Wednesday 9 May 2018

Goring

A walk around the Gap this morning was pleasant but quiet in terms of passage migrants, just a Willow Warbler and a Meadow Pipit of note till I came back to where I started and spotted a female Whinchat feeding along the fenceline bording the rough field, which made my day! Gareth and Garry came along for a look and a natter. The Sedge Warbler was remarkably still singing around the scrub in the northwest corner. At long last, two Swifts flew over and a suggestion of hirundine movement involved a House Martin and 10 Swallows, while five Jackdaws seemed to move east. Other bits included a Sparrowhawk, five Buzzards, a Moorhen, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, nine westbound Black-headed Gulls, six Oystercatchers, five Whitethroats, four Linnets, three Sandwich Terns and a Goldcrest. I didn't really look at the sea but two Great Crested Grebes were bobbing around offshore.

female Whinchat

male Whitethroat

male Blackcap