Patch: Early Autumn

The Robins continue to sing for their individual Winter territories.

Seed heads on the Wealdway.

This species has become very noticeable, with several individuals calling around the garden and in the woods at the foot of the Scarp. They are largely absent from the top of the Downs. I have seen a few energetic chase fights between birds, but nothing too prolonged.

A territorial Robin.

The cooling temperature seems to have stopped the Wrens from singing and the Herring Gulls have calmed down. This makes the thriving Jackdaw colony even more noticeable. In addition to the evening murmuration, they have an explosive morning take off, where calling birds stream down from the hill in a noisy wave. This is currently happening at about 6.30am.

Looking north along the Wealdway.

A Sunday afternoon walk up to the Wealdway also generated a hunting Sparrowhawk, a Meadow Pipit, Goldfinches, and a passage Wheatear (a patch first! Species 57).

Denuded Ash Trees on the scarp edge.

Most of the Ash on the top is bare of leaves and nearly all of the flowers are now seed heads. The ivy, however, is coming into full flower.

Seeding Honeysuckle.

The old track down from Foxholes Brow just clips the edge of the ancient woodland of Further Plantation, and the Beech Trees here still look marvellously green.

Beech Trees along the Foxholes Brow track.

The feral Canada Geese continue to perform their daily, and very noisy, mini migration between the Eastbourne Levels and farmland to the West. This can involve up to 100 birds.

Wealdway looking West.

Black Swans at Sovereign Harbour

Not a native species, but potentially a feral one. A lovely pair of Black Swans were at Sovereign Harbour this afternoon in the Autumn sun.

Not sure what they can eat there, but from their behaviour it seems that they are used to being fed. No doubt they have escaped from a collection somewhere.

A splendid 'yarelli' Pied Wagtail

Black-headed Gull. Ubiquitous birds, but this year they completely disappeared from the Eastbourne area during the breeding season, around June. Since they returned I get excited every time I see one.

Patch: Foxholes Wood after the Equinox

First hint of a chill in the air this morning at dawn.

Across the levels and the Low Weald low mist made the  Downs and the High Weald into separate islands.

As the sun rose slightly, mist seemed to boil off the lakes on Eastbourne Levels.

Many of the Ash trees are already leafless. The exposed position of the wood means leaves are stripped early and the scarp never manages any Autumn colour.

Magpies, Jay's and Green Woodpeckers are currently very vocal in the morning. The number of Chiffchaffs moving through is decreasing, leaving the Ash and Sycamore woodland to territorial Robins. It seems that Wrens have also started to sing again.

At dusk the Jackdaw murmuration is becoming a real spectacle. Calling, the birds stream in from across Eastbourne. They almost exclusively fly in pairs.

Gathering on Foxholes Brow there is lots of noise and scurrying between trees punctuated by the explosive burst of hundreds of birds taking to the sky.

Once again, the local Canada Geese have been continuing with their vocal mini migration. I counted a skein of about 100 heading West in the early evening.

Patch: Birdlist

Over the last eight years I have made numerous observations of the wildlife living in what I now describe as my patch.

One of the local Robins that have started to sing for their Winter territories.

Using my notes I have complied a baseline list of birds seen. Some of these species are year round residents, while others may have just flown over.

A skein of Canada Geese that I saw flying over earlier this week, a first for my patch. They have flown over every day since then.

Here is my list, of 56 species, with a brief description of the patch status for each one:

Canada Goose	fly over, very common this week!
Pheasant	occasional individuals seen
Grey Heron	fly over, occasional
Red Kite	rare fly over
Goshawk	rare fly over
Sparrowhawk	year round resident, seen regularly
Common Buzzard	year round resident, seen regularly
Osprey	rare fly over
Kestrel	occasional individuals seen
Peregrine Falcon Merlin	fly over, seen regularly Seen once on Weald Way
Black-headed Gull	fly over
Herring Gull	year round resident, seen regularly
Stock Dove	year round resident, seen regularly
Woodpigeon	year round resident, seen regularly
Feral Pigeon	year round resident, seen regularly
Collared Dove	year round resident, seen regularly
Tawny Owl	heard regularly year round resident
Common Swift	fly over
Green Woodpecker	year round resident, seen regularly
Great Spotted Woodpecker	year round resident, seen regularly
Magpie	year round resident, seen regularly
Jay	year round resident, seen regularly
Jackdaw	year round resident, seen regularly
Rook	year round resident, seen regularly
Carrion Crow	year round resident, seen regularly
Raven	fly over, seen regularly
Blue Tit	year round resident, seen regularly
Great Tit	year round resident, seen regularly
Coal Tit	occasional individuals seen
Skylark	year round resident, seen regularly
Swallow	fly over, seen regularly
Long-tailed Tit	year round resident, seen regularly
Wood Warbler	summer visitor, rare
Common Chiffchaff	summer visitor, seen regularly
Willow Warbler	summer visitor, seen regularly
Blackcap	summer visitor, seen regularly
Garden Warbler	summer visitor, seen occasionally
Common Whitethroat	summer visitor, seen regularly
Goldcrest	year round resident, seen regularly
Wren	year round resident, seen regularly
Nuthatch	year round resident, seen regularly
Treecreeper	year round resident, seen regularly
Starling Waxwing	year round resident, seen regularly Six, during 2012 winter invasion
Blackbird	year round resident, seen regularly
Song Thrush	year round resident, seen regularly
Robin	year round resident, seen regularly
Common Redstart	summer visitor, rare
Dunnock	year round resident, seen regularly
House Sparrow	year round resident, seen regularly
Meadow Pipit	year round resident, seen regularly
Chaffinch	year round resident, seen regularly
Greenfinch	year round resident, seen regularly
Goldfinch	year round resident, seen regularly
Linnet	year round resident, seen regularly

Patch

I have decided to start birding a patch of countryside near my home. I intend to record not only birds, but the other wildlife it contains and the changes I see over the year.

I live on the edge of Eastbourne, at the foot of the East facing scarp of the South Downs. The woodland that runs along the concave scarp is interrupted by some clearings and less steep grassland brows.

A map of my patch, which runs from below Babylon Down in the north to Beachy Brow in the south (the unnamed bulge at the bottom).

An aerialphoto of the same area.

On the Downs, above the woodland, is a long thin stretch of chalk grassland called the Weald Way. This includes the trig point on Willingdon Hill, which gives wonderful 360' views. Parts of the grassland contain extensive mosaics of scrub. Two dew ponds are the only sources of water.

Most of the woodland is a relatively recent growth of self seeded Ash and Sycamore. From what I have read I suspect that it dates from after 1926, when Eastbourne Borough Council purchased the land. The change in land management then allowed the wood to develop, I presume through reduced grazing pressure. However, most excitingly, the wooded scarp around Willingdon golf course contains a significant area of ancient woodland called Further Plantation. The much larger crowns of the mature trees can clearly be distinguished in aerial photo below.

Further Plantation, from above, in the lower middle section of the photo.

Finally, the location of my house means I can include my garden in the patch!

Small Copper

One of my favourite species of Butterfly. Two of them visited the garden this afternoon in the glorious sunshine.

 

Summer 2016: Highlights

This six week long holiday has yielded many exciting wildlife moments; most days I managed at least two walks. These are my top ten wildlife wonders:

#10 Wood Warbler in the woods above Hill Road, Eastbourne on 10th August. My second Wood Warbler of the summer, and so close to my home.

#9 Red-breasted Mergansers, Grasmere on 29th July.

A very active hunting pair, that I watched for ten minutes, in a stunning location.

#8 Nesting House Martins at Caudale Beck,Brotherswater 23rd July.

As the juveniles fledged they started to congregate on the Wire outside my bedroom. It was a privilege to watch them during my week's stay, and very sad to leave them.

#7 Manx Shearwater, Cuckmere Haven 2nd August. A stormy day with foaming sea. The Shearwater flew low over the waves seeming completely at ease in the wild conditions. 

#6 Goosander, Rydal Water 25th July. 

I presume this was a female and two juveniles, as I read that the males depart after mating.

#5 A hunting Kestrel catching and eating a Common Lizard, Dungeness 29th August. 

#4 Guillemot nesting colony, St Bees Head Cumbria 23rd July. 

An amazing spectacle of hundreds of birds.

#3 Black Tern, Dungeness 29th August. Great views of a thrilling lifetime first. Lovely lazy flight. 

#2 Curlew Sandpipers, Pett Level beach 29th August.

Chanced to see a pair of these lovely birds land on the shore, and they proved to be very confiding. 

#1 Puffins, St Bees Head Cumbria, 23rd July. A lifetime ambition. I knew the date was too late to see them on the cliffs, but I was hopeful some would still be around. A busy group of four flew past with their red bills straining forwards. Magic.

Summer 2016: Bird List

What a difference good weather makes! The first truly sunny August, in Sussex, for quite a few years.

Turnstone, Bexhill beach.

I spent the first week of the holiday in the Lake District. I took the opportunity to go to St Bees Head to look at the seabird colony, spotting my first ever Puffins. I also saw two other auks, namely Guillemots and Razorbills.

Hunting Goosander on Rydal Water.

It was lovely to see several species of breeding bird in the Lake District that I normally only see as passage migrants. These included Wheatear, Whinchat, Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Tree Pipit, Redstart, Siskin and Ring Ouzel.

Adult and juvenile Starlings, Bexhill.

A fruitful trip to Dungeness yielded Golden Plover, Little Stint, Ruff, Garganey, Great White Egret and Black Tern which was my second lifetime first of the holiday.

Dunnock at Bateman's near Burwash.

My list includes four taxa of Wagtail; Pied and White Wagtails were present in the Brotherswater valley. It was nice to be able to compare the Mealy Redpoll found in Cumbria with the Lesser Redpoll found in Sussex.

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eastbourne.

Other notable birds included a Manx Shearwater from the beach at Cuckmere Haven, a juvenile Goshawk over Hill Road and a Merlin just inland from Birling Gap.

Hornet Hoverfly, near Holywell Eastbourne.

I expected, but did not manage, to see Red Kite or Avocet. In the end my list total was 139, beating my previous record of 123 from Summer 2015.

List in full:

Mute Swan

Greylag Goose

Canada Goose

Barnacle Goose

Egyptian Goose

Shelduck

Mandarin Duck

Eurasian Wigeon

Gadwall

Eurasian Teal

Mallard

Garganey

Northern Shoveler

Common Pochard

Tufted Duck

Red-breasted Merganser

Goosander

Pheasant

Northern Fulmar

Manx Shearwater

Little Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Grey Heron

Great Egret

Little Egret

Northern Gannet

Shag

Cormorant

Marsh Harrier

Goshawk

Sparrowhawk

Common Buzzard

Osprey

Kestrel

Merlin

Hobby

Peregrine Falcon

Moorhen

Coot

Oystercatcher

Ringed Plover

Little Ringed Plover

European Golden Plover

Northern Lapwing

Knot

Little Stint

Curlew Sandpiper

Dunlin

Ruff

Common Snipe

Black-tailed Godwit

Eurasian Whimbrel

Eurasian Curlew

Common Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper

Greenshank

Common Redshank

Turnstone

Kittiwake

Mediterranean Gull

Black-headed Gull

Common Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Herring Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Black tern

Sandwich Tern

Common Tern

Common Guillemot

Puffin

Razorbill

Stock Dove

Woodpigeon

Feral Pigeon

Collared Dove

Common Swift

Kingfisher

Green Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Magpie

Jay

Jackdaw

Rook

Carrion Crow

Raven

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Coal Tit

Skylark

Sand Martin

Swallow

House Martin

Cetti’s Warbler

Long-tailed Tit

Wood Warbler

Common Chiffchaff

Willow Warbler

Reed Warbler

Blackcap

Lesser Whitethroat

Common Whitethroat

Goldcrest

Wren

Nuthatch

Treecreeper

Starling

Dipper

Ring Ouzel

Blackbird

Song Thrush

Mistle Thrush

Spotted Flycatcher

Robin

Nightingale

Pied Flycatcher

Common Redstart

Whinchat

European Stonechat

Northern Wheatear

Dunnock

House Sparrow

Yellow Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

White Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Tree Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Rock Pipit

Chaffinch

Greenfinch

Goldfinch

Siskin

Linnet

Lesser Redpoll

Mealy Redpoll

Yellowhammer

Reed Bunting

Corn Bunting

Pett Level, Rye Harbour and Dungeness

An entirely self indulgent day out on the shingle.

One of two Curlew Sandpipers on the beach at Pett Level.

A Little Egret at Rye Harbour.

Common Sandpiper at Rye Harbour.

Little Grebe still in breeding plumage at Rye Harbour.

Golden Plover at the ARC Pitt, Dungeness.

Black-tailed Godwits and a Lapwing, ARC Pitt.

Record shot of a Garganey, ARC Pitt.

Adult Common Terns with two juveniles.

Lapwing, Burrowes Pitt, RSPB Dungeness.

A distant photo of two Great White Egrets.

Some less glamorous, but pleasingly arranged, Greylag Geese with a Tufted Duck.