HASLEMERE Natural History Society’s first field meeting of the year was held at RSPB Pulborough Brooks, in West Sussex, giving members a chance to see winter birds.

A 19-strong group were led round the reserve by member Sue Bradford after a short introductory talk by a volunteer with RSPB, who said in recent days there had been several sightings of a single Temminck’s stint, a double-passage migrant,

Some members located the bird later, although it was only a distant view, near a flooded area among lapwings and black-tailed godwits.

Walking downhill, dunnock, jay, robin and three crows were seen, and a song thrush sang beautifully and loudly.

From West Mead hide, there was much bird activity to be enjoyed from shoveler, wigeon, teal, shelduck, many lapwing and black-tailed godwit.

It was exciting to see northern pintails, the males with their bold markings and their long tails held vertically as they up-ended.

When, suddenly, many birds took to the air all binoculars and the society’s ’scope were trained skywards in search of a raptor, but the disturbance was caused by two men carrying a colourful canoe.

Flocks of starlings moved across grassy areas near a small herd of fallow deer, a buzzard circled, black-headed gulls were identified, and there were golden plover among the lapwings.

At the end of the morning long-tailed tits moved between high oak branches, a kestrel flew down close by across the path, and two peregrine falcons were located cruising high in the sky.

Report by MARTIN SCALWAY