A post of the SOS website the other day piqued my curiosity to visit Brede High Wood so I headed there this morning. Right next to the car park was a brilliantly noisy flock of 28 Crossbills, though in the couple of hours I wandered around the site I found only 12 Siskins and no redpolls, let alone a monster flock to work through. Three Treecreepers, 30 Redwings, four Marsh Tits and four Bullfinches were among the other birds noted.
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| Crossbills at High Brede Wood |
A brief visit to East Guldeford secured views of Tree Sparrow before I visited Rye Harbour. First up was the Long Pit, where two Black-necked Grebes showed nicely at the south end. The pit also held two Goldeneyes and 106 Pochards. I positioned myself on the Castle Water viewpoint for the last couple of hours of the day, seeing a Barn Owl, a Great White Egret, three Little Egrets, three Fieldfares, three Marsh Harriers (including an adult male) and a roost of some 600 Cormorants. Also noted on site were seven Water Rails (one of which showed very well in a wet field), a Cetti's Warbler, 40 Golden Plovers, 300 Lapwings, a Bullfinch, two Egyptian Geese, a Kingfisher and two Reed Buntings. But no Bittern!
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| Tree Sparrow at East Guldeford |
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| Black-necked Grebes at Rye Harbour |
