shore lark, hume's warbler, young birders field trip!

sorry for the unimaginative title, it's been a long day!

There can't have been many times my patch has played host to four young birders at once.  We're a rare enough breed as it is, to see four together borders on the ridiculous! there have also been few times I've walked as far for birds, and even fewer when I've been so well rewarded!

Perhaps, to begin this post, I'll tell you my predictions, that I'd made the past few days. we would be walking from Seaford to Beachy Head, a decent walk taking in Seaford Head, Cuckmere Haven, the Seven Sisters and Beachy. The winds were NW, and it was set to be a good day weatherwise, with a bit of fog to ground migrants.

I predicted the NW winds would bring some northerly birds down- I was thinking maybe the likes of Lapland Bunting, Snow Bunting, Twite or Shore Lark. It seemed to me the best place to see any of these would be the clifftop of the Seven Sisters- on a similar walk perhaps five years ago I'd missed out on a Shore Lark along here, found on one of the sisters on 1 Oct 2007, and one of the most recent sussex records. Would lightning really strike twice?

My second, more hopeful, prediction was of a phyllosc of some variety. The one at the forefront of my mind was Hume's, though Pallas's and Dusky I also considered good candidates for late October. The winds weren't very good for a new arrival, but maybe a bird had arrived on the east coast, and would be blown down here on it's southward migration?

as it turns out, I think I should consider a career in clairvoyancy! But lets start at the beginning, and move on to the wonderful birds later.

I woke up early, planning to meet up with Jake Gearty, George Kinnard and Luke Dray at 7.30 in Seaford. by 7.23 I was out the door, and almost the first bird I heard was a Siskin in the garden. three Meadow Pipit then flew over, heading due south, and a FIRECREST was in with a small crest/tit flock at Blatchington Pond; there was a lot of activity, and all this before I was really awake!

Having met up with the other three muskateers, we headed towards the seafront. In a very brief seawatch, the first bird Jake saw in his scope was a Red-throated Diver heading west very close in! a few Gannets were offshore, and three Brent Geese passing east were most unbrent-like, going high above the horizon. From Seaford Head, George managed to pick out a female-type Common Scoter, sitting distantly on the sea.

It was around now that the mist started to roll in, and for a while visibility was probably only about 50-100 metres. As we walked up the slope from Splash Point to the Golf Course, the first of several Skylarks were picked up coming in/off, and a MISTLE THRUSH did the same before flying off to the west. This is my first record for Seaford Head, and the species is probably the rarest of the six thrushes on passage in Sussex! This was already and early highlight, and the day was shaping up to be a good one!

On the Golf Course, five Siskin dropped down into the bushes of the northward facing hill, and by the radio mast was a decent concentration of birds, with a few Redwing, Song Thrush, Blackbird and a single Fieldfare, seen by myself and Jake only and the only bird of the day! Non avian highlight of the day was a WEASEL seen here, again a very brief spot by Jake, that I also connected with as it darted across the path. Walking along the clifftop was quiet, though Skylarks and Meadow Pipits were both coming in/off in small numbers.

record shot of the very showy Siskin
(Liam Curson)

Hope Gap was also fairly quiet. We managed a House Martin overhead, perhaps 20 Redwing, 4 Jay, 2 Blackcap, a few Blackbirds and Song Thrushes, 2-3 Goldcrest, and two very showy Siskin feeding in the thistles alongside the path. These were superb views, compared to my typical fly-over views of the species on patch. In fact, I've only really ever had views to match this at feeding stations before! a flock of seven Redpoll also flew overhead, heading down into Hope Gap as we were leaving it. These being my only my second records this autumn, it's not been a great one for Redpolls to my knowledge? After leaving Hope Gap we checked Harry's Bush, which did it's usual trick of failing to live up to all our expectations! 15-20 Goldcrest, 5 Chiffchaff and a Treecreeper were as good as it got! However, George's eagle eyes did notice one Goldcrest had a ring on it's leg, quite a spot on such a small, fast-moving and hard-to-see bird!

My overall estimate for the migrants on Seaford Head today was- 40 Blackbird, 40 Robin, 30 Redwing, 25 Goldcrest, 25 Song Thrush, 25 Meadow Pipit, 20 Skylark, 8 Siskin, 7 Redpoll, 2 Blackcap, 1 House Martin, 1 Fieldfare and 1 MISTLE THRUSH. 

The walk then continued on, to Cuckmere Haven, where there were 250+ Wigeon on the flooded levels, among smaller numbers of Canada Geese and Gulls. In the bushes along the west side were small numbers of Song Thrush, Blackbird and Redwing. a YELLOWHAMMER heard might just be one of the last ones left locally! Last year I counted one singing male in Greenway Bottom and one at Exceat, and these were the only two in an area where you could have, a few years ago, seen 20! It's a sad state of affairs when I'm capital-ing what should be a common bird...

Brent Geese, Cuckmere Haven
(Liam Curson)

two juvenile Brent Geese had found themselves on the River, and were quite literally tame as ducks! Brents are a regular winter visitor/passage migrant in the Cuckmere in small numbers, but this was the first time I'd ever been close enough to hear their grunting calls. There's something quite lonely about hearing them call alone, a sort of parallel to the frenetic energy given off by the sound of a whole flock on an estuary. Meanwhile there were three Dunlin on the meanders, and seven Swallows hawking over the river- will those today be my last of the year? From the riverbank near the sea, the two resident Little Owls could be heard calling from the hawthorn bank the herons and egrets like to roost in- the first time I've heard them in quite a while.

A short seawatch off Cuckmere Haven produced another Red-throated Diver west, and a Common Scoter east- we were going to check the beach for Shore Larks and Snow Buntings but the tide was too high. So we proceded to climb the steep slope of Haven Brow, and see what we could find the rest of the walk to Hope Gap.

The answer resolved itself within about 10 minutes; we first saw a small, dark passerine with a bouncing, skylark-like flight, silhouetted and flying out of sight over the brow of the hill. We joked about this being everything from a Black Redstart to a Black-eared Wheatear, but about three minutes later found ourselves once again looking at the mystery bird- I'd decided it was either a Wheatear or a Skylark without really laying bins on it- but George, ever observant called out (minus the expletives), "Oh My God, a Shore Lark!". That's right, a SHORE LARK on my patch!!

what a stunner!

We called news out, to Birdnet and RBA, to Jake Everitt, Jon Curson and Nick Pope, and hoped they would spread the news among the local birders. The first sussex Shore Lark in two years (since another showy bird on the beach at Cuckmere Haven!), and what a stunning, stunning bird! The yellow and black face, the little black tufts, the plaintive, soft, gentle little whistle of a call- this has really become one of my favourite birds in a matter of hours! It was happy feeding on the short grass of the clifftop- though it was getting flushed quite a lot by ramblers and their dogs (when are the two ever apart?). It generally fed on it's own, avoiding the company of nearby Meadow and Rock Pipits and Skylarks.

(Luke Dray)

our plan was to stay around until other birders arrived to see the lark, but that plan was hampered slightly when a HUME'S LEAF WARBLER was discovered at Belle Tout. Now, there are two very good reasons to leave the bird, a) we kinda wanted to see this warbler!, and b) most, if not all, local birders, would go for the warbler first, meaning it might be a few hours before anyone else came for the lark. We reached a diplomatic decision, and trundled over the seven sisters!

my favourite shot! (Luke Dray)

It was a long walk, with not a lot to see other than a Peregrine patrolling the cliffs. But steely determination is a wonderful way to make time fly, and it felt like in next to no time we arrived at Belle Tout. At first the area seemed completely lifeless, a small gathering on the east side of the wood having seen nothing for half an hour. Jake and I took a wander into the wood, and picked up on a Goldcrest who seemed to have a sore throat, the quiet calls even softer than usual. Knowing the warbler might well be with it, we scanned the treetops, but the thin, monotonal call gave it away first. We'd relocated the Hume's Warbler! We called the other birders over, and after a bit of persistence everyone had pretty good views- and over the next hour and a half the bird continued to show well on occasion and call frequently. The following are my notes on a great bird;

• thin, generally soft but at times quite piercing, monotonal call. Slightly lower pitched than a yellow-browed warbler to my ears
• very cold grey above, with hardly any greenish colouration on the mantles and wings
• double wing bar made up of pale fringing to the greater and lesser coverts
• pale supercilium, with hardly any hint of yellow at all. 
• was roving Belle Tout Wood with a flock of Goldcrest, and seemed even more 'fidgety' than it's counterparts, and also engaged in flycatching more often (generally a good way to pick it out without bins was as the bird flycatching in the crest flock!)
• overall impression- a greyer, colder version of a Yellow-browed Warbler

A terrific bird, and an amazing end to the day. While watching the Yellow-browed at the top of Belle Tout, Jake and I picked out a bird flying over eastwards with a harsh, high-pitched chirp- having been prepared for this moment via xeno-canto we both immeditately picked it up as a large pipit sp! The odds of it being a Richard's are of course far greater than a Blyth's, and we feel we can eliminate Tawny- not only is the date very late, but the calls we heard had a higher-pitched, more explosive and harsher quality more typical of a Richard's. Problem is, Blyth's sounds very similar! Probability dictates it is a Richard's, but I'm not sure I want to submit a description of a species I'm not certain of- I know it was rare, just not how rare! And it is partly to do with my suspicion the records comittee would flat-out reject a heard-only Richard's, unless the observer had extensive experience with both Richard's and Blyth's. Am I being paranoid? maybe- but it can hardly rob from one of my finest days birding ever! Thanks to Jake, George and Luke for making it so enjoyable! :)

some great record shots of the Hume's Leaf warbler.
(Luke Dray)

no, I didn't see the Wheatear...

in fact today was decidedly dire. The train into Lewes held only one good bird, a Brent Goose at Newhaven... seen to come in off the sea and land in the crop fields between the Mill Creek and the village of Bishpopstone. At school, Jake had yesterday reported a YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER, which despite a fairly extensive search before Media I failed to relocate. On the railway land I saw three Chiffchaff, 13 Siskin (I now suspect this flock my settle down to winter here), a handful of Goldcrest and Coal Tit, and overflying Jay and, by far and away the highlight- a late GRASS SNAKE. This is by far the latest I've ever seen this species (though two years ago, I observed a Buzzard carrying a Snake species in it's talons on 27 October, didn't identify it to species however!) I thought all reptiles would be well into their hibernations by now, especially given how miserable it's been for most of the last month! Clearly, this snake felt like being an exception to the rule...

Having already gripped me off with a Yellow-brow within the ground of our school, Jake then proceded to find a CROSSBILL today! It flew into the trees on the raised mound outside Cliffe House at about 14:50; and, no surprise, by the time I got out of Biology at 15:10 it was long gone! It was another 'one-up' on me, and brings Jakes school-list one closer to mine!

In order to quantify that last statement, I should first explain our competition. When we found out we'd both be at the same college for a year, we devised a yearlist competition, basically who could see the most birds within the school year. The location was the college grounds and Lewes Railway Land, the LNR opposite our sixth form.

I stormed into an early lead in September- wrapping up some regular migrants like Common Sandpiper, Yellow Wagtail, Garden Warbler and Reed Warbler to give me quite a fair lead! two Shoveler on 1 Oct  and some vis-migging Skylarks on 9 October extended my lead, but recently Jake has pulled back! Sparrowhawk and Kestrel were two of his 'grip-backs' and should be easy ones, but with the Yellow-browed and Crossbill he has, in the last few days, made it a much narrower lead! Currently I have seen 59 species to Jake's 56! we'll keep you updated on the competition over the coming months...

meanwhile, I'm just praying that Wheatear is still there on Saturday!! 

bits and bobs

Not much the last three days, as school has largely dicated the pace. Yesterday morning was poor in a morning on Lewes Railway Land, though Redwing and Skylark were new patch birds (57 and 58 respectively), and 13 Siskin, a Mistle Thrush and a few Goldcrest were scattered about, as well as two more Siskin and a handful of Meadow Pipits heading over. Splash Point the morning beforehand was dreadful beyond belief- a Common Scoter was the sum of 20 minutes before I gave up and headed home!

However, today was at least notable for some good numbers in the sunny conditions! A flock of 200+ Woodpigeon headed over Seaford, along with a few Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Goldfinch and Siskin. , there were about 400 Goldfinch in the fields around Tide Mills and a flock of 150+ heading south over Piddinghoe Pond, where about 500 Swallows and House Martins were gathered. Remarkably, another HOBBY flew over Newhaven from the train, eight days after I'd seen one previously here. Lewes was full of Goldcrests, and a few Skylarks were still piling overhead late morning, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Large White and Migrant Hawker were also all out on the wing. Not a lot, but more than I would hope for on the days largely dominated by school!

Wick Bottom

Being unable to raise myself out of bed early this morning I decided nonetheless to check out one of my local patches, Wick Bottom (immediately east of Sheepcote valley for those that don't know). Started well with 6 Stonechat all within a few metres of each other; a while since I've seen that many together. Clearly stuff was passing - though it seemed slow compared to yday, when I'd logged c250 Swallows & c600 House Martins in little over an hour over Sheepcote, along with a flock of 23 Jays ! Meadow Pipits, Skylarks, Siskins and Pied Wags were all moving in small nos; the only Jay flock consisted of 7 NE, but a large Jackdaw gathering must have numbered c200 (near Roedean). A lone Brambling flew west, calling and 5 Yellowhammer was a good count for the area. What I decided must've been a Kestrel (Merlin was a brief poss) flew straight at me carrying a small mammal in it's talons before disappearing from view. Then the highlight of the day (and the weekend come to that) was a Short-eared Owl right in front of me, being harrassed by Jackdaws; it flew above my head (about 10 m away) and looked just stunning with that beautiful azure blue October sky behind it. It gradually gained height before moving off south. Then a moment later another SEO popped out and put on a similar performance.  Fantastic birds.

Sidlesham and Church Norton

No where near as exciting as Liams day today very jealous but very glad he saw a Red-rumped swallow! Anyway stared of at the Ferry Pool at Sidlesham where there was very little, just 60+ Lapwing and 30+ Teal, with drakes coming into full plumage. On the way down to Church Norton there were 15+ Blackcap (most of which were male) , 30+ Chiffchaffs, 1 Greenshank calling, 1 Avocet in the harbour an adult female marsh harrier made an appearance over the harbour putting all the waders up! Also 3 Common Buzzards and 1 Whinchat  in the west fields. At church norton there were 10+ Goldcrests in the church yard (unfortunately firecrest) 6+ Siskins overhead and another Whinchat along the shore line with 3 Stonechats.

George Kinnard

RED-RUMPED SWALLOW- FINDER'S ACCOUNT

it was 08:08 this morning, when a flock of four hirundines flew past me on my circuit of Hope Gap, heading NE. Three were House Martins, but when I got on the back bird I knew it had to be something different. It was, to be quite frank, one of the briefest views I have ever had of a hirundine, but despite thinking over every other alternative, making myself doubt my identity, and not quite believing my initial ID, I can't think of anything this bird could have been other than a RED-RUMPED SWALLOW.

As I first got on it, I noticed the pale rump, ruling out Swallow or Sand Martin. My immediate impression from shape was that is lacked the short, forked tail of a House Martin, and it had long, elegant shape and long tail streamers of a hirundo species, and appeared even longer-tailed than a Swallow. The birds uppersides had a distinctive colouration, not as dark and navy-blue as the House Martin's it accompanied, more light blue-ish black in colour, and not as deep blue and glossy as the uppersides of a Swallow. But before I could see any more detail it was flying away from me, and all I could see was the back view. However, the flight was immediately reminiscent of the hundreds I saw in Bulgaria a month ago. It had wingbeats that were deep but also sharp, giving the impression that the bird was flicking it's wings with every beat, and it was less 'fluttery' than the House Martins it accompanied. This was interspersed with occasional periods of gliding; but it was only on view for another 30 seconds or so, before this hirundine flock disappeared from view.

At first I rather doubted myself, it took a minute for it to sink in what I had seen, and in the blind panic of those crucial seconds it was on view I had failed to note whether the bird had a red-rumps pale, buffish collar on the nape! The rump also seemed too pale at first, but remembering my experience with Red-rumps in Bulgaria in strong sunlight it was consistent with those birds. I fear the SOSRC might not put through a red-rump if I failed to notice the nape-collar, but I'm happy with the identification at any rate, despite mulling it over again and again til my head hurt.

Aside from the Swallow, it was a phenomenal day at Seaford Head, and here are my counts

Goldfinch-550
Chaffinch-200
Siskin-110
Linnet-67
Redpoll-17
Brambling-5
Chiffchaff-70
Goldcrest-30
Blackcap-5
Redwing-9
Mistle Thrush-1
Song Thrush-3
Blackbird-30
Robin-50
Dunnock-70
Jay-4
Pied Wagtail-105
Yellow Wagtail-5
Grey Wagtail-4
Skylark-46
Meadow Pipit-325
Tree Pipit-3
House Martin-80
Swallow-3
RED-RUMPED SWALLOW-1
Greenshank-1
Common Sandpiper-1

I was then back up at Harry's Bush an hour after getting home, when Nick Pope found a YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER. Needless to say, I failed to see it. I'd write some more detail on am amazing day but right now I'm shattered!

the first frosty morning at Seaford Head

sunrise over the patch

Blue Tit, on Seaford Head Golf Course

a group of Jackdaw on the fence running parallel to the Golf Course

 hundreds of Goldfinch were in this flock at Hope Gap!!!

Passive Birding; Liam's update

don't think I'd forgotten you all!

The rather sad thing about sixth form is that school, homework and sleep do seem to take over large portions of your life. I'm expected to do 32 hours a week of work (16 in lesson and 16 out-of), which will understandably take a bit of a toll. So here's my notes on 'passive birding' from the last few days, the birds I've been seeing when I wasn't really birding...

• Siskin are around in plentitude this October. The number for this morning is well into double-figures, as they pile over the house. I'd estimate maybe 70-80 for today, and probably a lot more going unrecorded!. They've been moving in decent numbers on Thursday/Friday as well. Other vismig includes still healthy numbers of Meadow Pipit, with a small stream all through the morning today perhaps mounting up to 50 or so. The vis-migging highlight has been at least one late YELLOW WAGTAIL, once again pushing back my last-of-year date for the species! 
• Walking the dog today, it was apparent  that the october crests are coming through in force! probably 20 (mostly Goldcrests I expect) heard on a walk without binoculars, most just giving the 'shree-shree-shree' call that is very difficult to identify at the best of times. However, one obliging FIRECREST was in full song from a conifer on Blatchington Road, Seaford! There were also about 10 Chiffchaff on my regular dog-walking route. 
• a few Jays around Seaford, though I've only ever seen one at a time at the moment. Nothing like the 270 that flew past Cley one day last week, and no where near as good as the 82 north over Newhaven on Thursday! If you were ever going to find a Nutcracker, this is the year! 

tomorrow will be a day out birding(all homework being done in one mad rush now!) for the morning at least. with the winds looking like they are from the N/NE overnight, maybe it's the day when a Yellow-brow will appear? Myself and Jake have a competition to find one, myself at Seaford Head, and him at Sheepcote Valley. and failing that, we'll just try and find the best bird we can! If any readers want to join us in that challenge, find a good spot for migration and see what you can spot! can you beat myself and Mr Gearty!?

and after that, the winds turn south-east on Monday! you have to face east to point to Mecca, and the winds ideally need to be south-east for our very own Mecca of sea-watching, Splash Point! By writing here, I make a commitment to all you lovely readers that I shall defy the early morning start, the following rush to get to school by 12:30, and the exhausted, unreceptive state I will find myself in throughout all my lessons, and find a shearwater or a sabine's!

good birding

Liam :-)  

Subbuteo and Shovelers

The journey to school

Being observant on the train paid some fine dividends today. I generally don't see much, but having found Cattle Egret and Black Redstart along this train line before, I generally keep my eyes open just in case! and today it worked out, with a HOBBY over Newhaven Incinerator(hence the rather clever title!), powering on through the awful, awful conditions. My previous latest record was 25 Sep (2010, at Abbot's Wood), and it's always a great feeling to see one of the 'summer' migrants in October!

Also around, there were 40+ Redshank on Mill Creek at Newhaven Tide Mills, and a few Great Black-backed Gulls  (gibbugs for short), looking imperious as always around Newhaven Marina.


Patch Dedication...

is what I call it when you still find an hour to grill your patch despite the dismal rain! And it seemed these difficult flying conditions did ground a few migrants. 30 Robin, 25 Blackbird and 15 Chiffchaff made up the bulk, and 5 Goldcrest, 2 Blackcap and 2 Siskin added a little bit more quality. The true number of migrant Blackbird, Robin and Goldcrest is of course clouded over by resident birds, but considering the inflation in numbers (especially for the former two), I feel safe in saying that a fair number of the birds were continental migrants. To put it in context, the number of Robins was  over twice the number of resident Blue Tits I counted today (14), and both species were almost literally calling/singing out of every bush! The Siskin were a highlight today, being seen a few times among a roving flock of birds that included Blue, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tits, Blackcaps, Chifchaffs, Chaffinches and Goldfinches! It's also the second time I've seen grounded migrant Siskin here, having found three among a Goldfinch flock on September 17th.  

thought it's not taken today, it's a picture. and it's kinda relevant...  

Other birds today included 5 Meadow Pipits and 3 Swallows SW. A far cry from the thousands of birds moving over at the weekend, but in conditions like this I didn't expect much of a vismig! Altogether more surprising, though, were 2 SHOVELER, also heading SW low overhead. These were an altogether not too bad 54th bird species I've seen on the patch since 10 September! In fact, when you consider it's an inland site with no wetlands, bar an embanked river and a few ditches, I'm rather happy with that total! other patch regulars today included 8 Magpie, a Green Woodpecker and 3 Treecreeper. And after an hour on the patch, with clothes and feel sodden, I went to school and sat watching the rain, in some odd way wishing I could be back out in it admiring my birds.

29 Sep '12- mahoosive movements in the Cuckmere

Early morning reports and garden birding

early on, Jon Curson reported a few Yellow Wagtails and Tree Pipits in a brief search of Seaford Head. It's been, to my understanding at least, a pretty good year for Yellow Wagtails, I've seen more of them (and til later in the year) than I've managed probably since autumn 2008, when they seemed so numerous I could count flocks of 20+ on the suburban fields I played football in! I normally don't see many Yellow Wagtails past about the 20th, but have had a few trickling through throughout this week, including 10+ at Portland Bird Observatory on the 22nd.

The morning/early afternoon were not especially bird-orientate for me, but I love autumn because migration is evident anywhere you go, at least around here. Hanging the washing up at around 12:30, I counted a small stream of Meadow Pipits, generally heading W or SW over the garden. This is the time of year when Siskin and other finch become evident on migration, and I picked one up by call as it flew over the garden. It was heading very low and in a NE direction, and almost landed in a Leyland Cypress 40 yards away before veering off to the north, Jon saw one do something similar earlier, I expect it's the same bird hanging around to feed up before continuing it's journey south. I've noticed an increase in reports of Siskin at garden feeders on the SOS, are these the returning winter birds or migrants, gratefully stocking up on an easy meal? Also seen was a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a none-too-common bird in the garden.

Cuckmere Haven- 13:30-15:00

A daylist for the Cuckmere managed 28 birds, but that wouldn't tell the full story at all! There were 2000+ Hirundines, with a ratio of about 70% Swallows and 30% House Martins. three SAND MARTINS felt almost like a rarity for me, they've been really hard to catch up with locally this year, and today smashed my previous 'last-of-year' record for the species by several days!  Also moving over were 2-300 Meadow Pipits, unsurprisingly a great day for one of the commonest autumn migrants on my patch. I picked up the calls of at least 10 YELLOW WAGTAIL as they passed south, these also being a record date! Is this year, which has been fantstic for them so far, the year I finally see an October Yellow Wag? (one of my odder birding ambitions).

As if that wasn't enough, I recorded four more record dates! Three were for Butterflies, Large White (of which there were still 100's), Small Heath (1), and Small Copper (4, and all the better as this is by far my favourite butterfly!). The latter two species were present in a small area (20 yards or so) about 50 metres NE of the Coastguard Cottages. Also seen today were 50+ Small Whites, 3-figure numbers of Red Admirals and a single Comma. The other record date of the day was a SPOTTED FLYCATCHER, feeding near the horse paddocks by the Golden Galleon. Otherwise grounded migrants where few and far-between, with perhaps 20 Chiffchaff, and a single, late Willow Warbler near Harry's Bush.

Small Copper (a.k.a the best butterfy in britain!) and
Small Heath, photographed near the Coastguard Cottges

However, migration was still in evidence, even in some of the commoner birds. seven Little Grebes on the meanders were the first returning birds of the winter (I can't wait til there's 30+ here!), and there was a slight inflation in gull numbers, with 200 Black-headed, 30 Herring and 12 Great Black-back at an estimate. However, the only ducks seen were 10-15 Mallard (the Shelducks go elsewhere to moult, but I'm surprised there are no Wigeon back yet), and the only waders were 5 or so Curlew heard calling from the fields of the west side of the valley.

one of several Black-headed Gulls present today

How much really moved through today?

when you think about it, this was the quietest time of day for birding, and yet the number of birds was phenomenal. so How many birds were migrating through the Cuckmere today? vis-mig is often at it's peak from first-light for about two hours, in this case 06:30-08:30. it then gradually tails off, and by the time I visited the Cuckmere should really be at quite a low rate. of course there are exceptions to that rule, but I still expect far more was moving through in the 7 hours of daylight before I arrived than the hour and a half I was there. so how much was really moving? I'll give my little estimate, which could of course be way off, but here it is anyway.

15,000+ Hirundines- days like this are pretty much annual in sussex, but still remarkable

1,500+ Meadow Pipits- could well have been more, but I'll try and be conservative. The rate of passage today was at least 150 an hour while I was present, and was probably higher in the morning!

100+ Yellow Wagtails- dad reported some overhead at Seaford Head this morning, and there were at least 10 moving over this afternoon.

In addition, Tree Pipit (JC) and Siskin (JC and myself) have been reported today, so small numbers of both those were probably moving over. Not forgetting the possibility of something rarer, maybe a Tawny Pip or a Citrine Wagtail among it's commoner relatives?

Rook at the Golden Galleon- totally irrelevant but it's a nice pic! 

Why today?

This question puzzled me a bit, as although the skies are very clear, the wind was generally S swinging round to NW today. However, I think this could have been last big push of british migrants leaving the country, which may well have been held up by the awful weather, and were today all leaving in one big stampede! The Westerly winds would support this theory, as often these birds appear to leave the country through areas like Portland, and could have been pushed further east towards us. Not forgetting the NE winds that brought additional Scandinavian and eastern birds into the country last weekend, these migrants have also probably been waiting around for a good day to leave. Some of you might think this question is a bit trivial, but if I remember this for the next time similar conditions occur, I'll be up at first light to see what's moving!

good birding to all

Liam C