Goring Gap

A quick look at Goring Gap early this afternoon produced an adult Lesser Black-backed x Herring Gull hybrid, five Mediterranean Gulls, seven Lesser Black-backed Gulls and around 300 Common Gulls forming part of the gull roost.

adult Lesser Black-backed x Herring Gull hybrid

Lyminster and West Worthing

My visit this morning featured two adult Mediterranean Gulls calling overhead, a Cetti's Warbler, three Reed Buntings, a Little Grebe, six Redwings, a female Stonechat, 108 Lapwings, and a few Wigeon still on the fishing ponds.

At 9.50pm I heard an Oystercatcher flying over West Worthing.

Chanctonbury Hill

A visit late in the day with Jake Gearty produced a huge surprise, literally, in the form of a 2cy female Goshawk as it circled a couple of times before making its way north. Other highlights included a Marsh Tit, a Woodcock, a Raven, a Tawny Owl, three of both Red Kite and Buzzard, at least three Yellowhammers and a Redwing. A couple of Red-legged Partridges called in the distance.

2cy female Goshawk

Ferring Rife, Coombes and Widewater Lagoon

Ferring Rife first thing produced two Water Rails (heard), 12 Greenfinches, three female Stonechats, a Kestrel and two Grey Herons.

Ingrid and I went for a walk along the Adur between Coombes and Botolphs but soon aborted due to a series of sharp showers, only noting eight Redshanks and a Meadow Pipit in the short amount of time we were there.

We moved on to Widewater, which we figured would be less muddy, where seven Red-breasted Mergansers showed well, along with three Little Egrets and a Little Grebe.

adult (left) and 2cy drake Red-breasted Mergansers at Widewater Lagoon

Goring Gap and Charleston House area

Goring Gap at lunchtime delivered 21 Mediterranean Gulls, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and 190 Common Gulls.

Ingrid's been keen to visit Charleston House for a while so we visited this afternoon then had a short walk on the surrounding downs, noting a Red Kite, 19 Meadow Pipits, a Treecreeper, a Grey Wagtail and three Redwings.

Highdown

A Red Kite was the highlight of a short walk at Highdown this gloomy afternoon.

The Downs, Sullington, Petworth Park and Warnham LNR

A day with Phil. Two Corn Buntings on the downs off Titch Hill included one singing. A couple of Red-legged Partridges announced themselves and a flock of over 60 Pied Wagtails was feeding in the fields. Other sightings included a Raven, a Stonechat, a Sparrowhawk, male Kestrel, 40 Linnets, a Reed Bunting and a flyover Lesser Black-backed Gull.

A quick stop at Sullington secured views of a Little Owl.

Little Owl at Sullington

 We visited Petworth Park in the hope of Goosander. We had no luck on that point but a hearty pub lunch made up for it! We did have two Mistle Thrushes, two Egyptian Geese, a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker, three Pochards, 32 Tufted Ducks, a Redwing, two Green Woodpeckers and two Great Crested Grebes.

We changed our original vague plans and ended up at Warnham LNR for the rest of the afternoon. Two Marsh Tits, eight Pochards, two Gadwall, six Teal, four Reed Buntings, two Nuthatches, two Treecreepers, a Great Crested Grebe, a Grey Wagtail and the nesting Grey Herons (at least one was sitting) were the highlights, along with a pair of very showy Great Spotted Woodpeckers.

male Great Spotted Woodpecker at Warnham LNR

Grey Heron on nest at Warnham LNR

drake Pochard at Warnham LNR

Reed Buntings at Warnham LNR

Adur Estuary

It was a finer morning than the last few days but still there was a rather stiff breeze! All the same, I enjoyed my visit to the lower Adur. Waders included the Greenshank, a Snipe, over 80 Lapwings, three Grey Plovers, two Curlew and 13 Redshanks. Other birds included four Teal, three Mute Swans, a Sparrowhawk, a Peregrine distantly on Lancing College, a Cetti's Warbler, a Rock Pipit, three Skylarks, a male Stonechat and nine Reed Buntings.

Greenshank

Grey Plovers

Redshanks

Peregrine on Lancing College

Brooklands Park

An afternoon visit produced two singing Cetti's Warblers, the drake Pochard, three Little Grebes, four Mute Swans (the young are being 'gently' pushed away), an adult male Kestrel and five Teal.

Goring Gap

Another flying visit at lunchtime. An adult Mediterranean Gull, two adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 190-ish Dunlin, three Ringed Plovers and three Skylarks.

Goring Gap

A disappointing seawatch this morning produced a Curlew, a Fulmar, two Gannets, two Great Crested Grebes and two Red-breasted Mergansers. 95 Dunlin and four Turnstones flew along the beach and later, while dipping Garry's Caspian Gull, there was an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and four Mediterranean Gulls in the northern fields.

Long Furlong, Upper Beeding and Adur Estuary

Long Furlong is another area I've been meaning to explore for a fair while. The hum of the busy single carriageway road is hard to escape but it's an interesting and neglected section of the downs in ornithological terms. Seven Red Kites included birds feeding on the ground alongside a flock of 600 or so Starlings. One or two of the five Corn Buntings were in song and a Chiffchaff was calling from the garden of one of the cottages. A Raven cronked softly as it flew overhead and other birds included four Yellowhammers, five Buzzards, six Meadow Pipits, a flyover Cormorant, two Kestrels, two Green Woodpeckers and a scattering of lively Skylarks.

Red Kite at Long Furlong

Still feeling the exploratory spirit, I followed up some interesting and apparently fairly new habitat on the northeast side of Upper Beeding. A small wetland was created only three years ago as flood relief by a landowner with an interest in birds and wildlife, as explained to me by a cheery local called Rod. You'd believe it's a new and purposefully constructed nature reserve and it will be interesting to see how it develops. Birds included a Kingfisher, a Grey Wagtail, two Egyptian Geese, four Greylag Geese, seven Canada Geese, four Cormorants, a Sparrowhawk, two Mallards and two Moorhens.

I was going to check the gulls at Goring Gap around midday but the number of larids on the Adur as I drove over the A27 flyover tempted me to stop there instead. Aside from the four locally common species, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was the only reward, however... 35 Lapwings, three Redshanks, a Meadow Pipit and a Reed Bunting were also noted during my brief visit.

Goring Gap

A flying visit to Goring Gap early afternoon saw 14 Mediterranean Gulls (all adults but for one 3cy), nine Sanderling, five Grey Plovers, 15 or so Turnstones, 50 or more Dunlin and 11 Ringed Plovers. It was nice to see a lot of the waders using the roost field but they were skittish and mobile.

adult Mediterranean Gull

Brooklands Park, Sullington and Goring Gap

Highlights at Brooklands Park this morning included a pair of Sparrowhawks, a Cetti's Warbler, a Reed Bunting, a Grey Wagtail, four Teal, three Little Grebes and two Grey Herons. The Mute Swan family seemed to be breaking up and only three of last year's young seemed to still be on site, two of these venturing up the stream. An adult Mediterranean Gull and around 15 Ringed Plovers were along the beach.

Grey Heron at Brooklands Park

While I waited for Ingrid at her fish tank job in Sullington, my usual short walk was quieter than usual but featured two Redwings, three Buzzards, a Green Woodpecker and two Skylarks.

A five-minute look at Goring Gap at lunchtime produced three adult Mediterranean Gulls.

Poulter Park and Beddington Farmlands

Being at my parents' for the weekend, I had a lazier than usual start to the morning before making my way to Poulter Park in Mitcham for the local wintering warbler fest along the River Wandle. It was immediately obvious why this stretch of river was so popular with insectivores, with a continuous cloud of midges along the path and over the water. It feels like a real local winter goldmine of a site for uncommon and rare passerines - hopefully now it's on the map half an eye will be kept on the area The Yellow-browed Warbler - the star attraction - was soon located and went on to perform almost continuously (and occasionally calling) over the time I spent on site, along with a couple of lovely Siberian Chiffchaffs, two Firecrests and two Blackcaps (one heard singing and a female). Other birds included a Kingfisher, up to 10 nominate Chiffchaffs, two Grey Wagtails, a Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel, a Little Egret and two Egyptian Geese. It was great to catch up with Paul Goodman, Shaun Ferguson, Nick Gardner, Ian Ward and Arjun Dutta.

Yellow-browed Warbler at Poulter Park

Yellow-browed Warbler at Poulter Park

Siberian Chiffchaff at Poulter Park

Firecrest at Poulter Park

Firecrests at Poulter Park

Grey Wagtail at Poulter Park

female Blackcap at Poulter Park

Paul and I then went to Beddington Farmlands for a quick look from the hides. It was quiet, with a Water Rail, two Stonechats, four Shelducks, 19 Lapwings, a Kestrel, three Buzzards, 11 Grey Herons and two Redwings the best on offer. Another Redwing and a singing Treecreeper were in Beddington Park.

Kestrel at Beddington Farmlands

Buckland Sand Pits and Canons Farm

Ian Magness and I were greeted by thick fog initially at our occasional Buckland Sand Pits walk-round but thankfully it burned off soon enough. We recorded 47 species in a couple of hours, including 30+ Siskins, two Reed Buntings, three Redwings, a Grey Wagtail, 11 Egyptian Geese, nine Wigeon, six Tufted Ducks, four Gadwall, six Little Grebes, a Grey Heron, a Buzzard, a Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel, a Nuthatch, two Green and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Reed Bunting at Buckland Sand Pits

Sparrowhawk at Buckland Sand Pits

Egyptian Geese at Buckland Sand Pits

A quick dusk walk along the lane at Canons Farm produced c40 Rooks, 45 Fieldfares, two Redwings, nine Yellowhammers, five Skylarks and a Buzzard.

Patching and Angmering Park Estate

A walk around Patching Hill and the east side of the Angmering Park Estate produced two Firecrests (one heard singing), a Mistle Thrush, a Yellowhammer, two Nuthatches, three Skylarks, a Meadow Pipit, a Kestrel, two Nuthatches and eight Goldcrests. The Great Crested Grebe was still on Patching Pond, along with a Coot.

No Man's Land area

A fine and windless day tempted me onto the downs west of Titch Hill. The clear highlight was a 2cy male Hen Harrier which performed well early morning, presumably the bird seen regularly over the winter but not reported for a little while. Two Grey Partridges and three Egyptian Geese were also my first local sightings of the year, while heard-only Little Owl and Barn Owl were also Worthing area year ticks. A Peregrine, three Tawny Owls, a Lapwing, a singing Corn Bunting, three Red-legged Partridges, a Yellowhammer, a Fieldfare, 200 Linnets, 10 Reed Buntings, two Kestrels, seven Meadow Pipits, 24 Pied Wagtails and two Buzzards were other highlights.

2cy male Hen Harrier

2cy male Hen Harrier

Buzzards (2cy left, adult right)

adult male Kestrel

Brown Hare

Ashburnham Place

A short visit to Ashurnham Place with Christian featured a Raven, three Mistle Thrushes (one singing), four Gadwall and three tussling Buzzards plus a Nuthatch and a male Great Spotted Woodpecker the main attractions at the new feeding station.

2cy Buzzard

male Great Spotted Woodpecker

Ferring, Goring Gap and West Worthing

An early morning walk up and down Ferring Rife, and a glance at the beach there, produced a Water Rail, three Turnstones, 11 Greenfinches, an adult Mediterranean Gull, nine Moorhens, a Kestrel and singles of Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers.

After dropping Ingrid off at work, I birded from the car at Goring Gap for a few minutes mid-afternoon, seeing three adult and one 3cy Mediterranean Gull among c150 Common Gulls.

Later, a Grey Wagtail flew over Rowlands Road in West Worthing.

Goring Gap and Devil's Dyke

My session at Goring Gap this morning saw hints of spring, with my first local Fulmar of the year going west and a movement of about 135 Dark-bellied Brent Geese (all but four heading east) and a flock of four Pintail west. A Grey Wagtail flew west over the beach and a Red-throated Diver travelled east offshore, along with a Red-breasted Merganser. Waders on the beach included c110 Sanderlings, at least 60 Dunlin, three Grey Plovers, two Ringed Plovers, 49 Turnstones and four Oystercatchers, while there was also a lone adult Mediterranean Gull.

Pintail flock off Goring Gap

Sanderlings along the beach at Goring Gap

Ingrid and I later went for a walk at Devil's Dyke, with a Sparrowhawk, three Treecreepers and 26 Redwings among the birds logged.

Steyning Downland

A walk through the downs to the Horseshoe Wood and back produced four Marsh Tits, including two in song, as well as two noisy Ravens, a singing Bullfinch, 31 Corn Buntings, two Yellowhammers, a Reed Bunting, six Meadow Pipits, three Skylarks and a Treecreeper. Two of four Goldcrests were in song.