Tuesday 1 May 2018

1st May, 2018 Beachy Head Sunny and clear but cold wind. WSW 2 increasing to 3-4

After a very wet and windy day yesterday, we decided to try a sea-watch in the hope that the odd Pom. may have been waiting for a break in the weather to move through the Channel. We sea-watched from 06.30-09.00 and within 5 minutes a d/p Pom. was picked out above the horizon with a good tail and spoon. It was watched firstly chasing a Herring Gull followed by a Kittiwake obviously hoping for breakfast. Within 5 minutes a superb l/p Pom. with a good white collar came along again above the horizon with the usual steady plodding flight, and another good tail. A third d/p Skua sp. than appeared again on the same line above the horizon  with a steady plodding flight but this time I was unable to see any tail at all. I strongly suspected this to be another Pom. although I left it at sp. Although all 3 skuas were about 10 minutes apart, they were probably at one time were all moving together. We also had 2 Bonxies but just 10 Med. Gulls and only 2 Sandwich Terns.
We also covered the Old Trapping Area, Hotel Garden and Icky Ridge and RE had covered Birling lane, Birling loop, Cornish Farm track, B/T wood and Shooters Bottom. A small arrival of night migrants including 20 Wheatears and our first Spotted Flycatcher for the year.

Gannet 16 E
Shag 1 ad. E @ 8.05
Shelduck 1 W
Common Scoter 2 E
Red-legged Partridge 5 (2 pairs and 1 single bird)
Sanderling 1 E
Whimbrel 1 E
Pomarine Skua 2 E (1 d/p at 06.35, and 1 l/p at 06.45)
Skua sp. (probable Pomarine d/p E at 06.50) 
Bonxie 2 E
Mediterranean Gull 10 (6 adults and 4 2ndcy)
Sandwich Tern just 2 E
Auk Sp. 1 E
Collared Dove 1 N up Birling lane
Tawny Owl 1
Green Woodpecker 1
Swallow 2
Wheatear 20 (Our largest daily total so far this year)
Song Thrush 2
Lesser Whitethroat 2
Common Whitethroat 5 (Still very low numbers present on the headland)
Garden Warbler 1 B/T wood
Chiffchaff 1
Willow Warbler 14
Spotted Flycatcher 1 B/T wood 

Evening Sea-watch 17.40-19.25 by RAB
Red-throated Diver 1 E
Gannet 3 EWhimbrel 16 E
Arctic Skua 14 E
Bonxie 4 E
Black-headed Gull 52 E
Little Egret 1 Birling

Speckled Wood 1
Early Purple Orchid - Good numbers in flower at a number of sites.
Early Spider Orchid 24 counted at one site

As a matter of interest, observers at Cap Gris Nez in nearly 5 hours of sea-watching this morning reported 12 Pom. Skuas, 27 Arctic Skuas 3 Skua sps. 44 Black-throated Divers, 43 Black Terns, 688 Sandwich Terns, 261 Little Terns, and over 2,000 Commic Terns. plus a selection of other birds.
Once again, we seem to be on the wrong side of the Channel!!

Thousands and thousands of Cowslips are now in flower.


Our best day this year for Wheatears, and not before time

Still relatively few Willow Warblers so far this Spring.

Speckled Wood butterfly in the Hotel Garden

Good numbers of the Early Purple Orchids are now showing.