Goring Gap, Widewater Lagoon, Brooklands Park and Patching

 There was little going on at Goring Gap other than four Dark-bellied Brent Geese and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, plus three Great Crested Grebes offshore. Moved on to Widewater, where c110 Dunlin were roosting on the beach along with 30 or so Ringed Plovers. A Kingfisher made a brief appearance over the lagoon and a Sparrowhawk flew through the adjacent gardens. Five Little Grebes and four Mute Swans were present.  Next up was Brooklands Park, where the highlight of the day came in the form of a Lapwing overhead, being harassed by two Peregrines. Three Chiffchaffs were heard calling and the Pochard was on the lake, along with a Little Grebe. The new pair of Mute Swans was still present but there was no immediate sign of the resident adult female and only two of her offspring seemed to remain. Checking in at Patching sewage works finally, there were three Chiffchaffs and a Grey Wagtail around the filter beds, and a Red Kite flew over. Five Redwings flew from the trees. A final check of Goring Gap revealed an increase to five Dark-bellied Brent Geese.

Worthing, Patching Hill and Angmering Park Estate

Two Redwings flew from my neighbour's garden at dawn. 

Patching Hill delivered an adult Mediterranean Gull in an adjacent field with 52 Common Gulls, eight Redwings, two Yellowhammers, two Red Kites, a redpoll, a Siskin, a Bullfinch and a Marsh Tit.

The adjacent Angmering Park Estate delivered three Firecrests, five Marsh Tits, four Treecreepers, seven Nuthatches, 23 Goldcrests, a Raven, a Siskin and four Redwings.

Patching

Three House Martins were over Patching village as I cycled through to the watchpoint over the Angmering Park Estate. At said viewpoint, I noted four Crossbills, seven Sand Martins, two Hobbies, a Sparrowhawk, three Red Kites (including two juveniles), four Buzzards, a Bullfinch, a Mistle Thrush, 16 Swallows, 12 Cormorants, four Swifts and two Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Red Kite

Buzzard

Patching and Angmering Park Estate

As I approached Patching Hill, at least six Swifts were busy flying to the eaves of The Old Rectory. When I reached the top of the hill, three Crossbills flew low over me, followed shortly afterwards by a singleton. A Firecrest sang and at least three Yellowhammers were noted.

I spent a couple of hours wandering the Angmering Park Estate - this is where I had come to search for Crossbills, but none were to be found. A couple of Siskins flew over, though, and I had three singing Firecrests. A couple of Bullfinches appeared by the path and 10 Treecreepers were scattered along the route. Other birds included a Mistle Thrush, 10 Goldcrests, six Jays and a Nuthatch.

Coming back through Patching, three Swallows (including a juvenile) and two House Martins were over Patching Pond, while another Yellowhammer sang nearby. Three Moorhens and nine Mallards (including a brood of six) were on the pond.

Patching

A few hours at Patching in the morning produced a Hobby, a couple of Red Kites, at least six Buzzards, a Kestrel, a Mistle Thrush, five Swallows, a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Cormorant.

Goring Gap, Patching and West Worthing

A glance at Goring Gap first thing produced two westbound Redshanks flying rather high and purposefully, two Mediterranean Gulls the other way, four Great Black-backed Gulls squabbling over a dogfish, and two Meadow Pipits.

At Patching, two Canada Geese, two Mallards and a Moorhen were on the pond. The sewage works still held the two Siberian Chiffchaffs, both appearing in body moult, along with at least seven nominate Chiffchaffs, a Treecreeper, a Grey Wagtail, a Redwing and flyover Lapwing and Meadow Pipit.

Siberian Chiffchaff at Patching

In West Worthing, I caught a male Blackcap in the garden (along with three Robins and a House Sparrow), and a Grey Wagtail was heard again along Rogate Road.

2cy male Blackcap in West Worthing

female House Sparrow in West Worthing

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.

Bramber Brooks, Patching and Goring Gap

I checked out Bramber Brooks for the first time this morning, logging a Cetti's Warbler, three Snipe, a Reed Bunting, a Stonechat, a Kestrel and two Green Woodpeckers among the birds encountered.

male Stonechat at Bramber Brooks

Patching was rewarding, with two Siberian Chiffchaffs performing superbly with five nominate Chiffchaffs. The pond was the busiest I've ever seen it, with a Great Crested Grebe, a drake Mallard, two Coots and a Moorhen! A Firecrest, a singing Treecreeper, a Yellowhammer and two Bullfinches were among the other species noted.

Siberian Chiffchaffs at Patching

Great Crested Grebe at Patching

Goring Gap was only visited briefly, with four adult Mediterranean Gulls, c500 Common Gulls and five Skylarks the best.

Ferring Rife, Patching and West Tarring

On my way through Ferring my first Sparrowhawk of the year flew over the car. Two Snipe, a Water Rail, a Grey Heron, a Redwing, a Reed Bunting, a 2cy male Kestrel, a Grey Wagtail, 12 Skylarks, a singing Coal Tit, three Goldcrests and 17 Moorhens were logged during a morning walk at Ferring Rife.

2cy male Kestrel at Ferring Rife

The 'Northern Treecreeper' was still along the public footpath by the east side of The World's End pub, where George and I found a 'Siberian Chiffchaff' where the path opens out to the fields. Also a Firecrest still on the south side of the road, plus two Bullfinches, a Yellowhammer and a Meadow Pipit. A Great Crested Grebe was on the pond - my first water bird there beside a brief Mallard the other day!

'Northern Treecreeper' at Patching

'Siberian Chiffchaff' at Patching

A Grey Wagtail flew over our allotment in Worthing.

Brooklands Park, Patching and Hickstead

Brooklands was rewarding this morning, with the drake Pochard, a local rarity, showing on the lake, along with two Little Grebes, nine Teal and a Grey Heron. The rough patch by the lake held a female Stonechat, four Reed Buntings and two Meadow Pipits, while another Chiffchaff was by the works access road. A Kestrel was on distant wires. The family of Mute Swans all still survived but two intruders were seen off. A glance offshore revealed two Red-breasted Mergansers and four Great Crested Grebes.

adult drake Pochard

adult drake Teal

adult Black-headed Gull which regularly winters on site, apparently christened locally as 'Lumpy'! I also read a metal ring on an adult Black-headed Gull: ST833

I couldn't resist another look at Patching, where the 'Northern Treecreeper' showed well but this time I concentrated on watching it rather than obtaining further photographs. At least one of the Firecrests was also still present.


At Maidenhead Aquatics, Hickstead, I had a Grey Wagtail.

Goring Gap and Patching

A few more birds offshore at Goring Gap this morning, at last! A drake Shoveler flew west with two Shelducks, and three Kittiwakes and a flock of five Wigeon also flew in that direction. Four Guillemots, eight Razorbills (and a further 43 auks), a Lesser Black-backed Gull, 23 Red-throated Divers, five Red-breasted Mergansers, three Great Crested Grebes and 54 Gannets were also out at sea. In the roost field (mid-morning, so not prime time) were three adult Mediterranean Gulls and 350 Common Gulls, and the Red-legged Partridge. The tide state wasn't ideal for counting waders but I logged a Redshank, five Grey Plovers, three Ringed Plovers, 23 Sanderlings, 55 Dunlin, two Oystercatchers and nine Turnstones.

A quick visit to Patching saw excellent views of the 'Northern Treecreeper' with Olly Frampton, John Lees and Liz Costa.

'Northern Treecreeper' at Patching

Patching

I snuck in a quick look opposite The World's End pub for my 'Northern Treecreeper' (form familiaris), managing a couple of quick views. Five people twitched it in the short time I was there. Bullfinch and Green Woodpecker were among other species recorded.

Lyminster, Patching and Goring Gap

A healthy 53 species during my Sussex Winter Bird Survey in Lyminster included a Green Sandpiper which briefly alighted on a muddy farm puddle (!), a Marsh Harrier, a Chiffchaff, 418 Lapwings, a Golden Plover, an adult Mediterranean Gull, a Grey Wagtail, 55 Redwings, two Reed Buntings, four Cetti's Warblers and 16 Collared Doves. Sadly, the field frequented by the Cattle Egrets last winter has been sown as a crop and the livestock removed.

I thought I'd check out the treatment works at Patching. Parking by the pond, I crossed the road to the underpass opposite The World's End pub. At the metal gate I encountered two Firecrests, followed by an immediately striking Treecreeper. The bird appeared noticeably frosty, with clean white underparts and white shaft streaks on the mantle. The supercillium was clear white and very flared behind the eye. As (minor) supportive features, photographs showed the front claws to be pure whitish and the bill to look relatively short. It seems to fit the nominate race familiaris and this is certainly the first of the many hundreds of Treecreepers that I have which has caught my eye in this way. The warmer rump contrasted with the rest of the upperparts, while the general colour of the back/mantle and head was rather uniform. After losing sight of it, I crossed the road to the treatment works, where there were two Chiffchaffs (one in song), a Bullfinch and a britannica Treecreeper for handy immediate comparison!

apparent 'Northern Treecreeper' (form familiaris) at Patching

Pied Wagtail at Patching

Calling in at Goring Gap for a short time in the early afternoon, I bumped into Stephen Simpson. A 1cy Yellow-legged Gull made a nice change, though there were no Casps again and I fear the cach streak is well and truly over. There were also three Mediterranean Gulls and upwards of 400 Common Gulls.

1cy Yellow-legged Gull at Goring Gap

Patching, Angmering Park Estate and No Man's Land area

Curious about the Patching area, I headed there this morning. I'd heard bad birding reviews of Patching Pond but looking at the satellite map I thought it worth a go. There was not a single bird on the water but a flock of 23 Long-tailed Tits moved through. On to Patching Hill then. There I found a Firecrest, a Red Kite, two Buzzards, four Yellowhammers, two Bullfinches and three Skylarks. A Song Thrush was in voice. A limited venture into the Angmering Park Estate featured a noisy Raven, a flyover redpoll, two more Firecrests, a Treecreeper, a couple of Nuthatches, etc. A Red-legged Partridge was heard beyond the woodland.

Yellowhammer at Patching Hill

In the late afternoon I visited the downs near No Man's Land. I realised I'd picked a bad vantage point for scanning for raptors but it was too late to change. Two Grey Partridges and four Red-legged Partridges were the best on offer.