I paid my inaugural visit to my randomly allocated BBS square this morning, just in the nick of time to complete the first of the two required visits. Covering pastoral land just north of Lyminster, the site was a delight, the first birds heard as I got out of the car being a pair of Cuckoos - the bubbling call of females is something I hear so rarely! A Cetti's Warbler, a couple of Reed Warblers and a Reed Bunting were also in voice, while nine Lapwings were a hopeful sight and other highlights included singles of Little Egret, Shelduck, Willow Warbler and Treecreeper, plus two Swifts and six Swallows.
It was then onto the patch, starting with a quick circuit of Goring Gap. The best bits there were a/the female Whinchat in the northwest corner, my first British Sand Martin of the year (!), a Peregrine, a Willow Warbler, a House Martin, five Sanderlings, 13 Turnstones, four Oystercatchers, seven Swallows, a Moorhen, a Whitethroat and a Black-headed Gull. A walk of Ferring Rife revealed five House Martins, six Swallows, a Little Egret, two Grey Herons, a Red Kite, two Buzzards, a Kestrel, two Swifts, five Whitethroats, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, six Mallards, two Moorhens and a Jackdaw.
