Mass migration as the sun comes out!

Jake again,

Decided what a better way to spend my after college hours than to walk from Lewes to Newhaven following the Ouse all the way along. Besides the Strong SW winds the birds didn't seem all that bothered! The river itself was incredibly high and so I wasn't expecting any common sandpipers but to my surprise one was happily bobbing up and down along a tiny stretch of mud happily feeding away! Plenty of swallows moving over head and the odd group of 3-4 wheaters using the fences that run along side the river as stopping points. The fields either side where very flooded and the local herons seem to be gathering as I counted about 10 in total during my walk, little egrets where also present in a few of the ditches to. A flock of swans flew in from the South and I had my fingers crossed they where early returning bewicks but alas just mutes. A small bunting caused me some confusion for a bit showing some characteristics of a little bunting but after going through some books I feel it was probably just a juv reed bunting also more wheaters. A buzzard flew ahead down river which got my attention on to a raven flying the opposite direction back towards Lewes, I assume this being one of the birds from the cliffs. As I approached Southease a stonechat flew up from underneath my feet and landed on a post in front giving lovely views. By this stage I had already counted about 40 meadow pipits going overhead and my wheater numbers must have been up to at least 20 but as I got over the Southease bridge both their numbers easily multiplied. The muddy area which runs all the way down to Newhaven was littered with birds, mainly meadow pipits, pied wagtails and wheaters. But with some checking I managed to pick out at least 10 yellow wagtails, 1 grey wagtail and a couple of possible green land race wheaters too. Today seem to be the day that everything was moving/ singing as during my walk I heard; willow warbler, chiff chaff, reed warbler, cettis warbler and a squealing water rail. The latter two birds I didn't even no lived in the area! As I approached Piddinghoe there was a flock of at least 15 yellow wagtails moving through briefly landing in one of the fields full of sheep, my highest number in a while. It all sort of went quiet as I approached the towns and the only other real bird of note was a group of 4 curlew at Newhaven Incinerator.

I'm pretty tired now, thanks for reading.

Real Birders are out No Matter the Weather!

An early start to school, and I was a free man today by 12:00! Lewes Railway Land beckoned me first. The afternoon's are never brilliant around here, but at least the weather was still nice, for the hour or so I was here! 

Birdwise- a small amount of vismig, with 7 Swallow, 4 Siskin, and singles of Meadow Pipit and House Martin heading south. there were still quite a lot of Robins (I'd guess 25), and 12 Chiffchaff. Plus 2 Treecreeper, a Jay, and a Kingfisher around the heart of reeds. Patch bird no.55 was heard only, 2 PEREGRINE calling distantly over the cliffs. I also saw the remarkable spectacle of a Speckled Wood flying into a spider's web, getting trapped and devoured, and then rolled up into a neat, silk-wrapped parcel. I chose the wrong day not to bring a camera! As I sat for 30 minutes waiting for the train, an estimated 300 hirundines passed over Lewes Station in a constant stream, seeming to consist primarily of Swallows.

On the way home I called into Newhaven, trying to relocate a Wryneck reported yesterday on RBA. I failed in this assignment, but there were a few good birds in the area;

• a SHAG was offshore, fishing to the east of the pier about 100 metres o/s. My first in Sussex since 1 September 2011 surprisingly!
• a small flock of waders flew down to bathe in the puddles immediately south of the industrial land, about 100 metres NE of Newhaven East Pier. They consisted of 17 Ringed Plover, 6 Dunlin and 2 Turnstone. Turnstone is a fairly unusual bird for Tide Mills in my experience, bizarrely I have only seen them here three times previously!
• 2 Wheatear. One at Tide Mills showed a bright supercilium, long primary projection and uppright, dick's pipit like stance, typical of GREENLAND WHEATEAR (oenanthe oenanthe leucorrhoea), while one, perched on the viewing screen at the Ouse Estuary Project, looked a much more typical 'british' Wheatear. 
• 1 YELLOW WAGTAIL, my latest ever and first ever record for October! it called three times as it headed over

However, whether it was worth the soul-chilling south-westerlies and the dismal rain is another matter! The highlight of the day was probably the GREENLAND WHEATEAR, great birds that still feel like a bit of a rarity, depsite being pretty regular. Slightly commoner stuff included 30 Lapwing and 20 Curlew, a handful of Gibbugs (Great Black-backed Gulls), my first Common Gull for a few weeks in Sussex, and a handful of Chiffchaff. The tide on Mill Creek was sadly too high for the Pectoral/Buff-breasted Sandpiper that hasn't arrived yet...