Seawatching off the Gap was quite fruitful, with c.2.5-hours of observation producing two year-firsts, with three adult
Little Gulls and four
Eiders (three drakes) heading east. Also on the move were four
Pintails, 37
Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 70
Red-throated Divers, five
Teal, two
Gannets and 10
Kittiwakes. 10
Great Crested Grebes were on the sea. Many of the 41
Red-breasted Mergansers logged also seemed to be making their way up the Channel and there was clear gull movement, with a sharp increase in
Lesser Black-backed Gulls to 25 birds, about half of these tracking their way east along the coast and the others loafing in the fields. Nine
Mediterranean Gulls passed through too. Unusual in the roost field was a
Bar-tailed Godwit and the two
Redshanks which usually stick to the beach, a
Lapwing was nearby and general wader counts on the rising tide included 68
Grey Plovers, 26
Oystercatchers, 223
Dunlin, 26
Ringed Plovers and 22
Sanderlings. Three
Stonechats (two males) were on the rough patch and two
Skylarks were in the fields.
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| Bar-tailed Godwit with Grey Plovers and Dunlin at Goring Gap |
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| Lesser Black-backed and Great Black-backed Gulls at Goring Gap |
The first two
Reed Buntings of the spring at Ferring Rife included a singing male. Two
Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew over there. Five
Teal and two
Little Egrets were feeding on the Rife while two
Water Rails and a
Pheasant called. 11
Redwings, 18
Moorhens, four
Meadow Pipits, two
Skylarks and 21
Pied Wagtails were counted. Singles of
Sparrowhawk and Kestrel were seen. Four Jackdaws represented my first record for the Rife and only my second for the entire patch.
