Farlington Marshes 18/03/26

Sun. Sun! Can you believe it... Sun, England, March, not a common trio that goes together. So, when the opportunity arrived for me to be dropped off at Farlington this afternoon, I powered on with school so that I could go. With not too much about and not being able to get out birding too much, I was really looking forward to it. A nice, sunny afternoon on the coast, with spring well on its way. Wonderful.

I arrived at about 13:40, with 2 hours or so to play with. Immediately, a Mediterranean Gull flew overhead, and a few Greenfinches were calling. The tide was going out, but only a few islands were visible out in the harbour. One such island held a few Redshanks, Oystercatchers, Black-Headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, and a great 12 Common Gulls.

A Great Crested Grebe was out in the harbour, which I spent a little while photographing whilst I walked up the path towards the lake. 

It swam off, so I made it to the main lake, got myself seated down on the grass, set my scope up, and spent the next half an hour photographing stuff. 

Out of the wind, it was actually very warm- a perfect spring afternoon. A few Shelduck were about, along with plenty of Redshank, Teal, Mallards, Wigeon, and Canada Geese behind the lake on the fields. The most noticeable thing, however, was the large number of Avocets. Wherever you looked, there were one, two, three, or more dotted around the lake in close proximity. It's been quite a while since I've actually seen Avocets, such a great bird.

A small shape on the mud in front of the reeds formed into a Snipe, and although the photo may suggest it was relatively distant, views through the scope were stunning.

It soon disappeared, so I put my attention back on the Avocets... they were just everywhere, I hardly knew where to look!

A Redshank came relatively close and was picking worms out of the mud. A Mallard came somewhat close as well, so I paid it some attention; they are incredible ducks, really.

A small group of Avocets came relatively close and started squabbling about, well, something or other.

A very smart Pintail swam by, and a Redshank flew in to the bank.

With this, I reluctantly decided to move on; I could've spent all afternoon sitting there. A few Brent Geese flew in as I was walking along the path, and over the field, the all-familiar sci-fi-like calls of Lapwings drifted in my direction. This was absolutely wonderful. 

A Teal was in some water and allowed some photos. Stunning ducks, I really love the patterning on the male's back.

As I walked on, I scanned for a Wheatear to no avail, but this didn't dampen my mood at all. What an incredible spring afternoon. The memories of last spring flooded back into my memory. What a time it is. And just as I felt as though it couldn't feel any more "springy", the song of a Skylark reached my ears, followed by a display flight from a Meadow Pipit. There was action everywhere.

A Moorhen was on a small body of water, and at the back, a Shelduck, Shoveler, and Lapwing were sitting.

A Wren sang from a bush, and another Meadow Pipit flew up, then down in its incredible flight. 

I continued walking along and made it to the lower path through the field, which I took to save a little bit of time. All of a sudden, everything from the deeps seemed to go up and flew in my rough direction, including Shelducks, all kinds of ducks, and gulls. As I searched around for the cause, a Sparrowhawk zipped by. There we go.

Before long, I made it to the deeps and sat myself on a bench. A scan showed there to be huge amounts of Mediterranean Gulls, along with Wigeon, Teals, Shovelers, Mallards, Black-headed Gulls, Redshank, and a few Tufted Ducks.

After a while observing all the action, I noticed how the gulls would always fly off to my right into the harbour. With the sun in the perfect place for photos, I adjusted my camera settings and got ready to try to photograph some gulls in flight- mainly aiming for Med Gulls. After a little trial and error, I finally focused on one. Success.

I've never managed decent Med Gull flight shots before, so I was very pleased with these. I spent another half an hour photographing them, but sometimes just admired the plumage with my own eyes. Stunning birds.

There were such large numbers that I had an opportunity to photograph them every thirty seconds or so. Quite a few Black-headed Gulls were moving through as well, making a lot of noise.

I was enjoying this so much... I say that quite a lot! 

This was probably my favourite photo of all.

I turned my attention to the Tufted Ducks, taking a photo or two, before spending a final few minutes photographing the gulls and moving on.

Just before I started walking, a Meadow Pipit zipped past, not even half a meter away from my head. Wow!

Having spent so much time photographing the gulls, I powered along down the path, stopping briefly to photograph a Crow that was standing on a bench.

A rather good looking Shoveler showed well in decent light, and a few Greenfinch were calling.

I soon made it down from the seawall, and in the field on my right, quite a few Canada Geese were situated, along with some Shelduck and Brent Geese.

A single Brent Goose was in the field by the visitor hut, and feeling tired and in need of a drink, I walked in and sat down for a few minutes.

After a nice rest in the shade and a drink, I went back outside into the sun and noticed a few birders who seemed to be looking at something. I asked if they'd seen anything, and was informed that there was a White-tailed Eagle in the distance. Through some very helpful and efficient instructions, I got onto it very briefly with my binoculars. Unfortunately, it was very distant, but I could see what it was through binoculars. But an attempt to get the scope on it ended with me losing the bird and not being able to find it again. Another incredible species seen, though!

A Mallard was bathing in one of the puddles on the path, so I had to get a photo before realising my time was up, so I headed down the path and made my way to the car park.

Well, what a time it had been. So, so many cool species seen, and such brilliant photo opportunities of the Med Gulls. The sun was in full force all afternoon, with a strong breeze cooling the air down. I had really enjoyed just being out and about, admiring all the common species and some scarcer ones. What a wonderful reminder of how incredible spring is, the volume of birds about just skyrockets from winter. But, it is a reminder that spring can be slightly difficult birding- but in a good way. Too many things to look at is the way I like it, and while it may mean you miss one or two things, you just see so much. Well, here's to a great spring, and the sun continuing to shine (something I very much doubt)!

Hope all have enjoyed:)

Selsey Bill 10/03/26

March has been rather quiet so far, with not much really going on. It has, however, brought one brilliant lifer so far in the form of a very surprising Woodcock at Whiteley Pastures last week. Other than that, there's not been much worth going to see... but spring is well on its way, and hopefully some things will come. Anyways, onto today...

It's a birthday! Mum's, to be exact, and she was keen on the idea of going to Selsey Bill for a nice walk in the morning, so we found ourselves parking on Seal Road mid-morning. I wasn't really expecting anything, just a nice walk with maybe one or two things moving offshore. 

As always, I found myself lagging behind the others talking with Dad, when a bird flew across our eyelines. Small, frantic flight, and an obvious white rump. "Already!?" I thought! And yes, there was already a Wheatear here. The first signs of migration are starting up. It landed on a post before disappearing off down the beach. What a start to the day! Turns out this was the first bird reported on the peninsula so far this year... very cool to have found it!

It was very brief, so we didn't get great views, but it was still very, very cool to see.

We continued walking on and made it to the normal seawatching wall, where a short scan produced a Great Northern Diver offshore. We walked a bit further ahead to get a slightly closer view. Always such a cool bird to see.

After a while watching a Cormorant diving and appreciating the scenery, the others moved on, and, surprise, surprise, I was behind again, with Dad. I briefly glanced at the gulls on some posts, and was thrilled to see a stunning breeding plumage Mediterranean Gull- honestly, such cool birds, whatever plumage they're in. It showed really well, allowing for my best photos of the species. I was really, really enjoying myself!

We moved around and got even closer views... I put my scope on it, and the detail was just incredible. Stunning bird:) 

With the others pressing on, we dragged ourselves away to keep up and chat. After a while entertaining the dog at the green and watching the sea, we walked on, with another Cormorant doing its thing on a green pylon.

As we made it near the car again, a bird flashed across- a sense of deja vu hit. The Wheatear was back again. It was similarly flighty to earlier, and stopped at various points, before flying off once more, signalling the end of the trip- lovely.

Well, a lovely trip with the first Wheatear of spring for me turning up... always just so, so nice to see. Along with a great supporting cast, I'd really enjoyed this. There really isn't too much about to go and see... The Forster's Tern in Dorset is very, very tempting, but it's quite a way and quite a risk with it sometimes leaving the boating lake out to the harbour. We'll have to see what happens. On that note, good night and happy birding!

:)