Turtle Dove and Turkestan Shrike (20-31 May)

Saturday 20 May. I visited Woods Mill and then walked out to the Downslink along West Mill seeing 2 Stock and a Turtle Dove, 2 Lapwings, 8 Little Egrets (including one on a nest),  3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 4 Skylarks, Cetti's Warbler (poorly), 15 Long-tailed Tits (1 and a flock of 14), 2 Chiffchaffs, 9 Reed Warblers, 8 Whitethroats, Mistle Thrush, Nightingale (and another heard), Yellowhammer and 3 Reed Buntings. Cuckoo and Lesser Whitethroat were also heard. Later I dropped Megan off at Chichester Festival Theatre and Cookie and I went up to Kingley Vale where from the top we saw 5 Mediterranean Gulls flying NE, Red Kite and Buzzard.

Nightingale at Woods Mill

Turtle Dove at Woods Mill

Blackbird with chrysalis

Moorhens at Woods Mill

Yews at Kingley Vale

view looking south from Kingley Vale

Sunday 21 May. Megan and I took Cookie to Lancing Ring and Steepdown where we saw 2 Buzzards, 3 Kestrels, 9 Skylarks, single Swallow and Meadow Pipit, 2 Linnets and 2 Corn Buntings.

Monday 22 May. Megan and I took Cookie to Mill Hill where we saw 3 Swifts, Red Kite, 2 Buzzards, Jay, Skylark, 2 Lesser and 4 Common Whitethroats, 5 Linnets and 6 Goldfinches.

Sycamore in Middle Road Open Space

Tuesday 23 May. Another visit to West Mill with Cookie and another day with more heard than seen with Cuckoo, Turtle Dove and Cetti's Warbler in the first category and Swift, 2 Lapwings, Raven, 4 Reed Warblers, Yellowhammer and 5 Reed Buntings in the second. Nightingales were neither seen nor heard.

Reed Bunting at West Mill

Wednesday 24 May. The female Lord Derby's Parakeet was in Middle Road Open Space in he afternoon, my first sighting for almost 2 months and very much on her own. A Woodcock flew N over the A283 after the Washington Roundabout as I was driving over to Lavington Common for, ironically, a Woodcock Survey. None were encountered during the survey following an earlier blank visit and 2 blanks last year. With no Woodcock entered on the SOS database for Lavington in 2022 I fear they are no longer present there as a breeding bird. Two Nightjars were some compensation. I then drove to Heyshott Common where another Nightjar was heard as I was preparing to sleep in the car.

Thursday 25 May. After a rather cramped night I spent 4 hours wandering around Heyshott and Ambersham Commons seeing a Cattle Egret (flying S over Heyshott Common), 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Jay, 3 Coal Tits, 3 Wood Larks (with 2 more heard in the distance), Willow and Dartford Warblers, male Redstart, 9 Stonechats, Tree Pipit and 2 Yellowhammers. On my way home I spent an hour at Lavington Common/Plantation but only saw Green Woodpecker and 2 Coal Tits.

Roe Deer on Heyshott Common

Stonechat on Heyshott Common

Tree Pipit on Heyshott Common

Wood Lark on Ambersham Common

Wood Lark on Heyshott Common

Lavington Common

Lavington Plantation

Friday 26 May. Cookie kept me company while I undertook a South Downs Farmland Bird Survey at Lancing Hill. Highlights during the survey and on the approach (from Lancing Pad) were 3 Swifts, 13 Skylarks, 6 Swallows, 5 House Martins, 2 Mistle Thrushes, 5 Corn Buntings and a male Yellowhammer. In the afternoon I visited the remaining Beeding Brooks flood and saw the Wood Sandpiper and Greenshank that Matt Palmer had found although views were very distant. A brief stop at the Adur on the way home produced 2 Common Sandpipers N of the railway line although if I'd walked down from the Old Toll Bridge I would most likely have seen 4.

Steepdown from Lancing Hill

Lancing College

Sunday 28 May.  I had intended taking Cookie to West Mill but solid traffic approaching the Amsterdam had me diverting to Mill Hill. From there the holdup was obvious, the season's first Shoreham Flyover Car Boot. I'm glad we diverted as, based on the progress of the Steyning bus, it would have taken at least half an hour to pass it from the Amsterdam. at Mill Hill between watching the traffic, which included queues back over the river onto the bypass slip road, we saw Kestrel, Jay, Skylark, Cetti's Warbler (heard), Lesser and 2 Common Whitethroats, 7 Linnets and 4 Goldfinches. 

Shoreham Flyover Car Boot and associate traffic chaos

Common Blue at Mill Hill

Adonis Blue on Mill Hill

Monday 29 May. Megan and I took Cookie to Southwick Hill and Thundersbarrow where we saw 9 Swifts, Red Kite, Skylark, 3 Whitethroats, Greenfinch and Yellowhammer.

Tuesday 30 May. A couple of hours along West Mill and out to the Downslink with Cookie produced 2 Stock and a heard Turtle Dove, 2 Little Egrets (on nests), Sparrowhawk, 2 Buzzards, 2 Kestrels, 3 Skylarks, House Martin, Cetti's Warbler (heard), Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler, 2 Lesser and 3 Common Whitethroats and Reed Bunting. No Lapwing was disappointing. A late afternoon dash to West Rise Marsh for a presumed adult female Turkestan Shrike was successful although views were a little distant. Shrikes always seem smart birds and this one was no exception.

Wood Pigeon by the Downslink

Turkestan Shrike at West Rise Marsh

Wednesday 31 May. Six Ringed Plover, Grey Heron and 2 Reed Warblers were seen on a brief high tide visit to the Adur with Cookie.

Ringed Plover being flushed on the Adur

Too much hearing birds and not seeing them (13-19 May)

Saturday 13 May. A Sparrowhawk flew over while we were at the allotment. In the evening I went to West Mill where I saw Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Swallows and heard Cetti's Warbler and 2 Nightingales. At nearby Woods Mill I saw another Great Spotted Woodpecker but very frustratingly only heard Cuckoo (distantly), Turtle Dove (briefly), Water Rail (once), Reed Warbler and Nightingale. 

Sunday 14 May. I took Cookie to Knepp where we concentrated on the Green Lane and western part of the Blue Walk. We saw 2 Stock Doves, an introduced White Stork, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Swallows, 2 Chiffchaffs and 2 Whitethroats while only hearing Cuckoo (distantly), Turtle Dove (briefly), 3 Lesser Whitethroats and a Nightingale. 

Monday 15 May. A morning at West Mill and out to the Downslink with Cookie in a cold north wind produced a Cuckoo (heard), 15 Swifts, 4 Stock Doves, 4 Lapwings with a half grown chick, 2 Little Egrets on nests, Red Kite, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Skylarks, Cetti's Warbler (heard), Chiffchaff, a Lesser and 2 Common Whitethroats, Nightingale (heard), a pair of Stonechats, 2 Reed Buntings and a Yellowhammer. Before returning home I left Cookie in the car at Woods Mill for 15 minutes while I quickly visited the area where I'd heard Turtle Dove the previous evening - nothing doing.

Tuesday 16 May. I visited West Mill and Woods Mill before breakfast recording a Swallow, Long-tailed Tit, 3 Chiffchaffs, 2 Cetti's (heard) and Reed Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat and 2 Nightingales (one at each place and another heard at West Mill). No Turtle Dove although I should have stayed another half an hour or so to see one performing in the area I had been looking. Back home I took Cookie to Mill Hill where we saw 2 Buzzards, Jay, Swallow, 2 Chiffchaffs, Blackcap and Whitethroat.

Nightingale singing its heart out at West Mill

                                         

some of the 37 paragliders seen over the South Downs Way as viewed from Mill Hill

Wednesday 17 May. Another visit to West Mill and Woods Mill hoping for a view of a Turtle Dove and this time I was successful, after a fashion, as I heard and briefly saw one in the favoured area before it flew off west and couldn't be relocated. Also seen were 2 Stock Doves, Jay, Chiffchaff, 2 Reed Warblers, male Stonechat carrying food, 4 Linnets and Yellowhammer while Cuckoo, Cetti's Warbler and 2 Nightingales were heard.

Thursday 18 May. Megan and I took Cookie to Mill Hill where we saw Buzzard, Swallow, and 2 Whitethroats and heard Skylark, Chiffchaffs, Blackcap and Lesser Whitethroat. Also our first Wall butterfly of the year as well as Dingy Skipper and Common Blue. Early evening I cycled down to Widewater where a Ringed Plover was being quite aggressive to one of the two Little Ringed Plovers present. Oystercatchers were the only waders seen on returning home via Town Quay and the Adur with 7 Great and 6 Lesser Black-backed and 270 Herring Gulls roosting south of the Old Toll Bridge.

Common Blue on Mill Hill

Dingy Skipper on Mill Hill, we also saw a Wall butterfly

aggressive Ringed Plover at Widewater

Little Ringed Plover at Widewater

                             

Friday 19 May. I took Cookie to Knepp and we spent a pleasant morning on the White Walk. We only heard Cuckoo, Lesser Whitethroat, Nightingale and Bullfinch and I barely got my binoculars onto a singing Garden Warbler another 'hearing not seeing day' was on the cards.  However a distant display flight behind trees had me thinking of Turtle Dove and a couple of minutes later a slightly better repeat enabled me to see some plumage and confirm my suspicions. Shortly after, as I was approaching the campsite, a Turtle Dove called for several minutes but I could not locate it. I continued anticlockwise around the White Walk and looking towards the same general area from the northern section spotted a distant Turtle Dove in a dead tree. It didn't stay long but I managed just about recognisable photos. Other birds seen included 3 Stock Doves, Red Kite, 2 Buzzards, 2 Great Spotted woodpeckers, 2 Jays, Swallow, 5 Long-tailed Tits, 3 Chiffchaffs, Blackcap, 3 Whitethroats and 2 Nuthatches.

distant Turtle Dove at Knepp

White Stork nests from the White Walk at Knepp