Friday 11 August 2017

11th August, 2017 Beachy Head Fine calm and sunny W calm slowly increasing to 3

A beautiful calm sunny early morning. I visited today with Terry and we covered Birling lane and scrub, Belle Tout wood and scrub, Shooters Bottom, and Old Trapping Area. LP also covered sites on the headland and RE was again ringing in Whitbread Hollow.
Another excellent fall of night migrants chiefly Common Whitethroats, Willow Warblers and over 100 Reed Warblers which were either seen or trapped. Highlight was an elusive Pied Flycatcher at Birling. Virtually no diurnal migration was seen other than a Snipe high W.

Kestrel 2
Peregrine 1 adult
Snipe 1 high W over Birling
Green Woodpecker 2
Sand Martin 2
Swallow 25
Tree Pipit 4
Yellow Wagtail 3 juv. types
Pied Wagtail 5
Nightingale 2 (1 ad Hollow and 1 OTA)
Common Redstart 2-3
Wheatear 3
Grasshopper Warbler 2 Hollow
Sedge Warbler 1
Reed Warbler  c117 (17 Headland & c100+ Hollow, with 51 trapped and ringed).
Lesser Whitethroat 4
Common Whitethroat 160 (90 Headland & 70 Hollow)
Garden Warbler 7+ Hollow
Blackcap 10
Chiffchaff 4
Willow Warbler 125 (65 Headland & 60 Hollow)
Goldcrest 1
Pied Flycatcher 1 Birling
Bullfinch 2
Corn Bunting 3

Clouded Yellow 1
Painted Lady 2


Herring Gulls feeding on the ground on Birling lane

Juvenile type Yellow Wagtail in with cattle at Birling

 
Another juvenile type Yellow Wagtail on the flag pole at Birling.



taken by TEC
Pied Flycatcher at Birling


taken by TEC
Adult Peregrine on the hunt over Birling

 
Reed Warbler in Shooters Bottom.
Probably a record day for Beachy for numbers.