Rediscovering the Joys of Birding
• Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - Brighton Black Redstart
This weekend just gone my family and I went down to Brighton for a family break. Brighton is my wife's old stomping ground from college and she likes to go back there occasionally. The rest of the family wanted to wander the Lanes shopping but as this was of no interest to me I thought that I would take the opportunity to do a bit of birding in a different location. The great thing about the internet is that I was able to do my research in advance and even ask local birders for detailed directions to make the most of the limited time that I had available. In the end I had four hours free birding (even without the usual pushchair to cart around) and I was determined to make the most of it.
The first stop was Southwick Canal where a 1st winter Glaucous Gull had been loitering for some time now. I found the location ok and there were plenty of gulls hanging around but unfortunately no sign of the GG. I was also told to check Shoreham power station for a possible Peregrine but again no luck.
I next went down to Wide Water lagoon where there had been a long-tailed duck for some time though it hadn't been seen recently. This is a long narrow lagoon close to the sea shore. There were a smattering of gulls present a few redshanks, a few ringed plover and a couple of stonechats. A flock of about 30 ringed plover also flew over.
The next stop was Shoreham old fort which is by the entrance to Shoreham harbour. Here I found a black redstart showing well sitting on a wire fence. There were supposed to be purple sandpipers on the harbour wall but a couple of fishermen there had presumably scared them off. I did see a few turnstone around though and had a nice view of a linnet at close range.
Whilst driving round the area I discovered a spot of my own which hadn't been mentioned to me. There were some house boats moored on the estuary of the river Adur and one could walk along the boardwalk and peer between the boats at the mud flats behind them. This was a good opportunity to see some waders at fairly close range. I found some more Ringed Plover, plenty of dunlin, redshanks and teal and a couple of grey plover. Whilst none of these are terribly rare or exciting, for someone from Oxfordshire which is about as far away as one can get from the sea, the chance to see a few waders close up is always interesting.
I still had an hour left of my allotted time so I thought that I would scoot over to Piddinghoe near Newhaven where there was supposed to be a Cattle Egret in residence. It took longer than I thought to get there but I found the village and the donkey field in which the bird was meant to be. However there was someone walking about in the field (presumably the owner) and there was no Cattle Egret to be seen. I did meet another birder looking for it too and he pointed out a Little Egret in a small pond on the opposite side of the road.
I managed to persuade the family to go back via the scenic route that would stop off at Southwick canal again for the Glaucous and then take a detour to West Wittering (near Hayling island) and East Lavant where there were two more long-staying Cattle Egrets. Again no luck with the Glaucous though I subsequently found out on the internet that it had been loafing round the other side of a huge pile of gravel that morning. We continued on our journey but a sick daughter in the car meant that people got less and less keen on wide detours so we decided to drop Wittering and to have our picnic lunch in Lavant. The latter turned out to be a very pretty little village with a lovely river flowing through it. I managed to track down the appropriate location for the egrets. As I started down the track I even met someone walking a dog who said that the egrets where in a field just a few hundred yards away. I quickly found them but when I put scope to eye I discovered that they were three Little Egrets. I scanned the rest of the fields but couldn't see any other birds - so another blank drawn.
It was great to go birding in a different location and to see some more waders though I must confess to being a little disappointed with missing the Glaucous and both Cattle Egrets. This did get me thinking though: one the great enjoyment with birding and lists is the prospect of getting another lifer. However this must be a diminishing prospect as one ticks off more and more things. Perhaps I should be more patient about getting some of these ticks too quickly as otherwise I will run out of this pleasurable experience too quickly.
The year list has taken a leap forward with all the waders that I saw (though I did actually get the redshank in Oxford mid-week on Port Meadow). I'm now approaching the 100 mark which I feel reasonably proud off though I am aware that top birders can hit this level in one day on a bird race! Anyway, one aspect that I like about birding is that it's a personal quest rather than a competition with others so I'm happy with my list and am enjoying it thoroughly (though my wife does worry that I'm already becoming a little obsessed).
086 Redshank
087 Black Redstart
088 Turnstone
089 Ringed Plover
090 Grey Plover
091 Little Egret |
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