Rites of passage

Passage has been slow this spring, not just in the Arun valley but generally. Weather conditions in southern Europe conspired to keep numbers low and arrivals late, while once the waders, passerines, hirundines and swifts did arrive most of them passed through quickly.

The dearth of passage waders was especially apparent by the river to the south of Arundel, where such birds can be a highlight of the walk in spring. True, there was a Little Ringed Plover early in the season and the occasional Greenshank or Whimbrel, but for the most part there were only the resident waders -- Lapwings, Redshank and Oystercatchers – and Common Sandpipers, which are here more often than not. But then again, it was little different anywhere else.

At least that was the case until last week, when there was a surge of passage birds across Sussex. Two major rarities, Terek Sandpiper and Broad-billed Sandpiper, were recorded at Rye in the far east of the county. Nearer home a succession of less rare but still uncommon waders were found in the north of the Arun valley at the RSPB’s Pulborough reserve.

That resulted in two visits to the reserve on successive days. A Spotted Redshank was the target of the first visit, the bird watched from the Winpenny Hide as it worked the muddy edges of a flood. An uncommon bird in the valley, it had been missing from my Arun list.

Curlew Sandpiper, another absentee from my list, had been seen from the same hide the previous day, but was gone. Or so it seemed until it reappeared on the morning after my visit. That prompted a second journey that afternoon, but by then it had gone for good, although a Wood Sandpiper provided some compensation.

There will be more Curlew Sandpipers in the valley and I might even find one myself, but not this spring. Hopes that some of the species visiting Pulborough might stop off downstream were cruelly dashed -- in spite of repeated visits to the river south of Arundel, passage waders were limited to two Common Sandpipers throughout the period.

Then again, that’s a trade-off you have to accept when working a marginal patch away from the well-watched hot spots. List building is a slow process without collaboration, but finding your own birds can be more satisfying than chasing other peoples’ records. And even on the least promising of days there’s always the hope of finding something special at the least prospective of sites.

I look out of the study window at a sky leaden after thunder and heavy rain; good conditions to find waders grounded by the storm along the Arun. But spring is over and most waders back on their northern breeding grounds. Even the two Common Sandpipers have gone. The wader breeding season is in any case short; before long the birds will be on return passage, possibly stopping off on the muddy fringes of the Arun. A visit now would be pointless.

But still, looking again at the rain-scoured sky a visit seems in order. It might be futile, but it’s always best to be sure.