Monday, 30th June: The mini heatwave continues: a very dry and warm day with prolonged sunshine, little or no cloud and blue skies, but with a welcome light SSE coastal breeze taking the edge off the temperature and making conditions more bearable.
Elmer & Ancton: A family party of at least four Swifts were screaming about over the village in the general area of the Beresford pub....and it is quite probable they have bred at that location or, if not, then close by. This has been a regular nesting site over the years, but following maintenance works I and others could not locate them last year, so it is to be hoped they have returned. Any sightings or further info re. nesting would be appreciated.
Bilsham farm: A visit to the reservoir seemed a good bet in the dry conditions this morning, although nothing beyond the expected species was seen again. A Great Crested Grebe was again present, having been absent for some while, whilst four Little Grebes consisted of two adults and two juveniles, so presumably breeding has occurred there unseen, or nearby. Six Tufted Ducks, now well into their eclipse moult, were new in, and likewise a female Mallard with a brood of fairly small young, whilst six Swallows and two Swifts were feeding over the water at times. As usual a gathering of resting and preening gulls was present, with over 50 Herring and six Great Black-backed Gulls, and another single fledged juvenile Black-headed Gull. There were fair numbers of commoner butterflies around the reservoir banks, including plenty of Meadow Browns and five Marbled Whites.
Along the periphery hedges a Yellowhammer was again singing, as were a Chiffchaff briefly and a Whitethroat frequently. Along the small ditch and creek off Bilsham Lane a Moorhen was with a couple of very small fledged young, whilst nearby a Jay and a Buzzard were also seen.
(above) drake Tufted Ducks on Bilsham reservoir; note the rear bird still sports his dark head tuft and mainly white flanks, whilst the other two have largely lost these features. Also (below) a solitary juvenile Black-headed Gull and (bottom) not a great shot of a Marbled White butterfly.
Friday, 27th June: A mostly cloudy sort of day, with few sunny breaks, though fairly warm and humid despite the fresh SW wind force 4-5....the sunshine being far more limited than was forecast, at least along our coastal patch!
Elmer Rocks: Only limited time for birding available to me over the next couple of days, so a short return visit to the beach area this morning seemed the best bet. Once again Mediterranean Gulls featured strongly, but unlike yesterday there seemed to be none on the beaches. I counted 120 passing west in small groups and another 80+ were well offshore feeding amongst a gull flock, so a total of at least 200 were present today.
It was however rather slow going otherwise, with just eight Sandwich Terns, two Gannets and two Oystercatchers heading west and two Little Egrets feeding along the beach. The Carrion Crow family mentioned yesterday was briefly seen and about eight Swifts were high up over the back fields, but there was little else of note. A couple of Marbled White butterflies were also still to be found in beachfront gardens, together with a Painted Lady.
Mediterranean Gulls moving west at Elmer Rocks this morning
Thursday, 26th June: After overnight rain, a rather grey and cloudy morning, with some occasional light drizzle and feeling quite cool in a strong and blustery WSW wind force 5-6. Gradually clearing through the afternoon to give some long sunny intervals and feeling a tad warmer too.
Ancton & Elmer: A late entry from yesterday....in the afternoon a Coal Tit was singing from various gardens, whilst late evening after dark a Tawny Owl was hooting from the woods somewhere near the horse paddocks.
Elmer Rocks: A morning that was dominated by Mediterranean Gulls. Initially, there were c.100 along the beach and around the rock islands at Elmer, together with a fair number of other gulls, the vast majority being Herring Gulls. Further along, on the east side of Poole Place towards Climping, there was another much larger flock of up to 300 around the rockpools. Eventually, as people began walking the beaches, the whole lot were disturbed, but most eventually settled on the Elmer side and/or the sea, so I estimate a total of about 400 Meds present today.
Meanwhile, along the shoreline, the first returning Common Sandpiper was present for a short while, indicating that birding autumn is almost here already! It didn't linger long and headed off eastwards towards Climping when disturbed by a walker. Then offshore, a total of five Curlews flew west, plus seven Gannets, eight Sandwich Terns and two Little Egrets. On the telegraph wires behind the beach, three Linnets and two Greenfinch put in an appearance, whilst nearby a family of Carrion Crows deserves a mention, not that it's a species that is usually considered noteworthy! An adult was sat on some rocks, literally supervising its noisy brood of four well grown and recently fledged youngsters below, squabbling and clumsily trying to feed themselves amongst beach debris and seaweed - most amusing.
(above) adult Mediterranean Gull and (two below) mainly Mediterranean Gulls with Herring Gulls along Elmer beach
(above) Family of four juvenile Carrion Crows squabbling whilst parent (out of shot) looks on and (below) four Curlew heading west offshore.
Bilsham Farm: A brief visit found it all rather quiet again and on the reservoir were just three Little Grebes. a Tufted Duck, several Mallard and the usual Coots. A small gathering of gulls - mainly Herring Gulls - was as usual washing and preening, but amongst them were five Great Black-backed Gulls and the first juvenile Black-headed Gull I've seen on the patch. The regular couple of Whitethroats and several Swallows were also noted.
(above) Great Black-backed Gulls and (below) juvenile Black-headed Gull - the first such juvenile on the patch this season
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