Sussex Scrapbook
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Nature walks throughout the year
Saturday 2nd February
2008
Amberley - The Burgh - North Stoke - Amberley
7.8 miles
Gill was suitably unimpressed with me going to see the Great Grey Shrike without
her the
other day, and seeing as today was her birthday I had no choice but to take
her to Amberley to retrace my steps. It was a beautiful, clear, winters day but a
bit chillier than of late, and when we got
to the
Sportsman pub there was no sign of the bird.
There were however
Black-tailed godwits and a possible female
Marsh Harrier (we didn't see it too clearly) and
Great-Spotted woodpeckers. We hung around for an hour
or so and were just packing up to leave when I spotted the shrike in a small tree by the
edge of the brooks. We both just had time to look at it through another birders
scope (he had just gone to get a sandwich) before it dropped out of sight again.
Mission accomplished, plus my brownie points were back in credit . Phew!
We set off up the steep climb to Rackham Hill and beyond to the Burgh where
there were lots of people out bird watching, but very few dogs! Usually its the
other way round. Lots of Buzzards and Kestrels up there, as well as
Skylarks, Yellowhammers, Bramblings,
Red-Legged Partridge and
Corn Buntings. Once again we tried to see the
Short-eared Owls, but typically they were only seen an hour after we left.
We walked back via the marshes to North Stoke seeing a
Marsh Tit on the way.
On arriving back at Amberley at 4:30 we found that the Bridge Inn wasn't serving
food until 6:00, so we walked along the river for a while and watched a Barn Owl
hunting. While we were watching it, out of nowhere a
Sparrowhawk attacked it,
sending feathers flying. Very exciting! We saw the owl a bit later trying to
race a car into Amberley and I managed to film it.
Then it was back to the pub for a delicious, birthday dinner for two. Finally, we
lugged our stuffed bellies back onto the train, where we fought to stay awake as
we definitely didn't want to end a beautiful day by waking up in London
Victoria!
A kestrel posing for the camera
Nibbled daffodil
The very pale Buzzard that lives in "raptor gorge"