Great Expectations - 5th 11th May

 Seawatching

They say good things come to those that wait, and for Worthing Seawatchers and the two resident Grey Seals off Marine Gardens they waited, and then they waited some more, as cold northerly winds brought skua passage to a grinding halt for much of the week.

Monday 5th May

Two Hobbies seen flying in off the sea and north over the beach and 31 Whimbrel east were the only birds of note between 06:30-08:00.

Thursday 8th May

A good early morning movement of Whimbrel 106e and a tight flock of Red Knot c15e but precious little else.  However on Thursday afternoon the first two Arctic Skuas of the week (one light phase / one dark phase) passed Brougham Road, followed by two more on the next morning from Marine Gardens. 

Friday 8th May

An interesting morning session with Whimbrel (108e 1w), Curlew (2w), Bar-tailed Godwits (3e) in a group with Grey Plover (5e) Common Sandpiper (1e) and two Arctic Skuas chasing Sandwich Terns. Swallows continued to arrive and frustratingly a raptor watched flying in off the sea and away to the north could not be identified.

Then slowly the wind moved round to the south east, and mid afternoon the stars began to align - “Pomarine Skua very close east past MG @15:09”  So close that apparently even the Grey Seals gave a little fist pump, and then two more at 17:05 which were also seen past Widewater 15 minutes later. Suddenly the wait for 2025 was over and for one MG regular a Saturday trip to the land locked West Midlands was no longer such a worry.

Saturday 9th May / Sunday 10th May

Finally the winds were from the fabled south east so would the flood gates open as we moved into the finale of the spring seawatching season. 

There was a bit more variety on Saturday morning with a single female  Eider, Shoveler (3e), Common Scoter (68e) and an early pulse of distant Kittiwakes (45e).  Waders were well represented with Sanderling (20e), Grey Plover (11e), Bar-tailed Godwits (22e) and Whimbrel (20e). 

But what about the Skuas - well a single pale phase Arctic Skua (08:50) and four together (09:05), all relatively close in was a promising start and then……. Disappointment !!  

Sunday was a similar story, a visiting birder recorded Common Scoter (95e), Kittiwake (12e). Grey Plover (40e),Sanderling (42e) but just two Whimbrel. The highlight of the morning being two probable Black-throated Divers. News of a Long-tailed Skua and more Poms further west meant there was more coverage from Marine Gardens in the afternoon and early evening but once again they failed to materialised. 

Despite the anpparently ideal conditions over the weekend it all fizzled out as the promised Poms failed to turn up for their own party. Although there may be a few stragglers next week it feels like this year’s sea watching season is coming to an end.

The Bottle-nosed Dolphins seemed to sense this and put on a superb show  on Saturday morning, coming very close to the shore at high tide to say goodbye. 

The Downs and Inland

Swift numbers increased rapidly this week, with birds being reported from numerous sites around the town and hopefully they will settle down to breed in coming weeks. 

There were very few reports from the Downs this week with summer breeding birds very active. A Reed Warbler on the Downs along Lychpole Bottom was the only migrant news all week.

The next few weeks still hold the chance of a scarce late migrant, such as a Red backed Shrike or even more outrageous a flyover Bee-eater. Watch this space.

POM Alert - “Oh we do like to live by seaside”

The highlight of the Spring Seawatching season is the much anticipated passage of skuas up the English Channel with Pomarine Skua very much the star attraction. The peak time is the last week of April and the first ten days of May ideally combined with south-easterly winds. Then these large majestic birds may be seen powering past our coastline heading for their Arctic breeding grounds.

The more time spent watching the sea the better the chances of seeing this spectacle, though thanks to instant news via WhatsApp groups early warning of birds passing further west can allow Worthing Birders the chance to intercept skuas seen passing Selsey Bill.

This week the winds have been very light north easterly and bright sunshine hasn’t been ideal but after missing the first birds reported moving up the Channel on 26th and 28th, finally the gates opened and although birds didn’t exactly flood through,  those that had the time or could react quickly managed to succeed.

Tuesday 29th April

A magnificent flock of 14 pale phase Pomarine Skuas were tracked from Selsey eastwards and were seen at Rustington, Marine Gardens and then more distantly off Widewater on Tuesday evening. 

Wednesday 30th April

A distant Pomarine Skua was watched passing infront of the wind turbines early morning and then a flock of five birds were tracked from Selsey and were seen passing Goring Gap and Marine Gardens, allowing several birders just enough time to race to the coast to see them.

Thursday 1st May

Three birds passed Selsey very early and were seen about 40 minutes later by those gathered at Marine Gardens passing mid distance.

After that the winds have swung more northerly and for the time being the tap has been turned off. However we are now into the peak time for skua passage and surely there will be more birds moving along our coastline this coming week.

28th April - 4th May Weekly Update

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.