Minibus trip to Pulborough Brooks RSPB and Rackham Viewpoint RSPB (3 December 2022)
It was a very enjoyable day with lots of birds and excellent company. Of course, 2 White-tailed Eagles were the stars but another highlight was the large number of Black-tailed Godwit – 1200 estimated to be there by the end of the day. The estimate when we arrived was 300+ but staff increased this over the day as more birds arrived to spend the winter.
Our first stop was Pulborough Tesco’s as, annoyingly, the centre doesn’t open its toilets until 10am! Next stop, the RSPB’s Rackham Viewpoint over Amberley Wildbrooks. It’s worth seeking out for the view alone but when flooded in winter and covered in wildfowl and geese it’s even better. Try it on a sunny winter morning. A Red Kite eating a goose was the sight which greeted us! Other Red Kites and a Marsh Harrier flew around sending up flocks of mainly Wigeon with some Pintail, Mallard and Teal thrown in. But they were soon ignored when Ray spotted a White-tailed Eagle flying down onto a distant island closely followed by its partner. They were almost the size of the black Fallow Deer feeding calmly next to them. They’ve often been spotted at Amberley or Pulborough recently and, although still juveniles, look to be pairing up. For such large birds they have a surprising knack of disappearing and these two soon flew into the woods, perched briefly and then vanished.
Mission accomplished; we drove back to the Pulborough Brooks for much needed hot drinks on the café’s terrace. It was a very grey and cold day but luckily not windy. The terrace gave excellent views across the reserve which was very flooded although this had receded from a couple of weeks previously to leave many small islands. It acts as a flood plain for the River Adur and, like Amberley Wildbrooks, was covered in wildfowl. Fortified, we set off clockwise around the reserve stopping at the feeders and Fattengates for tits, finches and nuthatches. We were lucky that this was an open weekend and many hides and viewpoints were manned by experienced volunteers and wardens who added to our enjoyment of the day with their knowledge e.g. -the white bird droppings in some hides are caused by roosting Barn Owls -the solitary Barnacle Goose, pointed out to us in the distance on North Brooks, returns each year to spend the winter with the Canada Geese-the striking white-headed Buzzard we spotted is a regular and has been mistaken for an Osprey!
We visited all the hides, getting different views of the ducks (Wigeon, Teal, Shelduck, Pintail, Pochard, Shoveler, Mallard and Tufted) Godwits, geese (Canada, Greylag and Egyptian) and raptors (Kestrel, Buzzard, Marsh Harrier and Red Kite). A dozen Little Egrets fed busily throughout the day on the far edge of the receding flood water. A hedgerow near West Mead Hide held Redwings and Blackbirds but try as we might we couldn’t spot the reported Bullfinches. They were only seen by one member of our group who walked around by himself and was rewarded with 4 of them. 16 of us peering into the bushes was obviously a bit much for them! Rooks can be pretty much guaranteed here, and provided a good opportunity for comparison with Carrion Crows. They were interspersed with a few juvenile Rooks which are a bit trickier as they lack the bare faces of the adults. Our lunch stop was Winpenny hide which gave the closest views of the Godwits and had a pair of Stonechats on the fence in front. A sign warning people to check under the benches for adders was a bit disconcerting! They had been disturbed from their winter hibernacula by the flooding and had sought shelter in the dry hide. One bird that eluded us but was finally spotted from Jupp’s view was a Coot – who knew that a Coot could be so exciting! With about an hour to closing time, and with the light fading, we headed back to the café and shop: some faster than others! Those of us at the back had a brief view of a couple of Siskins and from the café terrace a solitary Fieldfare was seen. It had been a very chilly day but a good one with 62 species seen between us. Surely any trip with 2 White-tailed Eagles has to count as a successful one?
trip report by Rebecca Dunne