Portland April 2016

23rd - 24th April 2016 - Portland weekend

Another weekend visit to Portland, staying for the night a Portland Bird Observatory and catching up with Gary and Glen and all the Portland regulars. Leaving early, I stopped off at Acres Down in the New Forest for a stroll. As soon as I parked up and opened the car door, the distant sound of a calling Cuckoo was a first for the year for me. Pretty surreal as temperatures were barely touching 4 degrees! Plenty of birdsong and at times difficult to pick out the different species as each tried to over-power the other in the continuous dawn chorus. Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiff chaff were abundant, but the highlight for me was a singing male Common Redstart, on territory, there song is one of my favourite and very distinctive. A couple of Crossbills flew over as did some very vocal Siskins. No sight or sound of any Wood Warbler so was time to head to the car to continue my journey to Potland and warm up.

Dolphins - distantly off Cheyne Weare - Portland

 



 Reed Warbler - Culverwell - found this bird apparantley a first for the year at the 'bill'

 

Wheatear - always a delight and in good numbers too

Arriving in Weymouth and conditions good, I checked out Lodmoor, parking at the north end and did the circuit dodging dog walkers, cyclists and joggers. There was lots of hirundines hawking the reserve, mainly Sand Martin's but Swallow, House Martin and my first 6 Swifts of the year were seen higher up. Cetti's Warblers were everywhere and another yeartick in the form of a Lesser Whitethroat was rattling away and seen briefly. Was surprised to find no waders on the reserve and little else of note was seen but heard the 'pinging' of Bearded Tits as I walked through the reedbed along with many Reed Warblers. Only 2 Sedge Warbler were seen and heard 

As I drove towards Portland, Martin Cade had tweeted that a pod of bottle-nosed dolphins were heading along the east cliffs off the bill. I decided to check off the car-park off Cheyne and within minutes I was watching the dolphins as the headed north, counting at least 8 and they were constantly being mobbed by gulls. I headed round to the prison as would gain closer views, but despite waiting here, they failed to arrive. Whilst here, the local gull and crow population were going mental, a Common Buzzard floated over-head and not the hoped for Osprey.
Glen had messaged to say they were watching a Ring Ouzel in the crown estate field, so headed down to the obs and struggled to park for a while as car park full as where the road-side verges. There was an army of birders lined up in the top fields and the thoughts of a rarity that had just been found flashed through my mind, but was a false alarm as everyone was watching a Redstart! A quick trudge around the top fields produced some good birds, Redstart, Short-eared Owl, Whitethroat, Wheatears dotted around. The Short-eared Owl was just viewable sat tight in a tree near the barns. There has also been new stables constructed up here now and appears to be some work/developing going on in the barn area, hopefully not too much! In Culverwell, I managed to pick out a Reed Warbler that showed well, returning to the obs, Pete proclaimed it was a first for the year for them so was pleased with that!
By now Gary had arrived and after a quick catch up and seeing a male Redstart in the hand, we headed to Cheyne to look for Wall Lizards, but no luck here today. A Wheatear, Blackcap and Peregrine made the stop worthwhile though. Onto Ferrybridge to see what was on offer there. Little Terns showed well with at least 4 birds present, at times fishing quite close, but the light was all wrong for any decent pics. Plenty of Sandwich Terns also fishing on the Fleet. Back at the obs, the Dolphins were putting on another show, viewed from the garden. We decided to head out for the evening early to catch the FA cup semi-final between Man Utd and Everton also meeting up with Joe Stockwell, followed by a Chinese takeaway and more beers back at the obs to conclude the day!

Peregrine Falcon at Cheyne

 



Little Terns at Ferrybridge - light all wrong for decent pics but glad to get some record shots 

  

After a great nights sleep in the cottage at the obs, it was time to go again and hopefully find and see some decent spring migrants. The wind was all wrong for a sea-watch, but a single Bonxie and Arctic Skua were a nice bonus. A Firecrest showed briefly in the front garden along with a single Goldcrest. The wind was stronger than yesterday and was pretty damn cold making searching for any grounded migrants difficult. We checked out the top fields again, there was an obvious fall of Wheatears and was nice to find a male Yellow Wagtail that showed nicely before moving off north, another bird was also seen but again, did not hang around. The Short-eared Owl was sitting out in the open giving stunning, but a little distant views near the barns. A female Redstart was also a nice find as was a female Pied Flycatcher in Culverwell which Gary did well to pick out. Chilling at the obs, I caught a couple of snippets of a reeling Grasshopper Warbler in scrub next to the obs. It literally reeled for no more than 5 seconds at a time and I failed to get anyone else onto it. I thought I was going mad and starting to doubt myself, but Pete confirmed there was one reeling at the bottom of the garden and Julian had heard one earlier too. Later on, I heard it reeling again this time more distantly but enough to clinch it....no need to get the ears checked just yet :-). Time to head home, but got distracted by some good birding at Reap Lane and Barleycrates where giving the barns a good grilling, we found a couple of smart Whinchat, along with 2 Common Redstart. Blackcap and Wheatear were present in good numbers and a couple of Whitethroat passed through. A smart male Sparrowhawk was perched up and seeing what tired migrants he could pick up for tea!

A great weekend and good company, many firsts for the year happily ticked off, just love birding on Portland this time of year, just never know what you may see , on land and sea.

Thanks to Martin, Pete and all at the Obs for another great stay!

 

 Holly Blue - again ' another first for the year for me'

 

 



March 2016

28th March 2016 - *Sussex Mega* - American Wigeon at Pulborough
Gordon Beck had found a drake American Wigeon at Pulborough Brooks on the evening of the 27th and news filtered out via the SOS website and the Sussex Birders Facebook page. Forecast for the morning was bleak as storm Katie rattled in over night, I was up before light but was left questioning my sanity as I looked outside and saw the storm ripping through everything in site. A tweet from Ian Barnard had me moving though as the positive news was put out early that the bird was still present. There has only been one previous accepted record for Sussex so heading out into the storm was a no brainer and was soon on-site having passed several fallen trees en-route. The hide was fairly empty and good scope views were obtained as the bird sheltered on the far bank with 3 other Wigeon, occasionally swimming, feeding before going to sleep on the bank. There was at least 30 Sand Martins on the north brooks along with 2 Swallows, 2 Pintail and a Firecrest was found along the zig zag track which showed well. Good to see so many local birders out in force, it has been a while!

26th March 2016 - Patch Gold!
An hours sea-watch off Worthing was fairly productive with my first Sandwich Terns of the year seen here, 3 in total and all going through singly, other than that there were small groups of Common Scoter and Brent Geese going through. 2 Red-throated Diver and 2 Fulmar all east were also noted. I decided to head to the patch to check for any passerines, looking for Wheatears on the beach here a male Peregrine headed low overhead. No luck with Wheatears, I tried the compound area and soon heard the call of a parakeet, the bird called again and soon picked it up high over the houses above Sea Lane, it circled around a couple of times before heading overhead and headed off high eastwards! A patch tick in the bag, ok, not a migrant but these are pretty scarce on the south coast. I then picked up another familiar call and was soon watching another patch tick in the form of the delightful Firecrest that popped out in the nearest bramble patch, there was at least 2 birds seen with maybe a third. I was amazed to find these birds on the coat in spring, but soon realised via other news feeds, there is an obvious influx of this species along the coast! Coming away from the sea-watch early, I missed a Arctic Skua, Bonxie and a Balearic Shearwater which again is birding for you, you cannot see everything!

25th March 2016 - Arundel WWT and Heyshott common
Managed to see the Great-grey Shrike that Chris Janman had reported on the SOS site, gaining good scope views when the bird eventually gave itself up. 2 Red Kites, Marsh Tit, Stonechat and Siskin were also on site. At Arundel WWT provided a couple of singing Chiffchaffs, Water Vole, Grey Wagtail, Brimstone and Peacock butterfly whilst a Peregrine was seen at the hanger

Local West Sussex birds -
A few local year-ticks been added recently with a trip to the north end of Pagham Harbour and church Norton, taking in the ferry pool, aswell as a quick morning visit to Climping. Highlights included a Spotted Redshank in White's Creek, 2 Avocet at breech pool and 4 on the ferry pool which also hosted my first Green Sandpiper of the year. A Whimbrel was also in the harbour from Church Norton. A visit to a undisclosed heathland found a singing male Dartford Warbler, the same site saw many Siskin's flying about. I connected with one of the Siberian Chiffchaff's at Coldwaltham before another failed attempt for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker's ended the day on a low. Brimstone, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock were all on the wing at various locations. 2 Grey Patridges were in the horse paddock at Climping whilst Red-legged Partridge were seen at ferry pool and the entrance road to Church Norton

 

 



18th - 21st March 2016 - Weekend in Weymouth
A family break in Littlesea enabled me to catch up with the Pallas's Warbler at Portesham which showed very well once located, calling several times too. Some nice record shots were obtained but the light was pretty poor for photography. Saw my first Sand Martins of the year at Lodmoor

 

 

 

 

 



 



16th March 2016 -
Another quick look at Shoreham Fort only 2 Purple Sandpipers being noteworthy, birding pretty difficult in a nagging easterly wind. No passerines on offer and very little at Widewater

 



12th and 13th March 2016 -
Great to be back out in the field again after a 12 day stretch at work was greeted with spring sunshine on each day after the murk had cleared. Stuck local with highlights being 2 Purple Sandpipers and Wall Lizards at Shoreham Fort, 2 Short-eared Owls at the dogs trust field a Shoreham airport, 2 Little Owls, Raven, 4 Fieldfare at Warningcamp, a smart male Blackcap(2016 patch tick) and a Mediterranean Gull at Goring. No Wheatears yet but just a matter of days

Elsewhere in Sussex, the Glossy Ibis is still being seen at Pett Level, the Glaucous Gull was seen in Shoreham Harbour and Goring.





 



3rd March 2016 -
Had a free morning so headed inland again and spent a couple of hours to no avail in looking for a Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, perfect conditions this morning with morning sunshine and a light breeze. The place was alive though with small woodland birds including Marsh Tit and good numbers of Treecreepers were seen (see below)
I am sure I will be back to try and see this elusive Woodpecker in their regular/traditional haunts, as I said earlier in the year, determined to get out more this year and doing so ! Wish I had the day to explore these parts and light was perfect for photography. Great to bump into George Kinnard and Luke Dray there too...wonder if they found any??

 

 

Matter of days til the first Wheatear. Garganey, LRP's and Sand Martins arrive on these shores so should stir things up a bit.

 

Elsewhere in Sussex, there is a White-fronted Goose and Chichester GP's on trout lake, recently been a pair of Red-crested Pochards on nearby Ivy Lake and a Green Sandpiper has been on Siddelsham Ferry Pool. The Glaucous Gull is still around and frequently seen these days at the entrance to Shoreham Harbour, but has also been seen at Widewater and along the Adur by the new footbridge. Nearby, a Short-eared Owl is still in residence at Shoreham airport.2 Black-necked Grebes are on the Long Pool at Rye and 2 Siberian Chiffchaffs are still at Coldwaltham sewage works. Divers are still around with 5 Great-northern at Selsey and a smart Red-throated Diver is at Arlington Marshes



February 2016

28th February 2016 - Local Birding

Up early and headed inland for a spot of local birding in the hope of finding Lesser-spotted Woodpecker and to see what else I could find. Started off at Waltham brooks, a very cold morning I arrived a little too late to catch any owls flying around but a nice fly-over Red Kite drifted over and small flocks of Fieldfare were buzzing around by the water treatments. Here I was hoping to find the 'tristis' type Chiffchaff which has been over-wintering here, I managed to see a Chiffchaff but this was no Siberian type and despite spending some time here I found to locate the 'tristis'. A look at a inland site for Lesser-spotted Woodpecker proved negative, good to bump into Gordon Beck  and Jake Gearty there who both had the same idea. Myself and Gordon came away empty handed, but we put in some time to find this elusive bird. Jake arrived after us and connected with one on the other side of the wood from where I was searching, that's birding for ya!

27th February 2016 - London 're-visted'

Had the opportunity to return to my old haunts in South west London today, with my daughter Robyn in tow, took full advantage of exploring the WWT at Barnes which is mostly known now as WWT London. Ring-necked Parakeets were around the entrance on the lakeside trees and Robyn enjoyed feeding crisps to 2 Robins by the main entrance, 1 of these was a strange looking bird with no tail and black and white striped belly (will upload a pic soon) and perhaps this Robin is a fan of the nearby Fulham football club!. As with last weekend, the wind was hampering any birding and just the usual species were observed with no sign of any Bitterns which would have made the visit worthwhile. Plenty of new enclosures and collections to keep Robyn occupied though but the Otters were asleep and not on display today! It was only a brief visit so not a huge amount of species seen, a pair of Pintail and 11 Fieldfare over was probably the highlights but good to re-visit a site that I have not been to now for over 8 years and a first visit for Robyn. We spent the rest of the day at the Natural History Museum where the extinct Great Auk and Dodo looked mighty impressive!

 Ring-necked Parakeet - they love SW London !

 

Another bird doing well in these parts - the Egyptian Goose 

London / Barnes WWT



20 & 21st February 2016 - Weymouth and Portland

Spent the weekend at Portland Bird Observatory for what was a bit of a Widercoped re-union and the first time in 3 years that we have all got together !
I picked Seth up in Southampton and headed to Blashford Lakes for first light, disappointed to find gates locked and all hides locked so restricting our birding somewhat. We spent the best part of an hour checking out the woodland and the main lake from the viewing mound behind the Tern hide. A large flock of Siskin above the woodland hide created a explosion of noise as they called and sang, Coal Tits were also vocal and typical woodland species were picked up here. A couple of Bullfinch were seen scampering away as we walked the car park of the Tern hide. From the viewing mound a distant Grebe was most probably the Slavonian Grebe that has been reported from here but was too far off to clinch for certain. 2 Egyptian Geese were on one of the scrapes but bemoaning the lack of access we got back in the car and headed for Portland, our destination for the weekend.
Radipole was our next stop and a nice flock of 13 Mediterranean Gulls were in the car park and a quick trek around the reserve produced 2 Marsh Harrier's, Bearded Tit, Water Rail and many Cetti's Warbler's. The famous Hooded Merganser is still knocking around since turning up 8 years ago and was showing well by the visitor centre.
Next destination was Portland harbour and we viewed from Sandsfoot Castle picking up 7 Black-necked Grebes, several Great-crested Grebes and good numbers of Red-breasted Mergansers. The wind started to pick up by mid-morning and we took to the shelter of Osprey quay to continue a scan from a different angle but produced very little. By now the others started arriving with Glen and Gary freshly in. Nothing of note was seen from Portland Castle and birding conditions worsened and was very windy at the bill as we dropped our luggage off at our digs for the night at Portland Bird Obs. We decided to head inland as felt it might be more sheltered there and had a good couple hours at Lodmoor with Gary finding a Spoonbill and a different Marsh Harrier flew over the reserve and promptly disappeared. No real numbers of waders were to be seen but a Kingfisher and a large flock of Lapwing kept interest going.
Another scan in the harbour produced a Slavonian Grebe and a Great-northern Diver but no sign of the flock of Black-necked Grebes we had seen from here earlier in the day.
We retired to the obs prepared for the night ahead, a table for 8 has been booked for the 8 Kings....to be continued......

Widerscoped re-united - photo courtesy of Glenn Maddison

 

 

On the Sunday, several were struggling from the night before and the weather was struggling too, strong winds made birding around the bill very difficult where some time was spent scanning the sea, highlights being a Bonxie moving through in the races and Fulmar, Guillemot and razorbill all added to the trip list. Some respite mid-morning allowed for a Firecrest to be heard in the garden and 2 Chiff-chaff's seen. We spent some time searching Chesil Cove and Portland harbour but little was to be found, a single Black-necked Grebe from Portland Harbour was little compensation for the effort put in, weather really did not help. It was a little more sheltered at Radipole where some time was spent photographing some of the Med Gulls that were present in the car park here until chased of by a kid on a scooter! The Hooded Merganser was showing well again in it's regular spot, a Water Rail showed pretty well by the visitor centre and a Marsh Harrier was seen again at the north end of the reserve. By now, majority of the group had split up and dispersed for their journeys home.

 

Was a good weekend and catch up with the old widerscope crew...the facebook page is still going strong as the website has died, but is still worth a read if you haven't done so already! Thanks to Martin and the Portland crew at the Bird Observatory for putting up with us all for the weekend, hopefully back in April! 



16th February 2016 -
A morning visit to Arundel WWT produced plenty of Buzzards above the hanger enjoying the winters sun, with at least 7 individuals on display. 5 Redpoll were seen and 2 Firecrest were also seen on the reserve, proving very popular with photographers. Being half-term and a sunny winters day, the reserve was heaving with people so made a sharp exit.  Stopped by at Patching pond on the way home to find the Great-crested Grebe was present in it's full breeding plumage, hopefully they will breed here again this year.

On the birding front, very quiet this time of year although a Glaucous Gull was seein off Shoreham fort today, maybe the Goring bird re-locating.

8th February 2016 -
The advanced 1st winter Glaucous Gull was still in the fields at Goring Gap this afternoon, sheltering from the stormy winds.

7th February 2016 -
3 Mediterranean Gulls were seen on Littlehampton east beach with one bird sporting full summer plumage. At Goring 8 Stock Doves were noteable feeding in the fields just offshore

January 2016

Determined to make more of an effort this year to get out in the field more and use this blog to share my own sightings and report a summary of birds seen across Sussex (various sources used and will try and credit reporters where possible). That is the aim anyhow and will see how it goes! If you have any interesting sightings you would like to add or have any good photo's please e-mail them to me at nickbcfc@yahoo.co.uk

 

Short video clip of the Glaucous at Goring



31st January 2016 -
A check at Goring at high-tide was worthwhile as remarkably the 1st winter Glaucous Gull had returned, I last saw it here on the 15th, so where it has been for the last 2 weeks is anyones guess. Had great flight views as it passed me on the beach and ended up settled on the fields again, fantastic to see it back and glad some local birders connected after putting the news out



30th January 2016 -
2 Purple Sandpipers were at Shoreham Fort and a couple of Rock Pipits around. A drake Goosander had been at Widewater again this am but no sign when I checked in the afternoon. The Short-eared Owl failed to make an appearance at Shoreham airfield aswell

 

 



28th January 2016 -
At least 6 Bewick's Swans were seen today distantly on the meadows below Burpham church. A Little Owl was also seen near the entrance road to Warningcamp

26th January 2016 -
Stacks of Common Gulls on the fields at Goring Gap, 3 adult Mediterranean Gulls were on the eastern most fields. A few Sanderling scattered in with large number of roosting Dunlin. 32 Grey Plovers and a few Ringed Plovers were also in the roost. Little offshore, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers was about it!

 



 

25th January 2016 -

Managed to get out this morning and headed to Amberley in the hope of locating the Bewick Swans that had been in the area for a while now. I managed to find them....eventually 8 birds all adults, after scanning various vantage points, they were below Amberley village itself by the castle. I viewed these from the Sportsman pub in the village itself and they were well left from here. I would think that if you were to park in the village and walk out onto the brooks you will get closer views. All adults, numbers are really down in the valley this winter probably due to the milder temperatures. There has been no sign neither this winter of the regular Whooper Swans that normally reside Chichester GP's and Barnham Brooks each winter. Loads of wildfowl out on the brooks and a single Peregrine perched in a large Oak tree. At Goring, more birds on the fields again today, vast numbers of Dunlin and Common Gull and the odd Med Gull, worth checking out if you are passing

 

A Great-grey Shrike was seen again today, distantly from Hales viewpoint, Spoonbill and Black Brant in Pagham Harbour, 2 Purple Sandpipers at Shoreham. Short-eared Owls are still around and the 1st winter Little Gull is hanging on at Climping

 

21st January 2016 -

 

A high-tide sea-watch was quite productive today, probably been the busiest I have seen so far this winter, good numbers of Red-breasted Mergansers and Great-crested Grebes were offshore, Red-throated Divers were moving east with 5 logged and a single Black-throated Diver which I first picked out on the sea fairly close in but soon took off and flew east. 2 Brent Geese east and 8 Common Scoter west, where were all these birds on a flat calm sea yesterday?

 

At Goring, again less gulls than recently but 263 Dunlin, 46 Ringed Plover, 10 Grey Plover and 3 Turnstone made up the wader roost, no Sanderling on here for a few days now

17th-20th January 2016 -

Not a lot seen locally as sorting the car out became a priority! Goring has held the odd Med Gull but on the whole a lot quieter there the last few days, pretty birdless on the sea with the odd Great-crested Grebe seen offshore. The cold snap and colder weather may move some birds around, the Glaucous was last seen on Friday as far as I am aware.

 

Sussex sightings elsewhere : The drake Goosander was back on Widewater and a Black Brant was at Pagham as were 2 Spoonbill. Spoonbill were also reported at Medmerry and Thorney Island. The Great-grey Shrike was seen again at Ashdown Forest and a Little Auk that was first seen in Brighton Marina at the weekend unfortunately died. 8 Bewick Swans are now at Ambereley and White-fronted Goose numbers are building at Pett.

 



16th January 2016 -

Decided to head out first light and visit various sites across West Sussex, starting at the Black Rabbit at Arundel. I soon spotted a owl hunting across the fields and in the increasing light realised it was a Short-eared Owl...good start as a Tawny Owl called away in the background. Red Kite and Buzzard were soon seen heading up the valley and various other common and expected species were noted. No Barn Owl though, maybe the Short-eared Owl had taken it's hunting area? Firecrest were easily found at Swanbourne and 3 female Bullfinch were nice to see. Good number of Mandarin Duck were on the lake and Mill stream, Grey Wagtail, Nuthach and Treecreeper were by the bridge. Moved onto the Selsey peninsula and started at the ferry pool which held nothing special, whilst church Norton was quite productive at low tide, 2 Peregrine were in the harbour, a Bar-tailed Godwit was on the beach and a drake Goldeneye and 5 Slavonian Grebes were viewable distantly on the sea. The first time this year for me it has been possibly to scan a flat calm sea! A Eider was off Selsey bill and a couple of Great - northern Divers were close in but little moving offshore. Fishbourne creek was full of birds, no sign of any Spotted Redshanks, but a single Greenshank showed well. A single Chiffchaff and Stonechat were welcome additions as was a flock of 30+ Yellowhammer near the church. Spent a fair bit of time were 3 Hawfich were added with excellent scope views in the winter sun, Brambling and Marsh Tit were seen well and in good numbers. Was going to visit another site but on leaving West Dean I hit a nasty pot-hole and now face a nice repair bill for new wheel and tyre! Got to say love winter birding in West Sussex. 96 species seen throughout the day

 

15th January 2016 -

The Glaucous Gull dropped into the gull roost again this morning, best views I have had of this bird so far and great to get some flight shots. 1 Med Gull in the area aswell sporting a green ring but not close enough to get the details...a new bird though all the same

 

 

14th January 2016 - 
The 1st winter Gluacous Gull was re-found back on the fields at Goring Gap this lunchtime, put news out and see others connected in the afternoon, wonder where it went to yesterday?

13th January 2016 -
A couple of checks at Goring this morning failed to produce yesterday's Glaucous Gull but heard it had returned yesterday afternoon so may still be in the area. Wide water produced a showy Kingfisher and 3 Red-breasted Merganser's.

Sussex sightings elsewhere - only new bird reported was a Great grey Shrike at Pulborough Brooks. 16 Purple Sandpipers at Newhaven was an impressive count

12th January 2016 -
After doing a quick sea-watch which produced very little - I decided to check if anything interesting had turned up at Goring. A adult Med Gull was soon picked up and in the distance, a nicely sized gull roost was ready for me to search through....Bingo! A Glaucous Gull was straight out on the other side of the flood as I lifted my bins! Scrambled for the camera to fire off a few record shots and got the news out as appeared fairly settled. A few local birders started to arrive a although very pale, the bird had a dark iris making it an advanced 1st winter in my opinion(quite probably th ebird Bola had seen yesterday as reported below). Dave Potter managed to get some cracking photo's (check out his blog  http://friendsofgroynenumber4.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/glaucous-gull-at-goring-gap.html). Also recorded at least 7 Med Gulls in the area all adults except one 2nd winter which was my highest count of this species so far this year

Elsewhere in Sussex - Glossy Ibis and 25 White-fronted Geese at Pett Levels, Blacke-necked Grebe on the Long Pool at Rye Harbour, Little Gulls were still around at Arlington reservoir and Climping holding good numbers, Short-eared Owls still at Pulborough and Shoreham airport. Great-northern Diver still at Weir wood with 3 still of Selsey Bill and the Great grey Shrike seen again at Ashdown Forest (various sources)

11th January 2016 -
As mentioned/predicted yesterday, a 1st winter Glaucous Gull was seen heading east from the mouth of the River Arun by Bola Akinola today, still several Little Gulls in the area too. Hopefully the Glaucous will settle along the coast and will check the gull roost at Goring tomorrow. Hawfinch's have been seen again in Arundel Park today so could be worth a check if in the area. I saw some here in 2009. Going back to 2009, 7 years to this day we twitched a drake King Eider on the sea off Pett Levels ! Great day! 3 Spoonbills, presumably the Pagham birds from last week were at Medmerry today

10th January 2016 -
Had a quick look around the Shoreham Harbour area today, upto 3 Purple Sandpipers on the jetty and a solitary Rock Pipit was found easily here, a good check through the gulls found nothing unusual. The drake Goosander was asleep on the western lagoon at Widewater hanging out with 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, not close enough for photo's whilst I was there. Heavy downpours and strong south westerlies made any birding difficult on the coast today...need a change in the weather!

Sussex sightings elsewhere - Nothing new reported across the counties today. Glossy Ibis was still at Pett and a Little Gull at Rye Harbour. With several white-winged gulls around the country and colder north-westerlies later in the week, only a matter of time before a Glauc or Iceland arrives for the winter..will Littlehampton's Kumliens return?


9th January 2016 -
Sussex sightings elsewhere : The drake Goosander returned to Widewater lagoon after going missing yesterday, Glossy Ibis still at Pett Levels on roadside pools. Great grey Shrike still at Ashdown Forest, Great-northern Diver at Weir Wood still. Little Gulls still widely reported, one off Rustington most likely one of the Littlehampton west beach birds. Black-throated Diver off Splash point (per SOS website). Purple Sandpipers remain at traditional sites at Newhaven east pier and off Shoreham Harbour

8th January 2016 -
The high tide roost this morning at goring held 3 adult Med Gulls, 2 Brent Geese attempted to land on the fields but gave up and headed back out to sea to continue their journey. The sheer numbers of Common Gulls arriving in the roost must of exceeded 500 birds, I gave up counting as they kept arriving!

Sussex sightings elsewhere : The Glossy Ibis remains at Pett Levels and a Great White Egret reported at Rye Harbour. The Short eared Owls were still at Rodmell and Pulborough and Great Grey Shrikes at Ashdown Forest. A Jack Snipe was seen again at Newhaven and Siberian Chiffchaff still at Coldwaltham. Little Gulls still being reported from various sites. 2 Hawfinch's were also seen at Pulborough (per Jon Winder)

7th January 2016 -
A quick look at the sea at Worthing had nothing of note moving, the saturated fields at Goring Gap are getting some impressive wader counts best birds being 4 Med Gulls (3 ad winter 1 2nd winter)

Sussex sightings elsewhere : A Siberian Chiffchaff was a new find today at Steyning Sewage woks (access road flooded-willies advised per Jake Gearty) Great-northern Diver at Chichester marina and still at Weir wood. Chichester marina hosted a Black Brant from salterns way (per selsey blog). 7 Little Gulls at Littlehampton west beach golf course (per Bola Akinola). 3 Spoonbills still at Pagham Harbour (Bart Ives) 6 Bewicks Swans at Amberley and a stunning drake Goosander at Widewater lagoon (various sources)

6th January 2016 -
A brief morning visit to Arundel WWT produced my first Redpolls of the year with upto four birds seen, mainly flying over the car park and visitor centre. 2 Kingfishers were see, 1 fly-past on the reedbed loop and another perched viewed from the scrape hide. Reed Bunting, Bullfinch showed well and several Cetti's Warbler were heard around the site. Snipe were also on view from the scrape hide.

Female Reed Bunting - making use of the feeders at Arundel WWT

This poor Chaffinch's feet do not seem to be faring too well ? Bumblefoot?



Sussex sightings elsewhere : A dry pleasant day saw an increase in reports today, the years first Iceland Gull was found at Newhaven, 2 Jack Snipe were also at tidemills(per sos website). 3 Spoonbills at Pagham Harbour, Little Gull at Pulborough (per Gary Trew) and 4 at littlehampton west beach (per Bola Akinola). The Great-northern Diver is still at Weir wood reservoir, Siberian Chiffchaff's at Coldwaltham. White-fronted Geese at Scotney and Short-eared Owls at Pulborough, Pagham, Rodmell and West Rise marsh (various sources)

5th January 2016 -
A quick morning sea-watch off Worthing did not produce much, upto 10 Red-brested Mergansers were on the sea and a single Gannet and Brent Goose west were the highlights. At Goring, 4 adult Mediterranean Gulls were in the fields at the western end. Good number of Dunlin 400+ today and 60 Ringed Plover.

Sussex sightings elsewhere : Spoonbill still in Pagham Harhour and a Goosander (per Bart Ives), Dartford Warbler and Short-eared Owl at Pulborough Brooks. 6-7 Purple Sandpipers at Shoreham Fort (per Paul Loader)

4th January 2016
Sussex sightings elsewhere : Another poor day weatherwise and probably first day back to reality for many probably reflects on the lack of reports today, Little Gulls were still being seen with up to possibly 6 off selsey bill and another at St Leonard's on sea. Great northern divers were still at selsey (2) and weir wood reservoir (per Alastair Gray). A Spoonbill was present in Pagham harbour (per Alan Kitson & Miou Helps SoS website) The Glossy Ibis was still at Pett Levels and Bewick's Swans were still reported in the Arun valley

3rd January 2016 -
A single drake Eider moving east was the first bird I clapped eyes on this morning and a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers milling around offshore other than that it was pretty quiet and strong winds and heavy rain stopped play

Sussex sightings elsewhere : 5 Little Gulls just W of Shoreham harbour late morning (per Dave Smith) 7 more seen at Pulborough beyond the south brooks (per Jon Winder) whilst another 8 were in Pagham Harbour, 4 more at selsey and 1 at Chichester marina(Selsey blog)

2nd January 2016 -
Started early and headed to Arundel in the hope of seeing/hearing some owls. Very strong winds did not help alas no show of any owls so decided to have a quick look around Swanbourne Lake. Firecrest's were heard as soon as I entered the park with 2 birds seen and a small flock of Siskin flew over calling. 7 Mandarin Duck flew in with Pochard, Gadwall and Tufted Duck all present on the lake. A little further down Mill Road a Kingfisher was seen and a Cetti's Warbler sang. I popped down to Shoreham Harbour in the afternoon as there was a break in the weather and managed to glimpse 2 Purple Sandpipers and a Rock Pipit before a heavy downpour meant I hastily retreated to the car. At Widewater, several Little Grebes and a male Kestrel were seen and decided to check the sea once the rain had stopped which soon produced a sighting of a 1st winter Little Gull followed shortly after by an adult following the tideline. I then noticed a further 9 birds further out all moving purposely west which included 8 adult birds and a 1st winter. At Shoreham airport, a Short-eared Owl was seen being mobbed by 2 crows along the approach road at the southern end. Excellent hours birding with some totally un-expected birds!

Sussex Sightings elsewhere - A Little Auk seen off Splash Point had to be bird of the day, Pett Level still hosted the Glossy Ibis with 5 White-fronted Geese also at this site. Little Gulls were also reported at Newhaven, Church Norton, Selsey Bill and Shoreham Harbour. Church Norton also had a Velvet Scoter and Merlin reported whilst a possible female Scaup was at Chichester gravel pits. Selsey Bill also had a single Arctic and Great Skuas. 6 Bewicks' Swans were still viewable from North Stoke nr Amberley. Pulborough Brooks had sightings of the wintering Dartford Warbler, Marsh Harrier, Short-eared Owl and Ruff. 4 Purple Sandpipers are still present at Shoreham (per Harry Ramm)

Adult Little Gull - Widewater



1st winter Little Gull - Widewater



1st January 2016 -
Managed to get a couple of hours down at Goring Gap where the fields here are hosting large flocks of waders and gulls at high tide. Most birding was done from the car due to the blustery and wet conditions
Mediterranean Gull x 3 adults
Common Gull 300 +
Greater Black-backed Gull x 10
Lesser Black-backed Gull x 1
Grey Plover x 25
Dunlin x c300
Ringed Plover x 48
Sanderling x 30 (1 individual was sporting coloured flags on legs)
Turnstone x 10
Starling x 36
Skylark x 4
Pied Wagtail x 2
Meadow Pipit x 1

A selection of photo's taken in poor light and rain at Goring on new years day

Black-headed Gull thinks spring is coming!



Sussex sightings elsewhere - The Glossy Ibis was still at Pett Level along with 5 White-fronted Geese whilst a Tundra Bean Goose and Black-necked Grebe were at the Sussex end of Scotney (all per Jake Everitt). Siberian Chiffchaffs still at Coldwaltham sewage works. Selsey sea-watchers were rewarded with sightings of Arctic and Great Skua's along with Slavonian Grebe and 3 Great-northern Divers(per Selsey Blog). Another Great-northern Diver was at weirwood reservoir