Around Shoreham and Worthing (15-20 November)

Wednesday 20 November. I took Cookie to Brooklands where the Firecrest was still in the sallows favoured by last year's Pallas's Leaf Warbler. With a SE wind I had a faint hope there might be a repeat. Needless to say there wasn't with possibly the same 2 Chiffchaffs and Goldcrest seen there on my previous visit just over a week ago. Also a fast moving Tit flock with at least 11 Long-tailed and 7 Blue Tits. Eleven Teal and 4 Little Grebes were on the lake with lots of ordinary looking gulls (gulls always look pretty ordinary to me at Brooklands). I returned home then cycled down into Shoreham to do one or two chores coming back via the Adur as it was low tide. A Kingfisher was hunting from one of the boats south of the railway line and caught a tiny fish in one of the pools there. It hovered a lot as did one seen north of the railway line on 16th. Regretably I'd not bothered with a telescope so it was inevitable I would see, but not be able to read, a colour-ringed Herring Gull although it was almost certainly a North Thames bird. My Adur between railway and A27 remains at 249 colour-rings read involving 153 individual gulls of 8 species. Adult Yellow-legged Gulls were seen north of the Old Toll Bridge on the west bank of the river and on mudflats just south of it. Also 4 Oystercatchers, 7 Ringed Plover, 6 Dunlin and 4 Redshank. 

gulls on the Adur at low tide

adult Yellow-legged Gull north of the Old Toll Bridge

black on the bill quite noticable

adult Yellow-legged Gull south of the Old Toll Bridge, cleaner around the eye and neater bill

colour-ringed Herring Gull on the Adur, most likely a North Thames bird

Tuesday 19 November. I took Cookie up to Mill Hill which was expectedly quiet with 3+ Long-tailed Tits, 2 Goldcrests, 5 Song Thrushes and 2 Goldfinches.  

typical November morning on Mill Hill

Monday 18 November. Megan and I took Cookie to Widewater and walked along to Lancing Beach Green. Very few birds were seen despite the sea being flat calm. Sparrowhawk and Kingfisher were the only noteworthy species.

  

Sunday 17 November. Megan and I took Cookie to Cissbury but it was disappointingly quiet. We saw both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 8 Long-tailed Tits, a Goldcrest and 5 Greenfinches with a few Song and several Blackbirds the only thrushes seen.

Saturday 16 November. Cookie and I walked around the Adur seeing 2 Oystercatchers, 69 Lapwings, a Knot, 9 Redshank, Little Egret, Kingfisher, 3 Sky Larks, 2 Rock Pipits and some gulls.

Knot on the Adur

Herring Gulls on the Adur

presumed intermedius Lesser Black-back

Friday 15 November. I took Cookie up to Lancing Ring where a small flock near the car park included 6 Long-tailed Tits and a Goldcrest.  We walked around Steepdown which wasn't too pleasant in a cold and sometimes damp wind. Birds were keeping low but we did see (mostly in flight) 7 Sky Larks, 22 Corn and a Reed Bunting.