On Saturday, I decided to walk the South Downs Way from the Jack & Jill Windmills to the Ditchling Beacon, mainly because it's 15 minutes from our house, but also it has become my go to local walk, the views are stunning and there are actually a few Birds!!! Whoop!
I arrived at 7 o'clock , the Moon was showing well and the view over The Weald was misty perfection, unfortunately the birds had read the script, although a Robin showed well and a Crow was on one of the sails!!
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| The Moon, was it a harvest one? |
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| The Misty Weald |
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| Crow on the Sail |
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| Robin in the hedge! |
I carried on along the South Downs Way, things picked up a couple of Skylarks flew about with a brief burst of song, some Finches flew over, mix of Linnets and Goldfinch and a few Meadow Pipits flew over calling, as I approached the Clayton Escarpment, first signs of an improvement with a Wheatear and as I left the SDW onto the nature reserve, there were a few Chiffchaffs and a couple of sun-bathing Yellowhammers! Once again there was a large Hirundine movement, which would go on for most of the morning, a pretty even mix of Housemartins and Swallows. Yet again I made a futile attempt to get some pics!!!
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| Kestrel |
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| Chiffchaff checking the Kestrel had actually gone! |
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| Another Wheatear! |
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| Stonechat |
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| Be a good view from up there I reckon |
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| Wolstonbury Hill |
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| Stonechat |
I marched on, a field full of sheep, held good numbers of Meadow Pipits but couldn't find any Wagtails and the Pipits dived into the the long grass making pics difficult.
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| Sheep, these were quite small, possibly rare breed being used to manage the nature reserve |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| If anything the views was getting more spectacular |
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| Another elusive Chiffchaff |
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| Flyover Rook |
I reached the Beacon, I crossed the road, to have a look at the Dew Pond, this proved to be a good decision, the bushes in the area were alive with birds, lots of Chiffchaffs, a few Blackcaps, Yellowhammers, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnets and best of all Corn Buntings, saw at least 5, though there were probably more!
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Back in the Pipit field, the jury is out on this one could be a Tree Pipit, the flank streaks are noticeably finer than those on the breast and no long Hind Claw visible, which I think should be on view in this pic, but there are a few pro Meadow Pipit notably the Loral line not being particularly dark!! But it's in a tree anyway!! 😂 well a bush and pretty much all the others dived straight into the grass when I tried to get pics of them !!! |
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| Think this is Hurstpierpoint Church |
The reserve had a big flock of finches in it which a Kestrel made a fairly pathetic attempt to attack and the Hirundines were still about in number, not that surprising as there were loads of insects about in the warm sunshine!
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| A few of the finches assembling |
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| A few Linnets in with the Goldies |
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| A few more Finches |
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| Young Goldie |
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| Charming it was only when the Kestrel appeared that the true numbers of Finches were revealed, this is a fraction probably a couple of hundred all in! |
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| Quite a few Pipits in this area |
I headed back down the South Down Way, more Chiffchaffs and a very Photogenic crow who knew how to work the berries!!
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| Possibly my best ever Crow Pics |
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| Finally a posy Chiffy!! |
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| Though the Blackcaps, remain elusive!😢😲😂 |
That was about it, a very nice walk in the Sunshine, Corn Buntings are always a favourite, a joy to see em!! Would like to find something rare, but still a few weeks of Autumn left, so hopefully I can winkle something out on my next visit!!!
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