Today I was off to RSPB Pulborough with my good friend, Susy. It was a short notice planned trip but they are often the best. The weather forecast for the area was meant to be dry and cloudy (or so it said before I went to bed last night), but that was very very wrong. It rained almost as soon as we started walking around the site, and it continued on and off for the rest of our visit.
It didn't put us off though.
One of the first notable birds we saw was a female Sparrowhawk, my second sighting of one in three days. After glancing moodily at us and then around the area, we were treated to her flying low over our heads......
As always Rooks were plentiful. I'm a corvid lover anyway but there is something about their faces that makes me want to observe them......
We found a Jay pottering around in the damp grass....
In the woodland area, a Robin posed delightfully in a Holly bush. Shame it was raining instead of snowing, I could have made my own Christmas cards this year.....
We also had some cracking views of Goldcrests. There must have been at least four flitting around calling, chasing each other and picking insects off the leaves. At one point there was a solo bird literally less than a metre above Susy's head. They were so tantalisingly close at times, I became very frustrated when I just couldn't get a decent photo, so you'll have to make do with this.....
We found at least two pairs of Stonechats. Sometimes they were close but more often they were topping around the scrubby areas....
Water birds were in high numbers.
Lots of Greylag geese had arrived, with still more landing as we watched......
Canada geese were also present, and if you're a duck fanatic this really is the place to come. We saw Mallards, Teals, Wigeons, Pintails, Shelducks, Shovelers and more. It was a proper duck-fest.....
There were also substantial numbers of Godwits around......
Perhaps the most surprising find was a solitary Red-breasted goose !! We doubt this was a true wild bird, more likely a fence hopping escapee from a local collection. But it added a nice splash of colour in the rain.....
There was a heavy shower of rain at one point and we sheltered in one of the hides until it subsided. The rain didn't bother the resident population of Fallow deer though. They soon emerged to eat. So here's a couple of photos of 'rain-deer'......
The buck appeared to have a damaged antler, but it didn't stop him receiving attention from one of his 'ladies'.
Elsewhere, with the recent wet weather, the muddy paths were great for spotting animal tracks.
We think this one is a Fallow deer......
and this one is a Badger......
Of course it wouldn't be an autumn blog without a few photos of fruiting fungi.
I was well chuffed to spot a Fly Agaric, until we got nearer and saw it was literally on it's last legs.....
We found plenty of other fungi too, and foolishly I didn't take notes as Susy named almost all of them !! Lesson learnt, when with Susy you need a pen and paper, she is a wealth of information and knowledge......
So without identifications, here are some more fungi pics.....
So the rain may have soaked us, but it didn't dampen our enthusiasm.
It was a great few hours at Pulborough, and an even greater much needed drink and bite to eat in the café afterwards.
Thanks Susy for suggesting the outing in the first place. It was a great day with great company.
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