Williamson 's Weekly Nature Notes

The black swan is an obvious escape from a wildfowl collection. But the Branta ruficollis? The Arundel collection birds are pinioned so it isn't from there but has someone let it go? Unlikely, so the thrill is that it might be a wild bird way off course, belonging in eastern Europe at least.

I am not good enough to be called a twitcher. You have to be almost tunnel visioned, have plenty of spare time, a forgiving partner, and money for petrol. It is a way of life that leaves room for little else after work. Call them anoraks if you like, like train spotters, but they do see some wonderful places from the Scillies to Scapa Flow and birds one can only dream about.

Most birds like to be in flocks in winter. It makes sense in finding food and avoiding predators. So the rarities are quite likely to have joined others like them. so I always search through a flock of chaffinches for example, in the hope of finding some bramblings, which are quite like them.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette February 18