Mainly Gulls and Owls (11-25 November)

Sunday 25 November. I decided to check the Cuckmere gull flock and look for the Seaford Snow Bunting on the way, Cookie came too. I diverted to Newhaven Harbour on the way as the rising tide was still quite low. A few gulls were on the beach and included two colour-ringed Great Black-back Gulls. One with a Norwegian ring walked into the sea just far enough to submerge part of its ring and then flew. It looked to have been JC383 seen earlier in the month on the Adur and by Matt at Newhaven the previous year but I couldn't be sure of the second character. The other a Le Havre bird was at an angle that only the bottom of one of the characters was visible, either an O or U, and then immediately flew. I waited for 20 minutes as the tide covered half of the exposed beach but neither returned. Frustrating. I then failed to find the Snow Bunting in 45 minutes of looking and headed to the barn on Seaford Head. We headed down to Harry's Bush and the nearer of two gull flocks, noting Matt walking in our direction from the further larger flock. Our flock held just an adult Yellow-legged Gull but Matt had seen an adult Caspian in his, and four White-fronted Geese had dropped in near them. Matt had also failed with the Snow Bunting but had recently seen 85U at Newhaven, the Le Havre mystery solved. I followed Matt back to the larger flock and we spent an hour scanning from a raised track, Cookie being very patient throughout. We picked out five Caspian Gulls (2 adults, a third-winter and two first-winters) that we were happy with and six Yellow-legged Gulls (5 adults and a second-winter). During this time Neil and Chris appeared and we pointed out to them the Caspians that were on view (and the White-fronts). After an hour and as there seemed little movement amongst the gulls we gave up. I had a final look through the smaller flock on the way back seeing a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull. Checking my phone back at the barn I saw that the Snow Bunting had been seen after we'd left but another half hour there on the way home drew another blank. Back home while checking my photos I discovered they were all over-exposed, not that they would have been very good to start with but inadvertently taking them at +2/3rds hadn't helped.

First-winter Caspian Gull (bird A) showing thin dark bill, white head and underparts, small eye, streaked rear neck, greyish mantle (more obvious in the field than this over-exposed image) with a few darker feathers, black tertials with white thumb-nails, black primaries and tail, thin legs

First-winter Caspian Gull (bird A) showing among other features its small head

First-winter Caspian Gull (bird A) showing among other features its bulging chest, sagging rear belly

First-winter Caspian Gull (bird A) showing among other features its white rump and tail base with only light flecking

First-winter Caspian Gull (bird A) showing among other features its whitish underwing

First-winter Caspian Gull (bird A) showing among other features its long thinnish legs and thin all dark bill

First-winter Caspian Gull (bird B) showing its all dark bill, small white head and underparts, greyish tinged mantle brownish coverts, dark tertials with white thumb-nails and black primaries. Birds A and B were both visible in different parts of the flock at the same time.

First-winter Caspian Gull (bird B) showing among other features its black tail tip, lightly flecked white rump and upper tail and thin legs.

First-winter Caspian Gull (bird B) showing among other features its typical white, grey, brown and black plumage, long parallel bill, thin legs and snouty appearance

First-winter Caspian Gull (bird B), the bill appearing a little heavier in this image

First-winter Caspian Gull (bird B) showing among other classic features its hanging rear belly and long wings. It briefly flew showing a whitish underwing.

Third-winter Caspian Gull (bird C) showing snouty appearance, small eye, clean white head, mantle a shade darker than argenteus Herring Gull, brownish tinge to rear greater coverts, predominantly black wings and elegant appearance

Third-winter Caspian Gull (bird C) showing a small white subterminal tip to the outer primary and small dark eye

Third-winter Caspian Gull (bird C) showing among other features its long thin legs and

Third-winter Caspian Gull (bird C) showing among other features its elongated rear end and  bulging breast

Third-winter Caspian Gull (bird C) showing among other features its parallel sided bill, small head and dark eye

Adult Caspian Gull (bird D) showing its long thin rather washed out bill, small clean white head with small dark(ish) eye, heavy breast, mantle a shade darker than the argenteus Herring Gull to its left, impression of thin legs, and long wings with a large white tip to primary 10.

Adult Caspian Gull (bird D) showing extensive white on the underside of p10

Adult Caspian Gull (bird D) showing its long thin washed out bill

Adult Caspian Gull (bird D) showing among other features its bulging breast and hanging rear belly

Adult Caspian Gull (bird E) giving very little away - clean white head, slightly darker than argenteus Herring Gull mantle (not as dark as the adult Yellow-legged Gulls in the flock) and long thin pale fleshy legs. An excellent piece of spotting by Matt and just as well it was standing up.

Adult Caspian Gull (bird E) showing its all dark eye. Sadly it never did any more in the time we were watching, although there were too many distractions in the flock to spend overly long on it.

one of the four White-fronted Geese in the Cuckmere

Stonechat in the Cuckmere

main gull flock Cuckmere from Harry's Bush

Saturday 24 November. Two Turnstones and 15 Greenfinches at Shoreham Fort with five Razorbills on the sea but I soon gave up due to poor weather.
Friday 23 November. Seventeen Fieldfares flew east over Mill Hill while I was up there with Cookie. Three Redwings were with them and another was in the bushes. Later we visited Beeding Brooks with Megan seeing 3 Short-eared Owls mainly in the same area (over towards the Small Dole road) as last week, 40+ Fieldfares and 2 Reed Buntings.

Wednesday 21 November. A late afternoon visit to the River Adur produced an adult Mediterranean Gull, 9 Redshank and 2 Dunlin, one of the later appeared almost as dark as a Green Sandpiper. Earlier on the way to take my car to the garage a Sparrowhawk flew over.

dark Dunlin on the Adur at dusk!

Sunday 18 November. A visit to Pulborough and the Burgh with DB was quickly curtailed when I realised I had a flat tyre. I then couldn’t get the jack to work, the one I’d been given with the car was for an opal not a Fiat and had a different head. I borrowed Megan’s, for a Kia, which seemed to fit better but still didn’t seem to work so called the RAC. They put on the space saver but I was reluctant to drive far on it. They punctured tyre had a screw in the outside of it and was not repairable so I decided to wait to take it into the garage later in the week. In the afternoon Megan and I took Cookie behind the Power Station seeing a Peregrine sat near the chimney, 5 Turnstones and a Rock Pipit.

Peregrine at Shoreham Harbour

Saturday 17 November. I took Cookie up to Mill Hill where we saw 2 Grey Herons sat in the middle of a stubble field, 2 Buzzards, 4 Song Thrushes, 4 Goldfinches and a Linnet. Autumn is certainly over.

Friday 16 November. I took Cookie to Shoreham Fort seeing a Meadow Pipit and 21 Greenfinches so wasn’t best pleased to later learn that two Black Redstarts were seen there later. We called in at the Adur seeing 5 Ringed and 3 Grey Plover, 17 Dunlin and 12 Redshank but very few gulls. In the afternoon Megan and I took Cookie to Beeding Brooks where 3 Short-eared Owls were a welcome sight. Also 6 Fieldfare and 600+ Jackdaws gathering before roosting.

Short-eared Owl on Beeding Brooks, ther closest I came with the camera

Wednesday 14 November. I took Cookie to Brooklands on the off-chance the Pallas’s Leaf Warbler might still be around but it had gone overnight. We saw an adult Mediterranean Gull on the lake and 3 Chiffchaffs, 5 Goldcrest and 11 Long-tailed Tits in the bushes. Later as the sun was shining we went with Megan to Beeding Hill where the Little Owl was sunning itself. Also 24 Fieldfares and 6 Redwings were my first winter thrushes.

Little Owl at Beeding Hill

Mediterranean Gull at Brooklands

Sunday 11 November. Poor weather stopped me going further than a dog walk in Buckingham Park where 60 Goldfinches was the only notebook entry.

rainbow over Buckingham Park