RSPB Pagham Trip (16th December 2012)

Before meeting up with the group and had a quick scan at Selsey Bill but could only see a few Common Scoter.

At Sidlesham Ferry the highlights were a couple of Buzzards.

It was then round to Church Norton which was also quite quiet with a pair of Peregrines the highlight.  A Kingfisher flew past and paused to hover for a moment and I picked out a distant Mediterranean Gull.

There were a good number of Knot in the harbour and another Med Gull from the seashore but no sign of any Slavonian Grebes - just a single Eider riding the waves.

On the way home I dropped into Farlington Marshes where managed to see the Red-breasted Goose.

Queen Mother Reservoir (15th December 2012)

On finding out that there were going to be day permits on the gate I made my way to Queen Mother Reservoir and paid £3 to twitch the bird.

I made my way round the reservoir and eventually reached the bird - a Buff-bellied Pipit.  This bird was extremely confiding, running around the edge of the reservoir feeding ignoring the crowd of birders sitting on the wall photographing it.  Even though it was so close it was quite difficult to photograph because it was mostly on the move.

Also round the reservoir were a couple of Goldeneye, a Red-necked Grebe in amongst a small flock of Great Crested Grebes and a Long-tailed Duck feeding nearby.

Waxwings at last

After very little birding in the last couple of months, news finally broke of some nearby Waxwings.  What was even better was that they were right next to Morrisons where I was going shopping anway.

The birds were showing extremely closely and were seen to land on the ground picking up the windfall berries.  This is the first time I have seen Waxwings on the ground.