Hayling Oysterbeds

Sunday 24 October 2021

Hampshire Ornithological Society

Hayling Oyster Beds Walk

09.30 to 13.30

I was one of a group of 14 members, including our leader for the day Kevin Stouse, who enjoyed a lovely morning walk from Warblington Church to the Hayling Oyster Beds.  The weather was excellent for the time of year, mild and dry.  My species count was just shy of 50, a very creditable total.

• My target species was Red-breasted Merganser and we were fortunate enough to see two, one as we approached the oyster beds on Hayling Island and a second on the lagoon by the car park at the beds themselves.  This latter bird afforded us superb views from close range.  
• A lovely Grey Wagtail got us off to a good start as we left the churchyard at Warblington. 
• Brent Geese were abundant with well over 50 seen, in the air and on the ground.
• Pick of the waders were the Grey Plovers, Black-tailed Godwits, Curlews, a single Turnstone and, best of all, a Greenshank. 
• Most of the usual ducks were seen with a male and female Pintail standing out from the rest.
• Perhaps the most memorable moment came on the return leg when we saw hundreds of Oystercatchers bedded down on one of the islands close to our footpath.  The light was just right and showed these lovely birds at their very best.
• There were still 3 Sandwich Terns hanging around.
• There were plenty of Stonechats around.

A great walk, a new one for me and one I would like to come back to.  Kevin reckons this site is best visited in March when the Mediterranean Gulls return in large numbers.

Very enjoyable but, yet again, no sign of migrating birds

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Seaford Head and the Cuckmere with the Ashdown Bird Group

 

Sunday 17th October 2021,

Seaford Head and Cuckmere Haven

Ashdown Bird Group

(6 members present)

For our latest outing we started at Seaford Head and followed a route that looped round from the car park, down Hope Bottom to the sea, turned east to the Cuckmere Haven and followed the river inland along its western edges before returning to the start via the Vanguard Way and Harry’s Bush on South Hill.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree and OS Maps

This time the birding return was very modest with only 36 species seen, none of which were out of the ordinary. 

The weather was kind to us again with cool and pleasant conditions in the main but a little windy in exposed areas.

 

The target species for the day were migrant birds.

 

 

·         We got off to a good start, seeing a Kestrel and a Peregrine from the car park.

·         The walk down Hope Bottom to the sea, often a treasure trove for rare migrants, proved barren with a Chiffchaff, found by John, the only real candidate.   

·         On the sea there were a few Gannets and Cormorants but little else apart from the Black-headed Gulls.  The highlight was a seal which popped its head above the water before swimming west.

·         As we walked along the cliff tops towards the Cuckmere estuary a large flock of Curlews flew past us.

·         Rock Pipits were seen at the estuary.

·         As we entered the Cuckmere valley the most eye catching birds were the large flock of Great Black-backed Gulls on the ground in the fields and an even larger group of Canada Geese not far away from them.

·         On the river itself there was no sign of the usual Redshanks and Dunlin, hardly surprising really, given the  large group of canoeists on the water and the steady stream of walkers on both river banks.

·         When we looked down the channels leading from the river into the fields to the east we came across lots of Wigeon and a smaller number of Teal as well as the usual Grey Herons and Little Egrets.

·         Meadow Pipits, Skylarks, Stonechats and both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers were the pick of the birds not mentioned so far.

 

 

 

It was hard work looking for birds today with little evidence of bird migration.  Nevertheless, we met the challenge and had a good time in an area of outstanding natural beauty

 

Dungeness with the East Grinstead RSPB Local Group

Saturday 16th October 2021

Dungeness Kent

East Grinstead RSPB Local Group

This was a splendid trip with over 60 bird species seen.  Once again, there was plenty of variety with something for everyone to enjoy.  

It was nice to welcome back another 4 members, who joined us for the first time since the pandemic.  We spent the morning on the reserve, moved over to the ARC Pits after lunch before driving round to the coast to finish with a short seawatch. The weather was dry and overcast, typical for the time of the year, but a tad cold by the sea.

The situation on the reserve has caused deep concern to the regulars in recent months with most of the hides closed for repair, leaving birders woefully short of shelter and comfort.  The re-opening of Dengemarsh Hide last week has eased the problems somewhat and the new lookouts at Firth and Scott are proving popular in good weather.  

A large group of Sussex Wildlife Trust members set off just before us so we decided to change our plan and go round the reserve in the reverse direction to avoid competition for the limited places in the hides.  Quite by accident, we came across the delightful, new, Outland Trail, a 1.8 km route, to the east of the main drive, giving excellent views over Burrowes Pit and New Diggings.

The main birding highlights on the reserve are listed below:

• It's a sign of the times that we can report sightings of all 3 egret species without anyone raising an eyebrow.  A few years ago this would have caused a sensation.   We saw 6 Cattle Egrets, at least 6 Great White Egrets and a few Little Egrets, all showing well at different times during our visit.  
• The reserve is a strong point for Marsh Harriers and we saw them regularly flying majestically over the reeds and water.
• Perhaps the rarest bird we saw was the Black-necked Grebe near the Scott Lookout.
• Over 100 Golden Plover made a lovely sight both on the ground as a closely packed flock and in the air as they flew around with the Lapwings.
• We saw a lone Dunlin and a couple of Black-tailed Godwits and a Snipe.
• Pick of the ducks was perhaps the drake Pintail seen from Firth Lookout and the lovely Gadwall seen on the ARC Pit.
• There was a huge Great Black-backed Gull presence but only a small number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. 

The pair of Glossy Ibis's were tantalisingly tucked in behind the reeds at Cook's Pool but would not show for us.

The Slavonian Grebe, seen earlier in the day on the ARC Pits, had departed by the time we got there.  

The seawatching in the afternoon was interesting and quite productive with the highlights listed below:

• There were quite a few Guillemots swimming close to the shore and giving great views.
• The Gannets showed off their majestic flying skills.
• Several Kittiwakes were also flying by.
• The Sandwich Terns were noisy, as usual.

Red-throated Divers had been seen earlier in the day but we were unable to find any.

Sadly there was little evidence of bird migration, which seems to be the case in many parts of the south east.  Equally sadly, there was clear evidence of human migration with a border patrol boat escorting the latest group of migrants from France into custody here.

A great day out - we are slowly getting the group back to normal!

Rye Harbour and Dungeness

 Sunday 11th October 2021

Another walk with Mark and Elizabeth.  We spent the morning at Rye Harbour before relocating to Dungeness for the afternoon session.  The early morning mist soon disappeared and the temperature rose steadily afterwards.  Wendy, a friend of Mark and Elizabeth's from London, joined us for the day.

Rye Harbour NR, Sussex

We walked to the beach from the car park, passing the new Discovery Centre on the way.  Then we headed west to visit the Ternery Hide and Denny's Hide before returning to the car park by the Martello Tower

We saw a good range of birds, nothing surprising, but all were very welcome.  The highlights are itemised below:

• The wallpaper was provided by the numerous Wigeon and Teal on the water.  Most were still in eclipse plumage.
• A huge flock of Golden Plover gave us a lot of pleasure in their flight and on the ground.
• 4+ Pintails gave us some glamour.
• There were still 2 Swallows flying around.
• A Great White Egret showed very well on the Salt Pool
• Wendy spotted a Snipe as we looked over the Ternery Pool from the hide, which was, thankfully, empty.
• Perhaps the highlight of the day was the close views of 2 Skylarks on the footpath near Denny Hide.  They landed on a post just a few metres away from us and were so besotted with each other they didn't notice us.

We saw Kate Humble outside the Discovery Centre, with a film crew, at the start of our visit.

Dungeness

After lunch at the car park in Rye we moved on to Dungeness, calling in at the ARC Pits before moving on to the main reserve where I only had time to visit Denis's Hide before I had to leave.

The highlights here are listed below:

• At least 2 more Great White Egrets were seen.
• 2 Cattle Egrets were showing well by the cattle near Cook's Pond.
• At least 6 cracking Pochard were seen by the ARC Screen Hide
• 20+ Gadwall showed really well.
• We just missed a Pectoral Sandpiper from Dennis's Hide.

It was nice to bump into Plodding Birder (Martin Casemore) at the ARC.  He advised us as to what was present on the reserve and gave us an update on the state of the place - Denge Hide has now reopened,  thankfully.

I had to leave around 3 pm to get back in time to take the dogs out before it got dark.  The rest of the group spent more time on the reserve but didn't see anything different.

Another really good day's birding with friends.

Beaten by the weather in Cumbria

Weekend of 1st to 2nd October 2021

Cumbria

I had high hopes of some birding before and after the school reunion on Friday evening in Workington.  However the foul weather scuppered all my plans.  

• The best I could do was a walk with my niece along the banks of the River Derwent in Workington during a rare period when there was no rain. Normally I would see Dippers here - but not today!  The water level was so high that all the normal cobbled islands and channels were submerged and we had a really swift flowing river - hardly suitable for Dippers.  The best I could find was a small family of Mallards, a Grey Heron and a Goosander.  Half way through, the heavens opened and we were drenched.  I don't think my niece will go birding with me again in the foreseeable future!

Saturday's weather was much the same so I decided to head back to Sussex after visiting Brian at his home on the way out of Workington around midday.  The weather deteriorated as I travelled and I was grateful to get back home around 19.20 after a difficult journey.

Great to attend the reunion,  sadly didn't meet up with all the family and there were hardly any birding opportunities.

Up to Cumbria for a School Reunion and a White-tailed Plover En-route.

Thursday 30th September 2021

Blacktoft Sands RSPB, Yorkshire

I attended  my old school reunion bash in Workington, on Friday.  Travelling up on Thursday gave me the chance to twitch the White-tailed Lapwing (Plover) at Blacktoft Sands RSPB in Yorkshire.  Lucky for me, the bird was still around - well over a month after the first sighting on 26th August!  

• The lapwing was showing well from the First Hide as I arrived around 16.00 hours. Thankfully, there were only 2 birders present - a far cry from the 4000+  this rarity had already attracted to the reserve. 

courtesy of Martin Roper and Twitter

courtesy of Sean Moore and Facebook

courtesy of Whitfield Benson and Facebook

Unfortunately I could only stay for 20 minutes and had no time to look for other species or go around this lovely reserve close to the southern banks of the Humber.  I needed to get to Cumbria - still almost 180 miles away and I also desperately needed to fill up with petrol to ensure I could get back to Sussex on Saturday.

• This particular bird has affectionately  been named Larry the Lapwing.
• It is a native of southern Russia and the Middle East and so an ultra rarity in the UK.  
• To date there have only been 8 sightings, the last one being a very brief sighting at Stodmarsh NNR in Kent on 2nd June this year.  Prior to this you have to go back 11 years to get the last record here in the UK.
• It's also a first for Yorkshire.

My fifth new bird in the UK this year!