Thanks to volunteer Graham for his report and photos.
At West Mead Hide there was some long range raptor action with appearances by a marsh harrier and a peregrine, and eventually Neil spotted one of the white-tailed eagles in a distant tree, enabling a number of visitors to get views through our scopes. There were a number of red kites around, and one of them came close enough for a photo.
At closer range there was a fly-past by a grey heron
and there were eleven snipe on one of the islands. Most of them were hiding in the rushes, but I was able to get a shot of one and a half of them.
I took this lapwing picture at 11.16 a.m., proving that it is not just the early bird that catches the worm.
There was a steady flow of visitors into the hide, and having shared views of the peregrine and snipe with a number of them, Neil and I moved on as West Mead approached capacity.
On arrival at Winpenny Hide, the peregrine was still in place and a number of red kites were active over the fields on the other side of the Arun, but there was no longer any sign of the eagle.
Moving on to Hanger View I couldn’t fail to notice an attractive display of Cypress-leaved plait-moss (Hypnum cupressiforme) on one of the benches.
On the North Brooks a small gathering of cormorants were perched on the edge of a ditch, and there was some lively action when two peregrines put up most of the wildfowl. A marsh harrier was also present.
Relocating to Nettley’s Hide provided an opportunity to get a photo of the marsh harrier as it came within range,
and a pair of bullfinches showed up very briefly. A fieldfare was a bit more confiding, providing views to several visitors, as well as my final image of the day .