Ferring Rife, Kingston Gorse and Elmer Rocks

This morning I completed a route along Ferring Rife and through Kingston Gorse, noting 54 species. I heard Siskins and Yellow Wagtail over Ferring as I cycled in, which was a good start, then at the beach adjacent to the Rife a Redshank flew along the shore but the only other waders were three Turnstones and a Ringed Plover, alongside 28 Little Egrets and a Grey Heron. Along the Rife itself, there was a Wheatear, a Reed Bunting, 11 Chiffchaffs, five Whitethroats and five Blackcaps, plus six Moorhens and another Grey Heron. Two adult Mute Swans, presumably two of the trio seen from Goring Gap the other day, flew towards the beach and flyovers included at least 82 Siskins, 10 Yellow Wagtails, three Grey Wagtails, a House Martin, 32 Swallows and three Meadow Pipits. Two Whinchats were by the country centre, along with a little flock of Linnets, making a total of 31.

Kingston Gorse had two further Whinchats, while overhead there were an additional two Siskins, three Yellow Wagtails, 10 House Martins, two Meadow Pipits and eight Swallows. A Whitethroat, two Blackcaps and three Chiffchaffs were logged. The young Buzzard was very vocal. Five Little Egrets and three Sandwich Terns were along the beach and at least three individuals from the Moorhen family were still on the now dry pond.

Stopping at the Bluebird Cafe on the way back, a Bar-tailed Godwit flew west just off the beach with 20 Oystercatchers.

I cycled back home then switched to the car to head to Elmer Rocks, where I was very lucky with good views of the elusive Wryneck at close quarters, as it fed on the path for several minutes. A new Sussex bird for me and a species I can never get enough of. The rocks themselves had a Common Sandpiper roosting alongside 50 Ringed Plovers, five Sanderlings, nine Dunlin, five Turnstones and a couple of Oystercatchers. A Kingfisher flew out from the rife to the beach before doubling back and a Sparrowhawk patrolled the fields.

Ferring Rife, Kingston Gorse and Worthing

The beach at the end of Ferring Rife had a Dunlin, a Ringed Plover and 10 Turnstones first thing. Two Garden Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat, five Willow Warblers, three Reed Warblers, five Whitethroats, a Reed Bunting, a Goldcrest, three Little Egrets, two Grey Herons and a Sparrowhawk were among the birds encountered on my way upstream.

I returned via Kingston Gorse, which added a Wheatear, a Willow Warbler, a Coal Tit and two Buzzards, plus boosted counts of 16 Turnstones and 19 Ringed Plovers on the beach.

Quite unexpectedly, this afternoon was my best ringing session in the garden yet. I opened the net in the hope that the Whitethroat I'd just seen - a garden tick - would fly into it. It did not, but four Willow Warblers went in, not tape-lured I might add, along with two Starlings (though one got out), two Magpies (one of these scrambled out before I could help it, too!) and four House Sparrows. Interestingly, three of the Willows were 2cy+. I can't recall any adults so far during Cissbury sessions.

I could easily have missed the Whitethroat but if the net was up already it would definitely have gone in. And if it wasn't for the net then being up, I don't think I'd have registered any of the afternoon's Willow Warblers, which were probably just skipping through the gardens. It just goes to show the potential for one net to reveal so much more of what goes through... Now that it's in a good position in the garden, who knows what might blunder into it while I've got it open when doing household chores, etc.

Goring Gap, Ferring Rife and Kingston Gorse

I headed out quite early this morning and was soon very glad that I did. Not long into my walk around Goring Gap, a Spoonbill flew quite low just overhead before disappearing behind the Plantation - I could probably have gone for the camera but I opted to enjoy the few seconds I had with the bird through the bins instead. Continuing a little further, a Cuckoo flew to the patch of vegetation around the hidden pond in the middle of the Gap before burying itself in the cover there. 10 Swifts moved north - perhaps they'd just crossed the Channel, a Mediterranean Gull flew west, a Sandwich Tern was offshore, a Lesser Black-backed Gull was on the greensward and although the Great Spotted Woodpecker nest site was quiet, one adult was seen in flight.

The next highlight, and what I'll really remember today for, came as I walked along the beach towards Ferring Rife and clocked something splashing in the water behind a pair of boats with a drag-net. It was a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins! I've really wanted to see some kind of cetacean off Worthing shores ever since I moved down and last year missed the only sighting during my time living here... So I was really chuffed with this. Up to six were on view in the tight pod at any one time and they spent a lot of time at the surface, surprisingly visible considering they were a fair way out and I managed to point the animals out to a couple of passers by, who were also delighted. At least five Gannets were involved in the mini-feeding frenzy. Two Canada Geese flew over for good measure and further highlights at Ferring Rife included a Swift, a Grey Heron, two Swallows, two Reed Warblers (including one of those odd June migrants in a seafront garden) and a singing Reed Bunting. I completed my route via Kingston Gorse, which didn't add much besides a Buzzard.

Bottlenose Dolphins off Ferring

Ferring Rife, Kingston Gorse and The Downs

I must confess to feeling a bit burnt out lately. Even though the lockdown has been eased for a little while, I still haven't birded outside the 10km Worthing area since mid-March. It's been a great chance to grow my confidence with cycling locally and I've become very reluctant to use the car. One thing I've learned during all this, as much as I love local birding, is a change of scenery every now and then is a must for mental health, so I'm itching to venture somewhere a little further soon.

Today I stayed in bed far longer than I normally would, again, before heading to Ferring Rife. A pair of Reed Buntings were feeding young on one side of the river while the male from the neighbouring territory sang from the other. Four Reed Warblers and a couple of Swallows were among the other birds seen.

I continued my route around Kingston Gorse, which I now consider an easy and quite promising add-on to Ferring Rife. Two Red Kites and a Swallow flew over but there was little else this time.

In the afternoon, Ingrid and I ventured onto the Downs to show her the brood of Shelducks on the lagoon near Lychpole Farm. We were pleased to see that all nine young were still thriving, diving so busily that it took a few goes to be sure of the number. We walked through No-Man's-Land and back along Titch Hill, noting three Corn Buntings, a Yellowhammer, three Swifts, 11 Whitethroats and a couple of Buzzards. A Blackcap revealed itself to be a talented mimic, performing a decent Nightingale before giving a few Blackbird calls.

Goring Gap, Ferring Rife, Kingston Gorse and West Worthing

A Yellow Wagtail flew north over Goring Gap this morning, while the beach had 23 Sanderlings (most in fine summer plumage), 26 Turnstones and five Oystercatchers. Other sightings included two Mediterranean Gulls, eight Sandwich Terns, a Sparrowhawk (a close encounter), two Swallows and five Swifts.

2cy Sparrowhawk at Goring Gap

Both a Lesser Whitethroat and a Willow Warbler were in song at Ferring Rife, along with four Reed Warblers, while two Little Egrets were on the beach. Two Reed Buntings, three Swallows, two Sparrowhawks (circling together), a Buzzard, a Grey Heron, two Swifts and six Moorhens were among the other birds noted. 14 Great Black-backed Gulls were on the beach.

male Swallow at Ferring Rife

Kingston Gorse delivered a superb Spotted Flycatcher sallying from the edge of the pond which had a pair of Moorhens with at least two young in the nest.  Four Swallows and another Buzzard were seen, while a Coal Tit was in a garden just by the beach.

Spotted Flycatcher at Kingston Gorse

Spotted Flycatcher at Kingston Gorse

Moorhens at Kingston Gorse

At home in Worthing, a Swallow flew over the garden.

West Worthing, Goring, Ferring Rife, Kingston Gorse and Goring Gap

Two Swifts, acting like locals as they screamed and circled in no particular direction, greeted me this morning at home, where later a noisy flock of nine Lesser Black-backed Gulls was quite noteworthy.

In Goring, a Willow Warbler sang as I cycled through.

The weather was just right. A fair bit of cloud cover, perfectly mild but with a little sun poking through. I felt quite content walking along Ferring Rife, where two Garden Warblers not only sang but showed quite well and a male Wheatear fed in the paddocks, where four Swallows hawked. Two Swallows looked very much like a pair on the wires by the sluice. A Sedge Warbler and four Reed Warblers were aso in good voice, the former and one of the latter also performed quite nicely. Three Swifts moved east and a male Kestrel hovered alongside the rife. Two Reed Buntings were noted and I counted 15 Whitethroats, one being hassled by a male Blackcap. Four Turnstones were on the beach. Single calls were heard from a Green Woodpecker and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, while from the fields Skylark could be heard singing. A Mallard and eight Moorhens were along the rife.

male Swallow singing and looking quite settled near the toilet block at Ferring Rife

Reed Warbler at Ferring Rife

male Whitethroat at Ferring Rife

drake Mallard at Ferring Rife

I decided to at long last properly explore neighbouring Kingston Gorse. This turned out to be a good move as a Hoopoe caught my eye as it flew north over the west side at 9.58am! I was on the phone at the time, which I dropped without explanation. By instinct, I went for the camera, managing some very poor record shots but I lost the bird as I began to zoom in and a quick scout around drew a blank. Still, I certainly can't complain and it makes up for missing the other four local birds reported so far! Two more Swifts were seen here, along with a couple more singing Skylarks and my first juvenile Robin and Blackbird of the year. Two Willow Warblers sang quietly and good brief views were had of a male Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Green Woodpecker. Along the beach, there were 18 Sanderlings and 16 Turnstones, while two Sandwich Terns, three Black-headed Gulls and a Gannet flew past. A Great Crested Grebe was on the sea, along with a Lesser Black-backed Gull. A pair of Pied Wagtails were in the paddocks and I also logged a Moorhen, four Swallows, a Long-tailed Tit, two Linnets, four Blackcaps and three Whitethroats.

Hoopoe over Kingston Gorse

Hoopoe over Kingston Gorse

juvenile Blackbird at Kingston Gorse

As I cycled home through Goring Gap, two Swallows overtook me and I heard Skylark, Whitethroat and Blackcap.