An adult
Knot on the beach was a nice surprise at the Gap this morning, and further inspired hope of a 'different' wader pitching up here, in the wake of the other day's Barwit. Other waders today included 72
Ringed Plovers (about a dozen of which were
tundrae types), a
Redshank, 57
Turnstones, 14
Oystercatchers, a
Dunlin and 14
Sanderlings (two juveniles). A
Shelduck floated around offshore. Grounded migrants included my first Gap
Reed Bunting, singles of
Spotted Flycatcher,
Garden Warbler and
Lesser Whitethroat, seven
Wheatears and three
Blackcaps.
Chiffchaff movement had evidently picked up, with 17 grounded birds scattered around the site. Movement overhead included a
Tree Pipit, 11
Grey Wagtails, 35
Yellow Wagtails, six
Pied Wagtails, 91
Meadow Pipits, 84
Swallows and four
House Martins. A
Song Thrush was the first I'd seen in a while, a
Goldcrest was in the Plantation and two
Sparrowhawks - male and female - were seen together. Four
Sandwich Terns joined the high tide roost.
Mediterranean Gull and
Common Gull both numbered six. Two
Gannets and 19
Cormorants were offshore.
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| Knot on the beach at Goring Gap |
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| Wheatear at Goring Gap |
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| Spotted Flycatcher at Goring Gap |
Along Ferring Rife I enjoyed watching a group of
Magpies play chase with a juvenile male
Sparrowhawk. A
Willow Warbler was present, along with seven
Chiffchaffs and a
Blackcap. Five
Meadow Pipits flew over and a
Grey Wagtail was feeding. A
Linnet and a
Grey Heron were among other birds noted.
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| Grey Heron at Ferring Rife |
An hour-long seawatch from George V Avenue late afternoon produced two
Sand Martins and three
Swallows moving offshore, but otherwise just nine
Gannets, a
Sandwich Tern and three
Mediterranean Gulls (which may have been some of those from earlier).
