Scarcities
On Monday 28th April a Hoopoe was heard singing from trees at the east end of Goring Gap early morning, but frustratingly had moved east before it could be located, though a member of the public reported a possible sighting about the same time.
A very bleached 2cy Iceland Gull was seen flying east mid distant from Marine Gardens by three observers at 08:40 on Wednesday 30th April.
Seawatching
Bar-tailed Godwits Goring Gap - Ralph Simpson
Most eyes were focussed on the sea this week as the skua season moved into full swing (see Pom Alert post). Although winds were very light and visibility wasn’t always ideal there was a steady trickle of birds heading eastwards past Goring Gap, Marine Gardens and Widewater.
The best days for wader movements were 28-30 April with Bar-tailed Godwits (43e, 22e, 26e), many in brick red summer plumage, and Whimbrel (20e, 88e, 54e) continuing to head for their Arctic breeding territories. Amongst them smaller numbers of summer plumage Grey Plover, Red Knot (max 12e on 30/4), and Sanderling (max 17e on 1/5) were recorded whilst two Avocet were seen past Widewater on 30/4.
Arctic Skuas were seen almost daily with three birds seen past Marine Gardens on 28/4 & 29/4 and singles thereafter past Goring Gap or MG, whilst the Great Skua was again seen offshore from Marine Gardens on 29/4 and 30/4.
Very few duck were recorded with a maximum count of Common Scoter (40e on 30/4) and most Brent Geese have now moved through (1e on 28/4). Single Great Northern Divers were seen on 30/4, 1/5 and 3/5 whilst a probable Red-necked Grebe flew past multiple observers at Marine Gardens on 3/5.
A huge flock of Herring Gulls have been feeding off Marine Gardens all week and an adult Little Gull was seen amongst them twice on 28/4. Tern passage remains very slow with only a handful of Common / Arctic Terns reported during the week.
Spring Migrants / Summer Visitors
Spotted Flycatcher Cissbury - Lee Manvell
Spotted Flycatchers finally made their first appearance of the year with a bird found on Cissbury on 29/4 and two more there on 2/5. This is one of the later of our regular summer visitors and is more frequently seen on return passage in August and September. Another visitor usually associated with early May arrivals is Whinchat and a male was reported from Brooklands on 1/5 with another on Cissbury the following day.
Otherwise in a relatively quiet week two more Ring Ouzels on Cissbury Ring on 28/4 were notable along with increased numbers of Lesser Whitethroats and a singing Garden Warbler on 2/5. A Yellow Wagtail on the lawns of Beach House Park on 30/4 was clearly a new arrival and quickly headed northwards.
Meanwhile Swift reports continued to increase with 29 seen over Durrington on 3/5 and others back in breeding areas around Sompting and East Worthing.
Whilst Red Kites are now commonly seen on the Downs there was a significant movement of birds on 3/5 with 55 counted heading ENE over Durrington in just over an hour, a snapshot of a wider movement over the Sussex coast.
Other Wildlife
With long hours spent watching the sea, Bottle-nosed Dolphins were seen offshore regularly with family groups of up to 10 individuals present, including young.
Not surprisingly given the warm conditions, many butterflies were on the wing, with an arrival of migratory Painted Ladies on Highdown, Cissbury and also seen arriving over the sea. Common Blues, Grizzled and Dingy Skippers were reported from Patching Hill and Cissbury where 16 species were noted on 2/5, including Wall Brown and Green Hairstreak.
Adders are much harder to see on warmer days but several were reported from Cissbury this week, whilst Grass Snakes and Slow worms can often be found on garden compost bins now temperatures are higher.
