walking along the undercliff from Hope Gap 1/2 a mile west and back, a pair of Fulmars were feeding a chick on the cliff, six Rock Pipits, some recently fledged juveniles, were along the undercliff. three Little Egrets and a Grey Heron were on the rockpools, along with 8 Oystercatchers, a Whimbrel and a Common Sandpiper. a few Cormorants flew past offshore, and about 100 yards out a stream of Kittiwakes, mostly adults, were moving west. Also seen 2 Ravens 6 Whitethroats, 5 Willow Warblers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats and a Chiffchaff, all of this mid-afternoon. 3 Jays and 20+ Magpies were on Seaford Head Golf Course, including one gang of 10 maggies. a few Swifts and House Martins were overhead.
In Seaford, a Goldcrest in the garden, while a few days ago were 15 Long-tailed Tits, mostly juveniles, and the same number of Swifts still screaming overhead. A Whimbrel flew over two nights ago.
Showing posts with label Swift. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swift. Show all posts
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Sunday, 1 August 2010
little to be seen
updates from 30th and 31st July
walking the eastern edge of Seaford Head Golf Course on 30 July revealed one fly-over Sand Martin, and there were 3 Whitethroats and a Willow Warbler. There were plenty of Kittiwakes at the viewpoint, and also 1 summer-plumaged Black-headed Gull offshore here, this bird also being present on 27 and 28 July. Further long Seaford Beach were greater numbers of Black-headed Gull and a single juv Kittiwake, while just opposite the Salts was a large gathering of gulls, in excess of 200, mainly Herring and Black-headed but with one or two young Lesser and Greater Blackbacks identified. it looks like a good potential spot for Yellow-leggd Gulls if the group remains there. There was also a Gannet flying around several hundred metres offshore, and over Seaford plenty of screaming Swifts.
on 31st July, on my first visit to Seaford Head, round 10am with Dad, dog and some family friends, there was very little around, bar 5 Whitethroats, a Willow Warbler and 40 or so Meadow Pipits in the heavy mist. All these were in the wild-land between Hope Gap and the Coastguard Cottages. On a later visit (around 7pm), with just Dad and the dog, walking through Hope Gap was even quieter, just 1 Willow Warbler was there to show for out efforts, although a Great Green-Bush Cricket was a nice surprise anyway.
walking the eastern edge of Seaford Head Golf Course on 30 July revealed one fly-over Sand Martin, and there were 3 Whitethroats and a Willow Warbler. There were plenty of Kittiwakes at the viewpoint, and also 1 summer-plumaged Black-headed Gull offshore here, this bird also being present on 27 and 28 July. Further long Seaford Beach were greater numbers of Black-headed Gull and a single juv Kittiwake, while just opposite the Salts was a large gathering of gulls, in excess of 200, mainly Herring and Black-headed but with one or two young Lesser and Greater Blackbacks identified. it looks like a good potential spot for Yellow-leggd Gulls if the group remains there. There was also a Gannet flying around several hundred metres offshore, and over Seaford plenty of screaming Swifts.
on 31st July, on my first visit to Seaford Head, round 10am with Dad, dog and some family friends, there was very little around, bar 5 Whitethroats, a Willow Warbler and 40 or so Meadow Pipits in the heavy mist. All these were in the wild-land between Hope Gap and the Coastguard Cottages. On a later visit (around 7pm), with just Dad and the dog, walking through Hope Gap was even quieter, just 1 Willow Warbler was there to show for out efforts, although a Great Green-Bush Cricket was a nice surprise anyway.
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Hope gap again.
I took a different route round the patch today, arriving by bike at 05:30 I went down to Chyngton Farm, where I walked down along the west side of the cuckmere, before going back up past the Coastguard Cottages, to Hope Gap, down the middle path and up the west side of the gap. I skipped out quite large areas (the mast, golf course and harry's bush) from my ususal route but still found lots of good birds around;
The first bird I saw was in the long, overgrown fields below South Hill Barn car park as you take the road towards Chyngton Farm. A Whitethroat was in a bush here. The long grass and thistles by the roadside never really have any birds other than sparrows and starlings, but today I was rather surprised to see two Sedge Warblers in them, posing well and giving excellent views. In the patch of trees by Chyngton Farm I eventually saw a Garden Warbler, after about 10 minutes looking (I had tentatively ID'd it as this species by song already). There were also 2 Lesser Whitethroats and another Whitethroat here. Along the westernmost path along the Cuckmere valley, heading Northwards, I encountered several more Whitethroats, a Willow Warbler, a Reed Warbler (singing), 4 more Lesser Whitethroats and another Garden Warbler, turning to the pat along the river at the horse paddocks.
Here there were 10 or so Pied Wagtails in the saltmarsh, three or four adults and the rest juveniles. One of these was exceptionally pale, almost Citrine Wagtail coloured. Indeed, at first glance, and with a bit of panic, thi was my first rather nervous assumption, but within few seconds sense returned and I decided it was a leucistic juv Pied Wagtail. however, having got home and described it to my dad, he said it sounded far more likely it was an ordinary juvenile White Wagtail, a good record for the area.
I had hoped for a few waders walking along the river bank, however all I got was a couple of Whitethroats in the bushes and a juv Curlew on the river. as I was walking along Cuckmere Beach, with meadow pipits all around me, I heard the unmistakeable sound of a Greenshank passing overhead. my first sussex year tick in over a month!!
In the bushes around the Coastguard Cottages, I saw a few more good birds. There were plenty of Whitethroats, a Reed Warbler showed well, as did two Willow Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Grasshopper Warbler, a bried flight view and perched for half a second but I saw it well enough through binoculars. I saw many more Whitethroats in the bramble patches and scattered bushes going up to Hope Gap, and a Sedge Warbler chattered away in one large clump of hawthorn. I could also hear distantly two Sandwich Terns moving west offshore.
Walking down the middle path through Hope Gap, I saw 7 Willow warblers and 3 Lesser Whitethroats among their commoner relative. 2 Reed Warblers were singing and seen well, and about 3/4 of the way to the sea a Nightingale croaked in one of the bushes, albeit very briefly, and was not seen. It is a remarkable call and one of my favourite to hear! I also saw another Sandwich tern passing west along the sea, about 100 metres offshore. along the western path round Hope Gap several groups of Whitethroat kept me company, numbering about 20 in all. 4 Willow Warblers, in two groups of two, were also seen, and I could hear one of the same Reed warblers that had been singing previously as I reached the top. From here, I walked down the eastern path round Hope Gap, for about five minutes, seeing one Willow warbler and a few more Whitethroats, and hearing two more Sandwich Terns moving west offshore.
My final stop was the patch of bushes adjacent to South Hill Barn. from here another Reed warbler was singing, a Lesser Whitethroat flitted through the bushes and there were 5 Whitethroats and 3 Willow warblers. the final bird seen was a single Willow Warbler, in one of the bushes of the farmyard at Chyngton farm, as I cycled back.
My totals for the day were as follows;
1 Nightingale
66 Whitethroats
19 Willow warblers
11 Lesser Whitethroats
5 Reed Warblers
3 Sedge warblers
2 Garden Warblers
1 Grasshopper Warbler
1 White Wagtail
1 Greenshank
1 Curlew
5 Sandwich terns
24 Swifts
18 Swallows
10 Sand Martins
The first bird I saw was in the long, overgrown fields below South Hill Barn car park as you take the road towards Chyngton Farm. A Whitethroat was in a bush here. The long grass and thistles by the roadside never really have any birds other than sparrows and starlings, but today I was rather surprised to see two Sedge Warblers in them, posing well and giving excellent views. In the patch of trees by Chyngton Farm I eventually saw a Garden Warbler, after about 10 minutes looking (I had tentatively ID'd it as this species by song already). There were also 2 Lesser Whitethroats and another Whitethroat here. Along the westernmost path along the Cuckmere valley, heading Northwards, I encountered several more Whitethroats, a Willow Warbler, a Reed Warbler (singing), 4 more Lesser Whitethroats and another Garden Warbler, turning to the pat along the river at the horse paddocks.
Here there were 10 or so Pied Wagtails in the saltmarsh, three or four adults and the rest juveniles. One of these was exceptionally pale, almost Citrine Wagtail coloured. Indeed, at first glance, and with a bit of panic, thi was my first rather nervous assumption, but within few seconds sense returned and I decided it was a leucistic juv Pied Wagtail. however, having got home and described it to my dad, he said it sounded far more likely it was an ordinary juvenile White Wagtail, a good record for the area.
I had hoped for a few waders walking along the river bank, however all I got was a couple of Whitethroats in the bushes and a juv Curlew on the river. as I was walking along Cuckmere Beach, with meadow pipits all around me, I heard the unmistakeable sound of a Greenshank passing overhead. my first sussex year tick in over a month!!
In the bushes around the Coastguard Cottages, I saw a few more good birds. There were plenty of Whitethroats, a Reed Warbler showed well, as did two Willow Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Grasshopper Warbler, a bried flight view and perched for half a second but I saw it well enough through binoculars. I saw many more Whitethroats in the bramble patches and scattered bushes going up to Hope Gap, and a Sedge Warbler chattered away in one large clump of hawthorn. I could also hear distantly two Sandwich Terns moving west offshore.
Walking down the middle path through Hope Gap, I saw 7 Willow warblers and 3 Lesser Whitethroats among their commoner relative. 2 Reed Warblers were singing and seen well, and about 3/4 of the way to the sea a Nightingale croaked in one of the bushes, albeit very briefly, and was not seen. It is a remarkable call and one of my favourite to hear! I also saw another Sandwich tern passing west along the sea, about 100 metres offshore. along the western path round Hope Gap several groups of Whitethroat kept me company, numbering about 20 in all. 4 Willow Warblers, in two groups of two, were also seen, and I could hear one of the same Reed warblers that had been singing previously as I reached the top. From here, I walked down the eastern path round Hope Gap, for about five minutes, seeing one Willow warbler and a few more Whitethroats, and hearing two more Sandwich Terns moving west offshore.
My final stop was the patch of bushes adjacent to South Hill Barn. from here another Reed warbler was singing, a Lesser Whitethroat flitted through the bushes and there were 5 Whitethroats and 3 Willow warblers. the final bird seen was a single Willow Warbler, in one of the bushes of the farmyard at Chyngton farm, as I cycled back.
My totals for the day were as follows;
1 Nightingale
66 Whitethroats
19 Willow warblers
11 Lesser Whitethroats
5 Reed Warblers
3 Sedge warblers
2 Garden Warblers
1 Grasshopper Warbler
1 White Wagtail
1 Greenshank
1 Curlew
5 Sandwich terns
24 Swifts
18 Swallows
10 Sand Martins
Monday, 26 July 2010
first visit to the patch
today was my first autumn visit to the local patch at Cuckmere Haven and Seaford Head. July is a time when the first few warblers are moving through, and waders are in full swing, and I saw a few of both today.
The first presumed migrant I saw was a Whitethroat on the Golf Course. walking along the east side of the course I saw a few more, and got a brief glimpse of a Lesser Whitethroat, while walking up through the wood on the south side of the Golf Course, there were 2 Willow Warblers. Around the mast, I saw my first few Swifts passing overhead to the west. There were a few more warblers, 2 singing chiffchaffs (presumably territorial and not migrating yet), a few Whitethroats, two Lesser Whitethroats, and a singing Reed Warbler. resident birds included a calling Bullfinch and several family parties of Linnet, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Blue Tits.
There were singing Skylarks and Meadow Pipits around the Golf Course, and along the clifftop a few family parties of both were feeding in the short grass. The only migrant along here was a Wheatear, a fairly early record for autumn. the pair of Ravens were very showy, approchable down to a couple of metres, the best and most prolonged views I've yet had of them. most fantastic was as one then the other bundled accross the path, dropping off the cliff-face before swooping back up again. At the same time, five Swifts flew past, barely at head height and practically touching distance.
A few minutes later a group of 40 Swifts flew over. I only picked them up (mostly so high up I needed binoculars to see them) by their calls, so many others probably passed high overhead during the morning undetected. On the western path along Hope Gap I saw a few Willow Warblers, including one singing male. I also saw a few Whitethroats, 2 Lessers and a Reed Warbler. down the middle path through Hope Gap was quiet, there was a Chiffchaff, a few Willow Warblers, 10 or so Whitethroats, 5 Lesser Whitethroats and 2 Reed Warblers.
A few more Lesser Whitethroats and Willow Warblers were along the east side, with one Reed Warbler, while more Swifts went overhead and 3 Sandwich Terns were heard off Hope Gap.
In the area around the Coastguard Cottages it was deathy quiet, a few Whitethroats being as good as it got!
In the Cuckmere Valley were decent numbers of hirundines, 50 Swallows, 10 Sand Martins and a handful of House Martins passing through. 2 Green Sandpipers and a Common Sandpiper were in the ditches on the west side of the valley, there were 2 Curlew on the river and a Whimbrel circled the valley several times before dropping into the pastures with a group of 3 Curlew. In the bushes along the west side of the valley were several more Lesser and Common Whitethroat and 1 Reed Warbler, with 2 Lesser Whitethroats and a Willow Warbler around Harry's Bush, and at least one more Lesser Whitethroat noted on Seaford Head Golf Course (I heard two in the area where I had seen one five hours earlier).
By the end of the day, totals stood as follows;
Common Whitethroat-32 (most likely the majority were breeding birds or has dispersed from very nearby)
Lesser Whitethroat-17 (a very good count, especially for July, and a personal record for the patch)
Willow Warbler-15
Reed Warbler-7
Chiffchaff-4 (singing males, probably still on territory)
Wheatear-1 (the first of the autumn and quite early, though possibly dispersed from the breeding pair at Cuckmere Haven)
Swift-122 west overhead, but probablyt many more I didn't pick up
Swallow-50+ passed through Cuckmere Haven
Sand Martin-10 passed through Cuckmere Haven
Sandwich Tern-3 off Hope Gap
Curlew-5 in lower Cuckmere
Whimbrel-1 in lower Cuckmere
Redshank-1 in lower Cuckmere
Green Sandpiper-2 in lower Cuckmere
The first presumed migrant I saw was a Whitethroat on the Golf Course. walking along the east side of the course I saw a few more, and got a brief glimpse of a Lesser Whitethroat, while walking up through the wood on the south side of the Golf Course, there were 2 Willow Warblers. Around the mast, I saw my first few Swifts passing overhead to the west. There were a few more warblers, 2 singing chiffchaffs (presumably territorial and not migrating yet), a few Whitethroats, two Lesser Whitethroats, and a singing Reed Warbler. resident birds included a calling Bullfinch and several family parties of Linnet, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Blue Tits.
There were singing Skylarks and Meadow Pipits around the Golf Course, and along the clifftop a few family parties of both were feeding in the short grass. The only migrant along here was a Wheatear, a fairly early record for autumn. the pair of Ravens were very showy, approchable down to a couple of metres, the best and most prolonged views I've yet had of them. most fantastic was as one then the other bundled accross the path, dropping off the cliff-face before swooping back up again. At the same time, five Swifts flew past, barely at head height and practically touching distance.
A few minutes later a group of 40 Swifts flew over. I only picked them up (mostly so high up I needed binoculars to see them) by their calls, so many others probably passed high overhead during the morning undetected. On the western path along Hope Gap I saw a few Willow Warblers, including one singing male. I also saw a few Whitethroats, 2 Lessers and a Reed Warbler. down the middle path through Hope Gap was quiet, there was a Chiffchaff, a few Willow Warblers, 10 or so Whitethroats, 5 Lesser Whitethroats and 2 Reed Warblers.
A few more Lesser Whitethroats and Willow Warblers were along the east side, with one Reed Warbler, while more Swifts went overhead and 3 Sandwich Terns were heard off Hope Gap.
In the area around the Coastguard Cottages it was deathy quiet, a few Whitethroats being as good as it got!
In the Cuckmere Valley were decent numbers of hirundines, 50 Swallows, 10 Sand Martins and a handful of House Martins passing through. 2 Green Sandpipers and a Common Sandpiper were in the ditches on the west side of the valley, there were 2 Curlew on the river and a Whimbrel circled the valley several times before dropping into the pastures with a group of 3 Curlew. In the bushes along the west side of the valley were several more Lesser and Common Whitethroat and 1 Reed Warbler, with 2 Lesser Whitethroats and a Willow Warbler around Harry's Bush, and at least one more Lesser Whitethroat noted on Seaford Head Golf Course (I heard two in the area where I had seen one five hours earlier).
By the end of the day, totals stood as follows;
Common Whitethroat-32 (most likely the majority were breeding birds or has dispersed from very nearby)
Lesser Whitethroat-17 (a very good count, especially for July, and a personal record for the patch)
Willow Warbler-15
Reed Warbler-7
Chiffchaff-4 (singing males, probably still on territory)
Wheatear-1 (the first of the autumn and quite early, though possibly dispersed from the breeding pair at Cuckmere Haven)
Swift-122 west overhead, but probablyt many more I didn't pick up
Swallow-50+ passed through Cuckmere Haven
Sand Martin-10 passed through Cuckmere Haven
Sandwich Tern-3 off Hope Gap
Curlew-5 in lower Cuckmere
Whimbrel-1 in lower Cuckmere
Redshank-1 in lower Cuckmere
Green Sandpiper-2 in lower Cuckmere
Monday, 17 May 2010
catch up
this blog has now gotten incredibly out of date, so here is what has been happening in the past few weeks of my life wildlife-wise.
Since 5 May, Swifts have been around Seaford daily, filling the skies with their wonderful calls.
at Newhaven Tide Mills on 9 May I saw 2 Sandwich Terns offshire, Common Sandpipers on the river mouth and a Hobby flying overhead.
A futile attempt to see the Red-rumped Swallows at Arlington Res on 10 May failed miserably, thanks to the freezing NE winds, the only creatures of note a Greater Spotted Orchid and a Common Sandpiper
on 12 May, a slightly better day at Arlington, with glorious weather, produced plenty of Swallows and House Martins, 3 Sand Martins, perhaps the same Common Sandpiper, a nice summer-plumed Dunlin and a fantastic Temminck's Stint.
will upload a few pics taken recently soon.
Since 5 May, Swifts have been around Seaford daily, filling the skies with their wonderful calls.
at Newhaven Tide Mills on 9 May I saw 2 Sandwich Terns offshire, Common Sandpipers on the river mouth and a Hobby flying overhead.
A futile attempt to see the Red-rumped Swallows at Arlington Res on 10 May failed miserably, thanks to the freezing NE winds, the only creatures of note a Greater Spotted Orchid and a Common Sandpiper
on 12 May, a slightly better day at Arlington, with glorious weather, produced plenty of Swallows and House Martins, 3 Sand Martins, perhaps the same Common Sandpiper, a nice summer-plumed Dunlin and a fantastic Temminck's Stint.
will upload a few pics taken recently soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
