Friday 20 December 2019

Goring Gap and No-Man's-Land area

Another quick look at Goring Gap at lunchtime bagged my third Caspian Gull of the season, and I've only done four or five 'gull drive throughs' so the success rate is very high. This bird was another 2cy, this time unringed. I was pleased to see waders using the roost field for the first time in a while, though they were actively feeding. The fields are very wet and some large puddles are forming so this may add to their appeal for both waders and gulls. There were at least 180 Dunlin, 47 Ringed Plovers and three Lesser Black-backed Gulls of note.

2cy Caspian Gull at Goring Gap

2cy Caspian Gull taking flight at Goring Gap


Later, despite the breezy conditions I couldn't resist a scan over the downs in the late afternoon. Eventually, the regular ringtail Hen Harrier floated through but was quickly lost to view, and other sightings were just about limited to two showy Ravens and two Kestrels, one of which was mobbing a Buzzard.