Sunday, 6th October: A cool, mainly grey and overcast day, with a brisk SSE wind force 4-5 and just about remaining dry through the daylight hours, with the risk of light rain later.
Elmer Rocks and area: There was a large but distant flock of gulls feeding out on the horizon this morning, with at least 30 Gannets amongst them, whilst three Brent Geese went west, but otherwise no seabirds were moving.
Swallows were still steadily trickling through, though in reduced numbers compared to recent days, with just the odd House Martin amongst them, and there was also some visible migration, with a few Pied Wagtails, Meadow Pipits and Skylarks going over. Around the recently cultivated fields were more Meadow Pipits and 20+ Pied Wagtails, with a single Yellow Wagtail amongst them, and six Little Egrets. Six Buzzards were occasionally up together soaring and also in the fields, presumably feeding on worms.
Two Stonechats were in the set-aside - quite probably yesterday's birds - but in the hedgerows Chiffchaff numbers seemed to be much reduced today and I logged no more than ten. A few Linnets and Goldfinches were also present, whilst a Kestrel was still hunting around the beach, but again, nothing out of the ordinary was found.
(above) Goldfinch on Elmer beach, (centre) Pied Wagtail in the cultivated fields and (below) the two Stonechats in the set-aside.
Saturday, 5th October: Cool early on, but soon becoming reasonably warm with sunshine most of the day and some light cloud, but also a fresh SSE wind force 4.
Elmer Rocks and area: Firstly, I was very pleased to receive a message from a local lady who regularly follows this blog, concerning a Tawny Owl that was heard hooting for at least five minutes early yesterday morning (at 06:10hrs) in the wooded area behind Sea Way/The Hard. This is presumably the same bird I heard a few days previously, so clearly it seems it is trying to claim a territory for the winter. This is important as Tawny Owls generally breed early in the year; furthermore, it is now an amber-listed species of conservation concern, so all such records are of value.
The sea seemed very quiet, except for regular gull species back and forth, and today I concentrated on the fields, woods and hedgerows behind the beach. Two Stonechats in the set-aside ('hotspot corner') were new in, there was a steady flow of Swallows and House Martins again, plus some vis.mig, whilst much of my time involved searching the area for scarce warblers, alas without success.
My log was as follows:-
Little Egret - 3 (in newly ploughed field)
Stock Dove - 45
Skylark - c.10E
Kestrel - 1 hunting along the beach
Buzzard - 6 soaring together
Mediterranean Gull - c.50 in newly ploughed field
Meadow Pipit - c.30 (most going E)
Swallow - c.300
House Martin - 100+
Stonechat - 2
Pied Wagtail - 8E
Grey Wagtail - 1E
Chiffchaff - 20+
Blackcap - 3
Goldcrest - 4
Linnet - 10
Greenfinch - 2
Siskin - 2
Stonechats (top two) and Chiffchaff (bottom) at Elmer this morning
Bilsham farm: A short visit this afternoon, where birds on the reservoir where much the same as my last visit, producing 130+ Coots, six Tufted Ducks and seven Little Grebes, plus c.30 Swallows overhead. The main difference was the massive number of gulls and Jackdaws present, all attracted to adjacent fields, where a maize crop had recently been harvested. The fields were alive with activity and likewise the reservoir, where birds were coming and going to wash....there were at least 1000 Herring Gulls, 50 Mediterranean Gulls and 400 Jackdaws amongst the throng, amazing!
Friday, 4th October: Quite chilly at first with a clear sky overnight, but soon warming with some pleasant sunshine and a light to moderate E/SE breeze through the morning, then some light cloud by afternoon.
Elmer Rocks: Just a short visit of an hour this morning, which found virtually nothing of interest over the sea, other than Swallows and a few House Martins moving through. There was a bit of vis.mig going on overhead, the best being a couple of Siskins moving east and calling, whilst also logged were half a dozen Skylarks, c.15 Meadow Pipits, a Pied Wagtail and a Grey Wagtail. Chiffchaffs were also still present in reasonable numbers, with at least ten recorded in one fairly small area.
Climping - Atherington: The main focus today was to check out the trees and vegetation for migrants (yes, more bush-bashing!) concentrating on this section of the Climping gap. In the end, none of the hoped-for scarce species were found, but there were a few highlights, including a Firecrest and even a Kingfisher flying south above the tree-tops! There are still lots of Chiffchaffs around; my own circuit just around Atherington produced a count of 25, but to put this into context, I met a couple of local birders who had been watching elsewhere at other Climping sites and our joint total was 80, plus four Firecrests, which is more realistic. The was some overhead movement too, and the below list is just my personal effort this morning:-
Kestrel - 3 (lots of calling, probably a family party)
Sparrowhawk - 1
Buzzard - 3
Kingfisher - 1 (going south, above tree-tops at Bailiffscourt)
Swallow - no count, steady stream east)
House Martin - no count, perhaps fewer than Swallow)
Skylark - 20+ (some moving E)
Meadow Pipit - c.40
Pied Wagtail - 3
Yellow Wagtail - 1
Grey Wagtail - 2E
Song Thrush - 3
Goldcrest - 2
Firecrest - 1
Chiffchaff - 25
Siskin - 2E, also several heard
Linnet - 20E
Greenfinch - 2
(above) Goldcrest and (below) noisy Kestrel at Atherington (Climping)
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