23rd Jan-The Cuckmere Valley

birding with Jon Curson and Nick Pope. To start off we headed down to the Cuckmere. Here, the Scaup was still showing, now on the pond visible from the path in the first bend of the meanders. It was accompanied by a male Tufted Duck, 2 Teal and a Redshank, although most of the wildfowl and wader present six days ago appear to have moved on with the total thaw. A Mistle Thrush was also seen. At Arlington Reservoir, sveral newbies for the year that took my list up to 89, these were Greylag Goose, Pintail(9), Gadwall(1), Great Crested Grebe and Coot, also a very showy Bullfinch and 40+ Redwings around the farm paths to the right of the feeding area and car park. Sadly however no Goosander, which had been reported regularly over the past few days, and which were seen later on today. Back in Seaford, I saw a Goldcrest performing well in a conifer on Blatchington Hill, and the wonderful male Black Redstart again put on a show around Seaford Primary School, seen flying from one rooftop onto a suitable bush in a garden, then onto the rooftop of that property where it had a well-deserved feed.

17 Jan-Cuckmere Haven and Seaford

In the Cuckmere today I found a female Scaup. (left). Identified from a female Tufted Duck by several factors, but the most obvious one is the white face. Present on the river at first, but flushed upriver and seen again in a flooded field North of Exceat Bridge, then flew South again, I then saw it on the river briefly, before it appeared to fly out to sea. However, I met up with Les Bird soon after, and we again saw it on the river 100 metres south of Exceat Bridge. Here Les got several photographs, one of which is shown left. After a while it was flushed onto the meanders, where it stayed with pairs of Tufted Duck and Pochard. Also in the Cuckmere area 3 Brent Geese, 15 Little Grebes, 500 Lapwings, 50 Curlew, 30 Redshank, a Grey Wagtail, a Little Egret, small numbers of Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Fieldfare and Redwing, 200 Teal, 150 Wigeon, 8 Snipe in the watermeadows Sout of the A259, and a Woodcock flushed from a flooded field a mile North of here.

Here the Scaup is on the left, with a pair of Pochard on the right and a Little Grebe in the background with a small sprat in its mouth. Taken on the meanders. Thansk to Les Bird for these two excellent photos.