A quick round of Goring Gap this morning was met by a slightly grim northeasterly with showers, though it cleared for just long enough for me to check a reasonable amount of the habitat. I was surprised to see a
Spotted Flycatcher in exactly the same spot as Monday's bird but presumed it was probably the same individual. This was called into question when I spotted two more crossing the open fields and landing in the central plantation! Seemingly a little arriving, especially coupled with later news from Portland of strong double-figures. 11
Swifts also came in, including two actually seen arriving over the waves together, and four
Swallows flew through. In 5-minute seawatch, I recorded 24
Gannets and seven
Sandwich Terns (these feeding along the shore). Three
Black-headed Gulls were also seen. Sitting in the garden later in the day, a
House Martin calling overhead produced another garden tick (a
Swallow also flew through and the
Swifts were busy) and analysis of my nocturnal sound trap revealed that at least one
Oystercatcher flew over at last knockings on 22nd (a
Dunlin from 15th also makes its way into our record book this way).
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| Sandwich Tern at Goring Gap |
