The weather continued to be wet and miserable during the first couple of weeks of February offering little encouragement for local birders, but by the end of the month the sun put in a welcome reappearance and there were the first signs of the approaching Spring.
The main highlights this month were a Black-necked Grebe photographed off the pier on 10/2 and the first Sandwich Tern of the year recorded past Brougham Road on 15/2. Locally Barn Owls seemed to be doing well with very popular birds being seen regularly from Monk’s Park, Shoreham Airport and others at Sompting and Black Ditch, Rustington.
Goring Gap - there were no significant numbers of wintering Great Crested Grebes or Red-throated Divers and even Red-breasted Mergansers were notable by their absence. The highest count was on 11/2 with 15 Mergansers, 8 Great Crested Grebes and 3 Red-throated Divers. A Great Northern Diver was then reported offshore on 12/2 along with a Black-throated Diver and 6 Red-throated Divers, whilst another Black-throated Diver was recorded further east off Brougham Road on 15/2.
The numbers of gulls using Goring Gap peaked early in the month with Common Gull (c160), Herring Gulls (200+), up to 24 Mediterranean Gulls and the first Lesser Black-backed Gulls (c5), whilst the welcome sound of singing Skylarks had returned to the fields by mid month.
Spring Seabird movements - The first Brent Geese started to head up the channel with c40 heading east past Sea Lane Cafe on 19/2 then on 21/2 there was a more obvious passage with over 600 Brent’s recorded east by observers stationed along the coast between Goring Gap and Widewater, as well as the first Pintail (23e).
The Downs - again virtually no records of wintering thrushes reported from the downs between Cissbury, Steyning Bowl and Steep Down. However the farmland around Chanctonbury Ring held flocks of up to 60+ Yellowhammers, 10 Corn Buntings along with Chaffinches, Goldfinches and Linnets and the woodland feeders along the main track running north of Cissbury attracted a pair of Marsh Tits. Survey work on the Wiston Estate, Chanctonbury, during the month noted a sizeable roost of 60+ Red Kites and a male Hen Harrier on a couple of occasions.
Other downland sightings include an adult White-tailed Eagle over Chanctonbury (27/2), a single Reed Bunting on Monarch’s Way (2/2) and Grey Partridges were seen at No Man’s Land (2/2) and Steep Down (28/2). Whilst the first notable period of sunshine from 27/2 resulted in the first local sightings of Adder on the west side of Cissbury, a Brimstone near Chanctonbury and a Small Tortoiseshell at Lancing Ring.
Brooklands Lake - quiet throughout the month with only reports being Little Grebes and Water Rail.
