A local day out.

It was a bright sunny morning with a good forecast so, as I have not been to Pulborough Brooks for some time, this was my first stop. I arrived before the Centre opened so I had the place to myself.  A few Redwings and Fieldfares were calling and some were feeding in the lower field....

Redwing

As I entered the West Meads hide the vista was amazing....the South Downs were shrouded in early morning mist and the water supported dozens of ducks looking absolutely resplendent in Spring plumage!

Drake Shoveler

Pintail

Shoveler and Teal (asleep)

Shelduck

 In addition there were Pied Wagtails...

and Lapwings

...looking resplendent in their iridescent plumage

But the highlight were the seven Snipe feeding on the grass just in front of the hide....

Stunning birds!

Time for a wander in the woods...

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Nuthatches.

On to Waltham Brooks...

Chiffchaffs

A particularly pale individual...is this a 'Sibe' anyone?

Goldcrests galore but well nigh impossible to capture...such fast little movers. Dozens of blank photos and almost no 'keepers'...

The best of a disappointing lot!

Finally to Arundel WWT to improve on my previous Firecrest shots...not a sighting in two hours!!

A passing Red Kite ...

...with a bird in its talons

A Long Tailed Tit

and finally...........................

A Water Vole as I was leaving...in the entrance.

Is Spring on the way?

Well, certainly the Ringed Plovers think so....a male was displaying madly this morning on the beach, flying erratically hither and thither attempting to get the females attention.  Very difficult subjects to photograph when they are in this mood as they change direction rapidly at great speed. These photos don't really give an indication of speed but but best I can do in the circumstances!

...and then he settled on the tideline....peacefully. The female appeared to take no notice at all so it all seemed a bit of waste of effort! Maybe she's waiting for the weather to warm up...well it was cold first thing this morning!

A very different day... PT 2

I'm having problems with my blog and having almost completed todays entry I suddenly lost the lot...VERY frustrating! Grrrrr!
So, I re-did the first part but having secured a few more photos today I wanted to post them so I decided on creating a  Pt2 as I couldn't face losing what I have already done a second time!

Moorhen looking stunning in the sunlight.

The Great Crested Grebes were quite obliging but there was no attempt at displaying and certainly no weed dances, for which is I was hoping.

..and finally at the lakes...

Pochard

On the way home I decided to drop into the North Wall but the clouds came over and the bird life was a bit slim apart from plenty of Black Tailed Godwits on Breech pool.

About to alight. 

Treading water!

Last but not least...Wigeon grazing in the horses field.

A very different day!

After yesterdays gale force winds, this morning was a real contrast....cold but sunny and very little wind. At just after 7.00 am I was up near the 'old' harbour entrance when I noticed a very smart fox watching me in the early morning sunshine....

 He soon made off alongside the Little Lagoon and completely ignored a Red Legged Partridge

He glanced back at me as he made his way to the bushes just north of the Little Lagoon.

The peregrine was in his usual spot.


As it was a good morning for photography I decided to go the Chichester lakes complex to see the three 'specials' reported. 

First up was the White Fronted Goose...

Distant but ok as a record shot.

Next the Egyptian Goose




...and now for some wing stretching...

And now for the third target bird...the Red Crested Pochard....no chance!!
I 'dipped' as they say!!

Not exciting but unusual!

Although there was a wind gusting Force 8, during the afternoon  I made my way along the beach to the sea wall  bordering the 'old' harbour entrance and noticed a large bird perched on the ironwork.

It was difficult to hold the bins still, but as I had my trusty Sony compact I took a few shots at the same time as trying to stand up straight!

As I approached all was revealed....

A male Pheasant!

Not a bird I expected in this particular location!
You never know what will turn up at Pagham.