Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos.
Recent sightings Friday 3rd February – The effects of the weather
It is interesting to compare the state of Pulborough Brooks with the same time last year. After a rather wet autumn in 2015 the Brooks on my return from the Christmas break looked like a lake. By the end of January 2016 with the water receded a little and with the ground very wet we were treated to the wonderful sight of over 1000 black tailed godwits.
This winter we have had to contend with a very dry spell for 6 months from the end of June 2016 which has resulted in hard ground and is most likely the cause of the remarkably small numbers of black tailed godwits. My previous highest number seen this winter was a mere 35 at the January WeBS count.
So why the lack of godwits? These birds have long bills designed to probe mud and soft ground to pick out invertebrates from deeper below the surface. However this winter the ground has been too hard after the long dry spell. However after the thaw over the weekend and a rather wet week the Brooks are looking wetter than they have ever done this winter. Black tailed godwit numbers had crept up to about 60 all concentrated onto one of the islands in front of Jupps View
There were noticeably more pintails present – I counted 30 but most likely there were more. This may also be indicative of a higher water level as these ducks prefer it to be deeper than some of the other dabbling ducks.
The snipe, instead of being out on the grass as they tend to be in frozen conditions, had reverted to type, hiding away in the brown reeds near Nettley’s Hide, demonstrating their perfect camouflage for those who could actually see them.
With the rain setting in around lunchtime I hurried round to Winpenny Hide. Nothing seemed to be moving on the South Brooks and I listened to the rain on the roof and contemplated beating a hasty retreat to the café. Suddenly however these thoughts were banished by a flash of electric blue and a kingfisher appeared on the fence that sticks out towards the pool. The fence does not look the most elegant of perching posts but without its presence I wouldn’t have been able to take this photo.
A visitor asked me if I thought this bird might stay to breed.. I replied that as far as I know only a single kingfisher has been seen occasionally since September so it would appear to need to find a mate. Perhaps more importantly I couldn’t think of any obvious suitable banks next to water on the reserve where kingfishers could excavate a nest hole, although there may be some possible nest sites by the river. On balance I think we may lose this bird in the springtime.
Other sightings of note this week included 2 peregrines patrolling the area to the south of West Mead, and a marsh harrier on the South Brooks. A red kite flew over the North Brooks. The 5 tundra bean geese reported last week were still present and seen from Hail’s View along with small numbers of ruff and dunlin. After the thaw Lapwings were back in large numbers. The weasel that seems to have taken up residence near the Visitor Centre was seen several times.
Finally, as a possible sign of spring on the way, while sitting in Nettley’s Hide I was disturbed by an odd sound next to me and looked down to see a large wasp on the shelf just inches away. Someone suggested I should have swatted it, but instead, this being a nature reserve, I decided on a photograph, after which it flew out of the window.