An hour from Kents after work found a Redwing in the trees, my first Wheatear of the year in the setaside, and several Med Gull on the low tide. Also Chiffchaff, Buzzard, Kestrel, Grey Heron and several Skylark.

Very quiet this morning in a cold north east breeze.

Sandwich Tern - 3W 2E

Gannet - 4E 1W

Greylag Geese - 2E

Brent Geese - 2E 

Red-breasted Merganser - 2E 4 os

Great-crested Grebe - 4 os

Siskin - c80E

Yellowhammer - 2

Grey Wagtail - 1

White Wagtail - 2

Pied Wagtail - 3

Chiffchaff - 2

Linnet - 2

Peregrine - 1

Wheatear - 1 west beach (AH)

Yellowhammer

Nucker Hole 

Egyptian Geese - 4

Lapwing - 22

Buzzard - 3

Red Kite - 1

Chiffchaff - 1

Linnet - 10

Cetti's Warbler - 2 hrd

Reed Bunting - 2

Tufted Duck - 5

Egyptian Geese

Slow offshore before 08:00 then 3 Garganey initially east then west landed on the sea off Climping Beach,  then flew east, then west before flying off north west being harassed by local Gulls.

Red Kite - 1

Buzzard - 3

Kestrel - 1

Jay - 1

Siskin - c75E

Linnet - 7

Yellowhammer - 2

Chiffchaff - 3

Sandwich Tern - 4E 2W

Med Gull - 15

Gannet - 2E 1W

Great-crested Grebe - 4 os

Red-breasted Merganser - 2E 7W 6os

Shelduck - 2E

Oystercatcher - 5E

Sanderling - 15 beach

Ringed Plover - 3 beach

Little Egret - 3 

Garganey north west over the Car Park

2 Little Ringed Plover on the scrape at Marsh Farm 

Little-ringed Plover 

Onto Chichester Gravel Pitts with the Bonaparte's Gull performing well

Sea watch from 06:20 - 07:40  from Climping Beach 

Great-northern Diver - 1E

Brent Geese - 175E

Greylag Geese - 4E

Pintail - 17E

Tufted Duck - 1E

Shoveler - 2E

Great-crested Grebe - 2 os

Common Scoter - 19E

Sandwich Tern 4E

Med Gull - 20 along beach

Dunlin - 1E

Curlew - 2

Little Egret - 1

Linnet - 1

Meadow Pipit - 3

Skylark - 5

Pied Wagtail - 2

 

 A late afternoon dash over to Goring Gap for the my first Wheatear of the year, being a Desert Wheatear on Goring beach.

Crossbill West Dean

Quiet again around the patch with just 2 Cetti's Warbler heard around the golf course, 2 Bullfinch and Siskin in Longwood, and 2 singing Chiffchaff in the area.

Another pre work visit but still very slow with offshore.

Eider - 4E

Red-breasted Merganser - 5W 1E 11 os

Great-crested Grebe - 1 os

Curlew - 1W

Oystercatcher - 2W

Sanderling - 2E

Med Gull - c50

An hour seawatch before work, found it very slow offshore with just a Great-northern Diver and 3 Curlew east, with 30 Med Gull along the beach. 

Late morning visit found 1-2 Firecrest western end of Longwood, and a Chiffchaff at Kents. Very quiet elsewhere with just 3 Yellowhammer, Little Egret, 3 Buzzard, 3 Kestrel, a Sparrowhawk, Mistle Thrush, with small numbers of both Skylark and Meadow Pipits, being the only birds of note.

 A large movement of Brent Geese moving east offshore, with c1400 recorded and the marjority moving before 08:00. Very little else around combined totals below.

Oystercatcher - 6E

Ringed Plover - 4

Diver sp - 1

Great-crested Grebe - 1 os

Red-breasted Merganser - 6E

Med Gull - 17Yellowhammer - 3

Linnet - 1

Pied Wagtail - 5

Meadow Pipit - 4

Reed Bunting - 1

Skylark - 10

Goldfinch - 12

Mistle Thrush - 2

Grey Heron - 1

I watched from 0830-1130 this morning from Poole Place area in a stiff and cold SE 6, sunny most of the time and ok if sheltered. There was a good bit of movement, with the majority of it actually coming in the last hour and a half, including one huge flock of c.220 Brent with 2 Shoveler at the back and several decent flocks of Pintail. I photo’d a few of the Brent flocks to assist with counting later....zoomed up, one of the pic’s shows what is obviously a pale-bellied bird amongst them. Totals below. (OM)

Brent Goose – 510E including a Pale-bellied

Eider – 1E (drake)

Pintail – 84E

Shoveler – 4E

Med Gull- 6E

Peregrine – 1N from sea; came in from way out but probably a local bird going out to hunt?

Sanderling – 25 on beach

A Firecrest around Atherington Pools and two Chiffchaff the only birds of note, also very quiet offshore.

Firecrest - 1 

Chiffchaff - 2

Stonechat - 3

Yellowhammer - 4

Linnet - 8

Great-spotted Woodpecker - 2

Green Woodpecker - 5

Jay - 2

Buzzard - 1

Kestrel - 2

Grey Heron - 1

Red-breasted Merganser - 20 os

Great-crested Grebe - 3

Common Scoter - 1E

Gannet - 4E 2W

Med Gull -  c100

Oystercatcher - 4 beach 3W

Grey Plover - 2

Sanderling - 49W

Turnstone - 30W

Ringed Plover - 5W

Curlew - 1W

Chiffchaff Bread Lane

Very quiet around the patch this morning with 2 Cetti's Warbler heard around the golf course, a single Chiffchaff around Kents and a Lapwing flew out of the setaside.

Buzzard - 3

Sparrowhawk - 1

Jay - 2

Green Woodpecker - 2

Grey Heron - 3

Skylark - 10

Goldfinch - 15

Goldcrest - 1

Dunlin - 2w

Ringed Plover - 1

Oystercatcher - 3

Red-breasted Merganser - 10 os

Med Gull - c75

5/3/22  Elmer Rocks: With a fresh NW wind blowing it was never going to be great for sea-watching and so it proved; two Gannets went W, as did a diver sp, whilst a single Red-throated Diver went E and up to 50 Med Gulls were again offshore and flying around. The sea was dominated by at least 50 Red-breasted Mergansers but I could only find three Great Crested Grebes.

 There was however perhaps just a hint of spring when two large flocks of Turnstone flying E dropped onto the beach to feed around the rocks, with my count reaching an exceptional 103 birds. Also present were 15 Sanderlings, a Dunlin, 10 Ringed Plovers, 11 Grey Plovers and three Oystercatchers. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was again drumming in the woods.(OM)

 

At Elmer Rocks the best birds this morning were a single Slavonian Grebe and a fairly distant Great Northern Diver offshore, along with at least 45 Red-breasted Mergansers (some displaying) and just a couple of Great Crested Grebes. Around 40 Med Gulls were also present, either on the sea or flying around, whilst on the beach 14 Grey Plovers and a single Sanderling briefly dropped in as the tide rose. Later, a single Rock Pipit was on the rocks for a while and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming in the woods.(OM)

Struggled to find much of note around the patch today in a quick wonder from Bread Lane to the beach. (AH) 

Meadow Pipit - 1 

Yellowhammer - 3 

Skylark - 8 

Song Thrush - 1 

Reed Bunting - 2 

Dunnock - 4 

Goldfinch - 12 

Stonechat - 6 

Kestrel - 1 

Grey Plover - 12 

Linnet - 5 

Green Woodpecker - 1

Magpie - 12 

Buzzard - 1 

Peregrine - 1 

Pied Wagtail - 2 

Few Med Gulls about