12th January 2020 - Staying local

First stop of the day was Widewater Lagoon where the highlight was 2 drake Red-breasted Merganser showing nicely on the eastern lagoon. Also noted here was 3 Mute Swan, 2 Meadow Pipit and a Redshank. I moved onto Shoreham Harbour to look on the wooden jetty to see if there were any Purple Sandpiper, sadly my luck wasn't in just 2 Turnstone for my efforts.

1 of 2 drake Red-breasted Merganser, Widewater Lagoon, West Sussex

Next stop was Brooklands Park where I parked the car near the sewage works and in the bushes I found a Chiffchaff, a Goldcrest and a Firecrest which was heard but went unseen. On the lake there was no sign of the drake Pochard but there were 2 Little Grebe, 6 Teal, 8 Mute Swan and 16 Coot. Also of note was the adult Black-headed Gull which has been christened 'lumpy'. The rough patch by the lake held a female Stonechat, 3 Reed Bunting and 2 Meadow Pipit. A quick look at the roost field at Goring Gap on my way back home produced c300 Common Gull, c150 Black-headed Gull, 2 Great Black-backed Gull, c30 Herring Gull and a flyover Ringed Plover which never settled.

Female Stonechat, Brooklands Park, West Sussex

'Lumpy' the adult Black-headed Gull, Brooklands Park, West Sussex

Later in the afternoon I headed up to No Man's Land but on route stopped in Durrington and was delighted to see a Peregrine perched up on one of the ledges on the flats near the train station. I was hoping to see the ringtail Hen Harrier up on my visit to No Man's Land but never managed to locate it. Logged during my time here were 3 Kestrel and singles of Common Buzzard, Raven, Reed Bunting and Meadow Pipit. Also a Hare which was pleasing as this is the first I have seen for a while!  

Peregrine, Durrington, West Sussex