After I had finished work for the day I headed out for a circular walk around the patch. The roost field at Goring Gap held 29 Ringed Plover, 12 Sanderling, 87 Turnstone and three Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Feeding on Goring Greensward was a flock of c250 Starlings, a Mediterranean Gull was feeding offshore and two Little Egrets flew east.
Moving onto Ferring Rife produced four Little Egrets, 10 Moorhens, five Chiffchaffs, a Blackcap and a Grey Wagtail.
An early evening walk with Mum after work at Slonk Hill produced four Kestrels, eight Chiffchaffs, eight Stonechats, a Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, c200 Starlings and 70 Meadow Pipits.
I ventured down to Farlington Marshes mid-afternoon with Dad to look for the Grey Phalarope and the American Golden Plover. We decided the best tactic to see the plover would be to look for it late afternoon, the previous two days it had been seen around 16:00.
Upon arrival at the pool where the Grey Phalarope had taken up temporary residence, the bird was showing reasonably well although it was very exposed and it hugged the edge close to the reedbed. We pressed onto the main event and I was pleased to pick out the moulting adult American Golden Plover on the mudflats after around 45 minutes of scanning. The bird was distant however all distinguishing features could been seen well despite my horrendous picture below. Another new bird for me in the UK with the only others I have seen being abroad.
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| Grey Phalarope - Farlington Marshes, Hampshire |
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| Digiscoped and distant - American Golden Plover, Farlington Marshes, UK |
The previous day a Short-toed Lark was found by Ed Stubbs on his local inland patch in Surrey. An amazing find and I believe its only the second for the county with the previous being in 1966. In normal circumstances I wouldve gone up the day it was found however I was away for my birthday with Sophie in Wiltshire.
We set off mid-morning and arrived on site for 11:30. Walking up from Chalk Lane we bumped into several birders who said the bird was showing well and giving nice views however when we got there it had done a disappearing act. The field adjacent to its normal field was being cut so all the birds had moved into there. The field was very difficult to view due to the rows of alfalfa which were put in lines by the farmer. We stayed on site for 2.5 hours and had no luck we did see five Red Kites, two Lapwings and lots of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. Sophie was very bored by this point so I agreed to go home but said I would drive back up and try again.
It took around an hour to drive home and I was back on site by 5pm this turned out to be a very smart move as upon arrival the Short-toed Lark was back in its normal field. It was near motionless and didn't look in the best of health the whole time I was there until just before dusk when it started to move around and feed a little. Also noted was a female Merlin, I didn't realise this is a description species in Surrey and when Ed arrived he was very gripped off as he had never seen this species on his local patch. It was a lovely evening and it was great to see Ed and David as well as meet James Grundy.
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| Short-toed Lark, Shackleford, Surrey |
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| Female Merlin, Shackleford, Surrey |
Dad came over to mine early morning and we started the morning birding at Highdown. We saw 82 Siskins, a Red Kite, five Meadow Pipits, 11 Chiffchaffs, 14 Swallows, a Grey Wagtail, five Blackcaps, two Bullfinches, 12 House Martins, a Hobby, a Whitethroat, three Spotted Flycatchers and a Sparrowhawk.
After Highdown we moved onto Ferring Rife where we saw another 13 Siskins, six Chiffchaffs, a Whitethroat, a Wheatear, two alba wagtails and a Clouded Yellow. We stopped at the Bluebird Cafe for a sausage sandwich and whilst waiting six Pintail headed west as well as two Brent Geese.
Last stop of the morning was Goring Gap where we saw 16 Swallows, three Little Egrets, three Sandwich Terns, 23 Turnstones, 24 Ringed Plovers, two Mediterranean Gulls, three Common Gulls, 17 Siskins, four Meadow Pipits, a Kestrel and two Blackcaps.
I had the day off work so decided to bird Beachy Head. It was a clear, warm morning so wasn't expecting much. It turned out to be a good morning and exceeded expectations. Shortly after first light the hirundines started moving through and I put a rough estimate of c2500 House Martins over the headland. Heading towards Shooters Bottom, there were a few Siskins moving overhead and I found two Wheatears near Belle Tout Lighthouse.
Shooters Bottom held a few birds with around c50 Chiffchaffs and c20 Blackcaps as well as a Redstart and a couple of Lesser Whitethroats. I also saw a very smart Adder which I almost stepped on!! Upon arrival at the Old Trapping Area news came through of a Wryneck just round the corner so I headed up there and the bird was showing really nicely feeding out in the open on a path.
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| Wryneck, near the Old Trapping Area, Beachy Head, East Sussex |
After leaving the Wryneck, I had a short raptor watch from the Old Trapping Area with John and Doreen Cooper, Laurence Pitcher, Simon Linnington and Al Redman. It wasn't long before an Osprey passed through although was always quite distant. It went straight over Belle Tout Lighthouse and then out in to the English Channel. It was the second bird of the day after Simon had another bird earlier in the morning take much the same flight path. Sadly no Honey-buzzards but it felt like a good day for one!
Other totals from the morning included: c200 Swallows, c30 Sand Martins, c150 Meadow Pipits, two Peregrines, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Green Woodpecker, a Raven, two Buzzards, two Kestrels and a Clouded Yellow.
I headed down to Thorney Island with Max mid-afternoon to have a look for the juvenile Pallid Harrier which had made a reappearance after its short spell at RSPB Brading Marshes on the Isle of Wight. A very frustrating afternoon with no sign of the star bird nor any Ospreys or Cattle Egrets. We did note a Kingfisher, a Greenshank and a Wheatear.
Another morning with a small amount of time to kill before heading to site. Best find from a small walk was another Pied Flycatcher this time in a slightly different location to the previous bird. This is now the fourth I have found at this site.
I had a small amount of spare time in the morning before I had to be on site for work. I took a stroll out from the office onto Iford Brooks. I found a Great White Egret which was perched on the banks on one of the ditches. It wasn't long before it took flight and headed south towards the duck pond briefly landing before being chased further south through the Ouse Valley by the local Grey Herons.
I had a work job to attend to in the morning but on my way home I called into Highdown and was nicely rewarded with a good fall of common migrants. I bumped into Nick Bond who it was nice to have a catch up with. Totals from the morning included c25 Spotted Flycatchers, four Willow Warblers, 12 Blackcaps, nine Redstarts, a Garden Warbler, two Whitethroats, two Bullfinches, three Siskins, three Great-spotted Woodpeckers, c40 Swallows and 13 House Martins.
Later in the day, news came through of a Wryneck found at Elmer by Owen Mitchell. This is not an area I'm particularly familiar with so I contacted Michael Booker who was very helpful and gave me precise details as to where the bird was. I parked at Climping and walked west along the coastal path not seeing much other than a Wheatear and lots of Mediterranean Gulls. Upon arrival I found Dan Booker and his partner, Ads Bowley and Neil Mustard. They informed that the bird was showing well and it wasn't long before the bird came out of cover and was feeding out in the open. It spent a lot of time feeding on the 'fresh' excavations just behind the beach.
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| Wryneck, Elmer, West Sussex |
A Red-backed Shrike was found in the horse paddocks at the North Wall late morning, living quite close I headed down there with Dad and instantly upon arrival the bird was showing nicely. It was very active flying between fence posts. It never came particularly close but with a telescope it afforded good views.
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| Red-backed Shrike, Pagham North Wall, West Sussex |
After watching the shrike for a while we headed towards Halsey's Farm where Ads Bowley had just reported 56 Cattle Egrets. Unfortunately by the time we got there there was only one straggler left which soon took flight and headed towards Marsh Farm presumably where the other 55 went to?
Afterwards we headed north out the back of Owl Copse and done a circular loop back to the Breech Pool. The walk produced three Redstarts, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Whinchat and two Wheatears. When we got to the Breech Pool there were two Spotted Redshanks showing nicely. We ended the morning taking another look at the shrike before heading back to Worthing.
A walk after work with Max onto Iford Brooks from the office produced 23 Yellow Wagtails with the cattle, two Egyptian Geese near the duck pond and on the way back 2 Willow Warblers and an elusive Pied Flycatcher.
Yesterday afternoon, three Dotterel were reported just south of Ditchling Beacon. Later in the day, many birders had seen the birds however I couldn't get out of work so I had to wait till the morning. Over the last two years or so I have put in a lot of effort trying to find my own in Sussex. I've walked Steepdown and Balsdean several times at the right time of year however never had any luck. They've always been a bird I've really wanted to see in the county and this wasn't an opportunity to miss with the last twitchable trip of Dotterel in Sussex being in 2013 near Saltdean.
I woke up early and got to Ditchling Beacon for around 06:45am. I knew what field to look in however despite several careful scans of the field there were no sign of them. I was gutted and was convinced they had gone perhaps not helped by working last night and watching the cloud clear throughout the night. After convincing myself they weren't there, I gave up and headed home and literally as I sat down to have breakfast, my phone went off 'three Dotterel in field to east of where they were yesterday'. That was it, I legged it out the door forgetting all about breakfast and drove straight back. Luckily the second visit of the morning produced lovely views of these delightful waders. At times, very well hidden with their plumage blending into the stubble field where they became almost invisible at times.
Hopefully this field/area will become a regular site for trips of Dotterel in springs/autumns of years to come!
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| Three Dotterels, near Ditchling Beacon, East Sussex |
