BROOKLANDS PLEASURE PARK: A reasonable number of large gulls were gathered at Brooklands Pleasure Park in the late afternoon, including two showy juvenile
Yellow-legged Gulls and two
Lesser Black-backed Gulls (an adult and a juvenile). The
Mute Swan family and a
Grey Heron were the best of the other birds seen (DKC).
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| juvenile Yellow-legged Gull at Brooklands Pleasure Park (bird 1) (DKC) |
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| juvenile Yellow-legged Gull at Brooklands Pleasure Park (bird 2) (DKC) |
CISSBURY RING: The visit to Cissbury Ring paid off with a scattering of half-a-dozen vocal
Redstarts, mostly females but including one well-marked male, as well as two heard fly-over
Tree Pipits, two
Stonechats, a
Willow Warbler, a
Swallow, four
Blackcaps, two
Whitethroats, a
Yellowhammer, two
Buzzards and three
Kestrels among the other species logged (DKC).
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| female Redstart at Cissbury Ring (DKC) |
HIGHDOWN: I managed to cover a small part of the site before the heavens opened. The highlight was my first - and long overdue -
Whinchat of the year! Two
Sand Martins, seven
Swallows and a
Swift flew through. Other birds included singles of
Kestrel,
Green Woodpecker and
Nuthatch, along with four
Skylarks, three
Whitethroats and six
Blackcaps (DKC).
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| Whinchat at Highdown (DKC) |
STEYNING BOSTAL TO CISSBURY RING: Our walk this morning from the Steyning Bostal to No Man’s Land to
behind Cissbury Ring started good and dry but we returned dripping like
two drowned rats! Raptors were a few
Kestrel and singles each of
Buzzard and
Sparrowhawk; clouds of
Goldfinch, some
Linnet and one
Corn Bunting were along the way; a good many
Whitethroat were seen, some “collecting blackberries” and two
Lesser Whitethroat, four
Blackcap, three
Willow Warbler, one
Chiffchaff, three
Redstart (an adult male and two female, one pictured), four
Wheatear and one
Whinchat (pic) and a
Tree Pipit in a tree. Flowers included pink betony, red or purple knapweed and yellow St John’s wort (AK via SOS)
WEST WORTHING: A
Swift flew over (DKC).
GORING GAP: The 2
Whinchats were still around tough field area today, a
Wheatear was also reported here (various)
