Pulborough Brooks is usually our go to place when we have overslept!! Such as today! Consequently we probably don't get the best of it, but it's not far from home and has a nice café and does get some good birds, although generally everything is a bit distance for photography!! We set off, nice Red Kite near home was a good start, we arrived at about 8.30am (Margie did point out it would have been 7.30 had the clocks not changed) Greenfinch on the entrance track was nice but didn't hang around for pics, which can't be said about the Robin in the car park which posed at our feet, while another two, possibly suitors, fought like mad around us!!
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| Very tame Robin |
Interesting to note they have started charging for the car park, as members of the RSPB we don't have to pay, hopefully put off a few of the dog walkers!! Not sure if I read it right but seems you have to pay for the carpark and entry to the reserve. But didn't seem that much compared to other attractions!
No one in the hut and the centre wasn't open as yet so we went through and proceeded to the feeding station, pretty quiet though a couple of Greenfinch were nice in with the Blue Tits and Sparrows.
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| Margie took a picture of the view from near the centre, bit misty but predicted correctly to clear! |
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Margie's picture of one of the White Doves that frequent the area.
(At least she resisted the Pheasant this week😂)
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| Great Tit |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Male House Sparrow |
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| Greenfinch |
We headed down the Zig-Zags, immediately we could hear Bullfinches calling in the thick Blackthorn hedge, a few showed themselves, saw at least 3 males and 1 female but could have been more, as the hedge is very thick and frustratingly they spent most of the time buried in the middle of it, we spent quite a bit of time trying to get pics, without much success, even the Chiffchaff and the long-tailed Tit in the same area showed better!!
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| Bullfinch buried in the hedge, I have a lot of blurred pics of Bullfinches if anyone needs any😃 |
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| Long-tailed Tit |
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| Chiffchaff, loads singing around the reserve today |
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Margie's Bullfinch shot, she only took 3 they were all in focus!
(quality not quantity her words not mine)😂 |
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| Blackthorn Blossom by Margie |
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| and again |
After an annoying 20 minutes or so we headed off around the corner to Fattengates (before I smashed me camera in frustrated rage!!😡😀) where we had a singing Blackcap which made the Bullfinch look like posers, no pic obvs! Another Chiffchaff singing here and a Woodpigeon posing!
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Chiffchaff having a sing |
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| Bit of tree by Margie! |
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| Dunnock by Margie |
We headed around to the first hide, which was shut for some reason, bit annoying because it's usually the best one!! So we headed off to the next one didn't see much on that walk though Margie took some pics of some Reedmace! I found a Wren!
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| Wren |
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| View by Margie |
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| Yes I thought Margie had found a Purple Heron as well but it's made of Wicker! |
The next hide was better, a very distant Peregrine, thanks to the birder who let me look through his scope, lot's of Canada Geese, they seem to have taken over the Brooks a few Lapwing one of which was zooming around in display, with both Margie and I failing dismally to get on it with a camera also a very showy Goldfinch came and sat right next to us which was handy!
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| Female Pintail |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Think this was the Lapwing being displayed to |
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| The only in focus, whole bird in frame shots of the extremely manoeuvrable displaying Lapwing! |
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| Canada Goose by Margie |
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| View by Margie |
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| View by Margie |
We walked around to the Hanger, couldn't find an Adder in Adder alley more Chiffchaffs and Long-tailed Tits though! At the Hanger I looked in vain for Garganey and Little Ringed Plover but couldn't find any, not that surprising as I'd left me scope at home, due to laziness, and my bins, good as they are struggled to pick much out at the extreme range, though I did manage a couple of Avocet in with the Wigeon, Teal and Pintail, at this point Margie piped up "what are those big white birds in the distance, don't think they are Egrets as they have black bottoms" quick glance up and I was looking at 4 White Storks!!! Good job Margie came with me as I don't think I'd have noticed them!!!
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| LTT |
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| Note blue sky as the sun burnt away the cloud and my head! |
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| 3 of the 4 Storks |
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| All the Storks |
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| Flower by Margie |
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| View from the Hangar by Margie |
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| More flowers by Margie |
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| and again |
While we watched one of the Storks took to the air and spiralled away giving great views, presumably the Knepp birds though I couldn't see any rings on it! Also had a brief display flight from a Stock Dove and a showy Kestrel!
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| Stock Dove |
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| White Stork |
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| Kestrel |
Love a Kestrel, we headed to Jupp's View, Treecreeper, Goldcrest and another or probably the same showy Kestrel on the way. From the viewpoint more of the same really Wigeon, Teal, Pintail, Avocet numbers up to 4 but couldn't find anything rare!
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| My take on the Primroses which were everywhere |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Kestrel taken with manual focus, my eyes not as bad as I thought |
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| Another Chiffy |
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| Two of the Avocets at distance |
So we headed back to the visitor centre ,a Wren we both thought was a Treecreeper to be honest think the Wren did as well judging by it's behaviour, up and down a tree trunk like a good un, more Chiffchaffs and some more Bullfinch woe the best of it!
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| Wren |
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| Another chiffchaff, the good news is I'm not fed up with the song yet!! |
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| Another view by Margie |
We arrived back at the centre, I decided to do some charity work in the form of a Bacon Bap and a slice of Coffee & Walnut Cake,(all profits go to the birds) this caused a bit of an issue as they give you the cake when you order but obviously the Bacon Bap had to be cooked!! We took our drinks onto the terrace, where I solved this problem by declaring I was having Coffee & Walnut cake as a starter😂However Margie contested this by suggesting there was no universe in which C&W cake could be considered a starter!! Always gotta stick her oar in miss clever clogs😲😰,however I compromised in the end and a ate half as a starter and half as a pud, very pleasant on the terrace watching Buzzards soaring in the sunshine, although the enjoyment was somewhat tempered by having to keep half an eye on my nemesis, a female House Sparrow that kept a beady eye on me the whole time ready to nip in and nick the cake if I let my guard down!! However she met her match in me!!
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| Cake-stealing House Sparrow could only be more evil if it was sitting in a revolving chair stroking a white Persian Cat 😱😲!! |
So that was the that Charity work was duly completed, cake was nice enough though a bit light on Walnuts and to be honest the slice is a bit small!! Though can't complain when it is for the birds, although I realise I just have 😁 Nice day out would've liked to do a bit better with the Bullfinches don't get a chance at them that often but all in all a very pleasant day!
