Summer Arrivals and Spring Passage

Now the weather finally feels like summer it’s time to recap on spring migration, with the peak arrival of summer visitors in April and early May heading for their breeding grounds in northern Britain and Scandinavia. Once again this key period coincided with a spell of cool settled weather with persistent northerly winds and clear skies meaning birds moved through quickly. Despite low numbers of grounded birds there was still a good variety of species noted,  including some very good local records. 

Flycatchers

                                              (Pied Flycatcher Clapham Woods - Simon Cross)

A superb male Pied Flycatcher was an excellent find by Simon Cross on the afternoon of 6th April at Clapham Woods but unfortunately didn’t linger to be appreciated by other local birders. This can be a difficult species to catch up with locally at anytime and a striking black and white male makes it all the more special. In contrast Spotted Flycatcher is much more common especially in autumn but there are usually a few spring records as well. However the only report this year was from Goring Gap on the very late date of 21st May. 

Whinchat

Early birds were found on Steep Down (x2 - 8/4) and Cissbury (16/4) followed by a bird on the beach at Marine Gardens (4/5). Three Spring records is disappointing though it is usually much more numerous in autumn.

Ring Ouzel

After a single bird at Mill Hill in March the only other Ring Ouzel reported was a brief roadside encounter on Titch Hill early on 6th April, whilst driving over the Steyning to Sompting Road.

Nightingale

Whilst this famous songster is relatively frequently encountered north of the Downs it is a notable record within the Worthing 10 km boundary. A minimum of two birds were reported this year with a singing bird near Black Ditch Angmering first heard on 20th April and still present on 25th April. A second bird was singing at the east side of Worthing Golf Course on 23rd April and it or another further up the same footpath on 6th May. 

Cuckoo

Three brief records on the Worthing side of the Downs was noteworthy, with birds heard from Angmering (3/5), Sompting Brooks (4/5) and Goring (13/5).

Redstarts

   

   (Redstart  Brooklands - Nick Bond)

The first Redstart of the Spring was a fine male discovered at Brooklands (1/4) with other males seen at Steep Down (6/4) and Cissbury (13 & 14/4).

Wheatear

Wheatear are perhaps the most obvious of our returning migrants, with the first records reported in small numbers from mid March. There was a big arrival along our coast in the first week of April with notable counts from Marine Gardens (8 - 1/4), Widewater (13 - 2/4), Ferring C.P. (12 - 6/4) and Highdown (10 - 6/4). There was further arrival between 18-20th April with daily sightings from Goring Gap and Marine Gardens  (max count - 9) and then singles (30/4) and (8/5).  Away from the coast sightings were few and far between with only a report of two birds at Lychpole Farm (18/4).

Whitethroats

Common Whitethroats arrived en masse from 9th April with 6+ around Cissbury and 5+ at Steyning Round Hill and territorially males were conspicuous throughout after this date.  The first Lesser Whitethroats were present on Cissbury (13/4) and Mill Hill and Highdown (19/4) and by 23rd April there were  at least four rattling males singing from various locations around Cissbury. 

Warblers

Willow Warblers seemed to be moving through in reasonable numbers from early April and notable early Garden Warblers were recorded from Ferring Rife (14/4) and Sompting Brooks (17/4). 

Our first Reed Warblers were reported back in suitable breeding territories at Brooklands (7/4), Black Ditch (13/4), River Adur (14/4), Sompting Brooks (17/4), and Ferring Rife (20/4), whilst migrant birds were seen away from breeding habitat on Cissbury (23/4), Lancing Ring (25/4) and Mill Hill (2/5, 4/5).  Sedge Warblers were present at Black Ditch (8/4) and Brooklands (14/5), which surprisingly is rare at this location ( only 20 records since 1970).

Yellow Wagtail

There were no grounded reports of Yellow Wagtails in the Worthing area this Spring but birds were seen and heard flying in / off sea from Worthing Pier (9/4) and Marine Gardens (18/4, 22/4  & 23/4).

Hobby

The first Hobby of the year was seen over No Mans Land (9/4) with further sightings over Sompting (12/4) and Beeding Brooks (19/4 & 20/4) where two birds were seen  hunting together. They were seen over East Preston (30/4) and flying in off the sea from Marine Gardens (30/4) and (9/5).

Swift

The first Swift was recorded  over Long Furlong (19/4) and Cissbury (22/4) with birds also seen coming in over the sea from 21/4 onwards. Other April sightings came from Lancing (7 - 25/4) and Durrington Rec (3- 29/4) then from early May there were regularly reported around breeding sites. 

Hirundines

After not being reported in March the first Sand Martins were finally seen from Marine Gardens and Angmering on 6th April preceded by the first House Martins at Black Ditch on 4th April. Swallows started arriving in good numbers from early April and birds seen battling the headwinds as they skimmed over the sea to reach the safety of the shore was a regular highlight of the April and May sea watching season, with a peak arrival of 30 birds.

Peaks and troughs of April Seawatching

 

Marine Gardens Worthing (N Oliver)

As usual April saw huddles of local bird watchers at various places along the seafront from Goring to Widewater hoping to witness the spectacle of bird migration up the Channel. The most popular watch point being Marine Gardens with upto 10 observers on the most promising looking days. Most of the month was dominated by north easterly to easterly winds with a prolonged period of sunny weather. In total observation took place on 20 days, with a total of more than 100 hours recorded, mostly early morning and occasionally  again in the evening if winds are from a favourable south easterly direction. 

The biggest daily total was saved until last, the 30th April, with 24 species (650 individuals) noted. 

Highlights

Brent Geese: (Total seen 116). Although peak movement of Brents is March, there is usually still reasonable numbers heading east in April though this year it has been limited to a few stragglers with counts on just 8 dates with a peak of 16e (4th) and 17e (11th) until a final late flurry with 70 recorded on 26th. 

Common Scoter: (Total seen 720). Distant black dots scurrying eastwards are usually a continuous feature of April seawatching with many hundreds being recorded. However this year, although birds were seen on 80% of watches, the only counts >50 were (60e-4th), (151e-11th), (147e-14th), (76e-25th), (79e-26th) and (54e-30th) with all the remaining dates being < 20. Frustratingly seven distant birds on 30th may have been the flock of Velvets recorded past Selsey that morning.

Other Ducks - Eider (6) were recorded on three dates between 24-26th with a maximum of three birds, otherwise duck movement was limited to a few Red-breasted Merganser (10), Shelduck (41), Shoveler (26) and Teal (2) though a probable female Goosander was observed on 14th. 

Divers / Grebes - A close small grebe on the evening of 26th took observers by surprise but was confirmed as a Black-necked Grebe following consultation with various reference documents. However there have been very few divers noted this month with Red-throated Diver (total 13, peak count 5) and single Great Northern Diver (10th) and Black-throated Diver (26th). 

Terns- Tern numbers continue to disappoint with numbers much lower than the expected historical records. The first Common Terns (4e) were seen past Rustington on 8th and then Marine Gardens (3e) on 20th but after that only a handful of Common/Arctic Terns have been sighted with the only notable count (20e) on 27th.

As yet no Little Terns have been reported past any of the Worthing sea watching sites, which will hopefully be addressed in May.

Whimbrel: (Total seen 920) - The first records were past Marine Gardens (1e) and Ferring (4w) on 7th with further single figure counts from Rustington (6e) on 8th and Marine Gardens (2e) on 9th and (3e) on both 10th and 13th. From 19th April onwards they were recorded daily with peak counts on 24th (351e including a single flock of 100+),  26th (143e) and 30th (92e).

Bar-tailed Godwit: (Total seen 750). - The first Bar-tailed Godwits  (4e) were seen heading east on 19th. Barwits were then recorded on all subsequent watches but in surprisingly low numbers with the only notable counts on 20th (44e) However a late afternoon watch from Brougham Road on 23rd produced several large flocks of distant waders which were identified as Barwits from photos.  A further huge flock of 150+ distant birds creating a black smoke like cloud across the horizon was seen on 27th. 

Finally numbers increased in the last few days of the month with peak totals on 29th (230) and 30th (186). One of the joys of spring migration is seeing mixed flocks of waders flying close to the shoreline with the stunning red summer plumaged godwits travelling with the larger Whimbrels.

Other Waders - Avocet were recorded on two dates with 5w on 18th and 2e on 28th. There was a good movement of Grey Plover (82e) on 30th and a few Red Knot were also recorded mostly in mixed flocks (peak count 10 on 30th). Greenshank were also picked out on two dates hidden in groups of Barwits. Smaller waders included Dunlin (total 14, peak count 9) on 28th and Sanderling (total 101, peak count 85)  on 30th. 

Pomarine Skuas: (Total seen 26). - The Pom season began early with low numbers of birds seen daily past Selsey between 21st and 25th April, keeping Worthing based observers on high alert.

Unfortunately most seemed to pass by too far out to sea but our first Pom Skuas (2e) of the season were tracked moving slowly east very distantly from Marine Gardens and Brougham Road (11:35-12:10) on 21st April, but views were very poor.

The evening of 24th was more rewarding with six birds moving quickly east past Marine Gardens much closer to shore (1e @17:08, 1e @18:45 and 4e @19:05). On the 25th three birds were tracked from Selsey past Rustington at 15:47 and St George’s Road Worthing at 16:01 and later that evening another four distant birds were reported from Marine Gardens or Sea Lane.

Strong easterlies on the morning of the 30th produced a memorable encounter with a superb leisurely fly past. Two groups of majestic “fully spooned” Pomarine Skuas (4e @07:09, 2e @ 09:23) were seen from Marine Gardens and Widewater, with more distant birds (2e@07:00 and 3e@10:50) as part of a bigger movement of skuas past Selsey.

Arctic Skuas: (Total seen 17) - Arctic Skuas have been very scarce this month with the first record being the evening of 24th with a total of five individuals including three close inshore and two accompanying the Poms. Further sighting from Worthing Pier / Marine Gardens (8e) on the evening of 25th and subsequently there were singles on 26th, 27th and 2e on 30th.  

Great Skua: (Total seen 6). - The first record was a single bird seen past Ferring on 23rd, which then lingered off Marine Gardens chasing gulls behind a fishing boat. Singles were then seen daily off Marine Gardens between 24th - 27th, though these sightings must relate to 1-2 lingering birds.

Fulmar / Kittiwake- Fulmars were seen regularly with records on 14th, 18th and then daily until end of April  with a maximum count of four. A group of adult Kittiwakes (5e) were seen on the evening of 24th and a smart juvenile was  sat on the beach for 10 mins on the 25th. The only other sighting were all adults (6e) on  30th.

Manx Shearwater - The only shearwaters (4e) were seen from Marine Gardens on the evening of 24th.

Little Gull- the only April record was an adult dip feeding whilst flying slowly east on evening of 26th.

Egrets - Unthinkable 10 years ago but now almost expected. Great White Egrets were recorded heading east on 4th and 26th, whilst a flock of 15 Cattle Egrets headed east on 27th.

Passerines - There was a steady arrival of Wheatear with in excess of 30 birds between 1st - 20th with a peak of 12 (1st) and 9 (19th), then a gap until a single seen coming in off sea on 30th.

Swallows (total estimate >200) were recorded almost daily (peak count 40) and a handful of Sand Martins  battling their way across the channel to speed off inland once they reached the safety of the shore, and the first Swifts were seen on 21st from Marine Gardens (ln) and Brougham Rd (2n). 

Bottle-nosed Dolphins - On calm still days regular sightings of Bottle-nosed Dolphins helped relieve the tedium with the local pod of up to 10 individuals hunting offshore anywhere between Ferring and East Worthing.

                                           Standing room only at Marine Gardens  (R Phillips)

April - Osprey Flyway

                                            (Osprey - one of three in East Preston - George Kinnard)

The iconic Osprey is a conservation success story with breeding birds spreading into northern England and Wales from a healthy Scottish population supplemented by a relocation programme at Rutland Water and Poole Harbour. As a result the number of sightings of migrant Ospreys, returning from wintering grounds in West Africa has increased and can almost be predicted.

1. They return to their northern breeding territories in early April so sunny days at the start of the month are key dates for finding your own local Osprey.

2. Birds can arrive at any point over our coastline and usually the local gulls give them a noisy escort out of their airspace, drawing attention to their presence over our urban gardens. 

3. Once they hit land they tend to head north along rivers and waterways with birds regularly reported heading towards the Arun and Adur rather than up Findon Valley or the over Downs. 

Remarkably upto five birds were recorded between 4th and 14th April with three birds flying north or west over the same East Preston garden! 

• Osprey 1 - Saturday 4th April circa 12:20 heading north.
• Osprey 2 - Monday 6th April circa 15:00 heading west.
• Osprey 3 - Tuesday 14 April circa 13:00 heading north

A fourth bird was photographed carrying a fish over a lucky observer’s garden north of West Worthing station at about 12:00 on  Monday 6th April and another possible was seen heading low towards town from East Worthing about 10:30 on Wednesday 8th April accompanied by gulls.

Additionally just outside our area another two Ospreys were recorded flying north over a birder’s garden in Littlehampton on Saturday 4th April and Sunday 5th April. 

Easter Surprise

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.

 

                                                           (Widewater - Richard Fairbank)

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

 

                                                            (Sompting - Mike Galtry)

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.

March - Best of the Rest

The Downs

                                                   Black Redstart - Cissbury ( Mike Galtry)

Aside from the much anticipated early migrants, two summer plumaged Golden Plover which briefly dropped into fields along Lambleys Lane, Sompting (8th March) and a smart Black Redstart on Cissbury (18th-19th March) were the pick of the month’s sightings. 

A decent flock of 130 Corn Buntings and c40 Skylarks around Steep Down on 28th March were also noteworthy. 

Angmering

The flood around Angmering continued to attract good numbers of wildfowl and if the muddy fringes remain through April it may attract a few migrant waders. This habitat is extremely scarce within the Worthing area so the Little Ringed Plovers (3) which dropped onto the flooded fields would have been much appreciated if their stay wasn’t all to brief (13/3). Fortunately another bird was found on 23rd which was still present the following day allowing Angmering birders the chance to catch up with this local scarce migrant wader. 

The floods also held upto 100 Teal, with 55 still present on 21st along with Wigeon (15), Gadwall (6), Shoveler (6) and Lapwing (2) and six Little Egrets.

Seawatching

2nd -  Brougham Rd: a reasonable passage of wildfowl between 07:00-09:40 with Red-throated Diver (9e), Great Northern Diver (1e), Pintail (187e), including a single flock of 120 birds, Common Scoter (23e), Shoveler (36e), Teal (5e), Shelduck (6w) and Brent Goose (5e). 

4th -  Highlight of a quiet watch from Marine Gardens were a small pod of Bottlenose Dolphins (4w) but otherwise only Sandwich Terns (3), Red-breasted Merganser (1), Great Crested Grebe (3) and Red-throated Divers (3) were noted.

18th - Two Garganey were tracked heading east past Goring Gap and Brougham Road.  Whilst other birds noted past Ferring and Goring (0615-0915), included Curlew (1e), Sandwich Tern (3e), Brent Goose (89e, 1w), Shelduck (5e), Teal (4e), Shoveler (16e) and Common Scoter (17e). Waders on the beach included Oystercatchers (17), Sanderlings (11) and Turnstones (35).

23rd - in calm conditions  a count of Red-breasted Merganser (12) on the sea off Goring Gap. 

29th - Very quiet off Marine Gardens with Red-throated Diver (7e), Gannet (15os), Sandwich Tern (7w), Curlew (1w) and Mediterranean Gull (10w).

31st - the best record of the month was Black-necked Grebe, found by Richard Phillips, which was  tracked drifting west from Widewater to Lancing, but unfortunately there was no further sign after late morning.

March - Welcome back to our first returning migrants !

                                                               Wheatear ( Colin Holter)

March is a month full of expectation as we finally say goodbye to winter and welcome warmer longer days and hopefully the first pulse of summer visitors. Of course singing Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were reported in February but these birds may have over wintered. So what every birder is hoping for, is a March Wheatear or Swallow to whet the appetite, ahead of the main arrival of summer migrants. 

A warm spell mid month allowed many local birders to ease their Wheatear anxiety, before cold northerly winds closed the window for arrivals. However as always in Spring you had to move quickly before they continued northwards.

Wheatears

                                                          Wheatear (Colin Holter)

The first local Wheatears arrived at Shoreham Harbour on 17th March with two birds seen briefly around the Fort. followed on the 19th with a female Wheatear on the slope above the  Rifle Range on the south side of Cissbury late morning and three birds present in the horse paddocks at Ferring Country Park the same afternoon. A fine male was present in fields north of the golf course west of Angmering on 21st, with two birds on the beach at Widewater on 23rd and singles the following day at Goring Gap and Angmering.

The last few days in March saw further reports of two birds at Ferring C.P on 26th and a single at Steep Down on 28th. Single males were present on 29th on the beach opposite Brooklands and in the paddocks at Ferring C.P. and the final record of the month was two females together below the Rifle Range at Cissbury on 30th March.

Ring Ouzel

April is the main month for Ring Ouzel sightings on Spring migration so an early male at Mill Hill on 21st March was a welcome find by Richard Fairbanks though typically it moved on all too quickly.

Willow Warblers

An early returning bird was present at Sompting Brooks on 17th March with the only other reports of singing males at Brooklands on 27th and Ferring C.P on 31st although four birds were singing just north of our reporting area on Henfield Levels on 30th.

Hirundines

Surprisingly few hirundines were seen and although Sand Martin is traditionally the first to arrive back there were no known sightings in the Worthing 10km area, probably reflecting the lack of suitable open freshwater for birds to feed over. The first local Swallows were reported from Angmering on 20th with five birds seen over fields north of golf course and three north over an Angmering garden on 21st.

The only other Swallows reported were two north over Brooklands on 26th and singles from Steep Down on 28th and Widewater on 31st leaving most of us waiting into April for our first sightings of 2026.

.

February - Mostly Moist

February was mostly damp, which did little to help local birders eke anything unusual out of the late winter, though Tawny Owls were becoming more vocal in our woods, parks and large gardens as the first signs of Spring began to appear.

Toads and frogspawn were seen in gardens from mid month and a welcome appearance of the sun on 25/2 raised temperatures sufficiently to bring the first reports of butterflies with Brimstones and Peacocks reported from Cissbury and Findon. Two basking Adders were taking advantage of the sunshine on the west side of Cissbury on the same day.

Most of the birding action was reported on the sea with a Red-necked Grebe found east of the pier (8/2) and seen again the next day off Brooklands. A few Black-throated Divers were reported amongst larger numbers of Red-throats which continue to move between feeding sites along our coastline, whilst Little Gulls were reported on three separate dates.

The flooded fields at Angmering continued to hold an assortment of wildfowl with peak counts of Wigeon (55), Teal (60), Shoveler (29) and Gadwall (27). Also of note was a female Black Redstart was seen in a housing development in West Durrington (8/2).

Very little changed on the Downs with small numbers of Fieldfares  still feeding on the remaining winter berries around No Man’s Land. Whilst the Green Sandpier was still present on flood along Maudlin Lane, Steyning throughout month but could go missing for long period.

Seawatching

2/2 - Widewater (08:00-09:00): Red-throated Divers 36e, 10w, Gannet 27e, Brent Goose 71e, Auk 50e, Razorbill 1e Kittiwake 3e, Great Crested Grebe 3 o/s.

3/2 - Brougham Rd (08:00-10:00):  Little Gull 1ad e,  Razorbill 2e,Guillemot 1e,  Auk sp. 34e and Gannet 12e. Red-throated Diver 33e, Fulmar 2e,  Kittiwake 1(imm), Wigeon 6e, Red-breasted Merganser 6e 2w and Great-crested Grebe 18o/s.

4/2 - Marine Gardens: Red-throated Diver 45e and Fulmar 1e.

5/2 - Marine Gardens:  Red-throated Divers 100e in an hour early morning, whilst a Black-throated Diver was on sea off Worthing Pier late afternoon with RTDs then drifted west.

7/2 - Marine Gardens: Black-throated Diver 1e and Red-throated 29e, Gannet 36w, Brent Geese 13e, Shelduck 1w, and Common Scoter 3e. A adult Little Gull was seen heading west feeding along shoreline, with single Kittiwake east  and Fulmar west further out.  

8/2 - A Red-necked Grebe was found by Nick Bond east of Worthing pier with two Great Crested Grebes along with good numbers of Red-breasted Merganser and a Red-throated Diver on sea.

9/2 - Ferring (0845-0945): A  Sandwich Tern west and two Knot on the beach were the highlight along with Brent Goose 4e, Gannets 5e, Red-throated Diver 4e.

9/2 - Brougham Rd ( 07:45-09:45): Gannet 10,  Red-breasted Mergansers 11, Razorbill 39e, Auk sp. 39e, Red-throated Diver 20e 4w, Common Scoter 2e,  Brent Goose 31e, Med Gulls 7e,  Common Gull 6e, Kittiwake 3e 1w, and Fulmar 1w. 

10/2 - Marine Gardens: Great Northern Divers 2e, Black throated Divers 2e, along with Red-throated Divers 50e, Velvet Scoters 3e and Common Scoter 10e. 

11/2 - Marine Gardens (08:00-09:30): RBMerganser; Brent Goose 7e, Red-throated Divers 2e and a mixed flock of 40 Dunlin & Sanderling west.

21/2 - Brougham Rd : Red-throated Diver 73e, Black-throated Diver 1e and  an adult Shag briefly on the offshore gantry with 17 Cormorants.  

25/2 - Little Gull along tideline at dawn this morning, drifted inland when it got to the pier.

Goring Gap 

5/2- Med Gulls (22) were east of Goring Gap on greensward with large Black-headed Gull flock. Meanwhile birds seen along Ferring Rife included  Linnets 140, Chaffinch 10, Goldfinch 30, Reed Bunting 2 and the Starling flock had increased to c.1600 birds.

7/2- 20 Med Gulls mostly adults still on greensward and another 10 adults at Goring Gap.

13/2 - Goring Gap. Knot 1, Sanderling 25, Turnstones 15, Oystercatcher 12, Med Gull 5.

Angmering

1/2 - The floods at Angmering continue to hold local interest with Egyptian Geese 2, Shoveler 19, Gadwall 27, Wigeon 45, Mallard 18, Teal 60, and a Peregrine flew west.

14/2 - The flooded fields held Gadwall 4, Wigeon 55, Shoveler 2, Teal 18.

28/2  - A Water Rail was at Black Ditch with two Shelduck and a large flock of gulls including  Med Gull (4), Lesser Black-backed (2) and Greater Black-backed Gulls (4).

Cissbury and Downs

13/2 - A walk around Lychpole Bottom, the Ring, the Monarch’s Way and Stump bottom yielded a few Fieldfares at No Man’s Land, and an increase in singing Skylarks and Corn Buntings.  Around Lychpole Farm there were large numbers of Starling (c5000) and several hundred Common Gulls (300+).