The Little Bunting was seen in a few different areas of Old Lodge on Friday which shows how mobile the Reed Bunting flock is that it is part of. May have caught up with it at 15:30 when I inadvertently spooked the flock into a Scots Pine by coughing but distance was a problem...


Little Bunting or more likely Reed Bunting?:

Looks to have good face pattern, crown stripe, pink legs, tiny bill and eye ring...but outer crown stripes too pale? Probably then, Reed Bunting...back for another go is probably the best solution!

An adult male Surf Scoter in near full breeding plumage was well found by David Stevenson in Stokes Bay, Hampshire on Wednesday consorting with two Common Scoters. I had plenty to do but found an hour or so out of somewhere to twitch this classic bird. Please come to Selsey now!

Surf Scoter & Common Scoters:

Surf Scoter:

At Pagham Lagoon last Sunday, 25 Mediterranean Gulls and a few Goldeneye were the highlights:


Mediterranean Gulls:

Goldeneye:

A quick round -up as I've got behind again what with work and a hole in my back (on the mend at last!). At Itchenor a possible Pale-Bellied Brent Goose or not, may be just the light (right hand bird):


Pale-Bellied Brent Goose?:

Ringed Plovers on the spit:

Harbour Seal (no Flounders again this year then!):

Waders on the roost:

Black-Tailed Godwits on Apuldram Marsh:

Rock Pipit at Fishbourne Creek:

Despite having spent what feels like most of this week either working or under the scalpel at the doctors (long story...) have managed to get out and about today and prospects looking good for the next couple of days too...well I shall be out anyway..the birds of course may not be at this time of year.

Had a look to see if the Iceland Gull of this time  last year had returned to Pagham Lagoon but, surprise, it hadn't but there were a few Goldeneye and four Red-Breasted Mergansers there; not much at North Wall at high tide but a few more Mergansers, Wigeon in the horse field and a few Reed Buntings about.



Wigeon:

Reed Bunting:

Red-Breasted Mergansers:

Goldeneye:

At Marsh Farm, Sidlesham, plenty of birds, highlights being a Grey Wagtail and nearly fully hooded Mediterranean Gull:


Grey Wagtail:

Mediterranean Gull:

At Lidsey today nothing out of the ordinary but 200 Teal on the floods, a few Fieldfare and at the sewage works a possible Siberian Chiffchaff in with Chiffchaffs and Grey & Pied Wagtails. Two Whooper Swans (at least) also still with Mute Swans in the rape (not kale!) field.


Grey Wagtail, duck!:

Teal:

Not much at Apuldram or Birdham pool but the Black Swan was on its nest and the blue-billed hybrid Mallard was on the Pool:

Black Swan:

Blue-billed Mallard X:

A few things I haven't had the time or forgot to put on here, even though they are on other birding blogs or my Twitter @organicbirder:

Grey Heron with Vole at Chainbridge:

Tundra Bean Goose & Canada Goose at Chichester GPs:

Tundra Bean Goose & Greylag Geese at Chichester GPs:

Great Crested Grebes at Chichester GPs, were doing the full-on weed dance at one stage!:

Short-Eared Owls at Chainbridge, Selsey:

Southern Pochard at Ham, near Selsey:

Lapwings & Golden Plover over Sidlesham Ferry Pool & fields:

A Lesser Spotted Wodpecker located on call and occasional drumming on Saturday morning giving good flight views in the woods near Amberley, another one calling but not seen. Also at least 200 noisy Redwings in the trees here and plenty of Treecreepers and Goldcrests and a surprise for me, a Bullfinch.

At Coldwaltham SF, when asking two birders if they had seen either of the Siberian Chiffchaffs I was met with snobby distain but I found one anyway on the sewage tanks (they were looking the wrong way!) and what thanks did I get for pointing it out? A huff and a splutter! I think she thought I was going to nick her scope the way she grabbed it from my vicinity. We will all see more if we are polite and pool our efforts (it's not a competition despite what some may think) but this is alas lost on some people. Never judge a book by its somewhat hirsute cover you never know when it may be useful!

At Lavant SF (glamorous tour of SFs eh?), the Siberian Chiffchaff found by George Heath was also on show with a Grey Wagtail & two Reed Buntings, the latter a minor-mega for the area apparently!

Up on West Dean road at Lodge Hill Farm, still plenty of Bramblings in with the mixed flock of Finches and Tits and always nice to see four Red Kites low in the skies. Unfortunately Sussex Birders FB is now a photo competition where the quality of the image is more important than the subject (all that will happen is that no-one bar about four people will bother posting-there was even a review of some photographic equipment the other day!)  but I have no qualms about sticking the pics on here, "poor" or not!



Brambling:

Red Kite:

Treecreeper: