17th August, 2018 Beachy Head Fine sunny and warm. SW 1

A beautiful calm sunny morning. We covered Shooters Bottom, Hotel Garden including toilet block bushes, Icky Ridge, Old Trapping Area, Belle Tout wood and scrub. LP also covered a few sites around the Old Trapping Area. RE was again ringing and watching in Whitbread Hollow although the bright weather was effecting number of birds being trapped.
At long last a reasonable fall of common night migrants and our largest fall so far this year. The first two hours from 06.15 to 08.15 saw good numbers of Whitethroats and Willow Warblers quickly passing through the Headland and by 09.00 the majority of the migrants had moved on. Just the odd diurnal migrants were recorded flying over, and still very few hirundines were seen.
Combined totals:

Little Egret 3 over the back of  Whitbread Hollow
Common Buzzard 1 Hollow
Sparrowhawk 2
Ringed Plover 1 flew over the Headland
Tawny Owl 3 Hollow
House Martin 3
Tree Pipit 2 flew over Headland
Yellow Wagtail 6/8 flew over the Headland.
Nightingale 1-2 Hollow
Common Redstart 1 female Hotel Garden
Wheatear 4 Headland
Grasshopper Warbler 1 Hollow
Sedge Warbler 8 (6 Headland and 2 Hollow)
Reed Warbler 7 (4 Headland and 3 Hollow)
Lesser Whitethroat 12 ( 9 Headland and 3 Hollow)
Common Whitethroat 120 (90 Headland and 30 Hollow)
Garden Warbler 3 (2 Hollow and 1Headland)
Blackcap 11 (1 Headland and 10 Hollow)
Willow Warbler 145 (115 Headland and 30 Hollow)
House Sparrow 3 Hotel garden departed high N
Goldfinch Flock 50 Headland
Bullfinch 1 Hollow

                                                                                 

Good arrival of Common Whitethroats this morning.

Sedge Warbler Shooters Bottom

Adult type Willow Warbler in Shooters Bottom.

                                           

1stW Willow Warbler in Shooters Bottom

Comma Butterfly in the Hotel Garden