Meadow Pipits and
Pied/White Wagtails were in evidence overhead again today, even more so in fact, with 59 and nine respectively. Three
Wheatears arrived, including a female on the beach who was so reluctant to make the final hop to firm ground that she kept sitting tight till the tide rose to her belly and pushed her off. A female
Stonechat was in the fenced area, three
Chiffchaffs were singing and a
Redwing might well be the last bird of the spring.
Song Thrush is still thin on the ground so one was notable, the same applying for singles of
Linnet and
Goldcrest.
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| one of two male Wheatears |
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| female Wheatear in the sea... |
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| ...she then hopped to the next rock as the tide flowed, and so on |
Two
Canada Geese which circled the Gap before heading north were by far the rarest bird for the site, though, and my first record there. A pair of
Long-tailed Tits was still busy gathering nest-building material near the seaward end of The Plantation. A
Green Woodpecker called while a
Great Spotted Woodpecker drummed and four
Skylarks were in the fields. Two
Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew west, 10
Mediterranean Gulls and three
Common Gulls were in the roost field and a juvenile
Woodpigeon was seen. A
Sparrowhawk dashed through and the beach held 25
Turnstones, 19
Sanderlings, three
Grey Plovers, 12
Oystercatchers and four
Dunlin. On the sea were four
Great Crested Grebes and three
Red-breasted Mergansers.
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| Canada Geese! |
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| no wonder this Carrion Crow has such poor quality wing feathers... |
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| female Greenfinch |
At home in West Worthing, two
Redwings were heard calling in the darkness.
