More seawatching and an American Sparrow (17-23 April)

Monday 17 April. I seawatched at Widewater from 06:15-08:45 in very light SE winds and reasonable visibility. Flying east (unless stated otherwise) were 2 Brent Geese, 6 Shelduck, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, 175 Common Scoter, Great Crested Grebe, 12 Oystercatchers, 2 Whimbrel (1E & 1N), 7 Turnstones, 13 Black-headed, 4 Mediterranean and 6 Common Gulls, 24 Sandwich Terns, 3 Common/Arctic Terns, a Guillemot (on the sea), 3 Fulmars, 11 Gannets, a Short-eared Owl (first seen at some distance as it came in off the sea and headed over to the airport) and 2 Wheatears on the rocks. I returned home to collect Cookie and we went to West Mill where 2 Nightingales were singing and 2 Lapwings and 7 Sand Martins were seen over the levels but otherwise it was fairly quiet (Cetti's Warbler and Chiffchaff heard, Blackcap and 2 Reed Buntings seen but no sign of the Stonechat I had seen carrying nesting material on my last visit). Mid-afternoon I drove over to Rackham to look for Garganey but by the time I arrived the light was atrocious and even the closest duck were unidentifiable silhouettes. One of the introduced Wight-tailed Eagles was sat in a tree, also against the light and so even less exciting than usual. Greatham was better and I soon picked up the pair of Garganey feeding voraciously in the far SE corner of the flood where I had nice but still fairly distant scope views. Also at Greatham were a pair of Tufted Duck and several of Shoveler, Gadwall and Teal, 2 Swallows and 7 Sand and a House Martin. A Nightingale and Cetti's Warbler were heard and 3 Reed Buntings. I continued on to Lavington Common where I heard a couple of distant Woodlark and saw Great Spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit and a male Siskin but no Woodcock despite staying until after dark.

Wheatear on the rocks at Widewater

Whimbrel over the beach at Widewater

Short-eared Owl heading inland over Widewater

Nightingale at West Mill

Garganey at Greatham

Tuesday 18 April. Cookie and I walked from Cuckoo Corner to Dacre Gardens and back. It was somewhat disappointing in a cold NE wind with 2 Red Kites, a Buzzard, 2 Skylarks, 6 Linnets and 3 Reed Buntings seen. The ditch I was hoping for a Sedge Warbler in looked fairly sparse with the reeds having died back although was still attractive to Reed Buntings. Later Megan, Cookie and I went to the Adur walking down from the Old Toll Bridge. Megan wanted to visit Pets Corner for some dog biscuits so I took Cookie on to Town Quay where I saw 2 Whimbrel. We walked back up to the Old Toll Bridge but our timing could have been better as probably while we were passing Ropetackle Tony Benton had a Spoonbill briefly drop in north of the railway bridge before being harassed by gulls and flying off north. We had been walking opposite the Waterfront 10 minutes too early and 5 minutes too late, not something I'm keen to repeat!

Whimbrel at Town Quay

                              

Wednesday 19 April. I seawatched at Widewater from 06:25-09:20 in very light/moderate NE/E winds and reasonable visibility. Flying east (unless stated otherwise) were a drake Pintail, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, an 1 Oystercatcher, an Avocet that came in over the beach heading west, 8 Grey Plover, 34 Whimbrel, 83 Bar-tailed Godwits, 4 Black-headed, 30E+1W Mediterranean and 6 Common Gulls, 42 Sandwich Terns, a Red-throated Diver, 3 Fulmars, 39 Gannets and 3 Linnets while a Yellow Wagtail was heard but not seen. I met Megan and Cookie at Harbour Way and we walked around the Fort and along the boardwalk.

Wall Lizards on Shoreham Fort

Thursday 20 April.  I seawatched at Widewater from 06:35-08:50 in moderate NE winds and good visibility. Flying east (unless stated otherwise) were 5 Common Scoter, 42 Whimbrel, 12 Black-headed, an adult Mediterranean and 9 Common Gulls, 32 Sandwich Terns (and 5 W) and 24 Gannets. A Chicffchaff came in and 2 female Wheatears were on the rocks when I arrived. Later on Mill Hill with Megan and Cookie I heard a Lesser Whitethroat and saw 2 Swallows, single Chiffchaff and Blackcap and 5 Linnets.

Friday 21 April. After dropping Megan in Shoreham I took Cookie to the Adur where in a brief visit I saw 2 Greenshank opposite the airfield.

Greenshank on the Adur

Saturday 22 April. With seawatching from Widewater usually being uninspiring and a light E/SE forecast I decided to try Seaford. Knowing Matt Eade would be there provided a welcome 'push' to leave my local area. I arrived at Splash Point at 06:05 joining ME and Brian Cox on the groyne. We were joined on the groyne by Nick Pope and Liam and Jon Curson with Simon Linington and others watching from the beach. It was fairly slow but just enough was passing to keep my interest although some drifted away. I counted 11 Brent Geese, 7 Velvet and 385 Common Scoter, 40 Whimbrel, 19 Bar-tailed Godwits, 95 Black-headed and 41 Mediterranean Gulls (30 adults, 7 second-summers and 4 first-summers), a Great and 7 Arctic Skuas (4 dark and 3 pale morphs), 33 Sandwich Terns (but missed a distant flock of Commics when I arrived) and 7 Red-throated Divers flying east up to 09:50. Then, soon after ME had returned from a circuit around Seaford Head, Brian received a call from Nick Pope who had been home and with his wife taken Brillo to Hope Gap for a walk  where he'd found a White-crowned Sparrow! The fastest ever abandonment of a seawatch ensued, a race through Seaford to South Hill Barn Car Park and a hurried walk into Hope Gap for the most stressful 4 hours I can remember. Nick had seen the sparrow well twice but had to leave the area to get a phone signal and put out the news. When he returned he couldn't relocate it and neither could the gathering crowd for the next 3 hours, despite covering a wider area. Then it reappeared very briefly in the top of a bush by the path for a second or two before flying out of sight. I was too slow and very frustratingly only saw the bird in silhouette. Another hour passed before it was seen again, another similarly very brief appearance which I missed completely. Soon after it was spotted in a rather obscured Elder where just about everyone of the 25 or so now present saw varying amounts of it as it moved around, everyone except John King and myself it seemed. I didn't even manage to see a movement despite valiant attempts of several others to help me onto it. After what seemed an age, but was probably only 10 minutes of extreme tension, the White-crowned Sparrow worked its way up in a small tree and appeared on a bare branch in almost full view (very many thanks to Jake Everitt for getting me onto it). Fantastic and a massive relief. I had long since given up on any thoughts of photographing the bird (my camera was firmly in my bag), being much more concerned about actually seeing it. Here is a BoC of one Jake took while I was next to him.

White-crowned Sparrow at Hope Gap (photo: Jake Everitt)

Sunday 23 April. Megan and I took Cookie to the Adur for a quick walk around the Adur in the rain. We saw single Bar-tailed Godwit and Greenshank on the river and 2 Skylarks, 4 Meadow Pipits and 2 Linnets by the airfield.

Bar-tailed Godwit on the Adur