I could resist the blue skies no longer and with the weather looking a bit dodge at the weekend, took a day off for a bit of birding, with Margie and I deciding that RSPB Pulborough Brooks would be the best bet!! We did well to be on our way by 7.20AM but unfortunately ran into roadworks which meant it took us an hour to get there!! We eventually arrived, it was a bit brass monkeys, but we were well equipped with Margie sporting my thermal long-johns (no pictures 😢😱) and multiple layers on top😨!! There were a few birds in the car park, Sparrows and Tits mainly. We hit the trails, stopping by the pond to look over the Brooks.
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| House Sparrow |
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| The icy Brooks by Margie |
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| Frozen Brooks by Margie |
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| Brrrrrrrrrrr!! by Margie |
We reached the feeders, lots of Blue and Great Tits, a good number of Greenfinches, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and about 6 Robins the best of it!! Unfortunately it wasn't lit up by the sun so we didn't dawdle!!
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| Greenfinch |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Robin |
We headed down the Zig-Zags, great views of 4 Bullfinches, though I missed the best photo opportunity, 3 Lesser Redpolls were in the birch trees, so not a bad start.
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| Bullfinches |
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| Lesser Redpoll |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Lesser Redpoll |
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| Lesser Redpoll |
We diverted to Fattengates Courtyard, where we had good views of Nuthatch amongst others!! Including a lot more Robins!
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| Blue Tit |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Fieldfare by Margie |
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| Robin over Ice by Margie |
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| Frosty window by Margie |
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| Ice on the pond by Margie |
Next stop was West Mead hide, was mostly frozen, but a small patch of water held a small group of Wigeon and there was a group of sleepy Snipe! It was quiet though, with a few Lapwings over the grass but little else on offer!
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| Snipe by Margie |
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| Another frosty view by Margie |
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| Another Brrrrr! from Margie |
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| Wigeon by Margie |
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| View by Margie |
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| Another skulking Fieldfare |
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| My take on the Snipe |
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| Male Wigeon |
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| Female Wigeon |
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| Snipe |
With not much going on, we wanted to be out in the sunshine🌞. We left the hide and headed towards Winpenny, more Fieldfare hiding in bushes, a Stonechat and a fabulous showy Kestrel all enjoyed with the sun on our backs!
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| Goldfinch, saw a few today |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Stonechat |
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| Kestrel, snuck up on it when it wasn't looking! |
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| Another Robin, this one making an early bid to be December's bird in next year's Calendar |
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| Another Fieldfare in a bush |
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| Fieldfare out in the open! |
While I was after the birds Margie was determined to capture the cold!
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| Frozen leaf |
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| The view from Winpenny, we didn't stay long, quiet, very frozen and very cold |
We headed for the Hanger, Long-tailed Tits and Greenfinch along the way, Margie's Robin at the Hangar, he's made the Calendar for the last two years and he's not giving up his crown easily, also had a very nice Song Thrush!!
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| View of the brooks by Margie |
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| Arse end of a Robin by Margie |
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| There were a lot of tame Robins, today but this one is mental, actually tried to land on my head at one point!!! Might take some mealworms next time pretty sure he would take them from the hand!! |
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| Long-tailed Tit, there was a big flock, a lot of Greenfinch, Redwing and a Fieldfare, but was gloomy under the canopy, so the pictures I did get are a waste of space |
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| The one area of the Brooks from the Hanger that was liquid had a few Pintail on it amongst the other Wildfowl |
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| My take on the Robin |
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| Song Thrush |
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| This Song Thrush was rooting around in the Ivy |
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| Success |
We continued around the trail, Jupps was closed due to ongoing work, so we looped back towards the Visitor Center. Stopping again at Fattengates, where a Coal Tit was the only addition to earlier, though there was a lot more birds altogether, loads of Blackbirds and Robins!
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| Frozen Trail by Margie |
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| Highland Cows by Margie |
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| Great Tit by Margie, lots of seed has been put down in Fattengates |
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| Kestrel |
Visited the feeders again, much the same although more birds than before!
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| Greenfinch |
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| Redwing, this was the only one I could get a pic of and it was miles away |
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| Goldfinch flew in above our heads |
That was about it, a good days winter birding, though typically at Dunge on Saturday I saw awesome birds in average weather, whereas today I saw common birds in lovely sunshine!!!
On arrival home our Blackcap, put in an appearance typically elusive but I got a couple of record shots through the window.
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| Blackcap |
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