31st July 1999 Beachy Head 6.15am - 11.00am. Calm sunny and hot.

Green Woodpecker c.4

Yellow Wagtail 1 juv. Plumage with narrow black breast band. Two white wingbars.
Whinchat 1 juv.
Sedge Warbler 2
Lesser Whitethroat 1
Whitethroat c.15
Blackcap 2
Willow Warbler 1
Corn Bunting 1
Budgerigar 1

25th July 1999 Icklesham 7am - 9am, Pett Pools 9.15am - 10.00am. Calm, sunny and hot.

Little Egret 1 P

Little Ringed Plover 3 P
Dunlin c.5
Ruff c.3
Snipe c.5
Curlew c.10
Greenshank c.3
Green Sandpiper c.5
Common Sandpiper c.3
Sandwich Tern c.2
Common Tern c.100
Yellow Wagtail c.5

24th July 1999 Beachy Head 6.45am - 10.00am. Calm, sunny and hot.

Swift c.10

Sand Martin c.5

18th July 1999 Cley 8.15am - 10.30am, Titchwell 11am - 1pm, Burton Gps, Lincoln 2.45 - 4pm. Calm and very hot and sunny.

Little Grebe 1 juv T

Spoonbill 1 juv C preening. Black tips to outer primaries even visible when asleep - black legs.
Marsh Harrier 3 (2C) including a fine adult male over a corn field near Docking.
Black-winged Stilt 1 T looking extremely long-legged
Avocet c.50
Black-winged Pratincole 1 C adult in summer plumage. Bill black with obvious red base. Black lores but not extending across forehead. White rim below eye. Gingery brown crown becoming brown on nape and dark brown upperparts contrasting with black primaries. Neat, thin vertical line from eye surrounding throat being yellowish on chin but becoming paler almost white on lower throat. White belly and dark legs. Tail fell well short of wing-tips. In flight and whilst preening underwings black lacking a white trailing edge (almost Green Sandpiper like in flight). Tail forked with obvious white rump. Superb.
Little Ringed Plover 2 C
Pectoral Sandpiper 1 C Very neat pectoral band. Appeared quite long-billed for a Pec. Yellow legs. Upperparts neat but could not see the presence of mantle or scapular V so I suspect it to be an adult.
Dunlin c.50 C
Ruff c.25
Black-tailed Godwit c.5 C
Spotted Redshank 1 C
Greenshank 3 C
Green Sandpiper 1 T
Little Gull 1 T first-winter plumage with black cap.
Arctic Tern 1 C
Tern sp. 1 probably aberrant Common - Lincs - suggestions of poss Antarctic
Bearded Tit 1 C

Black-winged Pratincole at Titchwell (Alan Tate http://www.aabirdpix.com/ )



17th July 1999 Beachy 6.45am - 8.30am Icklesham 1pm - 4pm, Pett Pools 4.15pm - 4.45pm, Rye Harbour 5pm - 7.30pm. Moderate SW but sunny and warm.

Little Grebe c.8 R

Gannet c.5 B
Cormorant c.40 R
Little Ringed Plover 3 Ick
Dunlin c.3 Ick c.10 R
Ruff c.8 Ick
Snipe c.5 Ick
Greenshank 3 Ick
Green Sandpiper c.6 Ick
Common Sandpiper 3 Ick
albino Gull sp. Pett Pools. Pure white with yellow bill, unfortunately pink legs so not Ivory ! Probably a Black-headed Gull but range made it difficult to be sure.
Sandwich Tern c.15 R
Common Tern c.100Ick, c.25 R some in juvenile plumage complete with dark carpal bar and dark secondary bar although latter sometimes difficult to see. Good orange base to bill.
Little Tern c.5
Swift c.30 B
Sand Martin c.10 R
Wheatear 2 R
Bearded Tit 1 Ick

9th July 1999 Lady’s Island Lake, Co.Wexford 7.00am - 9.30am, Tacumshin Lake 10.00 -11.30am, Lady’s Island 11.45am - 12.15pm. Rosslare to Fishguard Ferry 1.30pm - 3.30pm. Sunny and calm.

Little Grebe c.4

Great Crested Grebe 1
Fulmar c.5
Manx Shearwater c.300
Grey Heron c.5
Shelduck c.6
Buzzard c.5 Wales
Kestrel 1 Wales
Water Rail 1
Ringed Plover 1
Dunlin c.30
Black-tailed Godwit c.50
Curlew c.50
Redshank c.5
Common Sandpiper 1
Mediterranean Gull 1 adult in summer plumage
Black-headed Gull c.50
Sandwich Tern c.150
ELEGANT TERN 1 adult in winter plumage. Very long fine bill with clearly decurved upper and lower mandibles being deep orange for basal third becoming paler towards extremely fine tip. White forehead extending onto crown. Black eye with mask extending back from eye with long shaggy nape feathers often held erect when apparently displaying throwing its head back. Pinkish bloom to underparts. Grey upperparts proving similar to Sandwich Terns with very long grey primaries. White tail, uppertail coverts and rump seen well both whilst preening and in flight. Dark grey legs. Watched down to 50 yards for 45 minutes. Absolutely mindblowing performance strutting around chasing juv. Sandwich Terns and displaying etc. UK458.
Roseate Tern c.20 breeding colony at Ladys Island Lake.
Common Tern c.150
Guillemot c.20
Razorbill c.10
Black Guillemot c.13 Rosslare Harbour
Puffin c.5
Collared Dove c.2
Sand Martin c.200
Swallow c.5
House Martin 1
Wren 1
Coal Tit c.3
Jackdaw c.5
Hooded Crow c.10
Tree Sparrow c.3
Greenfinch 1
Goldfinch 1
Linnet 1

7th July 1999 Ivy Lake, Chichester 4pm - 5.30pm. Sunny.

Gull-billed Tern 1 adult Black cap and bill with noticeable gape line. Grey upperwings constrasting with slightly whiter tail and rump. Fed by picking at the surface of the water.

4th July 1999 Beachy 7am - 9am. Sunny and calm.

Sand Martin 4

1st July 1999 Grove Ferry 5pm - 7.30pm. Sunny with fresh wind.

Baillon’s Crake 1 ex performed in open for 2 hours down to c.15 feet. Superb pencil thin orange orbital ring around red eye. Chustnut upperparts with white streaks and fine dark streaking on crown seen. Could look through its large nostrils !

Green Sandpiper 3