14th March, 2018 Beachy Head and Arlington Reservoir Mainly sunny and clear but cool. SE 2-4

A very enjoyable sea-watch with RAB and for some of the time with RE. We sea-watched from 06.25-09.30 with highlights including 6 Avocets, Velvet Scoter and Black-throated Diver, and then walked Birling lane and Belle Tout wood. RE covered various sites on the headland, with yesterdays male Black Redstart occasionally showing up Birling lane and 2 showy Firecrests in Belle Tout wood.

Red-throated Diver 50 (48 E and 2 on the sea)
Black-throated Diver 1 E with 2 Red-throats @ 09.00
Great crested Grebe 6 (3 E and 3 on the sea)
Gannet 8E
Canada Goose 2 high W
Brent Goose 598 E
Shelduck 2 E
Teal 10 E
Mallard 1 E
Pintail 2 E
Shoveler 3 E
Eider 4 E (3 drakes)
Common Scoter 163 E
Velvet Scoter 1 E
Red-breasted Merganser 4 E
Common Buzzard 3
Avocet 6 E @ 08.15
Bar-tailed Godwit 4 E
Mediterranean Gull 3 E
Common Gull 35 E chiefly adults in breeding plumage
Herring Gull c350 moving E in batches along the cliffs with many immatures.
Kittiwake c665+ E (very large movement virtually all the sea-watch with 665 a conservative estimate)
Sandwich Tern 3 E
Auk Sp. 33 E
Guillemot 2 (1 on the sea and 1 E)

Green Woodpecker 1 B/T wood
Great-spotted Woodpecker 1 B/T wood
Black Redstart 1 ad. male Birling
Goldcrest 1 B/T wood
Firecrest 2 B/T wood
Great Tit  Party of 8 flew out of the bushes and departed quite high in the sky.

Sunrise over Beachy Head.

Brent Geese moving past Birling nearly 600 were logged.

Common Scoters were also moving

Record shot of the 6 Avocets passing Birling

Not sure what this one was doing??

Two Firecrests in Belle Tout wood

With news of a drake Smew on Arlington Reservoir, we called in there on our way home and had some excellent views, as it was in the SW corner of the reservoir and frequently diving. The first one we have seen for several years.

View of the Bill

Drake Smew on Arlington Reservoir