Birding and other distractions

A lovely sunny day after a frosty night  I was interested to see if any habitat management had been carried out in pylon valley. To my disappointment it hasn't been touched, so now impossible to walk the central path from one end to the other. I really hope there are plans to carry out the work before next March otherwise so much wildlife will be displaced as it becomes more wooded. I managed to see a pair of Marsh Tit, with a brief snatch of song heard. A female Bullfinch also showed well.

  A Pied Wheatear had been present at this site for a number of days, so somewhat belatedly we set off to visit it today.  The weather in Sussex was beautiful, sunny with light winds. Fortunately the bird was still present, and was seen soon after arrival.  A female, it showed well on ruins of the old hotel, occasionally in the company of a Black Redstart. It was feeding well, with lots of insect activity in the warm conditions. By way of a detour on the way back we visited Arundel WT, somewhere I'd not been for a long time.  Close range views of various wildfowl were much enjoyed, especially the Harlequin Duck.  However, a female Baikal Teal caused some head scratching as to its identity. Seaford Head Pied Wheatear Pied Wheatear Black Redstart Harlequin Duck Spectacled Eider Common Scoter (female) Baikal Teal (female)

Having been told that this site was good for butterflies I visited it two days in a row. The main quarry was Camberwell Beauty, an individual having been seen on the 5th. On the first of my visits, together with Noella, the weather was not very sunny though a range of butterflies were nevertheless very active. These included a Swallowtail, several Painted Lady, a fair number of Red Admiral, and a couple of Long-tailed Blue. However, there was no sign of Camberwell Beauty. Birds seen on the first visit were Black Redstart, Cirl Bunting, Crag Martin, Stonechat, Sardinian Warbler, and a couple of flyover Crossbill. The 7th was a sunny day and very warm. A Swallowtail was seen again, probably the same individual, Painted Lady were seemingly more numerous, as were LT Blue. However, Red Admiral were barely seen this time.  Edit: looking at one of my photos taken on the second day it is Lang's Short-tailed Blue as the underwing lacks the broad pale streak of LT Blue. As such a new species...

This small river close to the hotel where we are staying was convenient to explore after breakfast today. It was flanked by citrus orchards for much of the length that I walked. The birds present were typical of early November in such an area, with White Wagtail, Black Redstart, and Chiffchaff being the commonest. A recently ploughed field contained at least 20 White Wags, also with one Grey Wagtail and several more of the latter along the river. However, the best find of the day was a Chameleon on a wire fence no less, and where it looked very vulnerable. I did wonder if perhaps not so well, as it didn't move much and the eyes were mostly closed. Rio Seco Chameleon  Chameleon  Chameleon  Black Redstart Black Redstart  White Wagtail

A small reserve about a 30 minute drive from where we were staying at Nerja. A series of hides overlooked lagoons of various sizes at the wetland site. Todays sunny weather was very welcome after last weeks storms, fortunately prior to our arrival. The reserve is noted for it's population of Crested Coot, and these proved fairly easy to find, some being seen at close range. The species was originally introduced to the site. Serins were singing from the tops of surrounding bushes and trees though proved difficult to see. Common Waxbill were also heard and afforded brief views. Crested Coot Little Grebe Crested Coot  Marsh Frog

A glorious autumn day, sunny with a southerly breeze. Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of birds, with lowish numbers of Chaffinch and Siskin, one Brambling was heard plus a couple of Redpolls. A large mixed flock of tits, also held several Goldcrest. The birds of prey were four-five each of Buzzard and Kestrel, also one Marsh Harrier, though I couldn't find the Merlin reported yesterday. On the marsh a Little Owl was scoped from the Ernie Hemsley viewpoint. The marsh from Ernie Hemsley viewpoint. Spindle with bright red fruits.

A lovely autumn day spent at Elmley. Almost too nice really, with little wind to bring in any new birds. At the Brickfields activity from Bearded Tits was noteworthy, though despite being close they all proved too elusive for the camera. Walking back along the track I twice heard the call of Yellow-browed Warbler near the farm buildings, though try as I might the bird didn't show itself. From there we walked to the screen hide from which a distant view was obtained of an Osprey in the Swale. The bird was sitting atop a tall post, seemingly eating a fish. Grey Heron Brown Hare