Wildlife with Hugh

A spring tide at Langstone Harbour covered much of the elevated land within the harbour. This, combined with the time of year seeing many migrating waders returning from the arctic, resulted in a fantastic display of birds at Farlington Marshes.   Approaching the lake it became clear many hundreds of waders were already roosting here. Grey plovers still in their breeding finery sparkled in the sunshine. Dunlin and curlew sandpipers ran around the muddy margins busily feeding. Black-tailed godwits were mostly asleep. Ringed plovers flew back and forth. Knot, two of which were still red, were dotted in and around the grey plovers. A lone avocet preened behind the ever growing flock.   The tide was still rising, encouraging an impressive flock of oystercatchers to join the roost. A sparrowhawk perched on a fence post close by, looking intently for its next meal. Upon taking off and flying low over the marsh a group of 55 yellow wagtails lifted up and began mobbing the sparrowhawk...

Approaching our meeting point for the day's walk the unexpected sight of a barn owl caught our eyes. It perched on a post at the roadside before swooping into the long grass in an attempt to catch a meal. The close up view of the owl was spectacular, I just hoped that it hung around long enough for the entire group to be able to admire!

October is an excellent time of year to visit Nutbourne Channel. In the harbour we see the return of the brent geese along with increasing numbers of ducks and wading birds. Many migrating species are moving through and there is a good chance to see a range of raptor species.

Walking towards the harbour at Thorney Island we stopped to admire a tree festooned with herons. Shaggy and bright white young little egrets made up most of the numbers, while two teenage grey herons waited expectantly for a delivery of fish, and a cattle egret fed its three young chicks.

A beautiful spring morning in the South Downs with abundant bird life and wildflowers.

A walk at Kingley Vale in late February had many signs of spring developing, while winter was still trying to hold on.

Chichester Marina is a fantastic place for a walk in the autumn months, with a mixture of beautiful scenery, diverse habitats and a wide range of bird species to be seen.