One of the species that I have always struggled with is the Dartford Warbler. The only half decent images I had before were from a session I did with Paul, at Gill's Lap back in 2017. However, although they posed quite well then on the Gorse, they were still a little too distant.
As Lisa's Mum was away skiing at the very end of January, into February, we decided to house sit for her, which would base us in West Sussex for the weekend. Giving us the chance to explore some of the West Sussex heathlands. It was certainly a case of very little in the way of sunshine, but the birds did their best to lift the spirits!!
We were not sure what we would find during the few days we had over there, but were pleasantly surprised to see a distant Goshawk, followed by some Crossbills and good numbers of Dartford Warblers.
Even better, the Warblers were quite confiding for once. At the first heathland Lisa had an excellent close encounter with one of these delightful birds. I had let her try to get a bit nearer, and ended up regretting not trying to creep nearer myself, although that would quite possibly have ruined it with 2 of us approaching.
There were also good numbers of Woodlark in the area, and we constantly heard them singing as they displayed over the heath.
The first day of our West Sussex heath weekend finished with me not having any photos to show for it, but it was still a very enjoyable day watching birds that I rarely see.
The following day, at a different heathland we started well with a Roe Deer complete with a youngster. This was followed by more Dartford Warblers, Crossbills and Woodlark. At last I too managed to get some quite nice photos of the warblers, as they moved around the Heather.
Dartford Warbler doing the splits.
We also saw some Crossbills feeding high in the trees, as well as a group of Goldcrest and Coal Tit feeding on the saplings. We also had a lovely Woodlark sitting at the top of one of the shorter trees that we could photograph.
Male Crossbill.
Woodlark.
After spending several hours at the site, we were just heading back to the car when we saw a pair of Stonechats. It is well known that the Dartford Warblers can often be found in the vicinity of Stonechats, so it was not a surprise to see one following them as they searched for food in the Heather. This warbler was actually very confiding and allowed quite a close approach from us both, giving us some excellent opportunities to photograph him. He even did some singing for us, so we could photograph him with his bill open.
Dartford Warbler.
On the Sunday, the weather was pretty awful, so we went for a walk with just our binoculars at Pulborough Brooks RSPB reserve. Due to the weather we didn't see much at all, but it was amazing seeing the extensive flooding of the brooks.
The following day, Monday, Lisa was back at work. However, I decided to stay over for one more day, so I could return to the heathland and have one more try for the Dartford Warblers. Although the weather was once again a little wet, there were at least a few dryer parts of the day, and with me being on my own, I felt I had a better chance of hiding in the heather to get some closer sightings. Perhaps due to the weather it was very quiet, with only a single Woodlark heard early on. A few Dartford Warblers were seen, but nothing close to start with. However, eventually I found a bird working through the heather, so I approached the area before croaching down very low. As I was waiting for the bird to pop up I saw a Goshawk fly low over the heather. However, despite it being quite close, I only managed a nice view through the binoculars. Not long after this, my patience was rewarded with some lovely views of the Dartford Warbler. At one point I could see the heather moving only about 8 feet away as it moved through the heather, Fortunately, it didn't pop up at that moment as that may have startled him a bit too much. However, he did pop up several times at a more realistic distance allowing me to get my best Dartford Warbler photos by a very long way!! As always, I also enjoyed just watching this wonderful bird as he searched for food near me. An absolutely wonderful experience, and also it was during one of the drier parts of the day.
Following this amazing sighting I walked a little further around the site, only seeing a very smart male Stonechat. Shortly after this the weather deteriated again and the camera went away for the day. I did see a few Common Snipe as I explored further, but otherwise it went very quiet.
Male Stonechat.
It was soon time to head back to Shoreham, before heading back home the following day. A stunning weekend exploring areas I rarely get to.
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