It was a lovely morning for Goring Gap, though visibility was terrible out to sea and I didn't bother counting the
Red-breasted Mergansers and
Great Crested Grebes, though a
Curlew did fly east distantly. The day's highlight came when a female
Merlin dashed across the roost field before alighting briefly at the pumping station. It soon settled in the big tree in the garden with the pond, remaining for about 10 minutes before it headed towards Ferring Rife. A
Kestrel was noteworthy and two
Reed Buntings remained. A hint of eastbound movement came in the form of 16
Chaffinches, three
Jackdaws, two
Rooks and an adult
Lesser Black-backed Gull. A
Little Egret landing in nearby gardens was the first for a while and a strange context in which to see one locally. Four
Mediterranean Gulls,
Green and
Great Spotted Woodpeckers,
Turnstones,
Sanderlings,
Grey Plovers,
Dunlin and
Ringed Plovers were logged.
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| female Merlin at Goring Gap |
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| adult Mediterranean Gull at Goring Gap |
Walking up and down Ferring Rife produced a
Reed Bunting, a male
Stonechat, 19
Moorhens, a
Chiffchaff, two
Mallards, three
Pied Wagtails, a
Meadow Pipit, three
Skylarks,
Green and
Great Spotted Woodpeckers, two
Common Gulls and a
Buzzard.
While at Halfords in West Preston, a
Grey Wagtail was noted. A quick foray around the Sheepcote Valley in Brighton yielded little other than six
Meadow Pipits, a
Kestrel and a
Skylark.
