9th October, 2018 Beachy Head Fine sunny and hot. SW 2-3

Just when you thought birding couldn't get any worse at Beachy, along comes today. We covered Birling lane, then met up with RKH and we then spent 90 minutes concentrating our watching by walking through the set-a-side field and back again. We then covered Belle Tout wood and Shooters Bottom and by then I was pretty knackered. Met up with RAB who had covered the Cattle Field area, Toilet block bushes, Icky Ridge and the Old Trapping Area. RE was ringing in Whitbread Hollow but like us found it to be very quiet.
Once again very little in the way of night migrants although RAB had a fine male Ring Ouzel in the Toilet block bushes and a male Redstart in the cattle fields. It was surprising that virtually no diurnal migration was seen, even thou the visibility was good. What was a surprise was in the early morning a juvenile Mute Swan was watched paddling on Birling beach and even appeared to have a drink of the sea-water.
Combined totals:

Mute Swan 1 juvenile paddling on Birling beach.
Sparrowhawk 1 Headland
Kestrel 2 Headland
Red-legged Partridge 8 Set-a-side field
Tawny Owl 2 Hollow
Green Woodpecker 2 (1 Hollow and 1 Cattle Field)
Great-spotted Woodpecker 1 Headland
Skylark 30 in set-a-side field
Swallow 80
House Martin 120 Hollow
Meadow Pipit 40 Top fields
Pied Wagtail 15 (6W)
Grey Wagtail 1 W
Robin 18 (10 Hollow and 8 Headland)
Common Redstart 1 male Cattle Field
Ring Ouzel 1 male Toilet block bushes
Blackbird 25 (20 Hollow)
Song Thrush 2 continental birds trapped
Blackcap 20 Hollow
Chiffchaff 40 (30 Hollow and 10 Headland)
Jay 1 Cattle field area
Raven 4 (2 Hollow and 2 Birling)
Linnet 70 Set-a-side field
Corn Bunting 50 Set-a-side field

Clouded Yellow 1 Shooters Bottom
Speckled Wood 4
Small White 3
Red Admiral 3
Silver Y moth 1

Common Darter 2
                                                                                   

Juvenile Mute Swan having a paddle at Birling.