Mostly Beachy (03-05 October)

Monday 05 October. Waking early I decided to go to Beachy and arrived on the Head at 07:15. I started at Shooters Bottom and drove to the Old Trapping Area before the parking charge kicked in. From 8-12 I walked along the Cliff Path, dropped down into Frances Bottom and to the beach at Cow Gap, up into Whitebread Hollow and back along the Rides. While in the Hollow I saw a Sussex Birds WhatsApp message from Brian Cox who had found 2 Lapland Bunting by the Compass Rose near the Bomber Memorial, all of a 50m diversion. After obtaining flight views of one I went along the Cliff Path again to look for more Ring Ouzels and saw a smart male. I drove down to Birling and covered Belle Tout then Michell Dean, both of which were quiet, as was Crowlink where I finished. An enjoyable day although despite much looking I failed to find a Yellow-browed Warbler, a shade annoying as there were 3 on the eastern edge of Brighton. I saw 2 Short-eared Owls, 2 Peregrines, 3 Ravens, Wood Lark (E over Frances Bottom), 20 Swallows, 6 Long-tailed Tits, 30 Chiffchaffs, 28 Blackcaps, 2 Whitehroats, Firecrest (Cliff Path), 4 Goldcrests (2 Cliff Path & 2 Birling Lane), 3 Ring Ouzels (Cliff Path), 8 Song Thrushes, Redstart (Rides), 45 Stonechats, Wheatear, 120 Meadow Pipits, 30 Chaffinches, a female/juvenile Brambling (Shooters), 120 Linnets, 9 Redpolls (E over Frances Bottom), 4 Crossbills (E over Cliff Path), 200 Goldfinches, 98 Siskins (plus several more heard) and a Lapland Bunting. While searching for them I flushed 5 birds, the first two I looked at were Meadow Pipits, the third a Lapland Bunting which I stayed on until they all disappeared over the brow. Another half hour of looking resulted in a single flight call the direction of which I was unable to ascertain.

Short-eared Owl in Frances Bottom

my first view of Ring Ouzel, along the Cliff Path from Frances Botton, another was seen even more poorly.

a second Short-eared Owl flushed from Frances Bottom

Redstart in the Rides

returning along the Cliff path for better views of Ring Ouzel paid off

only saw one of the five seen by others but with views like this I wasn't bothered

8 of the 9 Stonechats frequenting the fence behind the hotel

other Stonechats

Field Vole at Beachy

tiny and furry

a regular sight over Beachy

Sunday 04 October. Megan and I too Cookie to Brooklands where we successfully dodged showers. We saw a Mute Swan with 4 youngsters, Tufted Duck, Swallow and 5 Chiffchaffs and heard a Cetti's Warbler. In the afternoon, only partially successful in dodging showerts, I took Cookie to Buckingham Park. We checked every sycamore but could find no warblers of any description.

Saturday 03 October. With strong winds and early rain forecast Frank and I went to Seaford but an hour seawatching produced only 10 Brent Geese, 15 Wigeon, 9 Common Scoter and 20 Gannets. We continued up onto Seaford Head parking by the barn and walking around and up Hope Gap before checking Harry's Bush and the disappointingly small gull flock in the Cuckmere. We spent a couple of hours with the latter which slowly built up to almost 550 gulls, mostly Great Black-backs with one adult Yellow-legged picked out. One of the Great Black-backs had a Le Havre colour-ring but was too distant and not standing for long enough before sitting down. We returned the way we had come finding a missing part of Frank's tripod in Hope Gap. We'd seen 25 Wigeon, Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, 10 Little Egrets, 3 Ravens, 2 Swallows, 20 House Martins, 4 Chiffchaffs, 7 Blackcaps, 5 Stonechats, 3 Wheatears and a Rock Pipit. Unsure what to do when back at the car we decided to try the Coastguard Cottages and have another look at the gull flock but half way down, with the gull flock looking somewhat diminished, we heard there was a Yellow-browed Warbler below Belle Tout Lighthouse at Beachy. Unsure what to do I/we decided to go. I wasn't at all confident of seeing it but felt it was better to go and dip than not go and discover it showed all afternoon. We went and missed it by about half an hour, a nice bright one apparently. Great. Seeing Swallows, House Martins, 6 Chiffchaffs, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Whinchat and c15 Stonechats provided little compensation. Hopefully I'll have more chances of Yellow-browed Warbler this autumn.

Wheatear at Hope Gap

Le Havre Great Black-backed Gull, probably 64E, in the Cuckmere

Whinchat at Beachy