BIRD NEWS:553

Starting todays Arundel pictures, we are still at Swanbourne Lake. Here is a cygnet, surrounded by tufted ducks and mallards. The more distant shot shows a bunch more mute swans about to arrive on the scene.

One last shot of a colorful pigeon before I leave the lake and get along to the WWT Reserve just a couple of minutes before it opened.

HERE is a link to an article about how climate change is affecting the UK birds.

I arrived and decided to start my WWT photographs with a shot of the multiple bird and bat nesting boxes on the wall of the visitor center. Next, an info board about tawny owls.

Here are my Bewick pals - Silvertag and Orangetag - still in the enclosure opposite their usual habitat. They are sharing with a seagull, red breasted geese and mallards in this shot - but there are other species in their latest home too. Next up, an info board...

Finally for this post, I spotted a bird in the skies above me - can anybody hazard a guess as to what species it is from this blurry shot? CLUE: it's a bird of prey.

BIRD NEWS:552

Swanbourne Lake Arundel also housed a bunch of mute swans - it looks like the parents had a successful bunch of cygnets this past season! Swans and my other favorite bird - the pigeon - were in abundance and my 'lil pink box' clicked away merrily.

There were other birds present of course - a great mass of coots and many ducks for example, including mallards, tufted...

A mute swan decided it wanted its picture taken too - or maybe it just thought I had food as well as a camera.

HERE is a link to an article about the bittern.

BIRD NEWS:551

I took one more shot in Littlehampton of a swan - another one coming down from up the river towards the ocean, in the opposing direction to the first. My next weekend took me to Worthing, where I was visiting someone in hospital. As I walked thru the park on my was back to the bus stop, I spotted a pigeon related info board.

On the first day of February, I was on my way to Arundel WWT for the morning and walking out from the tree-lined avenue onto the bridge over the stream, came out ready to cross the street to Swanbourne Lake as i was too early for the WWT and wanted to waste 5-10 minutes. I spotted a song thrush scurrying about just ahead of me.

I did not want to disturb it or put it off finding its breakfast, so slowly took out my 'lil pink box' and crept along following it, keeping its pace rather than my own previous hasty human pace.

We have not had a thrush in our garden this year. Most winters I see Plate-face or her offspring/siblings dashing out from under shrubs to grab a bug or suet pellet then disappear again. Alas this year, we have had too many 'other peoples' pe(s)ts' - cats. These pigeon-murdering furballs keep invading my yard and killing my friends.

Only days ago I heard a scuffle in the yard and threw open the window to deter 4 bully-black cats who had cornered a pigeon and were teasing it, pawing and plucking, releasing and recapturing... I dashed out the back door and they ran for it, leaving a stunned wood pigeon sitting staring at me in fear. The poor thing was petrified.

I waited til it was able to stand up, issuing Buddhist peace mantras, chasing away one black monster who had returned to the scene of the crime, probably to re-snatch their feast. When I approached after leaving it to settle for a while - in case it could not fly and needed to be housed somewhere safe overnight - it managed to fly away, thankfully.

I entered Swanbourne Lake - spotting a treefull of seagulls above the water birds below.

BIRD NEWS:550

To start my last installment of January 2020 WWT at Arundel, a bunch of greylag geese and a single lapwing! I have circled the lapwing  for the hard of sight on the second shot.

The bewicks were munching and lunching as I walked by on my way to the exit...trying to ignore the mute duo on the path near by and concentrate on eating. In this lake, unlike their own, they kept getting muddy beaks as they foraged for food. I then left the reserve to go home, via the shops. On my way down the tree lined avenue - otherwise known as mill road - that on my previous visit was flooded, I spotted a white egret fishing in the cow fields.

I have even one more photo to share of their trip - a swan and cygnet in the river arun as I went to the bus stop!!

I went on a solo ramble up Swillage Lane and spotted this large white bird over to one side after passing the big house with peacocks in the yard. I was hoping to get a clearer view when I computerized the picture - but I still cant tell if its a goose or swan...

My next shot is of Littlehampton beach looking from the promenade thru the stalls out across the ocean near the river. Liz and I had taken a trip into town after popping into Rustington, with the weather being so nice and it beeing good for a sea-walk. We walked along a bit further, going up alongside the river. As i looked back towards the ocean and pier, I spotted a swan swimming along the river.

BIRD NEWS:549

The answer - one pochard on the left and two shelducks on the right. These species tend to winter in the area. Next, a pair of bewick swans and a seagull in a tree.....

The bewick duo were not in their usual lake on this occasion, but across the pathway in the lake that houses red breasted and emporor geese along with goldeneye... I was coming up to their enclosure and HEARD one of my Bewick pals hoot-honking and thought it came from a funny place. I saw a white swanlike bird and wondered...and sure enough on arrival, the bewick duo were the wrong side of the path.

They still looked at me, and swam near by though - recollecting that strange lady with the long tail on her head and pink box near her eye...

The usual inhabitants were also on site - eating at the fence on this occasion. My buds went off for lunch.

I went up the path at an angle to see the other two hides... on my way I passed a pair of mute swans sitting on the path - they behaved while I was there - but by the time I came back along the path again they were misbehaving - standing close to the fence bothering the bewicks.

If you didn't know why and when robins became connected to Christmas cards - read the above info board and you will learn!

Back home, I came home from work one lunchtime to see 5 jackdaws on our roof - nice!

BIRD NEWS:548

But the trumpeter swans were there too - along with a coot. As you can see, it was fairly waterlogged on the grass area.

My pictures clearly show the female and male individuals - remember male birds have metal tags on their right legs - and, on this visit, the duo were more interested in me as well as their surroundings. Having an interest in swans and pigeons, it is good for me when the resident swans do 'accept' me as part of their environment. My last shot of the trumpeter duet also shows a stray mute swan swimming in THEIR lake.

I spotted action in the hedgerow near by - and someone had mentioned a firecrest....I was busily trying to capture the movement in case...but it ws so fast. I took a half dozen or so shots - mostly getting pictures of the bushes, but finally - one picture showed the elusive flitting bird - only to reconsider that it might be a goldcrest due to the eye.

Ok quiztime - what can YOU see in this picture - there are 2 species/3 ducks in the lake....what are they?

Finally for today HERE is a knitting pattern to knit your very own sparrow.

BIRD NEWS:547

I next passed a pair of Nenes and a notice board. I then went into the woodland hide. I was watching what appeared to be an extra large, extra fluffy, great tit - possibly a young one - exhibit odd behaviour. It sat on the feeder nibbling at the seed between its toes - it didn't just dive in, grab and run... One of the staff members popped into the hide and asked what I had been seeing - when I mentioned the bird he mentioned a water rail in clear view right below that I had completely missed due to studying the strange youngster.

i managed to take pictures of both - but didn't know which to focus on. The water rail is a rarer sighting than a great tit - yet this tits behavior was odd. The staff member suggested it may have been taking lessons from a finch, as they are more likely to nibble their food than run off with it. It reminded me of a cockatoo or parrot though.

My attention was then taken to a coal tit - which I was unsure if I had gotten a picture of or not, as a noisy family came along and scared it away. I had also tried to get a snap of the  nuthatch....

Success with the coal tit. I then moved on, as another family approached. I got to the trumpeter swan enclosure and took a photo of a mute swan who was using their lake.