Adur Estuary and Finsbury Park

In a really enjoyable couple of hours along the lower Adur in fine weather this morning, I caught up with the wintering Whimbrel and Greenshank, as well as two Curlew, a Kingfisher, a Rock Pipit, 15+ Reed Buntings, 13 Ringed Plovers, three Grey Plovers, 11 Oystercatchers, 12 Redshanks, 80+ Lapwings, five Teal, two Stonechats, four Meadow Pipits, 20 Linnets and four Skylarks.

Greenshank at Adur Estuary

Reed Buntings at Adur Estuary

Rock Pipit at Adur Estuary

Rock Pipit and Reed Buntings at Adur Estuary

A trip to London included lunch at Finsbury Park, where birds included four Mistle Thrushes, two Nuthatches, a Redwing, three Pochards, two Egyptian Geese and 42 Tufted Ducks.

27th February-1st March 2017

A quick walk around the farm on Monday before heading to pick up Ingrid, who was down for a visit, produced a female Stonechat. On Tuesday morning we headed up to London for the day, a Siskin flying over at home and a Peregrine seen in Sutton before we headed to the Barbican, had lunch in Finsbury Park, where we enjoyed feeding about 30 Pochards, and finished the day by seeing The Lion King. I got out to Beddington this afternoon, producing a yellow German-ringed first-winter Caspian Gull, which I didn’t manage to read for sure but I’m quite certain it was X319 again. Not quite a classic bird, it’s possible it may have impure heritage. A Water Pipit was also seen and one of the wintering Chiffchaffs was in song.

first-winter Caspian Gull at Beddington