Another week around Shoreham (28 January-03 February)

Wednesday 03 February. With the promise of a SE wind I went to Widewater for an early seawatch. Despite BBC Weather showing a couple of hours of SE when I left home it was light NW when I arrived. Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised, when I'd looked the previous evening and made my plans t was shown as a morning of SE. The sea was fairly calm with an offshore wind and visibility there was poor, half a mile at best. It was very quiet for the first half hour but then suddenly picked up as presumable a shoal of fish moved closer. In a very active hour, mostly in heavy rain, 70 Gannets were offshore and 2 Great Crested Grebes, 10 auks of which at least 5 were Razorbills, 7 Red-throated and a Black-throated Divers were seen on the sea fairly close to the shore. Flying east were 8 Brent Geese, 2 Oystercatchers, a Kittiwake, 550 Herring Gulls (but only single figures of other gull species), 1170 auks (of which 67 were identified as Razorbills) and 55 divers (including presumably the same Black-throated and 39 Red-throateds). Again no duck were seen which was disappointing. Seven Little Grebes and a Kingfisher were seen on the lagoon, nothing amongst the gulls at Harbour Way and 2 Teal, 3 Oystercatchers, 129 Lapwings, a Grey Plover, 9 Redshank and 50 Common, 8 Great and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the Adur opposite Shoreham Airport. Sadly no American sparrows in my garden, not that I was looking ... 

poor image of Common Gull JL207 on the Adur. It was ringed as an adult in a colony just west of Oslo in April 2019 and I saw it once on the Adur last February. Welcome back to West Sussex

Tuesday 02 February. Megan and I took Cookie to Cissbury, the furthest I've been during lockdown but Megan needed to visit a garden centre to get some stuff for the allotment. It was expectedly quiet although a Treecreeper in the woods was nice (and my first of the year). Also seen were 2 Kestrels, Raven, 3 Sky Larks, Goldcrest, 30 Redwings, male Stonechat and 3 Greenfnches.

Treecreeper at Cissbury

Monday 01 February. Megan and I took Cookie to Harbour Way, walked to the Adur Ferry Bridge and returned along the boardwalk and around the Fort. It was very quiet with a Great Crested Grebe and 2 Razorbills on the sea, a Red-throated Diver west and 5 Turnstones at the Fort.

Sunday 31 January. Megan and I took Cookie up to Mill Hill where, between 09:30 and 10:50 I saw 15 species, the most interesting being single Buzzard, Peregrine and Long-tailed Tit.

dark Buzzard on Mill Hill

Saturday 30 January. I seawatched from 08:20-10:30 at Widewater, sheltering by a beach hut from a moderate easterly wind. It was drizzly with poor visibility (maybe halfway to Rampion) and the majority of birds seen were close. The only duck seen, in what has been a very poor start to the year for them off (and on) Widewater, were a pair of Pintail, my first this year. On the sea and moving close offshore I identified similar numbers of Guillemots (34) and Razorbills (35), having managed just one of the former this year. Also seen were 2 Great Crested Grebes, 59 Kittiwakes (most flying E), 18 unidentified auks, 7 Red-throated and 4 unidentified divers, 3 Fulmars and about 80 Gannets.

 
Friday 29 January. I took Cookie up to the Beeding Hill car park and we walked along the Monarch's Way, up to Truleigh Hill and back along the top of Room Bottom. A strong wind kept birds down and in a little over two hours I saw 21 species. These included a Red Kite, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 600+ Jackdaws, 2 Ravens, 3 Sky Larks (and 3 heard), c925 Starlings, a Fieldfare, 6 Meadow Pipits, 3 Goldfinches, c185 Corn Buntings (including a flock of 180) and 2 Yellowhammers.

skirting Room Bottom

Thursday 28 January. Megan and I took Cookie to the Lancing Ring car park and walked around Steepdown in a strong NW wind. We saw Green Woodpecker, 2 Peregrines, 23 Sky Larks, 3 Redwing, a male Stonechat, 2 Linnets and 14 Corn and 9 Reed Buntings.