Last Saturday I had a free day so I went to Sussex hoping to see some of the rarities that had been about.

My first stop was Blackdown to look for the Parrot Crossbill. As soon as I pulled up I could see the assembled crowd. I made my way over and as soon as I got there a large flock of Crossbills flew in. Suddenly people were saying they were on it. I frantically tried to find it but couldn’t locate it. Luckily the chap next to me let me look through his scope to see it and eventually I got it in my own. I thought the bird was quite underwhelming compared to the pictures that I initially saw on Surfbirds. It was obviously the bird, it was larger and stockier than the others,bull necked, grey headed and had a larger bill. After a while the flock flew off, not to be seen again that day.

My next decision was whether to go to Pagham for the Paddyfield Warbler or head to Burpham for the Rough Legged Buzzard. The warbler had been elusive for the past few days so I chose the Buzzard. I made my way the The Burgh following the directions given to me via Twitter and parked up the top. There were a couple of local birders here already. I enquired as to where the RLB might be found and they directed me further up the hill. I accidently ventured into as farm yard and was told to “get off my land” in no uncertain terms.

When I got to the top of the hill I scanned and saw some Common Buzzards already up. Another birder was already looking and had briefly seen the RLB. A Red Kite appeared and drifted along the skyline. Suddenly a new Buzzard appeared and as it banked it was obviously white underneath. It had to be the bird, but it had drifted off back down the valley towards where I parked the car. I hastily walked back down and could see the guys I had spoken to were on the bird. I set up next to them and had cracking views for the next 10 minutes. The bird would soar and then hover. The underside was gleaming and I picked out all of the salient identification points at close range. Much better than the Crossbill. At one point I had it in the same field of view as a ringtail Hen Harrier. What an excellent spot for raptor watching.

I decided that as my luck was holding I would try Pagham after all. I got there and was told that the bird had showed briefly earlier, It was by the tyres by a bush, miles away. i didn’t give it long, thinking even if i did see it, the views would have been poor. Walking back to the car I did see 2 Spotted Redshank (above) and some Grey Plover (below)

At last some decent Yate/Chipping Sodbury birds to blog about. The Dipper has reappeared on the River Frome at Chipping Sodbury. It is best viewed from the bridge crossing the river down the bottom of Mill Lane, next to Brook Cottages. Also reported here were 3 Kingfishers,2 Grey Wagtails and a Sparrowhawk.

I popped up there yesterday and photographed the Dipper, not the best photo though.

The Shoveler remains in situ on Kingsgate Pond along with a pair of Gadwall. The Tufted Ducks have relocated to Coopers Lake. Also on Coopers Lake yesterday were 2 drake Teal, the first for a couple of years and only the third time I’ve recorded them on the patch.

Having never seen a Caspian Gull before I took the trip up to Stubbers Green nr Walsall hoping to see one. I spent plenty of time preparing, learning the id features and hoping that I could pick one out.

I got there early in the afternoon and there were plenty of gulls loafing about on the shore and on the lake. It didn’t take long to find an adult Caspian Gull. Everything I wanted to see was there. Long,straight, greenish bill,beady eye,spindly fleshy coloured legs. The gleaming white head made it stand out from a distance. I couldn’t have asked for a more classic example.

After a while the Iceland Gull arrived and I was able to capture both Caspian and Iceland Gull in the same photograph.