LP visited the area during the morning between the Headland toilet car park and the Old Trapping area and during the evening RAB visited Old Trapping area, Belle Tout and Shooters Bottom. Small arrival of night migrants which included 3 Pied Flycatchers with good numbers of Swifts were also on the move. Combined totals:
Sparrowhawk 1 near Warren Hill
Swift c550+ (150 W during morning and 400+ feeding over the top fields during the evening.
Sand Martin 20 over the Headland
Song Thrush 4 Shooters Bottom
Reed Warbler 5
Lesser Whitethroat 4
Common Whitethroat 20
Willow Warbler 14
Pied Flycatcher 3 (1 Old Trapping Area and 2 Hotel Garden area).
4th August, 2018 Hot and sunny with a stiff NE breeze 4.
We visited Birling scrub, Belle Tout scrub and wood, Shooters Bottom, Old Trapping Area, Hotel Garden area, and Icky Ridge. RE covered Birling lane, Birling and Belle Tout loop and then joined us in the Hotel Garden area, LP and AR were also covering a number of sites on the Headland.
A reasonable fall of night migrants with around 70 Willow Warblers present our best total so far this Autumn, Pied Flycatchers had increased to 5. Raptors included 3 Red Kites, 1 Marsh Harrier and 1 Hobby. A Cuckoo was also seen.
Combined totals:
Gannet 30 feeding offshore
Cormorant Party of 8E
Red Kite 3 soaring over Belle Tout wood departed W (LP)
Marsh Harrier 1 over Belle Tout wood. (LP)
Common Buzzard 3
Kestrel 2
Hobby 1 around Birling
Whimbrel 1 E off Birling
Mediterranean Gull 1 ad. off Birling
Collard Dove 1 Birling lane
Cuckoo 1 Shooters Bottom
Swift 8
Sand Martin 8
Swallow 70
Black Redstart 1 juv. Hotel Garden
Common Redstart 2
Wheatear 1
Grasshopper Warbler 1 Shooters Bottom
Reed Warbler 1
Lesser Whitethroat 3
Common Whitethroat 26
Chiffchaff 2
Willow Warbler 73
Pied Flycatcher 5 (1 Old Trapping Area, 3 Hotel Garden area and 1 Shooters Bottom)
Raven 5
Starling flock now increased to 80.
Still large numbers of Common Blue butterflies with good numbers of other common butterflies. Also 1 Painted Lady, 1 Red Admiral, 1 Wall and 1 Hummingbird Hawk Moth were seen.
At long last, a small fall of Willow Warblers
Pied Flycatcher numbers had increased to 5.
Juvenile Black Redstart in the Hotel Garden probably a
local bred bird by its appearance.
