Mostly juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls around Shoreham (11-16 July)

Tuesday 11 July. I took Cookie to Cuckoos Corner and walking north we saw 3 Swifts, 2 Common Sandpipers, 4 Little Egrets, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Skylarks, 15 House Martins, a Sedge and 4 Reed Warblers, 4 Linnets and 4 Reed Buntings. As the tide was fairly low we stopped at the Adur on our return seeing Whimbrel, juvenile Yellow-legged Gull and 10 Little Egrets. Two Swifts were seen over our garden at dusk.

juvenile Black-headed Gull at Cuckoos Corner

Reed Bunting singing near Cuckoos Corner

Reed Warbler near Cuckoos Corner

juvenile Yellow-legged Gull on the Adur

Little Egrets on the Adur

Wednesday 12 July. Megan and I took Cookie to Mill Hill where all we saw were single Buzzard, Kestrel and Whitethroat. An afternoon trip to the Adur was much more productive with 2 Whimbrel, single summer-plumage Knot and Dunlin and 23 Mediterranean and 2 juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls. The Mediterranean Gulls comprised 19 adults and 4 first-summers, the latter included a green colour-ringed first-summer which was too distant to read (possibly R7UN seen there two days earlier (and at Zeebrugge; Brugge; BELGIUM in June 2023).

Red Admiral at Mill Hill

juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls on the Adur

with Mediterranean Gull

Thursday 13 July. Megan and I took Cookie to the end of Harbour Way, walked beside the river (where possible) to the Adur Ferry Bridge and back along the boardwalk to the Fort and Harbour West Arm. We saw a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull on the river from Sussex Wharf and another 2 on the beach from the West Arm. A feeding flock of 150-200 mostly Herring Gulls were feeding on Whitebait along the shore while 10 Mediterranean Gulls (6 adults, 3 second-summers and a first summer) and 2 Sandwich Terns were also seen. Another productive low-tide visit to the Adur produced a juvenile Little Ringed Plover (with 2 distant unidentified 'ringed plover' seen later), 3 Whimbrel, a Redshank and 14 Mediterranean and at least 2 juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls. The Mediterranean Gulls comprised 10 adults, 3 second-summers and a first-summer.

juvenile Yellow-legged Gull from Sussex Wharf

juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls on the beach from Shoreham Harbour west arm

with first-summer Mediterranean Gull

second-summer Mediterranean Gull on the Adur

adult Mediterranean Gull on the airfield building site, colour-ring unreadable 

juvenile Yellow-legged Gull by the Adur pumping station

juvenile Little Ringed Plover on the Adur sandbar

  

juvenile Yellow-legged Gull on the Adur sandbar

another juvenile Yellow-legged Gull on the Adur, not sure about the right hand bird

Friday 14 July. A quiet seawatch from Widewater in SE winds gusting 50 mph produced a loose departing flock of 17 Swifts, a second-summer Mediterranean Gull along the beach, a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull flying west and 7 Gannets east.

Saturday 15 July. Megan and I took Cookie to Southwick Canal hoping the gales might have brought something in but it didn't appear to have done so although there appeared to be 3 juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls roosting on the far side. A quieter low-tide visit to the Adur produced a Whimbrel, 3 adult Mediterranean and 4 juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls.  

roosting gulls at Southwick Canal

juvenile Yellow-legged Gull by the Adur pumping station

                           

juvenile Yellow-legged Gull on the Adur

another juvenile Yellow-legged Gull on the Adur

and then there were three

Sunday 16 July. Megan and I took Cookie to Brooklands where we saw 15 Swifts, Little Grebe, a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull and 4 House Martins. An early evening visit to the Adur produced 2 Little Ringed Plovers (adult and juvenile), Whimbrel, 3 Mediterranean Gulls (2 adults and a juvenile) and 2 juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls.

juvenile Yellow-legged Gull at Brooklands

                         

Kestrel at Brooklands

juvenile Little Ringed Plover on the Adur

adult Little Ringed Plover on the Adur

 juvenile Yellow-legged Gull on the Adur

2 juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls on the Adur, one at each end

the left-hand Yellow-legged Gull from above, without tail missing