Stone Curlew is a scarce summer visitor in the UK, breeding in small numbers on stony lowland heaths or farmland in southern and eastern Britain. It is an early returning bird but migrates at night and is rarely seen away from a few well publicised breeding sites, where its secretive nature and nocturnal habits makes it very difficult to observe.
Passage birds are very unusual and are most often heard only nocturnal movements so Monday 6th April was definitely noteworthy with two daytime sightings within the Worthing / Shoreham area.
Widewater.
Firstly Richard Fairbank watched a Stone Curlew fly in off the sea and land on the beach at Widewater about 07:45where it rested for a few minutes before being flushed and flying northwest inland.
Sompting Brooks
Remarkably, at 12:50 the same day Mike Galtry heard an odd wader call over the rough fields behind his house and was stunned to get good flight views of a calling Stone Curlew making a low circuit over the fields before dropping out of sight behind a hedge to the north.
Karen and he rushed out hoping to relocate it, thinking it may have dropped into the fields north of A27 between Sompting Church and Lambley’s Lane. Around 13:30Karen had a brief flight view as it dropped into a crop field beside the Primary School and Mike managed to grab a few photographs before it walked deep into cover.
Unfortunately the trail then went cold, and despite a small number of observers watching the field until 18:30 and then again at dusk there was no further sign.
These two sightings are less than 3.5 miles apart, but whether they relate to the same individual will always be subject to conjecture, however they are both remarkable finds and despite brief views gave great to joy to the finders.
