More seawatching and the first Pom 21-23 April

Friday 23 April. I woke early and headed to Seaford arriving at Splash Point just after 05:30. Seawatching from 05:40-12:40 I saw a Brent Goose, 2 Canada Geese, 3 Shelduck, 2 Shoveler, 2 Pintail, 6 Teal, 90 Common Scoter, Great Crested Grebe, Oystercatcher, 5 summer-plumaged Grey Plover, a Curlew, 115 Whimbrel, 130 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Turnstones, a winter-plumaged Knot, 6 Sanderling, 3 Dunlin, 11 Little and 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls, 42 Sandwich, 2 Little and 24 Commic Terns (4 considered Common and 12 Arctic), a pale Pomarine (eventually, at 12:33) and 7 Arctic Skuas (3 pale and 4 dark), 17+ Guillemots, 2 close Razorbills, 3 Red-throated and a Black-throated Diver, 40 Fulmars, 4 Manx Shearwaters (flying east at 08:04, nice spot Jake) , 80+ Gannets, Kestrel (in), Peregrine, 3 Swallows, a Chiffchaff and a Rock Pipit.

pale morph Pomarine Skua passing Splash Point, Seaford

possibly the bird seen at Selsey Bill almost three hours earlier

if so it must have lingered somewhere as it wasn't hanging around at Seaford. Two seen at Selsey and one at Beachy at about 07:00 were not picked up at Seaford much to the disappointment of the observers looking 

it might not look it from these images but this bird was quiet close

I had some great company seawatching and would otherwise have missed a lot. By the time the Pom came I was about to pack up, everyone else having departed a[art from Jack on the hill above.

Thursday 22 April. Another early start and just over 3 hours seawatching from Widewater before meeting Megan and Cookie at Mill Hill. During 05:55-09:15 I saw 2 Oystercatchers, 24 Whimbrel, 31 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Turnstones, 8 Common Gulls, 25 Sandwich Terns and 2 Fulmars flying east with 16 Gannets offshore. On the sea were the male and female Eider which had appeared after I'd left the previous morning, a female Goosander that flew in from the west, landed on the sea then drifted back west and 2 Great Crested Grebes while 6 Bar-tailed Godwits, were on the lagoon (I didn't have time to look for the 6 Whimbrel). On Mill Hill we saw Sky Lark, Long-tailed Tit, 3 Chiffchaffs, 3 Whitethroat, 6 Linnets, 5 Goldfinches and a male Yellowhammer. Late afternoon I cycled around the Adur seeing 3 Whimbrel and 10 Bar-tailed Godwits by the airport, no Cattle Egret near the Dog's Trust, the Eider still present on the sea off Widewater, 6 each of Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit still on the lagoon, 2 Mediterranean Gulls distantly offshore and 7 Common/Arctic Terns flying east. Last stop was the Houseboat Channel on the Adur Saltings where the wintering Greenshank was still present, my first sighting of it this month.

Whimbrel over Widewater beach

the pair of Eider, they drifted west then flew back to where they'd started

the female Goosander on the sea off Widewater

it flew in from the west just before 07:55 and landed in front of us

it slowly drifted west and was later seen flying west past Climping

Whimbrel and a Bar-tailed Godwit off Widewater

two of the six Bar-tailed godwits on Widewater lagoon

another three

Yellowhammer on Mill Hill

the Eider still present just offshore

Wednesday 21 April. I seawatched from Widewater from 05:55-07:40. Flying east were 4 Wood Pigeons, 2 Oystercatchers, a winter Sanderling, 40 mostly adult Mediterranean Gulls, 26 Sandwich Terns, a distant diver and 2 Gannets. Two male and two female Wheatears were on the beach/groynes although none lingered. I continued to North Stoke for my South Downs Farmland Birds survey, or something similar. It was fairly uninspiring with highlights 4 Red-legged and 7 Grey Partridges, 4 Lapwings, 2 Red Kites, 2 Ravens, 8 Sky Larks, a Swallow, 7 Whitethroats, 19 Dunnocks, 5 Linnets and a pair of Yellowhammers.