The last couple of weeks has seen me mainly working down in the South of England; in Godalming in Surrey the first week and in Worthing in Sussex on the second week.
Broadwater Park Godalming - Surrey
Happily I found that directly across from the hotel I was staying at in Godalming was a small pool (designated as private fishing) in an area called Broadwater Park, an area of mature tree lined paths grassy open spaces and of course the pool.
I took the opportunity on two mornings to venture out early in the morning to walk around the pool and to see what was around. The water yielded Grey Heron, of course Mallard and a reasonable number of Greater Crested Grebe around eleven in total. What did surprise me though was not the number of species but rather the numbers of small birds in the wooded and tree lined path areas. Longtailed Tit, Robin, Great Tit and Blue Tit were around in very large numbers along with a smaller number of Siskin and Chaffinch. On standing still and allowing the birds to settle the birdsong was glorious and the trees full of movement on a scale that you just don't seem to experience even on the reserve back in Worcestershire. I was also treated to a Common Shrew crossing the path in front of me from the reed lined water to thick undergrowth on the opposite side of the path on the second morning.
On this occasion rather than take the camera I had taken the recording equipment instead and decided to capture some small snippets of the sounds around the pool. Below are two short recordings made from Broadwater Park and in the main of a Robin that sprang into song about two foot above my head with a second Robin just away to the right.
Click to Play or right click to download - Birdsong 1 Broadwater
Click to Play or right click to download - Birdsong 2 Broadwater
Pulborough Brooks RSPB Reserve - Sussex
The trip to Worthing in Sussex allowed for a visit to Pulborough Brooks RSPB Reserve and a walk along the circular path linking the hides which runs for approximately two miles. Again the trees were teaming with small birds and the air was alive with birdsong. I was greeted almost immediately by the sight of a Great Spotted Woodpecker and the paths allowed plenty of opportunity to see Longtailed Tit, Great tit, Coal tit, Blue Tit and Nuthatch.
The walk around the reserve path would be pleasant enough even if the hides were not there walking along the tree lined pathways alive with birds and birdsong, then braking out of the wooded areas to be greeted with expansive views over the Arun Valley to the South Downs. A visit to Nettley's hide on the reserve yielded Northern Lapwing, Shellduck, Snipe, Blacktailed Godwit, Cormorant, Greylag Geese, Grey Heron, Canada Geese and a Sparrowhawk which obligingly perched on a post situated on a waterway running to the left of the hide.
Once again I took the recorder out and recorded a couple of small snippets of the birdsong to be heard along the paths.
Click to Play or right click to download - Birdsong 3 Pulborough RSPB Reserve
Click to Play or right click to download - Birdsong 4 Pulborough RSPB Reserve
Pulborough was an excellent reserve to visit, the reserve itself a pleasure to walk around, the staff extremely helpful and pleasant, the hides providing good views and information on species and the cafe serving up some excellent food while watching the activity at the feeders. I only wish that I had had more time at the reserve and I will certainly be making another visit as soon as opportunity allows.
You can find more information on the reserve here Pulborough RSPB Nature Reserve
If you listen to the birdsong files and take the time to identify the species then please do drop me a line to let me know what you identify.
Upton Warren WWT Reserve - Worcestershire
A late evening trip down to my local patch of Upton Warren provided views of what is undeniably the largest number of Canada Geese that I have seen at the Moors in the time that I have been visiting the reserve. Over 400 Canada Geese were already settled on the water on arriving with at least another 100 coming in to settle later in the visit. Worryingly however the Geese were constantly being disturbed off the water then flying to the South of the Moors before circling back around and gun shots were heard to the South of the Moors indicating that possibly someone was flushing the Geese off the reserve with people South of the reserve then shooting. This happened several times and although I believe that shooting the Geese is not an offence it is concerning that possibly somebody was on a privately owned reserve to flush them out along with the fact that other species would have been flushed as well.
With the recent heavy rainfall the water levels are still very high at Upton Warren and the islands on the Moors almost totally submerged. However this has had the side effect of bringing waders such as Snipe and Sandpiper to the Moors where as normally they would be the sites to be seen at the Flashes.
The nights are however steadily drawing in and this last evening trip to the Moors saw the light levels becoming an issue at around quater past eight. A rather discouraging thought that the trips will soon be limited to the weekends because of dark early mornings and early evenings.
Comments