Sunday 28 August 2011

28th August 2011 Beachy Head. Overcast with sunny periods & cool. Wind W4-5

Shag 1-2
Sparrowhawk 2
Kestrel 1 juv.
Wryneck 1 Chat Vale
Swallow 22W
Wheatear 2
Yellow Wagtail 62W
Blackcap 1 singing male
Whitethroat 12
Willow Warbler 2
Raven 1

Silver-spotted Skipper 1










 Wheatear at Chat Vale
Whilst the richness and extent of the colour of the underparts caused us to consider the possibility of this being a Greenland Wheatear O.o. leucorhoa we concluded that nothing about its size, structure or stance supported such an identification. As nominate O.o. oenanthe birds from Fenno-Scandian and Russian tundras are similarly saturated in autumn (Collins Guide), that would seem a more likely origin for this individual. 















Wryneck in Chat Vale 


Silver-spotted Skipper at Belle Tout