that was the week that was

I haven't had the chance for much pure birding since my last post on 17 November, but a few bits and bobs were around this week.

Monday was generally a quiet day, on Tuesday I had a quick walk around Lewes Railway Land in my afternoon gap, notching up Raven, Mistle Thrush, a few Goldcrests, and patch bird 62, a YELLOWHAMMER. Not the most glamorous tick, and I'm sure it just moved a few hundred yards from The Ouse floodplain (the only place locally that they do still seem to be numerous), to allow me a fine addition to my patch list. 62 species in anout 2 1/2 months isn't all that bad for an inland patch with very little in the form of wetland! highlights so far have been the Yellowhammer, plus Garden Warbler, Shoveler, regular Kingfishers, Common Sandpiper, Bullfinch, Siskin and Nuthatch, while Jake has managed 60 species including Redpoll, Brent Goose, Greylag and a Yellow-browed Warbler (not included in his total until it's hopefully accepted though)!

On Wednesday, Jake and I found little of note on the patch, scraping up a few Redwings. However, the flooding that has taken place is quite spectacular, with the wooded area now quite literally a swamp! It was probably the first time I've seen a Kingfisher fly through a woodland, though there probably were a few fish to be had! Walking down the Ouse revealed very little, 1-2 Peregrines between Lewes and Rodmell, a Water Rail squealing and a Little Grebe diving at Piddinghoe, and the expected ensembles of Lapwings, thrushes, gulls, Canada and Greylag Geese, Meadow Pipits and crows in the flooded fields, though nothing more interesting could be found among them.

On Thursday I managed to see three very diurnal Foxes in the Ouse, what looked like a vixen and cub if the fields by Bishopstone on the train into college, and another by Iford on the train out. I also heard a Starling givingly a pitch-perfect impression of a Yellow-browed Warbler, though the fact it was midway through a normal Starling warble gave it away slightly! It's remarkable what they can pick up on, or perhaps what they can sound just like by blind chance!

Today I managed a MERLIN on the train out of college, chasing down a Redwing accross the levels a mile or so south of Lewes. In Seaford, a FIRECREST called repeatedly, allowing me to be pretty sure of it's identification, but it was both a nice surprise and a self-gratifying discovery of my ears abilities when it showed briefly too, the supercilium gleaming in the sunlight.

that's all for now folks, keep you posted soon! 

was it or wasn't it a spinoletta pipit?

well, in the end, no seems the blunt answer! As was kindly pointed out by Jan on brighton and facbook birders, this bird seems more likely to be a Scandinavian Rock Pipit- anthus petrosus littoralis. I've tried to collate some reasons for this conclusion below;

feature	description	Suitable for?
Bill	Quite long, pale lower mandible, bird given quite a ‘worried’ expression	possibly Scandi or water pipit, resident petrosus in this area have a shorter, slightly more pointed bill(similar to Meadow Pipit), resulting in a sharper facial expression- though I’m not sure how reliable this is as a feature and certainly wouldn't advise it as a good method of separation
supercilium	Very faint, kinks up slightly behind the eye but didn’t look very strong	Seems to be more typical of petrosus, I have seen some petrosus locally with stronger super’s than this bird showed, though littoralis can have a weak supercilium. Seems to rule out Water Pipit
eye	Bold white eyering	Probably very variable, best discounted- bolder than any petrosus present but as that was only five individuals, that's not saying a lot!
Moustachial stripe	Present but faint, not very easily discernible due to distance from bird, flat light and the way it typically posed	Seems a pro littoralis feature to me
Head  colouration	Neutral greyish brown, very little discernible streaking (consider flat light though)	Pro littoralis, lacking the olivey tones of petrosus
throat	Pale, obvious white ‘triangle’ under bill, defined by presence of moustachial strikes	I think any of the pipits can show a pale throat
breast	Quite heavy, blunt streaking, but streaks are well defined and cut off about halfway down the breast. Overall paler, creamy-white tone to breast	Pro littoralis, petrosus should show more suffuse, smudgy streaking and have a more olivey tone to the breast. Heavy streaking another sign that seems to rule out a Water Pipit
flanks	Quite ‘clear’ looking, creamy colouration but with more smudgy grey streaks than on breast	Smudgy grey streaks could be a feature for petrosus or (some) littoralis, but to reiterate what I said above, creamy colouration rather than olivey seems pro littoralis
mantle	dull greyish-brown, heavily streaked	Pro littoralis, a stronger, olivey tone is generally found on petrosus
wings	Pale fringing to median and greater coverts, creating strong double wing bar	a stand-out feature compared to any resident petrosus I’ve seen in East Sussex, though this is quite a subjective feature to judge
tail	Whiteish outer tail feathers, a la Meadow Pipit	Pro spinolleta or littoralis, it would be difficult to judge well enough to separate the two based on the views I got, but other factors seem to rule out Spinoletta thoroughly.
legs	blackish	Could apply to any of the pipits as far as I’m concerned
posture	Upright and wagtail-like, a line drawn from head to tail, when seen side-on and standing, would be at about a 60° angle to the ground	Posture has often been a useful way for me to pick out Spinoletta or littoralis, Petrosus  in my experience seems to have a more ‘crouching’ posture, if you were to draw the same line on a petrosus in it’s normal posture, it would come to about 45°, a noticeable difference

it did cast a more petrosus-like jizz in some photos, like this one where it appears
olive-tinged and short-billed, this wasn't quite how I remembered the bird in the
field however.

In the end, I feel confident enough to say I think was one, albeit not an atypical littoralis when concerning the strength of the supercilium. At some point it would be good to go and have another look, maybe in better light- perhaps my task for next weekend? definitely an interesting bird at any rate, and I'd appreciate any opinions you may have!!

cheers

Liam :) 

fine birding on the suburban coast

Like all good days, this one began with a glorious lie-in, and I lazily dragged myself out of the house at about 9.00. My first port of call was the lovely SNOW BUNTING, once again showing brilliantly along Seaford seafront for myself, Peter Wilson, and several inquisitive passers-by, who I'm glad to say had great views without even needing any optics. Once we explained to people what the bird was they were also a lot more concerned to not flush it, which made for a far less stressful viewing! Bringing a tripod meant I also got considerably better photographs today than I had managed on Friday.

showing off the streaky mantle, reddish tertials, pale brownish nape, white wing flash

perched on the sea wall

just generally being too cute!

While watching our proud plectrophenax, I also picked up two Brent Geese passing high and to the east about 100 yards offshore- I used to think they were only to be seen moving along the coast on migration, but it does seem a few wandering birds move around East Sussex through most of the winter! After about 20 minutes of pure joy with my new best friend, I carried on west along the coast, checking Newhaven as I went.

it was generally very quiet- there was the regular winter flock of 200 Greenfinch, in which I tried and failed to string something rarer (I did briefly see a bull-necked, brownish looking bird with what looked like a short yellow beak, I think this was probably me just trying to string an odd view of a juvenile Greenfinch into a Twite though!). There were also plenty of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits, but not a lot else. Not even a Ringed Plover or a Stonechat was noted! The Mill Creek held only the resident Redshanks and Little Egrets, alongside the two Little Grebes that have taken up winter residence at the port-end of Mill Creek, I first noted these birds on the train on Monday and have seen them twice since; quite remarkably, my first ever for Newhaven Tide Mills! Now they're here they'll probably stay the whole winter. It does leave the question, why are they here now and not before? My best guess is that these two are part of the small number that winter along the River Ouse, often being seen between Southease and Pidinghoe in the winter months, and decided to wander a bit further downstream for the winter. Alternatively, may they have wandered from the more substantial population about four miles further east, in the Cuckmere? I suspect the latter is more likely but who really knows? anyway, Newhaven wasn't quite as dead as I've described, a female Wigeon flew over my head from on the Mill Creek, before heading NE towards Arlington and the upper Cuckmere, and there were also several flocks, amounting to about 200 more Wigeon, that flew south to roost offshore of Newhaven. One of my latest ever migrant Siskins also flew over, heading east.

Little Egret fishing in Mill Creek

Walking through the port at Newhaven, I noticed quite a lot of gulls- in one group of seven Herring Gulls on a factory roof was one bird with a noticeably darker mantle than the surrounding birds- I tried to set up the camera to get a photo but they all took off, the dark mantled bird flying right over my head, and showing a lot of white in the primaries, including an extensive white tip to p10- a nice clear-cut Argentatus Herring Gull. You may wonder why I was walking through Newhaven port, and it certainly wasn't for the scenery! But I decided to have a walk around Peacehaven today as well, and this was the quickest way to get to a bus-stop. 

Not a lot was there to see on most of Peacehaven Undercliff, but I did eventually find my target bird, a WATER PIPIT. Barny Worsfold reported a probable around here about a week ago which had a very convincing description, so I've wanted to check it out for a while, and was delighted to find one! I noted the following on the bird;

• white outer-tail feathers, the most diagnostic feature
• a clear, whiteish double-wing bar
• a pale, orangey lower mandible
• the upperparts were a greyish, neutral brown in colour, lacking the stronger olivey tones of a Rock Pipit
• the underparts where a lot paler, with a slight yellowish tinge, but generally a lot clearer
• streaking on the breast ended quite abruptly about halfway down the breast, and there wasn't the same olivey-tinge to the flanks shown by Rock Pipit
• the streaks were slightly finer and cleaner looking, lacking the dirty, suffused look of Rock Pipit. 
• the call was, to my ears, slightly lower-pitched, and more pleasing to the ears, than Rock- and though I've yet to find any literature that supports this it is something I've noticed on the other two local Water Pipits I've found. 
• In stance, it was quite upright and wagtail-like, frequently pumping it's tail to reinforce the expression. it held it's head higher than the Rock Pipits I normally see, which generally have a more 'slanted' posture, you could run a line from head to tail running in an almost 45 degree angle on a Rock Pipit in typical posture I find, whereas it would be more like 60 degrees on a Water Pip. 

I was also quite lucky to get some decent photos of the bird, which may hopefully come in useful for a description

It wasn't as pale underneath as some very 'classic' birds I've seen, but I'm fairly happy with said birds ID. It was on the area of undercliff immediately below Malinee Avenue, Peacehaven, while I think Barny reported a bird slightly further west, at Portobello Sewage Farm. Is it the same bird wandering, or a different one? I think this bird is quite easy to pick out, due to the mass of downy feathering on the left side of the breast, where it looks like some feathers have been pulled out (I noticed it tussling with Rock Pipits quite a lot). 

Heading to the bus stop at Peacehaven, I got quite a surprise when five SWALLOWS flew over heading East! They didn't hang around long, hardly surprising, as they must be in quite a hurry to leave by now! I had recently seen y latest every Swallows at Pagham, on the 11th, and this was pushing the dates back even further! To see five was remarkable as well, and it does give me hope that a few of these extreme straggling summer migrants might make it back ok. 

On getting the bus, I met up with Jake at Brighton Marina, which gave some great birding! Along the east arm, a delightful and fairly confiding juvenile Common Scoter was swimming about among boats, probably enjoying the easy life of a placid water with probably a lot of shellfish on the bottom! A Guillemot was offshore, and on the rocks of the west arm we could distantly see a Mute Swan and a few PURPLE SANDPIPER, a year-bird for me and the main reason for coming to the Marina, I have missed on these beauties since my last sighting in January 2011! We opted to trek accross the marina to the West Arm, and got a remarkable surprise in two Shag fishing in the channel just opposite the West Quay! They were so close they were attracting quite a spectacle from the passers-by, something I have never noticed occurring where Phalcrocorax are concerned before at all! But when you're that close, the up-ending dives are quite a spectacle, and certainly splash loud enough to attract a curious crowd- who were probably enjoying the antics of one poor juvenile who hasn't quite mastered fishing yet! He attempted to swallow A Flatfish that was almost larger than him, and ended up giving up on most of his hard-earned prey, which the entrepeneuring gulls instead stole away. 

It was a truly fantastic experience, the frantic energy of this inexperienced juvenile, combined with his gusto for catching fish and disappointing failures to engulf them, made for gripping but also slightly saddening viewing. There is something cute, endearing and wryly affectionate about a Shag, being far skinnier and more elegant than his common cousin. The up-ending dive is also rather spectacular from such a close range, and we were literally so close that, when he resurfaced, you could hear the sound of water being forced out of nostrils! It was perhaps my favourite point of the day, even including the magnificent views of Purplie we managed once we pulled ourselves away from them! There were 8 Purple Sandpiper among 20+ Turnstones on the rocks on the marina side of the east arm- alongside the very out of place Mute Swan sitting on the beach! They seem to be quite a coastal species in the Solent and can often be seen paddling aimlessly past the beaches between Christchurch and Keyhaven among pedalo-lookalikes, but this probably the first time I've seen a coastal Mute in Sussex! 

juvy Scoter, enjoying the placidity of a Marina

Great Black-back, pirate of the unfortunate Shag!

diving Shag!

Phalcrocorax Aristotelis

Purple Sandpipers- no zoom

the creme de la creme of Sandpipers!

"I have no idea what I'm doing"

Common Crane, Hooded Merganser, Black Brant and Gosport Ring-billed Gull

Although myself and my Grandad saw the COMMON CRANE and the HOODED MERGANSER just this week we decided to have a look at theses 2 smashing birds again today as we did not get the best of views last time. Started of at Amberly Wildbrooks RSPB where the COMMON CRANE was feeding away at quite a distance but never the less crystal clear views so very pleased! After 10 minuets of viewing the bird it took to flight gradually getting higher and higher over the Brooks. The bird headed towards Kithurst Hill and eventually drifted out of sight. As far as I know the bird still hasent been reported since.

Now of to see the HOODED MERGANSER yet again where the bird was on view straight away feeding in the channel. This bird is very confiding so it's well worth a look and comes quite close however this does not mean its a escaped bird as the other birds that have been sighted here in the UK have been accepted and they were also quite tame to my knowledge. Another nice suprize was seeing the BLACK BRANT amoungst the Brent Geese which stuck out like a swore thumb!

We then decided to take an over the border visit to Hampshire to see the Gosport RING-BILLED GULL which after around 10 minutes of searching we relocated the bird on the boating lake which gave views of 5 foot or so just like the Sabines Gull I saw in Brighton a couple of months back. The bird also came to bread and was a nice tick! A good days birding!

George Kinnard 

Snow Bunting, Seaford, 16 Nov 2012

my best attempt to document this bird. sorry about the fairly shaky quality but, well,

that's what you get with handheld footage on a bridge camera! 

Now, I know you want some words, of course you do! So against all sensible reason and discourse, I will ignore the urge to spend my friday evening sleeping like I should do, and endeavour to write some, for our lovely readers! 

November's been a bit quiet for birding, especially round school. I got in early today to have a check of the railway land, but all I had to show for my efforts were a few Redwing and Siskin among the regulars (and even these are becoming regular enough now, though I still keep note of them). There were also a small movement of Black-headed Gulls following the Ouse north, probably heading from their roost off Newhaven to feed further north up the valley. While doing some filming for a Media project, I noted a probable calling Firecrest, two Mistle Thrush flew over College and there were quite a few Coal Tits around the trees outside Cliffe House (one of the buildings that comprises Sussex Downs College). I also got a text from Dad, saying something like "Snow Bunting Seaford Beach east of the Buckle!". 

I was home by about 3, and twenty minutes later we were down at the beach. There, was, how to put this, an even larger urge shown by the general populace to bring Black Labradors down to this particular space on the beach today! I try not to get too frustrated by dog-owners, being one myself, but when a slightly senile old dear insists on throwing an old milk carton for her ungainly Lab right where the Snow Bunting was last seen, one does have to swallow quite a few expletives that are fighting to escape one's breath!

Thnakfully, the old hag, and the rest of her dogging contingent (I'm sorry for being so rude, but I need to let out this passive-agressive frustration somehow!), politely effed off eventually, and it didn't take too long to see our target. My words will struggle to describe the sheer, contented adorability of a SNOW BUNTING, 

but they will have to suffice. The dinkiest of yellow beaks was plucking what little seeds could be found on this stretch of the beach, while the overall colour is chameleon-like in it's ability to mimic the colour of the surrounding pebbles! The chestnuty breast-band and ear coverts, darker brown mantle and reddish fringed greater coverts all play a part in giving a very finely tuned camouflage. The white flash on the median coverts does make picking it out a little bit easier, and though, like many Snow Bunting, it was reluctant to fly, it was quite happy to briefly scuttle accross the shingle, in a similar fashion to a Ringed Plover, another bird very well able to camouflage itself in this habitat. The Bunting also has an adorably cute little black eye that endears me to it a lot.

This bird was also incredibly confiding, showing down to a few feet, so if you're in the area it is well worth checking it out! it typically favours the stretch of beach to the east of the Buckle Caravan Park, and if there are no dog about seems very approachable!

I'll leave you with one final photo- just look at him, for pete's sake!!! :)

 SB: "I'm so adorable"
 LC: "yes, yes you are!"