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.

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