Thanks to Gary for his report and photos.
What very odd weather at Pulborough Brooks today – rain, mist, sunshine, murk, cloud, but with one notable absentee – wind, which made it seem very quiet and eerie at times.
Things were off to a good start as I unloaded the car with a large flock of fieldfare ack-acking as they flew over the car park, and nervous flocks of redwing exploded from the bushes down the zigzag and at various places on the way to Winpenny Hide. Lots of goldcrests were around and a single chiffchaff was inspected just in case it was something a little more interesting, but alas not. At Winpenny, meadow pipits and skylarks could be seen chasing one another around and two stonechats were making almost vertical flights snapping up the flies brought out by the sunshine. As usual a buzzard just sat on a post and watched.
The warm sunshine brought out a flush of dragonflies with several tandem pairs still egg laying around the new pond at Redstart Corner and Winpenny Pool, and a bright yellow brimstone butterfly was patrolling Adder Alley.
Hanger View was the next stop, and after a thorough search through the mixed flocks of hundreds of greylag and canada geese (plus some indeterminate ones and an escapee bar-headed goose), a group of eleven Eurasian white-fronted geese could be made out.
Approximately 500 lapwing and 300 wigeon were visible together with smaller numbers of teal, mallard and shoveler, and a green woodpecker sat obligingly in a bush showing off its lovely lemon rump.
Back at the centre, an interesting “washed out” pied wagtail was running around on the roof; not quite a leucistic bird but “diluted” (https://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw/gardens-wildlife/garden-birds/behaviour/plumage/leucism).