The day's birding started before I even arrived at RSPB Pulborough, with a White-tailed Eagle and Marsh Harrier seen whilst journeying there on the train(which turned out to be a nightmare- half the trains were cancelled!).
After finally arriving at Pulborough, I started to walk down the hill towards the West Mead hide, where two Garganey had been seen recently. Whilst walking down, many Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were singing, and two Bullfinches flew across the path. A few Willow and Garden Warblers were singing, topping off a great chorus.
After making it to the hide, I had a good scan around, but all I could see were Mallards, Lapwings, Avocets and other usual waders. Some of the juvenile Lapwings were coming quite close to the hide- very cute.
A single Greenshank and seven very distant Ringed Plovers were seen from the hide, along with a few Grey Herons and Avocets.
Nothing else seemed to be about, so I decided to head back to West Mead to see if the Garganey were showing. A Whitethroat was singing by Redstart corner, and a Lesser Whitethroat was heard.
I decided to not try and find where the Lesser Whitethroat was, as the Garganey were more of a priority for me, even though I'd seen neither species before.
After making it to the hide, it didn't take long to notice the two small ducks feeding by the edge of the pool- a pair of Garganey. Unlike most, this pair were sticking right out in the open, giving great, although slightly distant views.
These marvellous ducks had eluded me before today, so I was very pleased to see them. The drake came a bit closer, giving great views.
Whilst I was watching the Garganey, my first Hobby of the day flew past the hide.
The male Garganey started preening, showcasing a cool stripe down the back of its neck.
The Garganey moved further away, so I decided to go and explore some other hides. I headed toward Netley's Hide, stopping off at Jupp's view along the way.
After a bit of waiting at Netley's, all that was seen were two Mandarin Ducks that flew in, and a lone male Teal.
As I drew nearer to the hide, a sound stopped me dead in my tracks. It went quiet. There it was again- there was no doubt about what it was. After a bit of waiting, there it was- a Nightingale very briefly came out of the undergrowth, before darting straight back in. Their distinctive "machine-gun" call is like no other. This was my second lifer of the day, and although I couldn't get any photos, just a brief sighting, and a good five minutes of breathtaking song, is enough to get anyone excited.
After a while, it went quiet, so I headed off to the West Mead hide to see if anything new had dropped in.
The drake Garganey had gone to sleep on a far bank, and a Juv. Lapwing was coming close to the hide again. A Pied Wagtail was feeding on one of the islands, and two Hobbies were hawking.
A Green Woodpecker was calling, and a Cetti's Warbler was singing from the reeds. A large group of Canada Geese goslings were at the back of the pond, swimming about and having a lot of fun by the looks of it.
Right at the back of the floods, a Cattle Egret flew up and around a bit before settling again with the cattle. Nothing else seemed to be coming in, and the Garganey were right at the back of the pond, so I decided to go to the Winpenny Hide for lunch.
A Cuckoo was calling whilst I headed over, and by Redstart corner, at least one Lesser Whitethroat was singing again. This time I thought it might be a good idea to spend a while looking around the area to see if I could find the bird. Thankfully for me, it promptly flew out of the tree it was calling from and into the depths of a bush. So finally, after so many failed attempts, I saw a Lesser Whitethroat. Yet again another lifer I couldn't get a photo of, but it's the bird that counts, not the photo!
Heading off to Winpenny on a high, with three lifers already under my belt today, and a Cuckoo calling in the background, I couldn't have been more satisfied with the day's happenings- and it still had more to give.
After making it to the hide, I settled down to have my lunch, and I had just bitten into my sandwich (ham and cheese, one of my favourites) when a very large bird in the background caught my attention. Even though it must have been at least a kilometre away, there was no mistaking this bird- a White-tailed Eagle. The huge barn door wings and the adult's large white tail, from which they get their name, are obvious identification features. It started coming closer, mobbed by some crows.
It continued flying across the skyline- such an incredible sight.
It soon became clear there were, in fact, the pair of them, as they approached the reserve. They continued coming towards the hide, giving great views, and they even started calling. The loud shriek could send shivers down anyone's spine. These mammoth birds have wingspans of well over two meters, and, naturally, pack a very, very powerful punch.
One of them flew off towards the village of Pulborough, but the other one descended and landed on some grass very far away. Even from such a distance, you could still see the bird pretty clearly with the naked eye, a testament to how large these eagles really are.
Sadly, it soon flew off to the other side of the reserve, so I was left to eat my lunch whilst thinking about the incredible experience.
I'm now going to have to address the obvious elephant in the room(a small one, i know, but it's still there!)- how wild really are these birds? Well, personally, I believe that speculating on whether they're wild or not, and having specific stances on the origins and real wildness of these birds, can shift our attention away from actually enjoying the birds, wild or not. These eagles will (hopefully) always be here in the south of England now, and they are simply incredible, so we might as well enjoy them for what they really are.
After the excitement of the eagles, a Grey Heron was fishing on the water, and the Canada Geese started to filter back in after abandoning the area due to the presence of the eagles.
Nothing else was really showing, so I headed back to West Mead again to see if the Gaganey had come any closer.
A few Avocets were still around, and the Garganey were pretty close, but were in awful lighting, so I couldn't get any better shots.
An Egyptian Goose had a quick squabble with a Lapwing, with the Lapwing amusingly pecking the goose's head, before aborting the mission of annoying the goose and flying off.
It continued circling around before appearing to drop down into a field.
Again, these birds are undeniably just so beautiful, so I've decided to not let the origins of the bird affect how I saw it on site- a free-flying and marvellous bird enjoying life, and making me enjoy mine even more!
I continued up the path towards the visitor centre, and again was stopped for a while to listen to the brilliant and breathtaking song of a Nightingale, and briefly saw it again.
After getting to the visitor centre and enjoying the brilliant view one more time, I reluctantly, but very satisfactorily, had to leave this wonderful haven for wildlife.
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