28th July 2013 Beachy & Princes Park SW4 Clear

Scoter 35E, 10W
Buzzard 1
Mediterranean Gull 2E juveniles
Guillemot 2E
Kittiwake c.100W
Sandwich Tern 1W
Swift 10
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1
Blackcap 1
Whitethroat 4
Chiffchaff 1
Willow Warbler 3
Raven 3

Princes Park
Yellow-legged Gull 1 juvenile ex.





 

 

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull at Princes Park

First noticed by virtue of its tertials being virtually solidly brown with narrow white fringes not reaching the feather bases, whilst not the whitest-headed or masked individual, it soon impressed displaying its subtle suite of characters. Most pleasing were a number of second generation scapulars including a couple of obvious anchor-marked ones - Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls don't commence replacing their scapulars until September. Also note its hefty blunt-tipped black bill, white nose-band, whitish ground colour to its underparts, wholly dark-centred outer greater coverts and indistinct inner-primary window, long primary projection, pale lower back and eye-catching tail pattern.



27th July 2013 Beachy NE1 Overcast with thunderstorms

Manx Shearwater 3E ex. 2 at 2.24pm & 1 at 2.28pm
Balearic Shearwater 1 E then W ex. at 2.24pm
Heron 1
Sparrowhawk 1
Bonxie 1E at 3pm
Mediterranean Gull 5W adults, 1 juvenile loafing offshore
Swift 20
Sand Martin 10
Swallow 85
Black Redstart 1
Blackcap 1
Whitethroat 31
Lesser Whitethroat 1
Grasshopper Warbler 6 ex.
Reed Warbler 2
Willow Warbler 30
Raven 1

Grasshopper Warbler in the Old Trapping Area

pretending to be a 'treed' Mesite!

Black Redstart on cliff below Cow Gap 

Chalkhill Blue in Cow Gap

one of the many seen today

Cow Gap Field

26th July 2013 Cuckmere

Little Egret c.20
Egyptian Goose 1
Mediterranean Gull 1 juvenile
Common Gull 1
Little Ringed Plover 1
Dunlin 18+
Common Sandpiper 2
Swift 5
Swallow 10

Odd one out competition?

Cuckmere scrape

Sunset in the Cuckmere



25th July 2013 Rodmell & Newhaven Harbour

Common Sandpiper 1

Newhaven
Mediterranean Gull 1

21st July 2013 Beachy NE2 Clear

Kestrel 1

Mediterranean Gull 1 E

Common Gull 2 adults

Swift 19 SE

Great Spotted Woodpecker 1

Sand Martin 10 SE

Continental Stonechat 3 (male, female & juv)

Wheatear 1 juvenile

Common Whitethroat 10 

Raven 1



Female Continental Stonechat S. t. rubicola at Beachy

This female is accompanying this adult male http://eastsussexbirding.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/6th-july-2013-beachy-west-rise-rodmell.html and are today tending a fledged juvenile. It is a very close match to that portrayed in Plate 110 in (Hellstrom and Waern 2011 BB104:5) labelled as a probable female. Some female S. t. rubicola such as this one are extraordinarily dark, especially in Summer, an effect that becomes more pronounced due to wear, and may result in the rather male-like appearance. Female British Stonechat S. t. hibernans shows no white on sides of neck (Urquhart 2002) and it is interesting to note that the breeding female portrayed on p. 295 therein lacks a white inner-wing covert patch. Furthermore (Urquhart 2002) includes S. t. rubicola as more frequently sporting a more prominent supercilium.

20th July 2013 Beachy NE4 Clear

Fulmar 6+

Gannet 160 (with a feeding flock of 100 off Birling)

Little Egret 1 E

Tufted Duck 1 E

Common Scoter 33 E

Oystercatcher 4 W

Sanderling 4 W

Curlew 1 W

Mediterranean Gull 9 chiefly W

Sandwich Tern 3

Swift 5

Sand Martin 11

Swallow 15

Grey Wagtail 1 E

Corn Bunting 2 singing

 

Cliff fall at Birling Gap

The most impressive sight of the day was the huge cliff fall that has taken place within a few hundred meters of the steps at Birling Gap. A person stood on the fallen chalk (right hand end) puts some scale into the amount and height of the fallen chalk that completely covers the beach - hopefully nobody is beneath it!

13th July 2013 Beachy NE1 & Calm

Little Egret 1 E
Common Scoter Flock of 60 E
Stock Dove 1 Birling
Stonechat 3 juveniles
Common Whitethroat 18
Chiffchaff 1
Corn Bunting 3 singing

Marbled White at Beachy

Note the hole in its right wing



12th July 2013 Newhaven Harbour

Common Scoter 1 drake

 

 



Drake Common Scoter at Newhaven Harbour

 

Hare



11th July 2013 Newhaven Harbour

Dunlin 1

 

Juvenile Herring Gull at Newhaven Harbour

Having seen a few fledged club-winged individuals at West Rise on Sunday presumably from the nearby rooftops there and now a couple of individuals on the beach at Newhaven this evening it would seem the late Spring didn't delay their breeding cycle, if anything, the juveniles seem independent a little earlier this year - this one even trying its hand at a little foot-paddling



10th July 2013 Newhaven Harbour

Yellow-legged Gull 1 juvenile
Common Gull 1
Mediterranean Gull 1 first-summer

First-summer Mediterranean Gull at Newhaven Harbour

 

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull at Newhaven Harbour

9th July 2013 Rodmell

Little Owl 1
Greenshank 1 + 1h
Sand Martin 2

8th July 2013 Rodmell

Common Gull 3
Greenshank 1 fvo
Sand Martin 5

7th July 2013 Beachy & West Rise N2 Clear

Gannet c.30 E
Common Scoter 25 E
Kestrel 1
Mediterranean Gull 2 W adults
Common Gull 1 adult
Sandwich Tern 5 E
Stock Dove 1 over Birling
Swift 84 E
Sand Martin 51 E
Swallow c.50 chiefly E
Whitethroat 8
Linnet 40
Corn Bunting 1 singing

Adult Common Gull at Birling

Presumably an early returning migrant and clearly quite a dark-mantled individual. I wonder how far it had come...

 

West Rise Marsh

Bearded Tit 1

 

Red-eyed Damselfly at West Rise (JFC)







6th July 2013 Beachy, West Rise & Rodmell

Scoter 20E
Little Egret 2W
Curlew 1W
Mediterranean Gull 3W adults
Swift 15E
Sand Martin 308 S/E
Swallow c.10
Continental Stonechat 1 male
Raven 1

Male Continental Stonechat at Beachy

Magpie at Birling

Grizzled Skipper at Birling

Dark Green Fritillary at Belle Tout



West Rise Marsh
Sand Martin c.50
Bearded Tit 1

Rodmell
Pochard 1 juv.
Lapwing 3
Green Sandpiper 2

5th July 2012 Rodmell

Short-eared Owl 1
Oystercatcher 2
Green Sandpiper 2
Sand Martin 42 S

Short-eared Owl at Rodmell



3rd July 2013 Near Southease

Curlew 1
Oystercatcher 2
Lapwing 30
Green Sandpiper 1

Green Sandpiper near Southease

a really long-billed individual (but unfortunately white-rumped!!)