8th -15th August

The week continued to produce a steady trickle of common migrants along the Downs and coastal strip but the star bird of the week and perhaps the autumn almost slipped through unnoticed. At this time of year there are a lot of Corn Buntings and Yellowhammers on the Downs including many young birds and with the focus on searching for migrants the buntings tend to get over looked. 

                                                      Ortolan Bunting (Richard Phillips)

This was almost the case on Friday 15th August when Richard Phillips was photographing buntings whilst looking for migrants on his local patch around Steyning Round Hill. It wasn’t until he looked at his photos late the following afternoon that he noticed a bird with a prominent sub moustachial stripe, obvious pale eye ring and pale bill all features of Ortolan Bunting, a scarce migrant which is far from annual in Sussex. 

Monarch’s Way and Steyning Round Hill 

The fence line along Monarch’s Way near the set aside fields held four each of Wheatear and Whinchat on 14/8 whilst the bushes around the Farmer’s Memorial held Spotted Flycatcher (8/8), Garden Warbler (9/8), Whinchat (11/8) and a Redstart which was present most of the week.

Findon Gallops

A Sedge Warbler was present at the top of Findon Gallops on 8/8 with Redstart, Wheatear, Willow Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat (3) recorded in the Horse Paddocks on 14/8. 

Cissbury

There was good coverage with almost daily reports around the Ring from multiple observers. Blackcaps, Willow Warblers, Whitethroat and a few tacking Lesser Whitethroat were seen on most visits. Wheatear numbers began to increase with four on 12/8 and six on 14/8. The first returning Spotted Flycatchers (3) were found on 11/8, with two more on 14/8, and Redstarts were present throughout the week with a maximum count of four on 14/8. A Black Redstart on 11/8 was an excellent August find on the Downs with most records of this species coming from coastal sites later in the year. 

Lancing Ring

A good haul of common migrants around Lancing Ring on 11/8 included Spotted Flycatchers (5), Redstarts (2) and Lesser Whitethroat (2). Nearby on the south side of Steep Down a combine-harvester flushed a Dartford Warbler and Corn Buntings (45) from a field of oats. 

Highdown

A late afternoon visit on 15/8 was very productive with an arrival of migrants including an excellent count of Spotted Flycatchers (13), Whinchat, Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat (2) and a Hobby flying west. 

Worthing

A Wheatear was present at Worthing Crem (10/8) and Spotted Flycatcher and Garden Warbler were seen in East Worthing (15/8), whilst a mixed flock of Swifts (12) and House Martins went south over Dominion Road (8/8). 

Goring Gap / Ferring Rife

A Quail was discovered calling in the large Clover  and Lucerne field bordering Ferring Rife on Friday 8th August which is an excellent record away from the Downs, with Wheatears (2), Swifts (15) and Sand Martins (6) in same area.Two Wheatears were also present on the beach at Goring Gap the same day with an increase in Turnstones (49) a single Sanderling and the elusive over summering Whimbrel again being noted.

On Friday 15th August Little Egrets (36) were on the beach with Wheatears (5) and waders included  Ringed Plovers (10) as well as similar numbers of Turnstones. Overhead visible migration included Yellow Wagtail (2w, 1e) and Sand Martins (8e).

Guest Blog Gareth James - There be Dragons.

If you read the small print the Worthing Birding Blog covers all wildlife sightings (even escaped Common Myna) so news of a first for Worthing area is a notable story. 

                                 Lesser Emperor Deepest Darkest Durrington - (Gareth James)

                                                            Ruddy Darter - (Gareth James)

Anyone studying an Ordance Survey map of Worthing would notice the area west and north of Durrington Tescos, even in the most recent updates, is depicted as fields with the odd stream or dyke. We all know this area has now been extensively developed with new housing.  Our intrepid local entomologist Colin Jupp set off on foot to explore this area and discovered several small ponds amongst the houses due west of Tescos and much to his delight found a rare Lesser Emperor. This is the first time this species has been recorded in the Worthing area and Gareth James takes up the story with his post from the Sussex Dragonfly Group website.

On Saturday 9th August, Colin Jupp discovered a male Lesser Emperor at a pond within a new housing estate in West Durrington. We visited the site on Sunday afternoon and checked a couple of the ponds in the area.

Most of the activity was at the second pond we visited, located at TQ107054. Here, we observed two male Lesser Emperors patrolling along the western shore, along with several Emperors and Black-tailed Skimmers. Also present were both Red-eyed and Small Red-eyed Damselflies, as well as a single Blue-tailed Damselfly.

The first pond we checked, situated to the south at TQ107051, held a male Ruddy Darter and a couple of Emperors.

We later learned that Colin's original Lesser Emperor sighting had been at a third pond at TQ107048. So, if you're visiting the area, it's well worth checking all three ponds but please mindful of the privacy of local residents. (Paul Bridget and Gareth James, West Durrington - TQ1005)

Lesser Emperor is a very scarce Dragonfly in Sussex only recorded from a handful of sites (see link for details). https://sussexdragonflies.org.uk/speciesAccount.php?species=Anax%20parthenope

1st-7th August

Early August continued to deliver a trickle of departing summer visitors pausing on the Downs or along the coastal strip to feed up prior to heading out across the Channel.

Goring Gap

                                                   Cattle Egrets Goring Gap (Ralph Simpson)

On Friday 1st August Ralph Simpson photographed five Cattle Egrets flying in from the east, which nearly landed on the beach with 30+ Little Egrets before having second thoughts and continuing west. Presumably one of these was the bird he had found on 30/7 returning with its friends. Also present on the beach were Wheatears (2),  whilst waders included Turnstone (18) and Dunlin and Sanderlings (7).  Nearby Swifts (8) and Swallows (15) were hawking insects over Ferring County Centre.

Cissbury

There seemed to be an arrival of Willow Warblers on Friday 1st August with 20+ birds recorded around The Ring but no other migrants could be located with them. The next day (2/8) four Redstarts were found in the north east corner and the ringing station on the northern flanks caught a Nightingale, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and lots of Willow Warblers. However a day later (3/8) the same area was virtually birdless with only a single Redstart remaining.

Monarch’s Way to Steyning Round Hill

The first Whinchat of the autumn was found near the Farmer’s Memorial on 2/8 and the following day two birds were present in the set aside fields at the bottom of Monarch’s Way just north of Cissbury and a Hobby flew over Stump Bottom.

The area around the Farmer’s Memorial held Redstarts (2), Wheatear (2), Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat (12) and Willow Warblers (2) on 5/8 with at least one Redstart and the Lesser Whitethroat still present the following day.

Sompting

Two Wheatears were present on the Downs above Sompting Church on 2/8.

Town Centre

Two Crossbills flew south west over King Edward Avenue (2/8) and a Wheatear was on the beach opposite Marine Gardens (5/8). The two escaped Common Mynas on the grass outside Durrington Health Centre (2/8) were a surprise for the finder but are probably best ignored. 

July Summary

Whilst most people see July as the start of the summer and look forward to the school holidays, we at Worthing birding are already thinking about the start of autumn. Many of our summer visitors will soon be heading south and will pause to refuel on the coast before continuing their migration. This can begin as soon as mid July but it is usually a month of waiting and hoping. However for those interested in butterflies (or moths) there was plenty to keep them occupied through the warm sunny days.

Early July started (and continued) with wall to wall sunshine and post breeding flocks of Swallows stooping over the wheat fields on the Downs north of Cissbury,  but for some the main event of the first half of the month was the Worthing Birders Summer Drinks on the 17th July. 

Quail - One was heard in the oat field south of the path between Lancing Ring and Steep Down on 10/7 and 24/7 and another near the gate on the north side of Steep Down on 18/7. Meanwhile a third bird was singing in the huge wheat fields south of Steyning Round Hill from 20/7 until 25/7.

Brooklands Lake  - Juvenile Mediterranean and Yellow-Legged Gulls were reported from  18/7. 

Goring Gap  - Early returning Common Gulls (3) were noted on 11/7 with 20+ Med Gulls including a couple of juveniles. A single Whimbrel was reported on multiple dates between 11/7 and 30/7, with Curlew on 12/7 and 16/7. 

Autumn is Up and Running 

The Birders Drinks raised expectations (fuelled perhaps by the odd shandy)  and rekindled enthusiasm to search the Downs for migrants and the very next morning our hopes were answered. Admittedly it was the hard working Juliet and Chris Moore that found a lovely male Redstart on Findon Gallops on 18/7 rather than anyone who had been at The Cricketers, but it was the first migrant of the autumn and whilst the floodgates didn’t exactly burst open, inevitably more followed.  

Two more Redstarts were at Patching Hill on 25/7 and still present on 28/7 along with a Sedge Warbler and Lesser Whitethroats (2). By the last two weeks of the month Willow Warblers were being reported in small numbers from multiple sites and the first Wheatear of the autumn was present along Monarchs Way to the north of Cissbury on 28/7.

Findon Gallops held Lesser Whitethroat (4), Common Whitethroat (8) and a Garden Warbler on 30/7.

Crossbills - It seems to have been a very good year for Crossbills with reports from across the county, and the Worthing area didn’t miss out. Patching Hill seemed to be something of a hot spot, with 43e on 25/7 and another 11e / 5sw on 28/7. Meanwhile small groups were seen flying east over the town on 27/7 with sightings from Lower Salvington (14e) and Rogate Road (8e). 

Swifts - Perhaps the first signs of departing Swifts were 85e past Goring Gap on 23/7 and post breeding flocks of 30 over Cissbury and 60+ feeding over the plantation at Goring Gap on 24/7. Birds were still also being reported from breeding territories at the end of the month - but they will not be around much longer. 

However we had to wait until 30th July for the best bird of the month, when a Cattle Egret was seen by Ralph Simpson heading west over Goring Gap, although you need to read the next instalment to hear how he would better this in August.