One more shot of the mute swan duo, before continuing our trip around WWT Arundel.
The Bewick duo had visitors in their enclosure – canada geese.
Here we have Mr Silvertag Bewick nibbling grass.
Whilst Mrs Silvertag and a canada goose are more interested in the water.
You might just spot one of the snipe in this picture.
Then, 2 egrets appeared – one flying in beyond the other that landed.
The snipe popped back into view after the egrets departed.
There were a few swans gliding along the brooks at the reserve, but most o the birds were too far away to capture on camera, only with bins or scope were they clear.
The above picture shows the view without camera zoom, bins or scope. Its nice, but you cant see anything – like the teal, wigeon, shoveller, pintail....
I have circled the long-tailed tit as its very difficult to view without noccies.
Likewise, its highly unlikely you can spot the snipe in this picture without noccies.
That I the closest I can get with camera including full zoom.
Our next trip was to WWT Arundel – just a quick trot round. Here are the dalmation pelicans – ladies resting and gents swimming.
I found some mute swans – and a ducks bum.
It was good to see the heron so close and clearly, so I took several pictures of it.
It was very peaceful and relaxed - just sitting there preening, watching....
But of course, eventually we left the heron to itself and wandered on to see other areas of the reserve.
We moved along to the next hide.
There were ducks, long-tail tits, and an egret- which promptly walked out of camera shot just as I got the camera out...
We then return to a view taken from my front door of the pigeons across the street.
When we took our next excursion to RSPB Pulborough Brooks, there were far more pigeons to see on their roof.
I think the Bewick duo are still my favorite birds at the WWT.
That brings us to the end of that excursion.
Next up, we went to Warnham Nature reserve. Here we see the entry lake with an array of waterfowl.
At the first hide we spotted bullfinch.
There were many pictures taken and I am sharing the better 2.
At the main hide, there were the predictable bluetit and great tit sightings.
At some point they were joined by greenfinch, a greater spotted woodpecker, robin,...
...chaffinch, goldfinch....
We then moved to the heron hide, and saw.....a heron.
Finally HERE is a link to a recent WWT article.
Our next day out started in Littlehampton, where we spotted a family of mute swans lazing beside the old oyster pond
We got closer....
Our next stop was a brief call in at WWT Arundel. The male pelicans were preening and the females lazing.
There were a pair of mute swans hiding in the undergrowth by the side of one lake. They now have a viewing platform over the reedbeds instead of a hide. Here is what you an apparently spot.
Next up, Mr & Mrs Silvertag Bewick.
Remember, the female birds have their tags on their right leg and the males on their left
Alas, too far away to see by camera, there is a peregrine falcon perched on a tree branch up on the hangar.
And finally a link to an article about the success of one species we have seen a lot of over the past few years HERE.
Our next trip was to Sheffield Park. There were plenty of birds on the lake, though most were Canada geese.
There was a white peacock in the tree.....unusual.
There were a few ducks on the pond. That was that trip, which was mostly autumn colors not birds.
Next. we went to Nymans.
There was a magpie on the fence.
Back home, I counted a flock of 25 pigeons on a neighbors roof
Only 1-2 white show pigeon, mostly city pigeons, but still pigeons!
Here is an enlarged shot of the greater and lesser egret for comparison. That concludes our trip to WWT Arundel. Next, we visited the Amberley Museum. Here is an info-board mentioning that word I like – PIGEON!
Our next excursion was to Warnham nature reserve. We found some cormorants and gulls on the main lake as we entered.
In the main hide we spotted.....wood pigeon.
Also, greenfinch.
You might also notice apples.....stuck onto the trees and left on the ground. They were put there for the birds to eat, but we have no idea where they came from originally, as they didn't have apple trees on the reserve that we could see.
The wood pigeons were still there...one of which was strange. I was wondering if it might be a stock dove – but perhaps it was just a youngster without proper markings yet.
Then we found a magpie....with rough patches in its feathering.
