Sunday 21 August. Mill Hill 06:05-08:55: 2 Stock Doves, Peregrine (on cement works chimney), Willow Warbler, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Lesser and 13 Common Whitethroats, 2 Spotted Flycatchers and 16 Goldfinches. Also my first Autumn Lady's Tresses this year. Later a Raven was heard as we walked to our allotment.
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| Autumn Lady's Tresses on Mill Hill |
Saturday 20 August. 2 adult & 8 young Mute Swans, a Lapwing, 32 Ringed Plover and 2 Dunlin on the Adur with Megan and Cookie. The footpath is finally open (again) on the airport side.Friday 19 August. I walked the Beeding Hill triangle with David Buckingham and Cookie seeing 7 Stock Doves, 3 Kestrels, Peregrine, 4 Swallows, Chiffchaff, 5 Whitethroats, male Redstart, 4 Whinchats, 4 Wheatears, Meadow Pipit and at least 16 Corn Buntings. On the way home 18 Ringed Plover, Whimbrel and Dunlin but only a dead stork under the railway bridge (the flock of 19 were there before our visit when one was hit by a train, later the remaining 18 were back on the Adur briefly and the next day they departed south from Dungeness).
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| Whinchat on Beeding Hill |
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Purple & Gold on Truleigh Hill
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Thursday 18 August. Mill Hill 06:10-09:00: 2 Greylag and 35 Canada Geese (at Cuckoos Corner), Green Woodpecker, Peregrine (on cement works chimney), 2 Jays, 2 Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, 2 Garden Warblers, 2 Lesser and 13 Common Whitethroats and 2 Linnets. After a brief return home to collect Megan and Cookie we saw the 2 adult & 8 young Mute Swans, 14 Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Dunlin and 29 Turnstones on the Adur and 11 Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, 2 Dunlin, 3 Turnstones, 26 Redshank, Greenshank and Sandwich Tern at Town Quay/Coronation Green. Early evening Richard Allen posted news of 19 released White Storks to the Adur Birding WhatsApp group and I hurried down seeing them from the Old Toll Bridge. Part of the Knepp Introduction but quite spectacular despite their plasticity.
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| looking SW from Mill Hill |
Tuesday 16 August. Mill Hill morning & afternoon visits: 2 Green Woodpeckers, Willow Warbler, 11 Whitethroats and 15 Swallows.
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| Orange Swift in our garden |
Monday 15 August. Mill Hill 06:10-08:30: Sparrowhawk, 2 Willow Warblers, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, a Lesser and 4 Common Whitethroats and 2 Goldfinches.
Sunday 14 August. Mill Hill 06:10-08:25: 11 Willow Warblers, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Lesser and 14 Common Whitethroats, 5 Spotted Flycatchers, a Redstart and 2 Yellowhammers. Later Megan and I took Cookie to Lancing Ring where we saw 2 Willow Warblers, a Whitethroat and the Long-tailed Blue but failed again with Brown Hairstreak.
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| Spotted Flycatcher on Mill Hill |
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| Yellowhammer on Mill Hill |
Saturday 13 August. I caught up with Long-tailed Blue at Lancing Ring. It took 2 minutes to find in exactly the same spot I'd spent an hour at yesterday. It was much smaller than I was expecting and its erratic flight wasn't easy for me to follow. I also saw 2 Willow Warblers, a Lesser and 3 Common Whitethroats and Spotted and Pied Flycatcher.
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| Long-tailed Blue at Lancing Ring |
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| Spotted Flycatcher at Lancing Ring |
Friday 12 August. I took Cookie up to Lancing Ring from Sussex Pad. We saw Red-legged Partridge, Sparrowhawk, 2 Buzzards, a Swallow, 20 House Martins and a female Bullfinch. We couldn't find the Long-tailed Blue despite about an hour in the area it had been seen, no luck with Brown Hairstreak either.
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| Topiary Cat near Lancing College Equestrian Centre |
Thursday 11 August. Willow Warbler at our allotment.
Wednesday 10 August. Megan and I took Cookie to Pulborough and walked around the woods (nice and shady) and out on the footpath towards the riverbank (very hot in the sun). From there I dived onto the reserve and saw the Wood Sandpiper from Jupp's Viewpoint while Megan took Cookie back to the car. Back home a mid afternoon call from Matt Palmer to say he had a juvenile Caspian Gull on the Adur at Town Quay. I grabbed my bins and camera and arrived on my bike 10-12 minutes later. Fortunately Matt was still watching it (without him I'm sure I would have overlooked it). An interesting looking bird and not an age I was familiar with but fortunately it stayed for half an hour before flying off down river. I took some convincing but it seemed to show the requisite features (see images below).
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| Wood Sandpiper at Pulborough |
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| juvenile Caspian Gull from Town Quay showing typical tertials |
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| long legs and some venetian blind effect in the stretched wing |
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| pale head |
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| long thin structure and uniform greater coverts |
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| whitish underwing and pale inner primaries |
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| small head and longish bill |
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| solid black tail band and paler edges to inner primaries |
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