The first hundred (01-05 January)

I like to get the year off to a decent start and my first milestone is usually seeing the first hundred species in the UK. I've never managed to do so on 1st January§ (89 in West Sussex in 2009 was closest). Three times I've done so by the end of 2nd January (reaching 107 in 2010), 4 times by the 3rd, 3 times by 4th and including this year 3 times by 5th. The latest it took me was until 1st August 1982 (Spotted Flycatcher on Howden Moors, Yorkshire a couple of days too late for Britain's first Marmora's Warbler after I had spent over six months birding in Asia).            § I did see 149 species on 1st January 1978 but that was in southern Kenya.

Wednesday 05 January. After I made another abortive attempt to see the Southwick Canal Long-tailed Duck we took Cookie up to Devil's Dyke and wandered along the South Downs Way enjoying the sunshine and views over the Weald and to the sea. Six Skylarks and 3 Corn Buntings was as good as it got. Returning home before lunch I made a sandwich and headed to Whiteway's Lodge for a determined assault on the handful of species I still needed for the first hundred. There Coal Tit, Nuthatch, 5 Chaffinches and 3 Bramblings got me over the line. Moving on to Sherwood Rough I added Pheasant (!!), 2 Hawfinches and a Linnet. Finally around Burpham I saw 6 adult Bewick's Swans, Grey Partridge, Marsh Harrier, 3 Red Kites, 4 Buzzards, Chiffchaff and Mistle Thrush taking me to 107 species seen for the year. Exactly 100 short of the number I saw in Sussex in 2021 (and only 360 days to do so).

Tuesday 04 January. During a morning around Shoreham with Cookie I saw 7 Brent Geese, 2 Shelduck, an Eider (on the sea), 3 Common Scoter, 8 Little Grebes, 2 Kittiwakes, a Razorbill and 2 unidentified 3 auks and 3 Red-throated and an unidentified Diver at Widewater. A Purple Sandpiper was on the wooden jetty at Shoreham Fort and a big tide revealed 43 Teal, 2 Curlew, 89+ Common Snipe, 53 Redshank, a Greenshank, a Meadow and 2 Rock Pipits and 2 Reed Buntings on the Adur Saltings. A brief stop in middle Road failed to produce any parakeets while 25 House Sparrows were seen on an afternoon walk along Southwick Canal with Megan and Cookie.

mainly Common Snipe on the Adur Saltings

a few Redshank too

Monday 03 January. I met David Buckingham in Steyning for a wild swan chase, him having seen a distant pair with 3 juveniles on the floods south of Henfield the previous afternoon. They had flown out of sight behind Rye Farm before he could be sure of their identity and he couldn't relocate them. We parked in Henfield and walked south along the Downslink to overlook the floods but only saw Mute Swans. Returning almost to Henfield we took a footpath to the west towards Buckwish Farm which overlooked the western floods. There we found the wild swans asleep but it wasn't until the woke and stuck their necks up that we were sure they were Bewick's Swans, two adults and three juveniles. Other waterfowl, mostly on the eastern flood, included 3 Egyptian Geese, 20 Shoveler, 70 Wigeon, 50 Teal and 30 Pintail.  We also saw Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest, Treecreeper, 29 Fieldfares and 4 Redwings.

Bewick's Swans on Henfield Levels

                          

Sunday 02 January. I seawatched at Widewater from 07:50-09:15, being joined by Matt Palmer not long after I arrived. I saw 3 distant auks and 6 Red-throated and a distant Diver flying east, 10 Brent Geese, 3 Eider, 47 Kittiwakes, 3 Red-throated and 2 distant Divers and 33 Gannets flying west and 3 Great Crested Grebes and a Red-throated Diver on the sea. I then met Megan and Cookie and we went for a walk around Lancing Ring and Steepdown. There I saw 4 Stock Doves, Buzzard, Raven, 15 Skylarks, single Redwing and Stonechat and 40 Corn Buntings. On the way home I stopped in Middle Road where both Lord Derby's and the Ring-necked Parakeet were in the favoured tree. In the afternoon we visited the allotment and I saw the Lord Derby's again as well as a Sparrowhawk and my first House Sparrows of the year.

Corn Bunting on Steepdown

Lord Derby's Parakeet in Middle Road, Shoreham

with Ring-necked Parakeet

Saturday 01 January. David Buckingham and I spent virtually all day at Pett and Rye. We arrived at the former soon after dawn with little apart from a superb sunrise seen on the way.  A brief seawatch from the sea wall at Pett produced a flock of 150-200 distant Common Scoter, 2 Great Crested Grebes and single Red-throated Diver, Fulmar and Gannet. An unpleasantly strong wind made viewing difficult and we soon concentrated on viewing the levels. Highlights were 2 Brent Geese, 1500 Lapwings, 110 Curlew, 2 Ruff, 2 Great White Egrets and 2 male Marsh Harriers. We continued to a busy Rye Harbour where the flat beach at high tide was teeming with waders including 400+ Oystercatchers, 2000 Lapwings, 3000 Golden Plover, 180 Curlew, a Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Ruff, 10 Sanderling, 500 Dunlin, and 6 Common Snipe. Also seen were a distabt first-winter Caspian Gull, the long staying Spoonbill and a Great White Egret. We walked the long circuit around to Castle Water to the viewpoint seeing a high flying Pink-footed/Tundra Bean Goose (heading south then west), 150 Shoveler, 120 Gadwall, the Black-necked Grebe, a second-winter Mediterranean Gull, a Scandinavian 'argentatus' Herring Gull, 4 Ravens and 2 Stonechats along the way. From the viewpoint we saw 200+ Cormorants, 3 Great White Egrets, a flock of a 3 Little and a Cattle Egret , a Sparrowhawk and male and female Marsh Harriers heading to roost. An enjoyable day, a pity Rye isn't closer or it didn't take so long crossing East Sussex to get back.

Bexhill sunrise

Golden Plover on the Flat Beach at Rye arbour

Spoonbill on the Flat Beach at Rye Harbour. While watching the waders someone came up and asked us if a distant egret was a Great White, not having seen one we asked where it was. Near the Spoonbill was the reply. We'd not seen that either! He was right about the Great White Egret too.

 was completely out of sorts digiscoping so only a poor image of the Caspian Gull is shown below but it gives a reasonable impression of the bird. seeing 70 or so species each and hearing a few more (DB does better in this respect than I do).