Thursley Common- 25/07/25

 A trip to Thursley Common this evening with a particular species in mind was set to be good fun, especially if we saw the species. After arriving at Thursley around 21:00, we set out towards Shrike Hill, which had been a good starting point last year in the hunt for these birds. 

Moat Pond had plenty of Mallards on it, and a Grey Heron was in a tree to the side. A Goldfinch was also calling overhead.

Quite a few Canada Geese were on the water, with a singular Greylag Goose in amongst them. A few Gadwall were also on the pond, and a juvenile Stonechat perched up on a branch right next to the path.

With the light going very quickly, taking photos was getting near impossible, so instead I started to listen very closely to all the sounds around, and after a few minutes, there it was, the distinctive call of our target species. After making up on top of Shrike Hill, we listened a bit longer and decided the best way to go was to head over to the same place as we had seen them last year. More and more started to make their voices heard; surely it was only a matter of time before we saw one? 

After making it to the spot, we sat down(ouch, iykyk), and waited. A few sounded really close, and all of a sudden, Dad(who seems to have a real knack for not seeing and identifying everything other than the bird we are looking for) said, "Look, there's one!" And sure enough, there flying around us was a beautiful Nightjar that we had come here to see. It flew around us for a few seconds, then disappeared into the darkness. A few Nightjars sounded really close, their wonderful churring noise quite surreal in the dark. Over the next half an hour, more came and flew around us, but seeing as it was so late now, we decided to start heading back towards the car. One Nightjar must have been churring right next to the path on the way back, as it sounded very loud. Back at the car, we got in and went back home. 

Seeing Nightjars is always a thrilling thing, and with the success of the last few days, this year tick puts my list onto 175 now, which was my original aim for this year, after getting 163 last year. What a great and successful trip it had been. 

Titchfield Haven 24/07/25

 A trip to Titchfield Haven with Joe and Peter was on the cards today, and with not much seemingly about, anything interesting would be a great bonus.

After arriving, we decided to go up the east side first, and on the way to the Meadow Hide, we heard a Tawny Owl calling in the trees. With not much visible from the Meadow Hide, other than a Whitethroat and a few Cormorants, we headed on up to the Knights Bank hide, where a while was spent watching the 4 Spoonbill, a few Herons, Little Egrets, and a Kestrel. Two Green Sandpipers flew around in the distance as well. 

On the walk over to the west side, a Green Woodpecker was seen, and the Tawny Owl was still calling.

In the Meon Shore Hide, a lot was visible, with plenty of Avocet, Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwits, Redshank, Black-headed Gulls, Common Terns, Shovelers, and Gadwall all immediately obvious, along with a few Teal and the Tufted Ducks. 

After having lunch, we decided to head on up to the Pumfrett Hide, and after we sat down, I had a look at the terns that were landed nearby, and with nothing interesting seemingly obvious, I turned my attention to a few Common Tern chicks that Peter had pointed out. 

This was when Joe said that he thought he'd seen a  Roseate Tern in the flock I had checked over, and Peter said he thought he'd just noticed it as well. Typically, when we scanned the flock again, it had flown off. From the photos, we could see it was indeed a Roseate Tern, so although I hadn't got any photos, I did see it fly off, just without knowing it was one! This was for sure a great year tick. This is only the second time I've seen this species, with my first when I had just got into birdwatching on Hill Head beach nearly two years ago.

With the Roseate Tern seemingly not coming back, we headed up again this time to the Spurgin Hide, where a small time was spent with not much seen, other than a few Little Egrets.

Heading back to the Pumfrett Hide to see if the Roseate Tern was back, we saw a few Green and Common Sandpipers, but no sign of the bird we were looking for. 

Back at Meon Shore, we heard that the Roseate Tern had been there, but had probably flown off with a large group of terns, so we sat down and enjoyed what was there, with a very cute Moorhen chick briefly visible before heading off into the reeds.

A large gull and tern flock flew up, but with not much else obvious here, we decided to go and check the beach to see if there was a tern flock before heading home.

With the tide still too high for anything to be on the beach, we headed back, very happy with the day's findings.

Well, another great days birding, with yet another great bird seen. Things definitely seem to be picking up speed a bit now, hopefully this continues on into August!

Pectoral Sandpiper- Farlington Marshes 23/07/25

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I decided early this morning to take a trip down to Farlington to try and see the Curlew Sandpiper that had been seen there for a few days. So as I was eating lunch before catching the 13:00 train to Havant you can imagine my surprise and excitement as a Pectoral Sandpiper was reported by the visitor hut at the marshes. Presuming this was the bird that was in Dorset yesterday I didn't get my hopes up, as it had only stayed for an hour or so at Lodmoor. After a pretty quick bike ride to Farlington, I locked my bike up and made a beeline to the visitor hut where the Sandpiper had been reported.

Upon arrival, I received the great news that it was still on the lake, and a few birders helpfully pointed it out, and although rather distant, I managed a few initial shots of the Pectoral Sandpiper

It seemed rather happy on the lake, feeding most of the time, and even bathing in the water for a bit. A Green Sandpiper flew up, before hiding again in the reeds.

Athough being found mainly in America, this calidris sandpiper is not as rare as some other American sandpipers, with a very good number of these seen each year in the UK. After a while longer watching the Pectoral Sandpiper, we(I had bumped into two birding friends) made our way to the main lake to see if the bird I had originally been hoping to see was still showing. 

On route to the main pool, a few Pied Wagtails and two Little Ringed Plover were seen. 

After making it to the pool, nothing was obvious immediately, but after a bit of searching, the Curlew Sandpiper was found, along with a Knot and a few Dunlin. Although not technically a lifer, this is the first Curlew Sandpiper I have seen whilst being a birder, making it another great bird to see.

A few Greenshank were also present, along with plenty of Avocet, Redshank, Oystercatcher, and Lapwing. 

With not much else about, we headed back towards the hut, but before we could make it, it started pouring. Really heavily. A minute or two and a fast run later, we found ourselves all crammed into a very busy visitor hut, waiting the rain out. At one point, I took my camera off and dashed out to have a look through my binos to see if the Pec was still there, and after a few seconds it flew up from the ground before landing again. To my knowledge up to now this was the last time it has been seen. After a while the rain abated, and I was back out looking for it again, but there was no sign of it. 

Plenty of Lapwing were still out, along with a couple of drenched Mallards and Gadwall. 

After another hour or so, no one had found it again, but the two Little Ringed Plovers were out along with at least two Common Sandpipers, and a Marsh Harrier was hunting. Also, a Hobby briefly put in an appearance before dashing off west. 

Well, a rather eventful trip, with two year ticks including an American vagrant sandpiper. This couldn't have gone much better, and I'm still really excited to have seen both birds. A brilliant bird to get going again, after July having been a very slow month so far up till now. 

Woolmer Pond 14/07/25

 A trip to Woolmer to check if anything had dropped in started with a good look at all the birds on the pond, with good numbers of Heron, Little Egret, and Lapwing visible. 

As I was going around the pond, two geese swam into view- Greylags, a species that I've not seen here for a good while. 

After a check around the cottage, I checked the large corvid flock that was on the field, with large numbers of Rook, Jackdaw and Crow all present. They soon flew up into the trees, and with nothing else about, I headed towards Range 1 for a good look in the forest to see if anything was there. 

A long stint in the woods didn't produce much, but the Spotted Flycatchers were about again, along with a few Goldcrest, Treecreepers, and a Leucistic(?) Crow. 

After making it back to the pond, I biked all the way round to the furthest range to see if anything was visible on the pond from there. A Canada Goose was with the Tufted Ducks, and more Little Egrets were visible. 

With not much else about, I found a spot to watch the pond for a while, put the cricket on (what a win!)  and waited to see if anything else might show. Before too long, at least two Hobbies were out and about, zipping to and fro, but still nothing of note, so I decided to head back home.

Another nice time back at Woolmer, with a few cool species seen. With not much else about at this time of year, I expect I'll be visiting Woolmer quite a bit!

Woolmer Pond 11/07/25

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With going to Spain in June, and a busy start to this month, I hadn't managed to get down to Woolmer for a long time, so a free afternoon was welcome, and I biked down. 

After making it to the pond, what was visibly noticeable was very much the same as at Pulborough- not much water. There was still a good bit right in the centre of the pond, but the level was way down, and the edges were dry.  A quick scan through the binoculars brought a mix of species I wasn't used to at Woolmer. About 10 Little Egrets were out along with a few Grey Herons, and best of all, Lapwings. And lots of them. Although I gather they are a common summer bird here, since I started birding the place last November, I have only ever seen one Lapwing on site. A deer of sorts was out with the birds, and a few Mallards and Little Grebes were swimming about. 

I moved on to the cottage, where a Green Woodpecker was calling, but everything else was very quiet. A few Blue Tits were behind the cottage, and with not much showing there I moved onto the woods near bordon to see if anything interesting was there. A family of Spotted Flycatchers were making a lot of noise, with some very cute juveniles showing well. Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Treecreepers, and Great Spotted Woodpeckers were showing in force, but after a while longer of biking about the area nothing else could be uncovered so I headed back towards the pond. 

The flags had been put down, so I started to do a circuit of the pond, and as I was around the back, a sandpiper flew out from the vegetation below the path. Knowing that whatever species, I really wanted to be able to tell what it was. I set out to scan where I thought it had flown to, and after a bit of a wait, there it was again, on the island in the middle. Although quite distant, after a good look through binos and a few photos, I was able to confidently say that this was a Common Sandpiper- bird #100 for my patch list! It was visible for a while, before moving out of view. Visible on this side of the pond were more Little Egrets, Lapwings, three Egyptian Geese, and a Green Woodpecker was calling before flying out of a tree. 

Reluctantly, I had to leave to go home and make dinner, Thai Red Curry- one of my favourites. It was great to have been back at Woolmer, and really great to get bird #100 for my patch list. 

RSPB Pulborough Brooks

With not much about at this time of year, I decided to go to Pulborough to see if anything of interest could be found. 

After making some good connections on the trains, I managed to get to the reserve for 8:00, ready for a good few hours birding. Immediately visible was the water levels(or lack of it). Last time I had been here, in mid May, most of the place was covered in water, but this time there was hardly a drop to be seen!

En route to the West Mead hide, quite a few birds were singing, including Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Wren, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Dunnock, and a few Linnets. The West Mead Hide was looking a bit sorry for itself, with a few puddles of water here and there, the only water to be seen. A good few Lapwings were around, as was a Grey Heron. 

With not much about in the West Mead I decided to continue on round to Winpenny, where it seemed there was at least a bit more water. After a bit of scanning, a sandpiper right at the back caught my attention, with a bit of staring at it through the haze, it was clear that it was a Green Sandpiper, the main species I was hoping to see today. Although not very rare, this bird was a year tick. With this boost, I continued for a while longer at the Winpenny, uncovering another three Green Sands, along with another Grey Heron, a few Goldfinch, Reed Warblers, and a few Whitethroat.

With not much else showing, I thought it might be a good idea walking back to the visitor centre, and having a look around the heathland, where not much was seen other than a few Robin, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, and Stock Dove. 

Back at the Winpenny Hide, two Green Sandpipers were still showing distantly, and after about an hour or so, I saw that the White-tailed Eagles were flying around distantly. At least two were about, with a possible third also circling. After a few minutes of flying about, they headed off, so I decided to head off to the Little Hanger and Nettley's Hides. 

The Little Hanger produced nothing, and half an hour at Nettley's gave a few Black-tailed Godwits, Avocets, Canada Geese, Black-headed Gull, and two Mute Swan. 

After another few hours skipping between hides, nothing else was found, and I realised that unless if I wanted to wait another two hours I had to leave to catch a train right away, so I walked back to the visitor center, unlocked my bike, and headed off to the station. 

Overall a very nice trip, with a great 7 hours spent at the reserve. The Green Sandpipers were great- always great to see a new species for the year list.