A Windy Start to 2020 and still windy at the end of January

Tuesday 28th January 2020 was a reasonable day for a survey, with fine visibility. It was a clear morning with a westerly wind, no frost and no rain forecast. It was not perfect as the noise of the wind sweeping through the bare poplars meant that signing birds chose more sheltered corners. Hazel catkins put on a spurt of growth in the sun and there were plenty of Dog Rose hips overhanging the rising river and a few Holly berries remained too. Acorns could be found under fallen branches with last-years brown oak leaves still attached. Red arching bramble fronds gave colour to the banks and shelter to small birds and mammals. There had been a 'storm' on 14th which had left the ground scattered with twigs and small branches, mostly about 1 meter long. Small buds could be seen on some fruit trees. The overall impression was of a winter scene with brown dry stalks of last years undergrowth and bank vegetation,  and a thick layer of fallen leaves, contrasting with the previous winter (2018) where most vegetation had remained green and even growing, as the earth remained warm.

This winter however, dry grasses held food for wildlife,  especially for the finches which picked out  the seeds of flowers and grasses. It was not surprising that over one hundred house sparrows were seen in various colonies, choosing the thickets and hedges trapping the warmth of the low sun. Some were bathing in the river, knowing that they could dry out and preen whilst the sun lasted then moving into shelter close by. A sparrowhawk flew into the trees and disappeared. Dunnocks (10) were easily seen today and some were singing, keeping to the lowest perches. Robins (26) were singing too, guarding their territories, far bolder than the dunnocks. 

Wrens were keeping low with only 6 seen - and heard, perhaps sheltering from the wind, not attempting to be heard above the noise. No goldcrests were seen, no doubt present but unseen, sheltering deep in the conifers, but goldfinches were definitely present with about fifty in several groups, most singing with house sparrows in a more sheltered thicket. Only one chaffinch was seen flying across. Tough blue tits were numerous foraging along the old deciduous tree margin, continuously busy investigating every bramble leaf surface and tree hole for insects and spiders on warm sunlit surfaces (about 70). Great tits (20) were very visible and audible, active in the oaks, chasing and calling very loudly. The more fragile long-tailed tits were active too with a total of 17 in small groups, snatching insects around hollies and conifers uncommonly close to the ground but out of the wind.
 Thirty herring gulls were wheeling and gliding above, enjoying the strong wind whilst carrion crows (4) were busy feeding and calling from an old oak. The only other bird above the trees here was a kestrel, briefly visible. Five awkward magpies were seen in the trees, the wind in their feathers. One jackdaw flew across and one black-headed gull, plumage in transition, stood around on the playing field. Starlings (13) preferred to shelter, whistling and calling together in their day roost. One however flew into a nearby oak, trigging loud calls from a nuthatch defending its territory. This was just one of ten nuthatches seen today in various places along the riverside, with at least one pair climbing a tree-trunk close to a possible nest hole. A great spotted woodpecker gave a demonstration of the woodpecker species direct decisive  flight, strong against the wind, followed by a second one, whilst further along, another was calling out from a tree - below it a domestic cat appeared, slinking through the undergrowth. (3 great-spotted woodpeckers in total, two were probably a pair). Walking around a bend in the river, a green woodpecker was seen on the grass where there had been ants nests during the summer. It dodged out of sight but didn't fly up.
The ever-present guardians, the wood pigeons, were mostly settled on sunny perches in the trees away from the wind but a group flew over, heading into the wind (total about 30). Three collared doves, one pair and a single one were sitting in an ash tree close to overhanging Ivy berries.

There were only two redwing and two fieldfare present today - but 12 song thrushes, some foraging on the grass with blackbirds. A few of the twelve were singing loudly but the rest were feeding on Ivy berries in competition with blackbirds, or peacefully on the grass. There were 32 blackbirds in all, silent except for occasional alarm calls. These could be seen almost everywhere along the river.
Two large bold mistle thrushes were out on the field together (a pair?) in the company of the black-headed gull in the wind, just looking around. They may well have a nest in the tall trees on the perimeter. A mistle thrush was heard singing loudly from a tree on a very windy day on a previous day, not far away- further upstream on the Arun.

This survey, on 28th January 2020 certainly revealed signs of spring but audible signs rather than visual signs as most birds were singing strongly despite the wind. Towards the end of the survey, the sun disappeared and it felt like evening was fast approaching, although only the middle of the day.