Ferring Rife

It was overcast and fairly cool this morning and I picked Ferring Rife for the day's outing. Swifts were drifting back and forth and it was difficult to determine how many moved through, but it was certainly over 70. Two Great Spotted Woodpeckers included a juvenile and a Green Woodpecker yaffled from by the path. A Red Kite did its best to look rare as it circled high right overhead on wings fixed level and forward, not beating them once in the several minutes I watched it. A Sparrowhawk and two Buzzards made up the other raptors of the morning. 12 Moorhens included a brood of six young. Three Reed Warblers, the usual Reed Bunting, a Goldcrest and a Song Thrush sang, and there were a couple of Whitethroat broods out of the nest. Swallows were zipping around near the Bluebird cafe and near the country centre; I suspect they're nesting somewhere near both. A Grey Heron was feeding in the rife and another flew over. Two Sandwich Terns were offshore. Mallards included a party of four and a domestic female with seven ducklings.