Location: Buckle car park, Seaford
Map Number: 198
Map Ref: TV469997
Leader: Neil Greenaway

Meet at 08:30 hrs in Buckle Car park, Marine Parade, West side of Seaford, BN25 2QR. Half day (under three miles) along to Newhaven Pier. Shingle or grass paths (may be muddy when wet) Coastal and river habitat, looking for incoming and outgoing migrants.

9! Cattle Egrets on pool looking towards river. My highest count here by far. Otherwise very quiet

From Westmead hide a good showing of Redshanks, three Avocets and a Brent Goose (Dark-bellied), while from Nettley’s hide still 300 or so Wigeon, 120 Shoveler, a pair (I think) of Little Ringed Plover and two Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

8 Sand Martins back at Arundel WWT over the main lake and visiting burrows in the nesting-banks.

A lovely walk around Herstmonceux Church farmland and the wetlands beyond. Quite busy with several Linnets, 2 Meadow Pipits, a Cetti's Warbler and my first Blackcap of the year. Reed Buntings and Chiffchaffs aplenty too.

Very quiet at sea of late, today just 13 Red-throated Divers, 7 Gannets, 4 Common Scoters, 4 Auk sp. and a Porpoise. Nothing overhead until a long sit on the terrace was eventually rewarded with a fine group of 3 Red Kites drifting E along the clifftop.

A big fall of Chiffchaffs early this morning approx. 50-60 birds feeding rapidly many on the ground. Other birds were 1 Wheatear, 3 female & 1 male Black Redstarts, small number of Chaffinches, Linnets, Goldfinches. At lunchtime a single Red Kite flew west along the cliff edge.

Two Barn Owls today provided my first local sighting for several years. A couple of distant and brief sightings of a Curlew on the Adur were insufficient to confirm the likelihood that it was a bird from the Norfolk estate project. Otherwise waders were restricted to a Redshank and half a dozen Oystercatchers. The mixed gull flock north of the flyover still included a significant number of Common Gulls, maybe about 30. A Song Thrush was in vigorous song near Ricardo, and at least two Skylarks were singing along the eastern boundary of the airfield. At New Monks Park there was a Coot with several small young. Moorhen and Reed Bunting at the same location, and nearby a singing and displaying Greenfinch was a welcome sight, commonplace around Shoreham when I moved here nearly 30 years ago.

Some good sightings this afternoon included another Osprey through, also two White Storks and the long staying Great White Egret. Water Rail at the reed bed, male Goshawk was around, our first Blackcap and Swallow of the spring and finally a female Brambling feeding under the feeders.

A Willow Warbler was heard singing this morning around the Foxholes area of Seven Sisters Country Park. Our first of the year!