Eleven of us had a glorious walk around RSPB Pulborough Brooks surrounded by birdsong on International Dawn Chorus Day (although we had started considerably later than dawn.) 

From the first viewpoint near the visitors centre we were able to see the first of many Whitethroat with it’s scratchy song sitting on top of a bramble.  Two Mistle Thrush were on the path and the fence.  We could already see some Avocet wading in the distant pools.  Pheasant and Magpie were in the fields, and a pair of Stonechat flitted from perch to perch in the rough grass.  Linnets could also be seen on top of nearby trees.

Walking down the Zig Zag path we could hear a Nightingale but were not able to see the bird.  A Chiffchaff was singing as was a Song Thrush and both posed well for us.  We detected the song of Garden Warbler, but again were not able to see one.  We watched a pair of Treecreeper and Great Tits attending a nest in a crevice in a tree trunk.  Our luck then changed as we approached Fattengates Courtyard – we spotted a Nightingale singing from a perch on a dead tree in full view. Everyone had extended views and we soon saw another clearly in the courtyard itself.  A Goldcrest was singing in the conifers behind us but could not be seen.  Meanwhile, in the pond, several dragonfly nymphs and a damselfly nymph were emerging from their exuvia and beginning to stretch their adult wings.  They seemed to be Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly and Large Red Damselfly.  Nearby an adult Female Broad Bodied Chaser was resting in the brambles in the sun.  We watched a large raptor soaring above us and the consensus was that this was a juvenile White-tailed Eagle!

West Mead hide was fairly quiet, with a few Canada Geese, some with goslings, Lapwing and their little chicks just about visible in the reeds.  There were two Avocet wading and feeding in the pool.  Moving on to Winpenny Hide there were at least eight Greenshank, a dozen or so Black Tailed Godwit, six Ringed Plover, together with Redhsank.  Eventually the reported Wood Sandpiper was located amongst the Godwit flock.  Ducks were represented by Mallard, Shelduck, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Gadwall and Shoveler.  Canada , Greylag and Egyptian Geese  were all present.  Whilst watching them, three Hobbies circled high above the Brooks.  On emerging from the hide the sun had come out and we were able to see a couple of adders basking on their favourite corner.  Further down the path most of the group had views (either perched or flying over,) of the Cuckoo that had been calling since our arrival.

At Hangar View we added Little Grebe, Little Egret, Coot, Moorhen, Wigeon, Teal to our growing list.  Some of the group decided to return to the Visitors Centre rather than carrying on to Nettley’s Hide, but those of us who continued were rewarded for our efforts by a showy Sedge Warbler outside the hide, and some little ‘humbug’ Shelduck ducklings with their parents.  There were also numerous Hirundines here, as far as we could tell mostly Sand Martins.  On our route back we noticed that the Dragonflies had all fully emerged leaving their empty skins behind in the reeds in the pond.  We had seen a respectable total of 60 species of bird and had a most enjoyable morning.