25 Sep, double score!

Late September is my favourite time of year. My first ever local comittee rarity, a Goshawk, was seen exactly one year and 364 days previously to today, in exactly the same area I was walking today. 362 days ago, I saw a Glossy Ibis in the Lower Cuckmere (although I wasn't the original finder that time). And today, I bagged two local rarities, and nice additions to my Self-found list too!

Having noted an execptional movement of birds throughout yesterday around Seaford (two Hobbies, four Grey Wagtails, 350+ Hirundines and 20+ Meadow Pipits) I thought today would be a good day to get out. With clear skies in the morning, it looked to be a good raptor day, although I wasn't too sure about grounded migrants. I opted to walk out to Firle Beacon, where there would be a good chance of seeing any raptors moving.

Along, Firle Road, Seaford, I heard my first migrants, a few Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests calling away in the gardens. There were also a handful of Swallows and House Martins overhead.

On Seaford Golf Course, I recorded a total of 14 Chiffchaffs, 7 Blackcaps and 4 Goldcrests. Single Yellow Wagtail and Meadow Pipit both flew south, and I got a brief view of a Redstart in flight. A flock of Long-tailed Tits, 15+ strong, passed along the pathside. There were also loads and loads of Speckled Woods, some posing very well for shots

A tatty Speckled Wood

While this one was almost pristine!

Hobbs Hawth and Five Lord's Burgh, the areas between the Golf Course and Firle Beacon, where almost devoid of migrants in the windswept weather. about 60 each of Swallow and House Martin were whizzing around, as were 20 Linnets and 30 Meadow Pipits. A Bullfinch called, but just 5 Chiffchaff and 2 Blackcap were recorded, the wind being at least partly to blame here.

The view from Firle Beacon was spectacular...

The birds were pretty good too.

They included 80 Meadow Pipit, 25 Chiffchaff, 15 Swallow, 5 House Martin, 2 Buzzard and single Yellow Wagtail, Sparrowhawk, Wheatear (shown below) and what I thought was a Redpoll, flying south calling. Suffice to say, I was to discover I was wrong, eventually...

a rather lovely Wheatear at Firle Beacon

However, by far and away the best bird I managed to see was over the wood at Bo-peep. A raptor was being blown in the wind. It flew over the wood, at treetop height, in view at a range of 30 metres for about 10 seconds. It wasn't a Marsh Harrier. It wasn't a Common Buzzard. It was a damn fine looking, dark-phase, fairtrade chocolate HONEY BUZZARD! Regrettably, I never got a good view of the tail, so I'm still weighing up whether it is worth a description. But even if not, it is my first self-found HB and I'm rather happy with it!

As I walked the 31/2 mile walk back to Seaford, still on cloud nine, I didn't see too many more birds. Greenway Bottom held a few Meadow Pipits and Linnets, and two Buzzards, a nice comparison with the Honey Buzz. Goig back through Seaford GC, I found this (very!) recently deceased Red Admiral.



R.I.P, the one that didn't make it to hibernate again.

Back Home, about 6.00 PM

what I thought was a Redpoll, flying south calling. Suffice to say, I was to discover I was wrong, eventually...

I had heard a mysterious bird flying south calling earlier today. It bore some resemblance to a Linnet call, but was at the same time distinctive, and having heard plenty of Linnets, I knew this sounded different. Stuck for ideas, I took my next fallback, a Redpoll.

But, being nosy, I decided to check Redpoll calls on Xeno-canto when I got home. And it became apparent I was wrong in my ID. It wasn't a Redpoll. Or a Siskin. Or a Linnet, or any other finch. However, when I came accross this page, my queries were happily resolved!

That's right, a second brilliant self-found bird, a LAPLAND BUNTING! With so many around at the moment, it isn't too surprising. I saw one less than two weeks ago, in fact. But as a self-found bird, they don't come much better.


As I said before, I love late September!


My totals for today were
Meadow Pipit-120+
Linnet-100+
Swallow-90+
House Martin-70+
Chiffchaff-55
Long-tailed Tit-30+
Blackcap-9
Goldcrest-6
Buzzard-4
Yellow Wagtail-2
Bullfinch-1
Sparrowhawk-1
Wheatear-1
Redstart-1
HONEY BUZZARD-1
LAPLAND BUNTING-1

Clawing one back!

16 Sep 2010

Unpertubed by previous failure in any attempt at connecting with Lapland Bunting, White Stork or Pied Flycatcher this afternoon, me and Dad tried again in the early evening. We got one, and missed the other two, but who really cares about a Pied Flycatcher when you can see a Lapland Bunting?

Our first stop was at High and Over, for a scan of the Cuckmere, and one last attmpt to see the White Stork. we peered over the entire valley from Exceat to Litlington, but saw just a handful of Little Egrets. However, a constant stream of Meadow Pipits was going south. Due to our elevated position most were going either level with or below us, while Swallows and House Martins were flowing down the river in good numbers. The bushes of High and Over held a few Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap, doing a canny little subsong, while a Redstart/Willow warbler was heard.

We then  drove down to Seaford Head again. Matt Eade, Jake Everitt and Marc Read were all looking for the Lapland Bunting in the little muddy field west of South Hill Barn. Dad and I were just going over to ask if they'd seen it when the Bunting appeared from nowhere, disappearing into some long grass on the edge of the field.

All five of us then slowly snuck up on it, and after about a minute it showed brilliantly, allowing us to see every single little detail of that adorable little bird. It flew off after about 30 seconds, into a tussock of grass about 50 yards away. Here, it remained invisible for not much more than a minute, til inevitably a dog-walker strolled by, flushing it into the muddy field, where the restless little longspur stayed for about 10 seconds before going off again into the tussocky grass, now slightly more safe from accidental flushing.

Having seen this brilliantly, Dad and I opted to give the Pied Flycatcher another go. But Harry's Bush was deathly quiet, and the grand total of 15 minutes searching every single bush, tree and shrub in the area was one little Chiffchaff. It was a very nice Chiffchaff indeed. But it was still just one measly Chiffchaff.

We then did the sensible thing, and traipsed back to admire the Lappie, in he company of two Wheatears. Together with Jake and a few other birders, we got even better views of this fantastic bird, through the scope for about 15 minutes, before we left the rest of them to it and answered the calls of our stomachs.

Success? I think so!

the best photo I could get of a great bird, click here for a better photo, or here, here and here for what we dipped

A tale of three dips

Being ill off school was, in different ways, a blessing and a curse today. I dipped on a life tick, a british tick and a sussex tick, saw one brit yeartick and one sussex yeartick, met most of the East Sussex birding fraternity on my way, took a few paracetamol but didn't do my throat infection too many favours.

It all started at about 12:30, when Dad said he had heard about a Lapland Bunting at Seaford Head. I'd half-hoped one might find its way to our patch with the current invasion, and with birds already seen in Sussex it was no great surprise. But a Lappie would be a lifer, and the first recorded the local area since I started birding, so I was interested to say the least.

I decided to check up with Matt Eade first to see if he'd found it. He was working, so it would have been quite some feat, but he still provided me with an exact location, on the dungheap west of South Hill Barn. Then I scrolled down the text, and thought I had a halucination. 'White Stork in the Cuckmere too'. What the bliddy hell was that doing!

Re-checking Birdguides, I was relieved to see I hadn't missed it out first time, there was no mention of the bird! Having said that, I only get the freebie version.

At precisely 13:00, Me, Dad and his friend Martin, who was staying over, headed off to Seaford Head. Due to the creature needing excersise we took  the dog, but kept him in the car when we looked for the Lapland. We ran into Paul James, John King, Bob Self, Pete Wilson and Neil Greenaway, and Dad and Martin may have heard a Lap Bunt calling, but otherwise all that could be seen from the area was two Wheatear and a flyover Yellow wagtail. We arrived at 13:20. The dog walkers woul have been here non-stop from 08:00. Joys of birding eh! However we did pick up some information. The White Stork had been visible from Harry's Bush, but now it wasn't. However, harry's Bush did have a 'showy' Pied Flycatcher.

Walking down to Harry's Bush, we were stuck behind a group of kids on a school trip. The looks I got from the dog-walkers were nothing compared to some of this lot and their teachers, but seeing as I was a forteen-year old, outside of school, with binoculars, walking around with three men, I don't blame them particularly! Once we escaped the crowd and were at Harry's Bush, the four of us (Dad, Martin, Neil and me) scoured the area for the Pied Fly. But he seemed to have stagefright. A Spotted Flycatcher, a Tree Pipit and a Redstart (sussex yeartick) were some consolation. The White Stork wasn't visible either, but while scanning for it, dad picked up a thrush, flying out to sea from the scrape. At first he though it was a Stormcock, but it soon became apparent (to him at least!) that it was a dark thrush with pale scapulars. Ring Ouzel! Martin and I eventually picked it up flying over the sea, before it turned back and dropped into the bushes around the Coastguard Cottages. My only ever September Rouzel record!

Fairly typical Curson birding really, we dip all the good stuff, and find our own bird no-one even knew was there! I'd have liked the Lapland Bunt though, but I'll be scouring the entire area very carefully on saturday!

We did have one final check for the White Stork from the Golden galleon. It was nowhere to be seen. and we met Chris Brown, who had scoured further up the cuckmere for the bird, but to no avail. Slightly disappointed at my first ever triple dip, I went back home to try and get my health up to a 10-hour trek of the patch at the weekend!

Redstart and Ring Ouzel took my Sussex Year List to 164. I've had four other sussex yearticks since I got back from canada. On 8 Sep I saw a fantastic 6  Spotted Flycatchers and a gorgeous Short-eared Owl at Seaford Head, along with a few Willow warblers and Wheatears, one Lesser Whitethroat and a single Whinchat. On 12 Sep, Beachy Head yielded the Ortolan Bunting, which showed pretty well, along with nine Whinchat, two Tree Pipits, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Spotted Flycatcher and a few Willow warblers. However we dipped on Icterine warbler and Wryneck. The other yeartick on 12 Sep was a Yellow wagtail, flying over Denton Hill.