Aurumn arrival of bearded tits at Arundel is the first in three decades
Oct 21: While walking the reedbed boardwalk this morning I saw three bearded tits flit over the top of the reeds near the Camera Obscura building in the middle of the reedbed boardwalk. They promptly landed near some willow scrub and disappeared. I waited, excitedly scanning the reedbed for these reclusive birds to reappear. We have not had a sighting of bearded tits on the reserve since April 2011. This is the first sighting we have had during the autumn in three decades! The fact the bearded tits are here in autumn mean they may remain over the winter. Its definitely worth taking the time to watch and wait for these beautiful birds.
Our grounds team erected grit tables near the reedbed hide hoping to attract bearded tits over three years ago. In spring and summer the tits diet is insect based but they switch to eating phragmites reed seeds in the winter when insects are scarce. They need to eat the grit to help them grind down the hard reed seeds.
After my bearded tit sighting I sat for a while in the Reedbed hide. Here I spotted two water rail and could hear three others. We are definitely starting to get the winter migrants arriving from Eastern Europe. During my reedbed excursion this morning I also spotted a cettis warbler, several reed buntings, water voles and four teal.
Yesterday a hobby dashed across the reedbed, flying directly over my head, scouring for dragonflies. It has been wet but still warm so there are many common darter and migrant hawker dragonflies active. I saw a red admiral butterfly on the wing yesterday, possibly disturbed by the noise and rattle from the tractor I was driving to haul bundles of cut reeds near Wetland Discovery area.
From the Scrape hide this morning I counted 60 teal and 14 snipe. There was a few singles there too – our first lapwing of the winter, a lone shelduck and one grey heron. Heron sightings have dropped off but kingfishers are still showing well. Also seen around the reserve this week: siskin, bullfinches, grey wagtail, goldfinch, chaffinch and a little grebe.
Paul Steven’s weekly Wildlife Sightings column appears in the Chichester Observer, the Littlehampton Gazette, the Bognor Regis Observer, the Shoreham Herald and the Worthing Herald.
