Shoreham (03-05 April)

Sunday 05 April. Better on the bike today visiting Shoreham Beach, Widewater, Shoreham Fort, New Salts Farm and the Adur Saltings. Flying east were 55 Brent Geese, 3 Shelduck, 2 Shoveler, 5 Pochard, 393 Scoter (disappointingly all those close enough to identify were Common even though several showed pale flashes when the light caught their underwings), 4 Red-breasted Mergansers, 2 Whimbrel, 3 Sanderling, 3 Little, 39 Black-headed, 53 Mediterranean and 126 Common Gulls, 164 Sandwich, 3 Common and a commic Tern, 5 divers (4 identified as  Red-throated), 3 Fulmars, 42 Gannets and a Short-eared Owl. Despite a light/moderate SE wind it was very clear and most birds were a long way out, hopefully including all those I didn't pick up. The Short-eared Owl was coasting east when I arrived at 06:20 then headed inland pursued by gulls while a male Wheatear was disturbed from the beach when I left at 08:50, in danger of being swamped by the rising tide. At the harbour 4 Purple Sandpipers were roosting on the wooden jetty and 20 Turnstones on the beach. A summer-plumaged Scandinavian Rock Pipit surprisingly song-flighted and was then running around by the Fort but typically disappeared while I was getting out my camera. Single Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit and Greenshank were opposite the houseboats.

Four Purple Sandpipers at Shoreham Harbour (taken with the old camera, the new one doesn't fit in my cycling bag with telescope and tripod)

a sightly more identifiable image of three of them

Turnstones roosting on the beach

Saturday 04 April. A bike around Shoreham didn't get further than the beach where after an hour the fog rolled in. Until then I'd only seen 10 Brent and 3 Canada Geese, 34 Common Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Red-throated Divers and 2 Gannets and so was about ready to come home! Unsurprisingly very few were about when I was.

Friday 03 April. Megan and I took Cookie up to Mill Hill for our daily exercise. We saw 2 Buzzards, Chiffchaff and Blackcap. Later a Stock Dove was in the garden.

Common Buzzard over Mill Hill

getting the hang of my new camera was helped by it hanging in the wind

Dunnock

Peacock at Mill Hill. We saw 3-4 as well as our first Brimstone and a dullTortoiseshell