Owl Herding

It’s a mild and surprisingly humid morning, with insufficient chill in the air to force birds to seek warmth from the sun and show themselves openly. But there are plenty of them in the hedgerows beside the river. This morning at least six Blackcaps skulk among the sloes and blackberries in two bushes alone. They occasionally sally forth for insects from the top of bushes or fly between them as they move steadily south, but mostly they are evident only from their grumbling calls. Over the past two weeks they have taken over from Whitethroats as the commonest migrants in the riverside hedgerows, although some of the latter are still around. So too are a few Lesser Whitethroats, the cap of one this morning an improbable powder-blue when caught by the sun. The plumage of the Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers is far less striking, only the calls differentiating those birds not observed closely. Meanwhile Reed Warblers continue to flit actively in the hedges and riverside vegetation, ...

The weather forecast for this morning had spoken of a “gentle breeze from the north,” with the temperature mooted to feel higher than the actual 14 Celsius. But that wasn’t how it felt at all, walking northwards by the Arun in the face of a cold and gusty wind. And the feeling was confirmed by the fact that no birds were showing in the riverside hedges or reed beds. Proof absolute this was not a breeze, gentle or otherwise. Not that the wind would have been an issue for the two species I’d hoped to see. There has been an influx of normally-scarce Cattle Egrets in the last few days, while this is the season when Yellow Wagtails pass through on return migration. In the event the cattle in the riverside fields to the east and north of Arundel had attracted neither species to feed on the insects they disturb. Most of the Cattle Egrets are still at sites closer to the sea, while Yellow Wagtails also appear to be hugging the coast. Even there, relatively few of the latter have been repor...

No-one steps in the same river twice, so Heraclitus said. And in similar fashion no walk by the river is the same twice, its shifting water only part of a constant flux of activity. Some of that flux is more apparent than real, especially where resident birds are concerned. Two days back no wrens were recorded on the walk, whereas there had been three the previous day and three today. They were almost certainly there, but sheltering from the fierce wind. Then again, today is breezy but the wrens and most other birds aren’t in hiding. Each day is different, especially where non-resident birds are concerned. Reed Warblers are still present, though numbers are down with many of the breeding birds now gone. Meanwhile Willow Warblers and Whitethroats are moving through in numbers, today conspicuous at the tops of bushes where insects congregate. Tomorrow there may be more, or less, or a different mix of species, as they move through as part of a vast and weather-dependent front. It is...

The break in the weather has been spectacular but brief, the sere grass barely acknowledging the hours of wind and rain. But the temporary end of weeks of hot, dry weather has had one lasting effect -- the abrupt disappearance of Mediterranean Gulls from the loaf by the Arun. During the three-week period to late July the rings of 20 colour-banded Mediterranean Gulls were read; the records summarised elsewhere. But now the influx has ended and only one or two of the gulls remain. With return wader passage by the river also weak this year -- the usual Common Sandpipers, Lapwings and Oystercatchers only rarely joined by other shorebirds – another visit to the riverside falls victim to the lure of the high spaces of Arundel Park. Enclosed in the late eighteenth century, the downs forming the 454 hectares of the New or Great Park were moulded into a patchwork of pasture and woodland. Plantations dot the high points of the land, while hangers cling to the flanks of the dry valleys that...

A large number of Mediterranean Gulls are still present at the gull roost on the eastern bank of the River Arun just to the south of Arundel. This updates the previous post. Numbers rose from between one and five birds at the start of the month to 42 on 11 July, peaking the next day at 97 before falling back markedly. The influx appeared to have ended, but numbers jumped again on 17 July. By 18 July there were at least 84 birds by the river and adjacent water meadows at high tide, when birds otherwise spread out along the lower reaches of the river become concentrated at the site. Twelve of the Mediterranean Gulls have carried plastic colour rings on their legs that could be read with a telescope. Few European gulls have received the amount of attention from ringers that Med Gulls have, but even so the occurrence of 12 ringed birds within a week is notable. Ringed Mediterranean Gulls by the Arun on 11-18 July Ring colour Code Site Date bird ringed ...

It’s already hot in spite of the easterly breeze, and the river is sluggish after days without rain. The grass is parched yellow, even the reeds in the ditches wilting. The gull loaf is building up on the stone-lined sections of the river bank and 55 Herring Gulls and 78 Black-headed Gulls have been joined by two Great Black-backed Gulls and single Mediterranean, Common and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. All of them are inactive. Even the Great Black-backs make only occasional forays, scolded when they do so by a pair of vigilant Oystercatchers. A dozen Lapwings dot the muddy stretches of the river’s edge, standing stock still before indulging in seemingly inconsequential runs. Much more active are the seven Common Sandpipers, their numbers up from only three a few days ago, while a single Little Ringed Plover and a calling Greenshank may be harbingers of other less common passage waders in the weeks ahead. There are probably no passage passerines yet. Sedge Warblers and Reed Warbl...

It’s a warm morning, and the riverside path is quiet. Three Cetti’s Warblers call and a Sedge Warbler tumbles up the bank and perches on a clump of tall grass, scolding as the dog ambles past. But far fewer Reed Warblers or Reed Buntings are calling than a few days back. They are still here, though, most obvious when they cross the river between the reed bed on the far side and the ditches and cropped fields on this. The heads of the male Reed Buntings gleam like black-glossed bullets as they make their uncompromising flights, unlike the Reed Warblers flitting mouse-like across the water. Thin calls by the river reveal two Common Sandpipers flying to one of the few remaining areas of mud left by the rising tide. In late May and early June it would be hard to say whether they were birds late heading north or early returning south. By now they are probably birds on return passage, though the species is so rarely absent from the river it seems like an honorary resident. Meanwhile ...