Tuesday 19 February 2019

Goring Gap, Tilgate Forest, Sullington, Washington and Hickstead

Goring Gap produced two Common Scoters on the sea, four Red-throated Divers, 11 Red-breasted Mergansers, 10 Great Crested Grebes, two Gannets, a Redshank, five Oystercatchers, 28 Grey Plovers, 22 Turnstones, 23 Sanderlings, 15 Dunlin, three adult Mediterranean Gulls and a singing Skylark.

On the way to picking Ingrid up from Gatwick I stopped at Tilgate Forest, noting two Crossbills, two Lesser Redpolls, six Siskins, two Bullfinches, three Buzzards, three Treecreepers and two Nuthatches.

Ingrid had a job managing a fish tank in Sullington and I roamed the nearby countryside while I waited for her. A Little Owl showed nicely and another called nearby. Six Redwings, two Linnets, three Buzzards and a Green Woodpecker were among the other birds noted.

Little Owl at Sullington

Working our way home, a Red Kite flew over the road as we passed through Washington, and a Treecreeper was singing in the Maidenhead Aquatics car park in Hickstead.