Another nest

I stumbled upon a Ringed Plovers nest this morning just above the high tide mark....its not really a 'nest' rather a 'scrape' in the pebbles...People and dogs were wandering along the beach so I'm not too hopeful about sucess.



A really obliging male Linnet posed on a branch for me and again I am pretty certain there was a nest nearby.
Turnstone numbers are beginning to build up and there were a few Dunlins in summer plumage feeding with them.
Sand Martins in small flocks were heading west along the shoreline.

July continues quietly.

Very little to report during the past few days, weeks even!

July is usually a quiet birding month and so it is!




Our garden robin has been brooding a second clutch and is looking quite bedraggled. Incidentally we don't often see Robins here on the beach in the summer and this is the first time in 25 years we have had one nesting.

A few Whimbrel are showing up from time to time and they tend to be a lot more approachable than the Curlews.

Sandwich Terns are gathering in the harbour and yesterday there were about 45 very noisy birds plus a few Common and Little terns.

The mystery death.

My neighbour presented me with a freshly dead Sparrowhawk today found on his lawn. It was a fine male bird which appeared in good condition with no apparent injury. It did not appear to have crashed into a window as they are well known to do sometimes, so the cause of death remains a mystery.

A few swifts passing west during the day.

An uninspiring day.

The only birds showing up first thing this morning were 3 Peregrines over the harbour, most probably the Chichester Cathederal youngsters.
A single Greenshank and about a dozen Curlews present and later on a passing Whitetheroat in the garden contributed to what proved a very warm, quiet morning

Later a few Swifts,Sand Martins and Swallows moved west.

Disappointment.

The Oystercatcher has disappeared....nest unoccupied and the egg no longer! I suspect a fox overnight but I have no evidence.
The Swallows seem to have given up on their nest building in the Spit hide and strangely appear to had started making 4 nests in the adjacent rafters to last years nest but no signs of the birds being present today or yesterday.
A few Curlews about today and some very high flying Swifts moving west...I would never have seen them but for being attracted by some noisy gulls flying overhead.

The most exciting and noisy 'birds' today were the Red Arrows giving a display over nearby Goodwood!

...back from the Hebrides!

Cornckake through a wire fencc!

Whooper Swan in North Uist

Twite on a bird table ...Coll

Dumming Snipe....North Uist..Balranald RSPB reserve.

Hooded Crow...Vatersay

...land of Corncrakes, Whooper Swans, Twite, Sanderling, Hooded Crows and drumming Snipe to name but a few! More images on my Flickr site

Pagham Spit has a nesting Oystercatcher and a pair of Swallows were inspecting the hide yesterday morning. Linnets seem to be doing well with about 10 pairs present. A walk to the North wall today produced a dozen Little Egrets ,12 Curlew, a Teal and a Pintail plus the usual Tufteds and Mallards. The reedbed however appears to be in a bad state with a lot of 'die back'...is this a disease or water pollution?

Birds can't read.

I carried out the second May Breeding Bird Survey for the local reserve today and was disappointed at the lack of Ringed Plovers and Oystercatchers breeding on Pagham Spit (nil today). 2 Sylarks were singing and a good number of Linnets were present, 2 pairs of Greenfinch and a few Dunnocks and surprisinly a Blue Tit with caterpillars in its beak obviously feeding young nearby (there is no suitable site on the Spit! ) A Whitethroat was singing lustily in a bramble.
However just after midday a neighbour called to say she had found 3 eggs on the beach which she 'rescued' as the high tide was about to wash over them! They were Ringed Plovers and had been found further along the beach and would not have survived.... alas, they will not survive despite being rescued!

Why don't the birds nest within the designated protected fenced areas?

This blog will now be closed for a few weeks .