The most noticeable movement however was of Meadow Pipits heading W/SW into the wind or out to sea - difficult to count but I conservatively estimated c.250 with many Swallows, House Martins and a few Sand Martins mixed in. Finally, a Treecreeper in a coastal pine received close scrutiny before I had to accept it was the normal Eurasian species and probably just a local bird!
The Climping Gap remains one of the last undeveloped sites along the coast in West Sussex. This site is dedicated to Birds seen in and around the Climping Gap area by myself and a few die hard friends, that live in the area and have been birding the local patch for decades. (Please email your sighting's to lobas@btinternet.com or Tweet to @BirdsofClimping).
13 September, 2011
A blustery wind, WSW 5-6/7 again produced virtually nothing over the sea, except 6 Black-tailed Godwits heading W close in (uncommon here). Perhaps surprisingly though, there were plenty of common migrants about, especially in the sheltered spots. I logged 18 Common Whitethroats, c.30 each of Chiffchaff and Blackcap, 15 Wheatears, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Grey Wagtail, 24 + Yellow Wagtails, 45 Linnets and best of all a juv Turtle Dove near the old Mill (year tick!) and still present late afternoon around Atherington Cottages.