Early Birds and WeBS

Carried out the BTO's Early Bird survey on Saturday 11th Jan. With feeders topped up I was in place  to catch those early risers, which proved to be Blackbirds. In fact more in my back garden than on some of my Winter Thrush survey sites ! With sunrise (officially) at 08.00 I'd had three species visiting by then and the next half hour was fairly busy. The Goldfinches have gone mad for the Sunflower hearts with a max of 7. It was pretty much all over by around 9am, with Woodpigeon being a late-comer at 09.12. The real star of the morning, however, didn't put in an appearance until elevenses; Great spotted Woodpecker at 11.02 and the first time I recall one actually on one of my feeders (for some reason they seem to favour the neighbour's !). So the running order was: 07.46 Blackbird, 07.47 Blue Tit, 08.00 Blackcap (the regular male), 08.10 Chaffinch, 08.20 Goldfinch, 08.32 Robin (a pair), 08.39 Dunnock, 08.49 Great Tit, 09.12 Woodpigeon and lastly 11.02 Gt Spotted Woodpecker.  Whilst this weekend a pair of Long-tailed Tits have passed through the Beech hedge at the back; I never get bored of their calls, always brightens up the day.
This weekend was my WeBS count, so today I trudged over to Newhaven. It's not the most glamorous place on earth and my walk takes me through the industrial heart of the place. But...that is usually where the "highlight" of the count reside; a high tide roost of waders (often only Redshank) nestled down on the river bank below the incinerator !! Today though there were only 26 Redshank, whilst there are often more like 50; but there were 30 Dunlin looking splendid with the sun shinning brightly on their smart winter plumage. Today's prize went to the Kingfisher which darted out from almost below the banks of the river, flying across to the concrete and wire fences which aesthetically enhance the area, showing electric blue and vivid orange. The first time I've been able to record this species during my WeBS count.
After taking a few photos of the Herring Gulls near the bridge over the river I suddenly saw a seal swimming along. Of course as soon as I moved my camera it completely disappeared not to be seen again. All the same a very enjoyable afternoon with not a hint of any wandering Glaucous Gulls !

A handsome 2nd winter Herring Gull.




Some Black-headed Gulls beginning to acquire the "black" heads (actually brown hoods).

Early nesting Robin !

A not very good photo of an early nesting attempt by Robins in a central Brighton garden.  They've managed to build a nest inside an electricity meter cupboard which is outside fixed to a wall.  The door seems to stay open but won't fully open due to a wisteria branch preventing that happening.  They have therefore got some kind of security as long as the door stays ajar ! No sign of eggs yet but I'll update next week.

Photos of Grey Phalarope !

A few photos of the Grey Phalarope that's been frequenting Hove paddling pool these last few days. A truly stunning bird.

Grey phalarope

Went down yesterday to see the grey phalarope on the paddling pool at Hove lagoon. Twitching locally is allowed in my rules ! The most amazing bird, tiny and so beautiful.  It seemed quite content to motor around the pretty small pool like some wind-up clockwork toy. At some times it would come close enough to the assembled crowd as to be able to reach out and touch it.  I will post some proper photos of the bird once I've uploaded the pics. In the meantime here's one taken with my phone just to give a sense of perspective.

New Year's Day

Started the New Year off by nearly getting blown away.  Just standing on the cliffs above Brighton marina was effort enough and with southerly winds gusting at 30mph there wasn't a lot moving at sea. I re - located lower down and watched 2 flocks of Brents battling the winds heading east. About 30 +20 altogether.  Two Turnastone on the beach weren't impressed with the weather either.  Suprisingly no Gannets, so the real winners were the gulls, of which GBBs took pride of place manoeuvring through the winds with precision and ease.
Back home for coffee and breakfast and to watch the male Blackcap on the feeders.