A busy day for seawatching, various reports from various locations in the area so there will be some duplications in reports
GORING: Highlights from excellent seawatch at Goring Beach this am: Red-necked Grebe and Bonxie on sea. Bonxie 2E, Arctic Skua 2E, Velvet Scoter 4E, Little Gull 1E, Black-throated Diver 1E, Whimbrel 34E, Common Scoter 195+E, Sandwich Tern 250+E, Bottle-nosed Dolphin 1W (RS/GDM)
GORING GAP : 14.05-14.20 Shoveler 16E, Whimbrel 4E - 2 ended up flying over Goring Hall as the wind was so strong, 4 Sandwich Tern E. (RI)
MARINE GARDENS: With a fresh south-east wind blowing in the spring it is worth spending some time on the beach. Between 0745 and 0945 at Marine Gardens shelter I counted the following:-
The high tide and rough sea made for difficult watching as many birds were flying eastward keeping very low to the sea and disappearing into troughs. Not so many Common Scoters as seen by Dave and Dorian yesterday but a strong passage of Sandwich Terns and my first Arctic Skuas and Common Tern of the year. The only really close birds were parties of Whimbrel totalling 57 in this two-hour watch. We have just entered the 10-day period when, in this century, Sandwich Tern passage is at its peak, slightly earlier than last century and in slightly fewer numbers (JN)
15.40 - 17.50 - seawatch
Arctic Skua 2 dp E, Whimbrel 55E, Common Scoter 100E, Great-crested Grebe 1 offshore, Great Skua 1E, Pomarine Skua 2pp E @ 16:23 , Common Tern 2E, Sandwich Tern c200 E, Gannet c30 , Dunlin 3E. (NB/GJ/GDM)
WHIMBRELS - Marine Gardens (NB)
MILL HILL: 3 Ring Ouzels on the lower slope
