mainly Sussex (July-December 2010)

A selection of pre-blog photos from the second half of 2010:

Mediterranean Gulls on the Adur on 13 July.  The right hand bird is colour-ringed - 3P17 from Belgium where it was ringed as a pullus in 2002 and seen in 2004, 2006-08.  Since then it has wandered to  South Wales (2004 & 2007), France (2005 & 2009), Holland (2009) and Germany (2009).  A well travelled bird!

White-tailed Plover at Dungeness on 15 July

its presence just outside the county was hard to ignore and I went over after work

it was well worth the effort and my first in the UK since Little Packington in 1975.

Grasshopper Warbler at Birling on 24 July

they rarely show as well as this in the autumn

Turtle Dove at Thorney on 25 July> now quite a scarcity, I saw just two in 2010.

Hobby at Thorney on 25 July

Herring Gull A2FA on the Adur on 27 July.  An orphan ringed in Hastings in 2003 which has ventured as far as Cambridge and Dungeness

Greater Black-backed Gull J1063 on the Adur on 27 August.  Ringed as a pullus in Norway in 2009 it was also seen on the Channel Islands prior to its appearance in Sussex.

Spotted Flycatcher at Beachy on 28 August.  Another species which sadly seems to be declining fast

Pied Flycatcher at Beachy on 28 August.  Always a good bird to see

colour-ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull on the Adur on 28 August.  The ring was badly faded and unreadable but I suspect it was a Norwegian bird and hence intermedius

Reed Warbler on the sea wall near Church Norton on 29 August.  It looked and behaved as if it was something much rarer

Pectoral Sandpiper playing 'hard to see' at Church Norton on 29 August.

Wryneck at Pagham North Wall on 12 September

John King and I went down to see this after a visit to Beachy.  Not sure I really wanted to see its tonsils!

it gave extremely good views, too close really for digiscoping but I didn't want to join the scrum with DSLRs and massive lenses some of whom appeared to want to touch it

Lapland Bunting on Seaford Head on 18 September.

This one gave much better views than those seen in the field at Birling at about the same time

Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Arlington on 2 October

taking advantage of the very low water level in the reservoir at the time and made up being slow off the mark and missing one at Rye the previous year

Raven over Beachy on 2 October

Wheatear at Beachy on 2 October

poor shot of a Brambling at Belle Tout, Beachy on 10 October

Rose-coloured Starling at Newhaven on 16 October - a rather dishevelled individual

Kestrel at Beachy on 17 October

Shore Lark at Cuckmere Haven on 23 October

it was rather too close

Snow Bunting on Kithurst Hill , also on 23 October

seeing these last two species made me feel that winter was coming

Goosander at Pagham on 24 October

it didn't linger ...

Bearded Tit hiding at the Severals on 24 October

Firecrest at Beachy on 30 October, still an all-time favourite of mine

Herring Gull A7HH at Shoreham Harbour on 13 November, an orphan from Hastings 

JY22, one of three colour-ringed Greater Black-backed Gulls on the River Adur on 21 November (the other two follow).  Ringed as a pullus in Vest-Agder, Norway in 2007, this was my first sighting.  It returned to the Adur in September-November 2011 & November 2012

70E, hatched in Normandie in 2009, I had previously seen it in January and did so again in April 7 December 2011 a\nd January 2012

JE486, another Norwegian from Vest-Agder.  Ringed as a pullus in 2009, I also saw this bird in April 2011

Herring Gull A6XY on the Adur on 27 November.  An injured bird found in Southwick in 2010 and released after a period of rehabilitation.  I saw it twice in 2011 and again in January 2013

Herring Gull TW7T on the Adur on 27 November.  A North Thames bird ringed at Pitsea Landfill, Essex three weeks previously.  I also saw it on the Adur in November and December 2011.

Black-necked Grebe in Shoreham Harbour on 5 December

the proof it was there shot, fraudsters take note

adult argentatus Herring Gull on the Adur on 11 December, a big brute with darker mantle, extensive white in primary tips, brighter legs and heavily streaked head

another presumed argentatus Herring Gull on the Adur on 11 December.  This one tentatively identified primarily on size

Herring Gull A2FA on the Adur on 11 December.  A Hastings orphan from 2008 that I'd seen on the Adur in July (see earlier in this post) and was to do so again in November 2011 and November 2012

distant White-tailed Eagle on Amberley Wildbrooks on 11 December.  Panic and an anxious journey ensued when I got a phone-call from Paul James

better views of the White-tailed Eagle on Amberley Wildbrooks on 12 December.  It then flew off almost directly overhead but I didn't have my DSLR ready for it 

Greater Black-backed Gull A26 on the Adur on 19 December.  Ringed in Normandie in 2007, I had seen it in February 2010 and was to do so during September-December 2011.

Lesser Black-backed Gull EP14 on the Adur on 27 December.  Although the ring appeared somewhat faded I was unable to trace which scheme it was from.

Yellow-legged Gull on the Adur on 27 December, a verey smart bird

its neatness made the accompanying Herring Gulls look like argentatus

one of the Waxwings in East Worthing on 28 December

Gulls on the Adur on 29 December

I entertained the possibility that this one might be a Caspian but although the body looked good I wasn't convinced by the head

I didn't get a helpful shot of the primary pattern either so am not sure it is traitable

perhaps it is one I should revisit ...

I revisited the Waxwings in East Worthing on 30 December