Before meeting up with Paul and Zac at Pagham, I had a quick whizz around Goring Gap, rewarded by a fly-over
Tree Pipit (a patch tick), a
Whinchat and 15
Willow Warblers. On the beach were 10
Sanderlings, 25
Turnstones, 28
Little Egrets, four
Oystercatchers, two
Dunlin and a juvenile
Lesser Black-backed Gull. A male
Sparrowhawk flew over with prey.
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| Whinchat at Goring Gap |
Church Norton gave us a nice couple of hours of birding. A couple of
Lesser Whitethroats and
Willow Warblers were in the bushes, while
Red-legged Partridge called behind, and the harbour provided a sizeable flock of
Dunlin to scan through, although there was nothing different in their midst. A juvenile
Greenshank and a
Whimbrel showed nicely and the flock of seven
Pale-bellied Brent Geese put in a brief appearance. Best of all was an
Osprey - thanks to some nearby birders for the shout - which put in an appearance as it tracked over to the north of us.
Swallows,
House and
Sand Martins were feeding. We saw just singles of
Mediterranean Gull and
Black-tailed Godwit, though the latter showed features of the nominate form, and the tern island was clear - just the odd
Sandwich Tern knocking about in the harbour.
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| Whimbrel at Church Norton |
A short trip to Northcommon Farm near Selsey drew a blank for flycatchers - just a single
Willow Warbler being noted there, as well as a
Sparrowhawk with prey. The Wellings took off home and after bidding them farewell I thought I'd try my luck with the
Hooded Crow at Medmerry/Ham, which I connected with surprisingly easily. Other bits in this flying visit included two
Yellowhammers, a
Willow Warbler and a
Yellow Wagtail.
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| Hooded Crow at Medmerry |
