BIG SIT - 28th September 2006

It is 5.20am, as I commence this 5th autumn Big Sit seated on the edge of the Greensand Ridge looking at the scattered lights across the Weald. It is pleasantly mild and a light southwesterly wind blows under an overcast sky, but the forecast says it will remain dry.

A Little Owl calls from near the reservoir at 5.28am but it is nearly 6am before I hear a Moorhen calling from the lake, from where a few Mallard are also calling, and I hear a Coot at the reservoir on the hour. Several Little Owls and a Carrion Crow are now calling and at 6.20am the first Blackbirds call from the barn dell. Dawn is breaking and neither Tawny nor Barn Owl have confirmed their presence. A Magpie calls shortly before 6.30am and I hear a snatch of Robin song too. A Wren announces its presence with a burst of song, but I'll have to wait until after dark to add the two owls!

At 6.40am the pair of Mute Swans on the fishing lakes is just visible in the dull morning light; a flock of Jackdaws arrives from the east and a Green Woodpecker yaffles. A Pheasant calls from the barn dell and a flock of 15 Canada Geese flies E over the reservoir. A commotion to the north proves to be a female Sparrowhawk playing with a flock of at least 12 Magpies, a Kestrel calls from behind me somewhere and a Woodpigeon flies into the Deer Park. Just before 7am another Kestrel dives rapidly down towards the marsh, a Stock Dove perches in the dead tree by the gate below the Spindlewood orchard and a Chaffinch calls as it flies overhead. It's just after 7.10am as I scan through a flock of Rooks busily feeding in a recently harrowed field and a male Sparrowhawk flies W over the reservoir. A few patches of blue are appearing but the light is still poor at around 7.30am, when a Mistle Thrush flies overhead and two BH Gulls fly S a few minutes later. Two juvenile Herring Gulls fly SW overhead at 7.40am, when a Blue Tit appears on top of the hawthorn by the farmyard gate and a GS Woodpecker calls as it flies toward the oak with tall dead branches on the edge of the dell. In the distance a flock of about 60 Greylag Geese alights in a field beyond the fish farm. While scanning, a small bird with a deeply undulating flight appears in my scope and it looks like a LS Woodpecker; sadly, it disappears behind the large ash and I am unable to confirm the identification. Another four Herring Gulls fly W at 8.15am as Bob appears by the reservoir. A fine drizzle is not very promising and a mist is forming over the Weald. A Jay calls and appears in the trees by the barn dell and just before 8.30am a loose flock of at least 40 House Martins , with a few Swallows appears in the sky overhead and they drift slowly SW.

As I scan the top of the hawthorn - a regular feature during the day - where a flock of eight Blackbirds have gathered, a Chiffchaff and a hen Blackcap suddenly appear - both promising additions for the list. A Starling flies by at 8.37am and ten minutes later a small flock of House Sparrows drops out of the rarity hedge into the stubble near the gap, where a Dunnock is also visible. Bob joins me at 9am having seen several species that would be welcome additions to my list, including a large flock of some 300 Sand Martins, a LS Woodpecker - which could have been the bird I saw, as Bob watched it fly in that direction - a LBB Gull, Goldcrest, Greenfinch and Goldfinch. As he scans over the River Beult, he locates a flock of 11 Grey Herons resting in a recently harrowed field, where I'd earlier seen the Rooks feeding. A tight flock of 38 BH Gulls flies rapidly S as we struggle to add anything new in the fine drizzle that is now falling, but I can just make out a Great Crested Grebe on a lake at the fish farm, where I knew it should be. Another flock of at least 100 House Martins circles high overhead at 9.50am and a lone Greenfinch flies S along the rarity hedge, followed by a flock of seven and just before 10am a Meadow Pipit is identified as it flies N right overhead. Small groups of up to five or more Swallows keep flying SW and I keep hoping another Sand Martin might appear. Another Sparrowhawk flies high overhead and two Great Tits appear - in the top of the hawthorn, yet again. What turns out to be the only Collared Dove of the day, alights on a power line to the south of the reservoir and rain threatens as Bob leaves shortly before 10.30am.

It is disappointing that the steady drizzle means a break in proceedings as I shelter in my car, but it gives me time to assess the situation. With 40 species now listed, I wonder how many I can anticipate adding? If the rain clears and it stays dry until after dark, it might be possible to add Cormorant, LBB Gull, Barn and Tawny Owls, Skylark, Song Thrush, Nuthatch, Goldfinch and Yellowhammer, while LT Tit and Bullfinch are present in the area. So 50, which has yet to be achieved during an autumn Big Sit, appears to be possible, however, the mean figure of 47, for the first four years, seems a more realistic target.

The drizzle ceases just after 11am and I continue to scan for those species not yet seen. Another Jay flies into the hawthorn, a few Swallows continue to fly SW and two more Herring Gulls fly NW. The sun is almost breaking through and it feels warmer as 11.30am approaches, but still no additions. A few more Rooks fly over but more rain clouds approach and shelter is again necessary from 12.15pm, although the drizzle is light and intermittent. I decide to eat my lunch in the car. Four more Swallows fly S just before 1pm and two more Herring Gulls fly NW a short while later, when a heavy shower necessitates further shelter. A female Sparrowhawk flies over at 1.30pm, chased on this occasion by Carrion Crows. A most welcome cup of coffee arrives at 1.40pm, thanks to Laura Page, a local resident, and a Goldfinch flies from the rarity hedge, into which several finches had dropped and disappeared. A flock of 20 Black-headed and one Common Gull flies SW at 1.50pm and the total is rising again, after a three-hour break, but when and where am I going to find a Song Thrush? Just before 2pm a Nuthatch calls, at last, and a loose flock of about 120 House Martins flies SW over the Deer Park, quickly followed by another 20, with just two Swallows.

I'm alternating my scanning from the northern hedgerows for a possible Yellowhammer, to the rarity hedge for a Song Thrush and other passerines like Bullfinch and Long-tailed Tit, and the flood plain of the River Beult and the adjacent fish farm for Cormorant. The latter has my attention around 2.30pm, when I notice a tractor rolling a recently harrowed field and to my great surprise it is disturbing a flock of some 130 Lapwings - I'd not seen any sign of this species so far this autumn. I'm seeing yet another Sparrowhawk and noting a further trickle of Swallows and House Martins just before 3pm. An hour later and there is more activity in the rarity hedge; several Blackbirds and the Blackcap are visiting the hawthorn again, so maybe a few missing passerines will appear. I'm hoping that the heavy rain cloud to the south will pass me by, as I note a lone BH Gull flying rapidly N and the Jays continue to be active around the Spindlewood orchard. At 4.30pm, Rhiam, another local resident brings me a thermos mug of coffee, which goes down a treat, as I continue my scanning for new species, feeling pleased that the rain seems to have passed by. Around 5.30pm another cup of coffee appears - I'm being well catered for this autumn - as David and Laura take their dog Charlie for a walk. It is now 5.45pm and at long last I can see a Song Thrush perching low in the same hawthorn that has produced several additional species.

Really heavy cloud is gathering at 6pm, reducing the possibility of identifying a flock of Pied Wagtails gathering along a track some two kilometres distant, before going to roost in a nearby reedbed! I guess it was wishful thinking, as despite frequent looks through a x60 lens, I saw no sign of them. In the gloom, another 25 House Martins flew S at around 6.15pm and I continue to scan the rough grass fields by the River Beult for the local Barn Owl but there is no sign of it by 7pm. I'm now just hoping that the local Barn Owls will fly within view, or at least screech, and a Tawny Owl will hoot, to enable the day total to reach the mean of 47.

I can just make out a Little Owl perched some 100 metres distant and its calls get responses from several others in the Deer Park just after 7pm and fifteen minutes later a Robin utters a last song but it is too dark now to see anything but the whiteness of a nearby Barn Owl. Will one oblige me? I'm setting myself a deadline of 8pm and sadly it arrives with no sounds from either of the owl species and the total remains on 45 and the cumulative total for the five years stays at 61.