Worthing, Brooklands Park, Adur Estuary, Shoreham Harbour and Burpham

I started the New Year with a half-hour watch from the garden. A Buzzard flying east just a few minutes after sunrise was most unexpected and a male Great Spotted Woodpecker appeared in a neighbouring garden.

 

After dithering for a while about where to go birding, I opted for Brooklands Park, which turned out to be a pretty good decision. A male Kingfisher was offering superb views along the stream and was proving popular with birders and members of the general public. A Cetti's Warbler called there, too. Crucially, the drake Pochard remained on the lake, along with eight Teal and two Little Grebes. Two pairs of Mute Swans were on the lake, along with a lone adult male and three of last year's young, so there's bound to be some conflict over the next few weeks. A female Stonechat was feeding near the boardwalk. Looking offshore was where it got interesting. It was hardly bustling with birds but after the sea being so dead for so long, it was refreshing to actually see some birds out there. A feeding Great Northern Diver made my day, while four Shovelers, 11 Wigeon, 13 Red-throated Divers, 30 Gannets and 10 Red-breasted Mergansers were also seen. 20 Dunlin flew along the beach.

   

The flowing tide at the Adur Estuary RSPB reserve produced the wintering Greenshank and Curlew, along with a good many Snipe, Redshank and Lapwing. 20 Oystercatchers, a Reed Bunting and a Grey Heron were also present. Nipping around to the Shoreham Sailing Club was rewarded with close views of the wintering Black Redstart, while round on the wooden jetty by the fort were two Purple Sandpipers, with four Turnstones on the harbour arms.

   

A late plod around Burpham and The Burgh then produced the 10 adult Bewick's Swans, two astronomically distant Cattle Egrets, a Marsh Harrier, a Barn Owl, a Tawny Owl, three Red Kites, a few Buzzards, 10 Grey Partridges, three Red-legged Partridges, a Raven and a Fieldfare.

 

Bramber Brooks, Shoreham and Goring Gap

A later start today took me to the River Adur alongside Bramber Brooks, where I caught up with the juvenile Goosander which has been in the area, though it was very skittish and I only saw it in flight. There was also a Kingfisher, two Fieldfares, a Cetti's Warbler and a Reed Bunting.

The next stop was Shoreham Fort, where an adult Purple Sandpiper was on the jetty with 12 Turnstones. What was presumably the same female-type Black Redstart which was reported yesterday put in a brief appearance along the fenceline and a Rock Pipit was feeding.

Stopping at Goring Gap produced nine Mediterranean Gulls and two Lesser Black-backed Gulls in the roost field, though there were only three Turnstones.

Shoreham Harbour, Adur Estuary, Goring Gap and Worthing

Two Purple Sandpipers and 17 Turnstones were on view from Shoreham Fort just after high tide this morning. I then moved on to the Adur Estuary, where a Greenshank, nine Snipe, two Grey Plovers, 15 Teal, 25 Redshanks, a Little Egret, four Grey Herons and two Mute Swans were on the RSPB reserve. A couple of Mediterranean Gulls were the highlight of a brief subsequent visit to Goring Gap. A Coal Tit visited my feeders at home, where a Goldcrest was calling.

Dell Quay, Pagham Harbour, Shoreham and Titch Hill

Dell Quay offered a Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank, two Red-breasted Mergansers, a Rock Pipit and a pleasing suite of wintering waders and wildfowl.

A look from Church Norton produced a Sandwich Tern, along with a good scattering of Knot and Bar-tailed Godwits among other waders.

Peregrine at Church Norton

Shoreham Harbour had one Purple Sandpiper and five Turnstones on the wooden jetty. On the RSPB reserve on the Adur was a Wigeon, along with eight Teal, 14 Redshanks and a flock of 20 Linnets.

Purple Sandpiper at Shoreham

Late afternoon, a period scanning from Titch Hill offered 17 Fieldfares, a female Sparrowhawk and
a Kestrel, but little else.

Shoreham Fort and Botolphs/Coombes

My day started at Shoreham Fort, where on the adjacent wooden jetty four Purple Sandpipers were actively feeding in the company of 10 Turnstones and a Rock Pipit with a severe growth of its left foot (which it largely kept tucked away, shuffling along on its right leg). Two Dark-bellied Brent Geese flew east overhead and a glance out to sea revealed just two Gannets.

Purple Sandpiper on the jetty by Shoreham Fort

I parked at Botolphs then walked south along the Adur to a little way south of the cement works, then back. This produced a handful of good birds, not least a 'Siberian Chiffchaff' just by the little forest school as I got back to the car. It turned out to be quite a vocal bird after watching it for a few minutes and I ended up with some sound recordings. The other surprise of the outing was a flock of at least 24 Corn Buntings spotted by fluke in on a fence bordering a distant field well east of the river towards Beeding Hill. Further highlights included a Common Sandpiper, three Stonechats, a Chiffchaff, 12 Redwings, a Red Kite, a Redshank, two Buzzards, 35 Meadow Pipits, a Reed Bunting, a family of five Mute Swans, three Grey Herons and two Kestrels (including nice views of an adult male).

'Siberian Chiffchaff' at Botolphs

Common Sandpiper on the Adur near the cement works

Shoreham Fort and Widewater Lagoon

I visited Shoreham Fort this morning, at last catching up with the three Purple Sandpipers on the wooden jetty, along with at least five Turnstones.

Purple Sandpipers at Shoreham

Seeing as I was in the area, I stopped at Widewater Lagoon, walking to the west end and back to the car. Highlights included a Kingfisher, an adult drake Red-breasted Merganser which showed very well as it 'snorkled', seven Little Grebes, seven Mute Swans, a female Stonechat and two Redshanks.

adult drake Red-breasted Merganser on Widewater Lagoon

Goring Gap, Adur Estuary, Shoreham Harbour and Brooklands Park

Starting at Goring Gap was very uneventful, with visibility at sea limiting observations to a sole Red-breasted Merganser and two Great Crested Grebes, though a short walk produced the two male Reed Buntings, a Redwing, a Green Woodpecker and a Song Thrush.

A look from the bridge at the Adur Estuary produced four Redshanks, a Curlew, 11 Lapwings, a Rock Pipit, a Meadow Pipit and two Little Grebes. At Shoreham Harbour, I enjoyed watching the showy male Black Redstart flitting around the fort, where there were two Meadow Pipits, and a glance offshore revealed good numbers of Razorbills and Guillemots flying by, along with a Kittiwake and a few Gannets.

adult male Black Redstart at Shoreham Harbour

Brooklands Park had a Firecrest, six Goldcrests, a Little Grebe, a drake Pochard, seven Teal, two Grey Herons and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Returning to the Gap briefly around midday, the roost field contained 66 Grey Plovers, 19 Ringed Plovers, 136 Dunlin, nine Sanderlings and two adult Mediterranean Gulls.

Goring Gap, Shoreham harbour, Castle Hill (Woodingdean), Rye Harbour and Scotney Gravel Pits

Where else to start the year but Goring Gap? I only gave it the first 45 minutes of the day, though, as it was clearly quieter than yesterday. Smaller numbers of Great Crested Grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers were on the sea, while a Wigeon, four Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 35 Gannets, three Razorbills, two Red-throated Divers and seven auks were also noted offshore. Sanderling, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Turnstone and Grey Plover were all duly logged and 10 Mediterranean Gulls were in the fields.

On the way to Rye Harbour, a couple of nice drive-by sightings were a Peregrine over Shoreham harbour and two Ravens as I drove past Castle Hill, Woodingdean. I failed to find any of the recently reported Twite at Rye, where the clear highlight was the spectacle of some 3,000 Golden Plovers wheeling around, their wingbeats somehow audible despite the place being crammed with people (to the point that the massive car park was full and I had to park in the village). Other sightings included two Marsh Harriers, two Cetti's Warblers, a Water Rail, a Raven, a Stonechat, three Goldeneyes and two Egyptian Geese.

Golden Plovers at Rye Harbour

A bank of cloud darkened the sky by 14:30 and I felt as though I ought to cut my losses with the Twite. I toyed with the idea of going to Horse Eye Level but figured it was too late, so headed to Scotney for some wildfowl. Two adult Whooper Swans - present here for several weeks - were distantly viewable with a herd of Mute Swans. Two adult Russian White-fronted Geese were on the main pit, along with 173 feral Barnacle Geese and an Egyptian Goose. A couple of Golden Plovers were with the Lapwings and a Buzzard watched on the sidelines.