Saturday 21 December 2019

Goring Gap and Adur Estuary

An early morning visit to Goring Gap was aborted after about 40 minutes. There was simply nothing moving offshore. Flocks of Dunlin, Sanderling, Turnstone and Ringed Plover were moving along the beach and an adult Mediterranean Gull was seen but that really was about it. I returned briefly at lunchtime but today there was no Caspian Gull to be seen, though a Lesser Black-backed Gull was noteworthy, and I counted 49 Common Gulls.

Mid-afternoon, a visit to the Adur Estuary was quiet. The tide level was not ideal for waders. Birds included 11 Oystercatchers, two Ringed Plovers, four Redshanks, two Turnstones, in excess of 600 Starlings, 15 Skylarks, a Reed Bunting and a Meadow Pipit.