Photos of todays brief walk from Lagoon to North wall

 Just a 'quickie' today.(for the record)  

Wheatear on Pagham Spit

Kestrel...along Whites Creek taking a closer look maybe?

Shelduck...male catching up.

Cormorant on the usual post...Breech Pool

Mute Swan, Breech pool on bulky nest.

Great Crested Grebe...Pagham Lagoon (just hope it remains undisturbed)

Thanks for looking!

Morning walk along the North Wall

 As always greeted by two very 'tame' Robins and Great Tits by the horse paddocks. These are fed regularly and expect every birder to have a supply of mealworms in their pockets!

A Jackdaw was taking advantage of horse hair as nesting material..

A Whitethroat was singing his scratchy song from a hawthorn..

....whilst a deer watched from a safe distance

A pair of Shovelers were amongst a family of Mallards and a pair of Gadwall on Breech Pool

The reedbeds were alive with the sound of Reed Warblers, Sedge Warblers and Cettis Warblers against  a background of a Cuckoo calling and a Marsh Harrier quartering the reedbed. Whimbrels were feeding in the harbour and a pair of Greenshanks were out in the middle. Several Little Egrets were fishing close to the wall...

At Owl Copse the Cattle Egrets seem well established with five birds seen either in or flying over the bushes.

A great couple of hours enjoying the sheer peace and tranquility of the place!

We seem to have an abundance of Jays around the garden at present and these are a few shots of one that is returning frequently and finding buried acorns, taken through a double glazed window.

Pleasant weather today but Saturday forecast....dire!!

Nightingales at Pulborough Brooks RSPB

 Having failed last week in pinning down a Nightingale I was determined to give it a second attempt.

So having arrived at the reserve before official opening I walked down the zig-zag when a sudden burst of song announced I was in its territory. Sure enough, although initially well hidden, it obligingly dropped to the ground enabling a quick burst of photo action. It was not going to hang about and after a couple more exposures on a branch  he was gone.

A short and sweet appearance ....

I was pleased but on visiting several other known locations and hearing four other Nightingales I had no further success.

Blackcaps were much in evidence....

A Wren was very vocal!

A Raven flew over croaking but it was the simple pleasure of watching a Song Thrush in the childrens play area, collecting worms gave me an opportunity of obtaining some reasonable photo shots of this declining species.

As I left, I watched several House Sparrows on the provided nest boxes and although still a reasonably common species, I have not had a single sighting in 4 years in my Aldwick garden.

Later in the day I paid  quick visit to the North Wall Pagham harbour and was pleased to hear and see a Cuckoo in a hawthorn bush...albeit a bit distant.

The Honer Farm field was flooded (somewhat unusually at this time of year) and numerous species were present. There had been reports of Wood Sandpiper but this had moved on.

Grey Plover

Bar Tailed Godwit

Mallard with five of her six ducklings

Pied Wagtail,Grey Plover and Oystercatcher

Shelduck and Coot.
A strange collection on what is normally a grassy field.

Back to the North Wall

 It was good to see that a pair of Cattle Egrets were back in Owl Copse and showing all the signs of breeding.

In the rife below a Coot was busy feeding six very young chicks.

...together with a Little Grebe nearby.

 A pair of Swans were getting to know each other.

The resident Buzzard on the usual post

A flock of 15 Whimbrel flew from the harbour towards the Honer fields.

In the late afternoon I paid a third visit to the Honer reservoir to try and obtain a better photograph of the Ring-Billed Duck but during the time I was watching he raised his head for just three seconds and  could not have been further away on the opposite bank.!

The highlight was the sudden appearance of a Little Ringed Plover that dropped in out of the sky and landed on the far bank...hence a very heavily cropped photo .

A Whimbrel just below the sluice gate...one of a pair.

...and finally a blackbird  with the moon as a backdrop

Pulborough Brooks for Nightingales!

Its that time of year ago to enjoy Nightingales and what better place locally than Pulborough Brooks RSPB Reserve. 

Arriving at 8.45 in glorious sunshine, before the majority of visitors arrived I headed for the zig-zag and almost immediately caught the snatch of a song. Just a snatch but no sighting. Heading down towards the Fattengates area a Nightingale in full song. Elusive bird. Suddenly it flew from deep inside a bush and disappeared a little further along. A Blackcap showed well, briefly, but he too quickly disappeared. Next stop had to be Adder Alley, a favourite Nightingale hideout. Yes, there was one singing but again, a 'no show'!

So, no photos this time but a delightful Wren posed beautifully.

A Song Thrush was feeding in an adjacent field

A Dunnock was singing his heart out.

The Peregrine was in his usual tree overlooking the brooks.

Jackdaws were loitering outside the closed Winpenny hide

...and a Nuthatch showed up briefly by the feeding station in the childens 'bit'.

I will have to visit again in perhaps a week....maybe  I was just a little early and the nightingales needed time to settle in, having only arrived a few days ago. We'll see!