the parents as they went in so we waited there for quite a while. In between visits by the parents, parent and juvenile Linnets and Pied Wagtails entertained us.
Soon, we started to go down the trail. Not too far down the trail I spotted a Nightingale hop out onto a fence post, I managed to get my binoculars on it for about a second before it went into a bush. I heard several Blackcaps and a possible Garden Warbler or two in this area. We heard a Nightingale sing in a nearby bush, it was very close. Eventually I managed to locate it, but could only see its breast really. It was fantastic just to hear it, though, and for so long; not to mention at such close range.
We headed off for the viewpoint to see the Spoonbill that had been reported. We watched it for 20 minutes or so. It was feeding and flew a couple of times briefly because a female Mallard with 9 ducklings didn't take a liking to it, eventually, it got fed up and flew towards the other pool in front of the hide, out of view.

Above: Spoonbill

We headed back to the visitor centre to get the fledging Garden Warblers that someone had seen there, but no joy. There was a Pheasant and a few Whitethroat, though.
Another quick look at the Wren and a glance at the feeders and we were off for the Shrike. My friend led us to where it was and we arrived on site not too long after we left Pulborough.

Above: Wren

We walked over the bridge and after a quick scan of the fence posts, we picked it up, sitting on the wire! Lucky me, my friend said he had to wait 1 1/2 hours to see it before. We enjoyed fantastic views of the beautiful Red-backed Shrike for an hour. It hunted, sang and even reguritated a pellet. It was a stunning bird and a lifer for me. A great end to another great day.

Above: Red-backed Shrike

David's YBBR 2008 report

If you fancy writing a brief report of your day competing, feel free to do so.

Sunday 27th April 2008 Deborah4;, Epsomsalt;(Chris) (and wife Jen), Baggy2508 (John), Den21 (Denise) and I met up at Pagham Harbour for a day's birding. We started meeting at 9:30am but got going when I finally arrived after a lot of confusion as to where I was meant to be. Before I arrived the others were looking at the Small Ferry Pool, the main bird of note that they saw were some newly arrived Swifts. Otherwise there were large numbers of Shelduck and common wildfowl on the Pool and a Reed Warbler or two showing well in front of the hide. Eventually I arrived. There were Redshank and Lapwing feeding around the Pool and pair or two of on the Pool. We soon moved on from the hide overlooking the pool and crossed a bridge over a channel of water, here there was a pair of Moorhen with chicks and some fine Reed Buntings flitting about in the reeds which we all got good views of. There were large numbers of male Pheasants around the site, a few of which came quite close. It was a good day for Warblers with Reed, Sedge and Whitethroat being heard all the time in the scrub and reeds. Further on along the track we heard a Cuckoo! This was quite a surprise and despite scanning of dead trees and fence posts we failed to locate it, however John picked the bird up in flight a few minutes later but the rest of us didn't see it. A Skylark sang. A report came through from RBA of two Cattle Egrets flying over the reserve but we only managed to find Little Egrets. Hirundines were limited with only a few Swallows being seen skimming right by us. We were treated to close up views of a Grey Heron in a dyke which everyone enjoyed.With spring migration fully underway, if not finishing up, and so many Curlews around we were on the look out for Whimbrel, the others saw a couple from the first hide but they were apparently they were distant. By the time we reached the hide near Church Norton we had seen plenty Oystercatchers, and a trio performed a particularly good display, moving simultaneously together, piping while doing so. Most of the other Waders had cleared off but there were still Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Curlew present as well as the Oystercatchers. Deborah picked up a Little Tern while we were at the hide feeding over the water. I think this was a year tick for almost all of us who saw it. There were still signs of winter, though, with 9 Brent Geese over the harbour.A brief seawatch revealed nothing other than a Great-crested Grebe. As we passed the reedbeds looking for Bearded Tit about four Linnet showed very well and another Cetti's Warbler sang. From the same spot we saw a Buzzard flying low over the tree line being mobbed by Carrion Crows; it landed briefly but soon flew again and was lost to sight. A walk through an area of farmland, cottages and storage buildings produced species like Greenfinch, Blue and Great Tits, Chaffinches and a few more Chiffchaffs. With the Pheasants on a field were two Red-legged Partridges and a Lapwing, meanwhile a Sparrowhawk flew over. Further along the track we got good views of a feeding Great-spotted Woodpecker. Also in the area was an obliging pair of Kestrels. When we paid a brief visit back to the hide we were treated to fantastic views of a Whimbrel and at the hide we were told that a female Pied Flycatcher was seen five or ten minutes beforehand flying towards the cemetery and there was a Redstart there too; we were off. After a while walking round looking in vain for the Flycatcher, John had to leave and the rest of us soon headed back for the Sidlesham car park. The walk back didn't really reveal much else other than a couple more Whimbrel, we stopped off at a bench and Deb got a call from Denise saying a birder had found a Kentish Plover near the Church Norton hide. Deb and I headed off immediately but Chris and Jen had to go. On the way we spotted a couple more Whimbrel and had good views of the Green Woodpecker that we heard earlier.We approached a small gathering of birders, and thank goodness we got the reply that it was there and got distant views of the Kentish Plover for about 10 minutes until Deb left with another birder for the Bill (she saw Common Scoters, an Arctic and a Great Skua) and I decided to have one last look for the Pied Flycatcher and Redstart. We got the opportunity to compare the nearby Ringed Plovers to the bird and noticed it was a much faster feeder and much smaller, lacking such prominent markings on its breast. A lifer for me! Of course I had no luck with the Pied Fly or Redstart and headed home at around 5:20pm.An excellent day with great company, thanks guys!
Full List
1 Bar-tailed Godwit
2 Black-headed Gull
3 Black-tailed Godwit
4 Blackbird
5 Blackcap
6 Blue Tit
7 Brent Goose (Dark-bellied)
8 Buzzard
9 Carrion Crow
10 Cetti's Warbler
11 Chaffinch
12 Chiffchaff
13 Common Tern
14 Coot
15 Cormorant
16 Cuckoo
17 Curlew
18 Dunlin
19 Dunnock
20 Gadwall
21 Great Black-backed Gull
22 Great-crested Grebe
23 Great-spotted Woodpecker
24 Great Tit
25 Green Woodpecker
26 Greenfinch
27 Grey Heron
28 Herring Gull
29 House Martin
30 KENTISH PLOVER
31 Kestrel
33 Lapwing
34 Lesser Black-backed Gull
35 Linnet
36 Little Egret
37 Little Tern
38 Long-tailed Tit
39 Magpie
40 Mallard
41 Meadow Pipit
42 Moorhen
43 Mute Swan
44 Oystercatcher
45 Pheasant
46 Red-legged Partridge
47 Redshank
48 Reed Bunting
49 Reed Warbler
50 Ringed Plover
51 Robin
52 Sandwich Tern
53 Sedge Warbler
54 Shelduck
55 Skylark
56 Sparrowhawk
57 Stock Dove
58 Swallow
59 Swift
60 Teal
61 Tufted Duck
62 Turnstone
63 Whimbrel
64 Whitethroat
65 Wigeon
66 Woodpigeon
67 Wren