A pigeon morning!

Every year in early November we experience 'pigeon mornings' !To-day was such a day. At about 7.30am as I set out for my early morning sortie there were flocks of Wood Pigeons flying westwards along the coast at varying heights...some small flocks , some larger flocks of about 2-300. Some years there are flocks of several thousand and 20 to 3000 birds passing in a morning would not be exceptional. They have come from the continent and are spreading along the south of England for the winter months. In addition this morning there wereSkylarks and Meadow Pipits together with mixed finch flocks feeding on the tideline...a superb crisp, windless morning.
At midday I set out again and found a lone female Eider Duck in the harbour keeping well away from the Brent Geese and Wigeon and then..........my first Purple Sandpiper of the winter, kindly pointed out by a local birder with VERY keen eyes! It spent most the time asleep with its head tucked firmly under its wing but very ocasionally it would look up. I reckon it was resting after its long flight from the Arctic!

A better day!

A much improved day weatherwise and the light was good for photography. A group of Turnstones were foraging on the tide line and I was able to get slightly below them and secure an almost eye level shot of one. The bright orangy/yellow legs often get lost when taking shots looking down on them when they are in weed so I was pleased to get this!
I had also heard there were some Goosanders about so a quick look round soon found them near the harbour entrance albeit a bit distant...however a record shot!

Numbers of Brent Geese are really picking up now and there is a Goldeneye on the Lagoon.
The Black Necked Grebe continues to attract a number of visiting birders.

An interesting day!

I was alerted yesterday by a fellow birder that there were a few interestng birds about so I was out today to search! It was not long before I had located a Scoter out to sea and although distant I was pretty certain it was a Velvet Scoter. As I returned 3 Swallows flew east over the Little Lagoon and a Kingfisher put in an appearance. As I approached the Lagoon I noticed the bushes were full of Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Redwings...obviously driven in from cooler climes by the N/East wind of the past few days.
On the Lagoon the Black Necked Grebe was showing really well although spending a lot of time beneath the surface searcing for food. And then....the bird I really wanted to see....a Scaup. These don't turn up too often here but there it was and although well hidden in the reeds, it did in the end, show very well. As a bonus a female Goldeneye was nearby but it preferred to keep company with the Tufted Ducks. The light was not good enough for photography but hopefully tomorrow will improve.

A Black Redstart !

I was only saying to a visiting birder yesterday that I was hoping to see my first Black Redstart soon and sure enough one turned up today in the garden! It was on the beach initially, then flew to the front garden and when I looked out it was actually on a hanging basket only .5 metre away!! I managed to grab the camera and got a few shots through the double glazed window in poor lighting conditions. Never mind the image above isn't brilliant but at least it is a record shot!
Yesterday, there was a late Wheatear on the beach but most impressive were the numbers of Pintail which have increased dramatically during the past few days.Wigeon, Teal and Brent Geese have increased too.
Life has been a bit hectic recently hence blogs have been few and far between but hopefully by the middle of next week more time can be spent 'in the field'....or should I say on the beach!

Autumn birds

>A menacing Sparrow Hawk has returned to the garden and is seen regularly waiting near the bird feeders!
Small parties of Brent Geese have been arriving during the past weekend but numbers are much lower than this time last year. A few swallows continue to fly East daily but numbers are dropping and I doubt that we shall see many more...a few stragglers perhaps.

A Confiding Grebe.

A Black Necked Grebe arrived on the Lagoon a couple of weeks ago and is still accompanying Little Grebes and Mallards at the far end of the lake near the board walk. It certainly seems a lot more tolerant of people than I'd expect.
Apart from this, a couple of Wheatears were still on the beach and numbers of Wigeon have increased during the windy weather of the past weekend. 7 Brent Geese flew west past the harbour entrance but I could not actually see any on the mudflats. Grey Plovers were much in evidence (some still in summer plumage) but apart from several parties of Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Curlew not too many other waders were about.
3 Swallows flew west.

An Early Autumn Treat

A superb morning...warm, sunny and still. This red admiral butterfly was just enjoying the peace of the early morning. The only 'new' bird around was a Whinchat and as we don't often see them on Pagham Spit that was a real bonus on a really beautiful morning!