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Monday, 12th February: A cold but bright start with a touch of frost,clearing to give some welcome sunshine and blue skies, with a light NW breeze 2-3.
Elmer Rocks - Atherington (Climping): On my arrival this morning a Chiffchaff was present in the Kiosk gardens, feeding actively before soon moving on, causing me to wonder if this could actually be an early migrant arriving in the spring-like weather, as opposed to an over-wintering bird - a feeling that was only enhanced when a couple of Meadow Pipits were seen to arrive from the sea and head inland. I then decided to walk to Atherington, whilst checking the sea occasionally, logging half a dozen Red-throated Divers heading east, c.12 R/b Mergansers and 2 Great Crested Grebes offshore, plus 15 Oystercatchers, 3 Grey Plovers, 45 Turnstones and 6 Sanderlings on the beach and rock islands.
Moving on to Cudlow's field, Atherington, there were 50 Mediterranean Gulls amongst other gulls feeding over the partly-flooded field and along the beach, then a small flock of 15 Brent Geese further on. A check around the trees and bushes at the old car park and on to to Bailiffscourt produced another 2 Chiffchaffs, again very active and continually feeding, soon followed by a small flock of Long-tailed Tits. A pair of agitated and very noisy Jays were showing their displeasure at the presence of a Sparrowhawk, whilst plenty of birds are now singing, especially Song Thrushes, Blue and Great Tits and other common species, leaving the feeling that spring is surely on the way soon.
Saturday, 10th February: Rain early morning, then
cloudy with some hazy sunshine at times and a light SSW breeze 2-3, interspersed with the odd short shower.
Bilsham farm: On the water were 42 Coots, 10 Tufted Ducks and a Little Grebe. However, there was more activity today in the adjacent flooded fields and around the fences, which produced 15 Meadow Pipits, 10 Yellowhammers, a Grey Wagtail and a dozen Skylarks.
Friday, 9th February: After heavy overnight rain, a
showery and blustery start to the morning, giving way to sunshine and heavy
cloud later, with the threat of more showers by afternoon. Wind strong SW force 6,
gradually easing 5-4 through the day.
Elmer Rocks (0915-1100hrs): I ventured out once the showers eased, but in the blustery conditions sea-watching was clearly the best option. Given the date it was predictably rather quiet, the only highlight being the first Fulmar of the year, heading west beyond photo range. There were a few Red-throated Divers (2E & 3W), plus a Gannet, an auk sp and a couple of Mediterranean and Common Gulls drifting through, and a few R/b Mergansers offshore, whilst 40 + Turnstones were back and forth in the wind and along the shoreline, but otherwise nothing of note.
Tuesday, 6th February: A generally grey and cloudy
day, but very blustery with a near gale force W wind force 6-7 keeping the mild
temperature down.
Elmer Rocks: An hour’s sea-watch this morning was enough, but did produce 2 Pintail, a Guillemot and another unidentified auk sp all heading W. Small numbers of the regular waders were along the beach, with at least 20 Mediterranean and 6 Common Gulls also present and c.15 R/b Mergansers and a Great Crested Grebe were bobbing about on a rough sea..
Bilsham farm: Tufted
Duck numbers on the reservoir had increased to 30, whilst Coot numbers had also increased with a
count of 48. However, gulls were the main feature this morning, with several
hundred birds of seven species present and resting/bathing, though several
times they were all disturbed by a low-flying Buzzard. At least a dozen Mediterranean
Gulls were amongst c.200 Black-headed, a dozen Common and 100+ Herring Gulls,
but also present were 8 Great Black-backed and 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
Closer scrutiny of the Herrings for something scarcer eventually produced a reward,
with a notably darker grey-mantled bird, with a solid head, largish bill and - when
it briefly flew – pale yellow legs, revealing itself as a (sub-adult) Yellow-legged
Gull.
Elmer Rocks: I spent an hour watching the sea, where there wasn’t much on the move, but 2 Shelduck went W behind the rocks and 60 Brent Geese went E (perhaps the first hint of return passage). Offshore there were 15 Red-breasted Mergansers and on the beach were 18 Oystercatchers, a dozen Sanderlings and Turnstones and 10 Mediterranean Gulls.
Ancton: A look around the paddocks found the Black Redstart was still present, looking a bit faded now and quite elusive still, plus a couple of Pied Wagtails. The partly flooded arable field behind the woods produced 50 Brent Geese and 6 Curlew, with a flock of 35 of the latter species flying between fields, whilst 2 drumming Great Spotted Woodpeckers and 2 calling Green Woodpeckers were also noted.
Thursday, 1st February: A fine spring-like day, with hazy sunshine, some high
cloud and a gentle breeze NW2.
Elmer Rocks: A lovely morning with a flat calm sea. There was little or no movement of birds moving through, but quite a number of birds offshore, albeit some were quite distant. At least 12 Red-throated Divers were present, including a flock of 9 close together, plus c.30 Red-breasted Mergansers (some displaying) and 6 Great Crested Grebes, whilst a distant flock of gulls, feeding well out, held at least 20 Gannets amongst them. At least 50 Mediterranean Gulls were spread along the beach around Poole Place and in Cudlow’s field. The 2 Stonechats were still in the hotspot set-aside corner and a Firecrest was in the woods behind. Other species logged included a Kestrel, 2 singing Song Thrushes, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and several Long-tailed Tits.
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