Sunday 21 April 2019

20th and 21st April, 2019 Beachy Head

20th April, 2019
LP and JP covered virtually all the sites with the exception of Cow Gap and Whitbread Hollow, they also covered Crowlink. A reasonable fall of night migrants occurred:

Red Kite 3 (2 with wing-tabs)
Hobby 1 (our first for the year)
Sand Martin 6 in off the sea
Swallow 20 in off the sea
House Martin 8 in off the sea
Tree pipit 4 fly over the Headland
Yellow Wagtail 5 fly over the Headland
White Wagtail 2 at Cornish Farm
Whinchat 5 (4 Crowlink and 1 Shooters Bottom)
Wheatear 10 (9 Crowlink and 1 Shooters Bottom)
Lesser Whitethroat 1
Common Whitethroat 25
Willow Warbler 12

21st April, 2019 Sunny and clear NE 2-3
We sea-watched from 06.25-07.25 and then we covered radio mast bushes, Icky Ridge, Cliff Path to the Hollow and then back along the top bushes, Hotel Garden, Old Trapping Area, and Shooters Bottom and valley opposite. RE covered Birling lane and Birling loop, Belle Tout wood, Shooters Bottom. LP made a brief visit to Birling.
As expected with a NE wind the sea-watch was poor, and very few migrants were seen on the Headland.

Gannet 15 E
Brent Goose 2 E
Common Scoter 8 E
Red Kite 2 over Birling @ 13.15 (LP)
Common Buzzard 1 over B/T
Kestrel 1 female
Peregrine 2
Red-legged Partridge 2 in set-aside field
Mediterranean Gull 3 E
Black-headed Gull 32 E
Common Gull 24 E
Sandwich Tern 6 E
Green Woodpecker 2
Sand Martin 2 in off the sea
Swallow 4 in off the sea
Whinchat 1 Birling
Wheatear 4 Birling
Song Thrush 1
Lesser Whitethroat 1 Cliff Path
Common Whitethroat 9
Blackcap 1
Chiffchaff 4
Willow Warbler 1
Goldfinch 2 came in off the sea

Small Copper 2
Speckled Wood 3

Early Spider Orchid 9

Small Copper in Shooters Bottom


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