February fizzles out ...

Sunday 26 February. Another dull day forecast so I'm not sure why I decided to go to Crawley to see how much nicer the Rose-coloured Starling was looking than when I saw it in early December. It was very gloomy when I arrived, wondering quite why I'd chosen such a poor day to visit. The bird flew in after about 10 minutes which for me was a result and it showed several times in the next 45 minutes but was mostly against a grey sky and with rather damp feathers. It didn't do the bird justice and didn't make me feel any happier about 'housing-estate' birding. A late afternoon low tide visit to the Adur was more my style with 2 Mediterranean and 2 colour-ringed Common Gulls (only my 4th & 5th).

Rose-coloured Starling in Crawley, dry if dull, it soon flew off

only to return looking very bedragled

I'm sure it would look a lot nicer in decent weather

Mediterranean Gulls on the Adur

colour-ringed Common Gull 1053. I've not been able to trace the scheme that ringed this. Perhaps no surprise as the numbers on the ring almost appeaered hand painted.

Common Gull A17H. No such problems with this one. It was ringed in North Germany.

gulls leaving the Adur to roost

Saturday 25 February. Nothing on the sea off Shoreham Fort although 4 Purple Sandpipers on the inner jetty was my highest count of the winter. Otherwise just 4 Turnstone and a Rock Pipit. A late afternoon visit to the Adur for low tide where there were literally thousands of gulls (mostly Black-headed and Common). Amongst them I managed to pcik out a Guernsey colour-ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull (2AV7) and a North Thames Herring Gull which I was unable to read due to bad light. 2AV7 had been ringed as an adult on a landfill site on Guernsey and subsequently seen four times on Guernsey and six in the Loire, France.

Friday 24 February. Single Fulmar and Razorbill were off Shoreham Fort with 2 Purple Sandpipers and a Rock Pipit around the inner jetty. A late afternoon dog-walk around Beeding Hill with Megan produced a Little Owl sunning itself while a Short-eared Owl was visible huinting over Beeding Brooks.

Wednesday 22 February. Megan and I took Cookie to Pulborough woods. They were quiet with just Goldcrest, Coal Tit and Nuthatch seen. Little was evident on the brooks either.

Sunday 19 February. 8 Sanderliong and 13 Turnstones on Worthing Beach with Megan and Cookie. Later Cookie and I visited Brooklands seeing the ill-looking Red-necked Grebe and a Water Rail.

Red-necked Grebe at Brooklands