Birding and other distractions

A warm day, with a light southerly wind. We started with a look on the sea, which proved fairly quiet, although there was some movement of Sandwich Terns to east. Walking back we watched a juvenile Peregrine circling over the power station, which led to an exodus of the local pigeons. To the observatory next where they were ringing birds. These included a Whinchat and Stonechat which were both seen in the hand after being rung. In the moat there were good numbers of warblers, mostly Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler. The ARC held plenty of birds, though was generally disappointing for waders. Four-five Garganey were on one of the closest islands. On the far side of the pit a Glossy Ibis stood alongside a Great White Egret. The lack of waders on the ARC was nicely compensated by visiting a sandpit, just over the border in E. Sussex. There were no less than 18 Green Sandpiper, two Wood Sandpiper, three Curlew Sandpiper, a Greenshank and three Knot amongst commoner waders. Juvenile Whinchat...

A warm day though with a moderate breeze. Starting off in SB I found fair numbers of Adonis Blue and some Chalkhill Blue in the usual area of the site. The latter must be at the tail-end of the adult generation. Moving on to TF there were Common Blue in reasonable numbers though none of the other blues. No sign of any reptiles in TF though refugia were difficult to access due to bramble growth. Whilst there I noticed a bird sitting atop a tree at the far end of DV which proved to be a Spotted Flycatcher, a new species here for me as far as I can remember. Spotted Flycatcher  As above  Adonis Blue  As above  Chalkhill Blue  As above 

I arrived at BB pools two hours before high tide. Despite the nice weather it was chilly first thing on account of a brisk wind. There were very few small waders on the pools, with five Green Sandpiper and four Ruff the best. Common Terns appear to have had a good season, half grown chicks still being fed by adults in some cases. Nothing much flew in at high tide so I drove down to Radar, parking on the corner near Allen's Pool. I was pleased to find a couple of juvenile lizards near the pool. From the Radar watchpoint I could see a single Greenshank though found five more when I walked towards the creek. On Flamingo at high tide there was a mass of Avocet on the far side, which I roughly estimated at 2500 birds. Other waders included 44 Grey Plover some still looking smart in summer plumage. Ruff Green Sandpiper  Common Lizard Waders on the far side of Flamingo Chicory

A short visit to look for dragonflies and damselflies, in particular the Lesser Emperor which is present at New Hythe. At least six L Emperor were seen though only in flight. Nevertheless the distinctive blue band on the abdomen was obvious when the dragonfly flew past. Also seen were two Emperor, a few Brown Hawkers, and numerous Red-eyed Damselflies. Emperor  Red-eyed and Common Blue Damselflies  Female Red-eyed Damselfly 

A short visit to Cliffe BB pools to check out the waders and anything else that might be present. Wader numbers were somewhat disappointing on the pools, though the juvenile BW Stilt was still present after being found yesterday. The bird has been elusive though on three occasions this morning it flew around the pool before returning to the right-hand corner where it mostly disappears behind vegetation. After that I went to Rye Street where a flock of 300 Jackdaw was best. BW Stilt juvenile  Rye Street track

This site in W Sussex has been attracting birders to see Honey Buzzards, and we made the trip this morning arriving at 11 a.m. after a two-hour journey. Weather was bright though cloudy. The view over the forest from the watchpoint was fabulous. Several Honey Buzzards were seen though mostly distant. The first one was a wing-clapping individual in flight over the opposite ridgeline. Only one came close, flying swiftly over the watchpoint carrying something, probably a comb from a bee/wasp nest. A Sparrowhawk was also seen in addition to the expected Common Buzzards. A good deal easier to see were two Golden-ringed Dragonflies, hunting just below us and settling on vegetation to consume their prey. This was my first ever sighting of this impressive species. A male Yellowhammer was still in song this late in the season. Honey Buzzard  Golden-ringed Dragonfly (male) The second individual  Yellowhammer  Photo by Keith Cutting 

Arriving at 6 pm there had been no sign of the Franklin's Gull for at least an hour. Plenty of Black-headed Gulls on the river to search through though... However, after half an hour the Franklin's flew in to start feeding in the outflow from the pumping station. It was no more than 20 metres away and often the closest gull.  Described as a second summer individual it seemed to me to be probably first-summer, e.g. on account of the brown primary coverts noted in a brief flight view. Franklin's Gull Franklin's with juv Black-headed Gull Franklin's Gull on the right