Today it was a trip outside Hampshire, heading west to the view point at Woolbeding Common just outside Midhurst. Last year the Sussex birders released the news that there were Honey Buzzards showing well here, but when I visited they were distant and high in poor conditions. The forecast today was much better with sunny intervals hopefully providing plenty of thermals. The Honey Buzzards have been reported through the week and some coming very close. This is one bird I would love to get an acceptable photograph of.
Getting there was difficult, the directions I had initially sending me to a large house! I did manage to remember how I had found it last year and eventually arrived at the car park. Walking out to the view point a Yellowhammer was singing. At first it was overcast but gradually the clouds broke and the sun began to warm things up. The view from here is quite beautiful, looking out over the tops of trees that cover the valley.
The cloud cover when I arrived.
The conditions then started to improve with the clouds breaking up and the sun coming through.
Birds of prey started to appear and you go through the process of "is it one? No its a Common Buzzard". There were plenty of these and a wonderful flying display from a Goshawk, swooping up and then diving almost vertically down.
Then a shout went up and a very distant Honey Buzzard was pointed out. Getting the scope on it you could clearly see the shape of the head and the long tail and as it flew it was plainly a different bird to the Common Buzzard. It was too far away to photograph and I was left with some views of Common Buzzard.
Another Honey Buzzard came overhead but was again very high and never came close enough for acceptable photographs. After this the raptors dried up and after an hour without any sightings of any birds I decided to leave and head home.
So no stunning photographs but at least I was able to get some lovely scope views of the the Honey Buzzards and Goshawks. Maybe next year?
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