Another week around Shoreham (02-08 March)

Monday 08 March. I seawatched from Widewater for 90 minutes seeing just 20 Brent Geese, an adult Mediterranean Gull and an unidentified and a Red-throated Diver flying east. I met Megan and Cookie at Harbour Way and we walked along to Emerald Quay and back along the boardwalk to the Fort. A Chiffchaff was in one of the gardens, presumably newly arrived, and a Black Redstart on the Fort. At low tide I visited the Adur walking up to check the Cuckoos Corner gull roost. Only about 200 gulls were present but they did include 2 adult Mediterraneans, one with a colour-ring. Also on the Adur were 2 Shelduck, a Little Grebe, 12 Ringed Plover and 16 Dunlin.

Black Redstart on Shoreham Fort

presumably the Sailing Club bird

Mediterranean Gull at Cuckoos Corner

it landed and was joined by a second

which, when it came out of the river, showed off its colour-ring 

it was ringed as a chick at De Kreupel Island, Enkhuizen, Ijsselmeer, Noord-Holland in June 2016 and has been seen at Minsmere in June 2018, Icklesham in late March/early April 2019, Total, Antwerpen in July 2019, Copt Point, Folkestone in November 2019; Icklesham in late February/mid March 2020 and Copt Point again in late October 2020

a particularly smart Common Gull stealing the limelight

Sunday 07 March. Megan and I took Cookie up to Mill Hill. I recorded 26 species in just under 90 minutes, the best being Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Long-tailed Tits, 4 Redwings and a Mistle Thrush.

Mistle Thrush and a few small insects at Mill Hill

Saturday 06 March. Another disappointing seawatch from Widewater. This time it was very clear and whatever was moving was a long way out. David Buckingham being present for most of it made little difference to the end result. I saw 23 Brent Geese, 4 presumed Common Scoter, a Kittiwake, 4 distant auks, 9 divers (5 identified as Red-throated), a Fulmar and 15-20 Gannets. After Widewater we met at Harbour Way seeing the Black Redstart in Shoreham Sailing Club and presumably the same on Shoreham Fort when we walked around. We again met on the Adur seeing 3 Grey Plover, 29 Turnstones and 8 Dunlin. I walked up to Cuckoos Corner seeing 4 Mediterranean Gulls amongst about 300 Commons. One had a colour-ring as did a Herring Gull (from North Thames). Megan had some pea sticks for the allotment to collect from near Pulborough and we took Cookie for a walk around Rackham on the way home seeing a Coal and 3 Long-tailed Tits. It is a long time since I've thought it a good place for woodland birds.

Black Redstart at Shoreham Sailing Club

presumably the same bird on Shoreham Fort fewer than ten minutes later

Mediterranean Gull ALJY in the roost near Cuckoos Corner

a German bird

it was ringed as male chick in June 2013 at Pionierinsel Lühe, on the west bank of the Elbe, north of Hamburg and seen there and at nearby Grünendeich in July 2013, back at Pionierinsel Lühe in April 2015; on the East Frisian Island of Minsener Oog in July 2017; Pionierinsel Lühe in April 2019; Schillighafen (on the coast south of Minsener Oog) in August 2020 and at Hooksiel (north of Wilhelmshaven) in September 2020

Friday 05 March. Not feeling very energetic Megan and I took Cookie to the Adur only seeing 3 Grey Plovers and 4 Dunlin of note.

Thursday 04 March. I seawatched from Widewater in poor visibility seeing 52 Brent Geese, a Kittiwake and 2 Red-throated Divers flying east. Ten Great Crested Grebes were on the sea and a Knot along the tideline, before being flushed over towards the saltings by dog walkers. Megan and Cookie joined me to walk along the sand (it was a decent low tide) without seeing anything else. I stopped at the Adur seeing the Knot, Avocet, 3 Dunlin and 5 adult Mediterranean Gulls opposite the airport. Walking up to Cuckoos Corner was more productive with about 800 Common Gulls including 2 with colour-rings and 6 adult Mediterranean Gulls some of which were different from those by the airport.

Avocet on the Adur

Mediterranean Gull near the airport

Mediterranean Gulls at Cuckoos Corner

Common Gull JC786 at Cuckoos Corner

it was ringed as chick in July 2018 at Søndre Krægan, Lindesnes, Vest-Agder, Norway and has not been reported since

Common Gull X73P at Cuckoos Corner

it was ringed as breeding adult in May 2013 at a colony at Gräbendorfer See near Cottbus, SE of Berlin

Knot on the Adur

Wednesday 03 March. An hour seawatching from Widewater in poor visibility was more than enough for me with 2 Brent Geese flying west to show for it. Returning home I took Megan and Cookie to Brooklands which wasn't much clearer/better. We saw 19 Teal, 2 Little Grebes and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. 

Tuesday 02 March. I seawatched from Widewater seeing 10 Brent Geese, 3 Great Crested Grebes and 2 Red-throated Divers. The Avocet was still on the Adur with a Grey Plover and 3 Dunlin. I met Megan and Cookie art Mill Hill which was also very quiet with a Jay, 2 Sky Larks, 3 Chaffinches and 3 Greenfinches best.

poor visibility at Widewater

Avocet on the Adur

Jay on Mill Hill

Pleasant birding in the Shoreham Area (24 February-01 March)

Monday 01 March. I seawatched from Widewater in a light/moderate NE but saw very little. Birds might have been passing at distance, it was murky with Rampion not visible, but I doubt it. Flying east I saw a single Gannet off-shore and an Oystercatcher, 16 Turnstones and a Pied Wagtail long the beach. A Guillemot, Red-throated Diver and 3 Great Crested Grebes were on the sea and that was pretty much it. I met Megan and Cookie at the end of Harbour Way and saw 15 Cormorants and a probable Shag on the east arm of Shoreham Harbour, 4 Turnstones and 2 fishermen under the wooden jetty and nothing from the boardwalk. Megan took Cookie home and I wandered around Adur Rec waiting for the rising tide. I saw yesterday's Avocet and a Grey Plover just north of the railway line before looking over the saltings from the RSPB viewpoint. It was a big tide (6.5m) and most birds were forced to show themselves. I counted 14 Teal, 2 Oystercatchers, the Avocet, 4 Lapwings, 2 Curlew (a third eluded me), a Knot, 4 Dunlin, 53 Common Snipe, 45 Redshank, the wintering Greenshank, Grey Heron and 3 Reed Buntings.

the Avocet floated off the Adur Saltings

Sunday 28 February. Megan and I took Cookie to Dacre Gardens and walked west along the South Downs Way past the Annington pig city to the Steyning-Sompting Road. There we headed south almost to Steepdown and returned via Coombe Head and Botolphs. It took 2.5 hours and for the first time in ages we tired Cookie out. She only has small legs and it was further than we'd realised - 6 miles when I measured it on a map. We saw 3 Grey Herons, Buzzard, 2 Ravens, 12 Sky Larks, 45 Fieldfares, male Stonechat, 9 Pied Wagtails, 3 Chaffinches and a Reed Bunting. Later I cycled down to the Adur to successfully look for the Avocet.

Avocet (and Black-headed Gull) on the Adur

it was quite happy swimming

Saturday 27 February. Cookie and I had a three hour walk on the Downs around Beeding Hill (the NT car park-Monarch's Way-Truleigh Hill-Room Bottom triangle). I saw 29 species including 2 Stock Doves, 9 Buzzards, Peregrine, 2 Ravens, 39 Sky Larks, Goldcrest, 7 Redwings, 9 Dunnocks, 24 Meadow Pipits, 5 Chaffinches, 2 Greenfinches and 2 Corn Buntings. The Sky Larks were the clear highlight with a few more singing that weren't seen.

Friday 26 February. Megan and I took Cookie to Steepdown seeing Red Kite, 2 Buzzards, Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers, Kestrel, 2 Jays, 24 very vocal Sky Larks, Long-tailed Tit, 3 Stonechats, 2 Meadow Pipits, a Linnet and 8 Corn Buntings. Low tide on the Adur was disappointing, and quite busy with canoeists and bait-diggers. I saw a Grey Plover and 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls.

Red Kite over Steepdown

no longer an exceptional sighting locally although always nice to see

this was one of my best ever views

Kestrel on Steepdown

Thursday 25 February. I seawatched from Widewater in a light westerly with poor to moderate visibility before walking along to look for roosting waders at Golden Sands. Flying east I saw 5 Brent Geese, 10 adult Mediterranean Gulls (with another 2 briefly on the lagoon), 2 Red-throated Divers (2 also flew west) and a Fulmar. Two Great Crested Grebes, 2 auks and a diver were on the sea while  2 Teal, 14 Ringed Plover, 13 Turnstones and 2 Dunlin were also seen. On the Adur Saltings on a falling tide I saw 6 Teal, 11 Oystercatchers, a/the Curlew, 23 Redshank and the wintering Greenshank. A low tide visit to the Adur added 14 adult Mediterranean Gulls in the roost, 2 Little Egrets and a Kingfisher. At dusk 60 Jackdaws flew over the Red Lion.

view out to sea from Widewater with the murk slowly clearing

Redshank on the Adur Saltings

Greenshank on the Adur Saltings

Wednseday 24 February. I took Cookie to Widewater where we seawatched recording the following: Brent Goose 14E, Great Crested Grebe 2 on sea, Black-headed Gull 15E, Mediterranean Gull 4E (adults) and Razorbill 1E. No Gannets, duck or divers. A walk along to Golden Sands produced a single Sanderling and 4 Ringed Plover amongst a flock of about 120 Dunlin. At Shoreham Fort 2 Purple Sandpipers were dodging waves under the wooden jetty and a Peregrine was perched on the Power Station. At low tide a flock of mainly Common and Black-headed Gulls totaling over 1300 was roosting on exposed sandbank opposite the airport. I counted 32 Mediterranean Gulls on a single scan, a record for me at this site, although there were probably more. All were adult apart from a second-winter bird. None were colour-ringed which was disappointing although a Hamburg ringed Common Gull made up for it as it was one I'd seen here in November 2015. Also on the Adur was a Ringed (but no Grey) Plover, 2 Dunlin and a Kingfisher. The latter was my first sighting for almost 3 weeks, having bumped into them around Shoreham practically every other day during January.

Purple Sandpiper at Shoreham Fort

and then there were two

German Common Gull A72K, not that the ring is readable in my poorly digiscoped images. It was ringed as an adult in Hamburg in June 2014 and seen on the Adur in November 2015

Mediterranean Gulls in a more spacious part of the Adur roost