THE KEMP TOWN ENCLOSURES

2012-01-28T15:23:00.004Z

an un oiled 1st winter iceland gull was on the undercliff at telscombe this morning then flew e. 2 whitefronts were in the lower cuckmere.

2012-01-24T10:34:00.009Z

2012-01-07T21:20:00.001Z

2 drake goosanders flew over arlington this afternoon and a pair were seen nearby.

2011-12-30T00:56:00.004Z

yday (thurs)

goosander at arlington.

wack!

2011-12-30T00:36:00.005Z

few clips from the christmas period.

great northern diver at castleshaw upper res, greater manchester.

great northern diver at audenshaw res, greater manchester.

dipper at dovestone res, greater manchester.

2011-12-19T17:10:00.001Z

2 rh goosanders flew over barcombe res this morning.

2011-12-17T00:12:00.001Z

rh goosander on river ouse on south side of lewes opposite the cliffs (friday)

2011-12-03T18:10:00.002Z

early this morning, a single tundra bean goose with 7 whitefronts was on lewes brooks before flying off over the downs. the 3 barnacle geese and the single bewicks remained. at arlington, a 2nd winter caspian gull was found on the spit and stayed for ten mins before flying off.

2011-11-27T20:16:00.001Z

drake mandarin at arlington

2011-11-26T13:35:00.000Z

rh goosander and common sand at arlington late morning.

2011-11-13T17:57:00.003Z

rh goosander at arlington briefly.

2011-11-12T23:08:00.002Z

highlight of the day were 2 whooper swans west over the bottom of sheepcote. a site first. at arlington 23 mergs (yes mergs not goosanders) flew over and 3 shelducks were on the spit. later in the day 2 short eared owls were found at an undisclosed site and a water pipit there too.

2011-11-06T18:53:00.003Z

the great grey shrike was still present just north of the southease bridge on both sides of river. best we could find on a blustery day were 2-3 snow buntings on the beach at cooden

2011-11-05T20:18:00.001Z

2011-11-05T20:14:00.002Z

my brolly still present after it blew away in the finding of the buff breast last year!

2011-10-30T16:57:00.002Z

very quiet at sheepcote this morning so headed to arlington afterwards. ian found another caspian gull whilst i was looking for shorelarks on the spit. a great looking individual it stayed for about ten mins before flying off se. the glossy ibis was also seen at horse eye with a raven thrown in.

2011-10-29T18:52:00.002+01:00

a fairly quiet day overall with no hoped for rare wabs or issy shrikes. at sheepcote highlights were several groups of bullfinches flying n totalling 14. a very unusual bird here and possibly the first records since the humes. 4 meally redpolls feeding with goldfinches in the bmx track briefly were a first for sheepcote. still lots of reed buntings. the first two black reds of the autumn were at ovingdean and newhaven. at arlington a noisy mob of corvids put us onto a bird on the dam wall. it must of landed there whilst we were scoping the res. a bloody massive saker! a great bird.

2011-10-27T21:07:00.002+01:00

found another pallass warbler this afternoon, at seaford head in harrys bush. to be honest not that surprising given the conditions this morning. all i could muster at other sites were firecrests which were seen at every site tho very few chiffs.

2011-10-23T18:37:00.001+01:00

it doesnt quite give itself up but it does call a bit.

2011-10-23T17:57:00.003+01:00

called it last nite and today found a pallass at sheepcote. initially in a small isolated tree amongst the long grass behind 'the crescent' it had possibly just arrived. it did show pretty well and was quite vocal at times. always great birds to find. a few firecrests, goldcrests and just a single chiff were also seen. pretty quiet elsewhere.

bird is in large crescent of trees on the hillside at the south end. park by the cafe and look across the cricket pitch and you'll see the crescent. bird was usually in the middle.

2011-10-15T21:09:00.001+01:00

castricum, holland

2011-10-15T21:05:00.000+01:00

2011-10-15T16:56:00.000+01:00

2011-10-10T19:54:00.003+01:00

34 bonxies flew east past brighton between 7:20 and 10:15 and 2 close in poms were on the the drink before heading W. an avocet was then found at arlington and showed well.

2011-10-08T17:58:00.002+01:00

a yellow browed warbler was found this afternoon at harry's bush, seaford head.

2011-10-01T21:05:00.002+01:00

2 lapland buntings flew over the cuckmere this morning and a firecrest was at arlington.

2011-09-24T22:49:00.002+01:00

highlight of the day was a confiding grey phal found at princes park, eastbourne. at arlington, it must be of concern that there is now a dead great crested grebe and about twenty herring gulls with two more seemingly on the way out. there seemed to be a fair few chiffs around today and a possibly interesting jackdaw was on eastbourne seafront. a few firecrests around too.

2011-09-11T21:20:00.000+01:00

2011-09-10T21:40:00.001+01:00

almost forgot, the most amazing sky this morning from beddingham.

2011-09-10T18:36:00.002+01:00

the third black neck of the autumn, this time another juv type bird near eastbourne. also of interest were 40 wheatears in a field near arlington.

2011-09-06T21:08:00.002+01:00

2 arctic terns, 6 common terns, 2 juv little gulls and 14 knot were at arlington this evening.

2011-09-05T19:09:00.000+01:00

2011-09-05T18:24:00.005+01:00

news for the weekend:

sat: pretty quiet in general. about the only thing possibly worth mentioning was a rather grey and white yellow wagtail amongst 70 or so individuals at arlington

sun: still pretty quiet. at arlington, i had gone ahead of me bro to sift through the wags when five mins later he shouted over that he had a caspian gull. there werent many gulls present and i immediately picked up the bird- a juv too (i think i can still call it that). it was present for about 6 mins when it flew of SE. one of the better caspo records in what is the rarest plumage to see in the uk.

2011-08-29T10:55:00.001+01:00

juv black tern and first autumn wigeon at arlington this morning.

2011-08-28T14:19:00.003+01:00

slightly amusing, a common sand was on falmer pond and a juv little gull was at the marina this afternoon. just as i came off the arm i noticed a small peep with the naked eye rumaging about in the seaweed on the beach, it really should of been a yank but was a little stint, bugger! probably a personal site tick.

2011-08-28T10:16:00.003+01:00

an unexpected find this morning were 2 dotterel (ad and juv) flying south over fields near arlington res.

2011-08-27T13:15:00.001+01:00

2011-08-27T12:35:00.004+01:00

a black necked grebe at arlington again today but it did look different to the bird a few days ago.

2011-08-24T21:53:00.000+01:00

black necked grebe and juv little gull at arlington this evening.

2011-08-24T18:29:00.001+01:00

no sign of any dotterels on 22nd but a further single juvenile there last nite, seen in flight only.

2011-08-22T19:48:00.002+01:00

yday: 4 dotterels (3ad and juv) were at balsdean briefly last nite. i didnt have a tripod so the vids are a bit wobbly.

2011-08-14T13:40:00.002+01:00

yday: 3rd cal year caspian gull, 25 common terns, 10 barwits and ringed plover at arlington briefly.

2011-08-06T23:52:00.002+01:00

2011-08-06T08:10:00.001+01:00

2011-08-04T21:45:00.002+01:00

17 common terns (including a 2nd cal year bird) and juv yellow legged gull at arlington this afternoon and a juv black tern at shinewater.

2011-08-03T22:42:00.006+01:00

couple of vids from a birdless trip to greece for mates wedding.

2011-07-02T22:29:00.001+01:00

first juv med gull of the year at the marina tonite.

2011-06-28T22:41:00.002+01:00

and so the autumn begins! first juv black headed gull and med gull along undercliff. also hundreds of swifts out over the sea and pair ringed plovers with 4 eggs. juv yellow legged immiment!

2011-06-27T06:55:00.002+01:00

yday: stumbled across a new site for purple emperors in east sussex where 4 were found during the afternoon.

2011-06-16T22:04:00.003+01:00

one of the best things ive ever seen at sheepcote, awesome and bizarre. it does take off.

2011-05-14T13:17:00.000+01:00

2011-05-03T22:15:00.001+01:00

2011-05-02T22:42:00.003+01:00

today: perhaps the quietest day with 2 egyptian geese, greenshank and 2 common sands at arlington early morning. at dusk the little gull and common tern were still present.

sunday: a vocal male garganey, greenshank, 2 green sand, 5 common sand and whimbrel at arlington early morning. off newhaven, poms and black throats were the highlights tho the bushes were very quiet. the original pevensey pool held 7 hobbies with another single nearby. best site however was the midrips where highlights were 3 summer plumage curlew sandpipers and about 1000 barwits. one of the curlew sands was awesome! also present: avocets, greenshanks, knot, turnstones, dunlins, whimbrels, grey plover, 2 little terns, spotted redshank and a drake garganey flew east.

saturday: a wader fest at arlington early morning with 3 greenshank, 4 common sand, oystercatcher, 2 green sand and 6 whimbrel.

at a private and sensitive site up to 5 wood sands recently.

2011-04-24T23:26:00.004+01:00

a red kite flew over west rise marsh. also tree pipit and 2 cuckoo in area. 3 hobbies pevensey levels.

2011-04-17T21:28:00.004+01:00

not really that much to shout about lately tho this weekend produced a couple of interesting birds. yday, a stone curlew was found at west rise marsh flying around for a minute before heading north. today, a wood warbler was singing at arlington res in trees by the start of the dam with 2 ravens overhead. a marsh harrier flew north over newhaven. plenty of summer migrants about now esp. whitethroat and blackcap but also cuckoo and lesser white. the only other reports from the month were single summer plumaged 'icelandic' blackwit and oystercatcher at an inland site.

2011-04-02T16:04:00.006+01:00

2011-03-28T23:02:00.000+01:00

red kite very close overhead at work today near hove park.

2011-03-27T17:38:00.002+01:00

now 12 egyptian geese on lewes brooks and 3 garganey still this morning.

2011-03-26T15:47:00.002Z

started off around lewes brooks where 10 egyptian geese and 3 (2male) garganey were seen. a male ring ouzel and 4 wheatears where at newhaven and a further 9 wheatears were at the tidemills. a willow warbler was at west rise marsh along with 3 jack snipes and 4 wheatears. plenty of chiffs around most places.

2011-03-24T17:52:00.002Z

8 waxwings still present in hove at the junction of fonthill road and newtown road late morning.

2011-03-22T21:59:00.002Z

luck was certainly on my side today with the chance finding of two waxwing flocks in brighton. 8 were found this morning on a visit to the plumb centre in hove by the junction of fonthill road and newtown road. they were still present after work and having dropped the van off located 13 more in elm grove by the junction of howard road but flew off low. i then remembered that 13 were seen by the level a while back so were presumably the same and not a find. only shame was not having bins or camera.

2011-03-21T18:57:00.004Z

2011-03-20T22:12:00.006Z

a male rubicola type stonechat spent all of about ten seconds at newhaven heights before moving off. also here a cool raven showing down to a few feet. at shinewater there was a drake hybrid duck and a smart male white wagtail in a flock of 30 pieds. there were many others with pale mantles and clean flanks but also a dark rump. on the way home we heard about a slav at arlington so dropped in to see that. the nordic type jackdaw was still present behind the dam and a poss baltic gull was present for about ten mins. the day finished with a merlin chasing a skylark in front of st dunstans giving great views, the lark eventually finding cover. ill upload a few vids when youtube is running quicker.

2011-03-19T12:34:00.002Z

2 egyptian geese were at arlington this morning.

2011-03-18T22:22:00.003Z

pretty disappointing not to see a few wheatears this morning in calm misty conditions. sheepcote was pretty dead bar a few chiffs. 2 grebes off the marina should have been black necks but were just slavs. few meadow pipits in off there with occasional chaffinches. in the evening a black tailed godwit, 4 little egrets and 5 egyptian geese were on lewes brooks.

2011-03-15T22:03:00.003Z

2011-03-14T21:19:00.002Z

still not much to report lately though the weekend showed some signs of spring with a fine looking male black red, singing chiff, 2 firecrests and 2 male reed buntings around brighton.

2011-03-07T18:09:00.002Z

well that was feb over with and a good job. absolutely nothing to report, hopefully this month should be better. a late pic taken at kimmeridge bay, dorset.

2011-02-19T17:33:00.000Z

2011-01-24T17:35:00.001Z

late news: a 2nd winter caspian gull was at the marina on monday 17th.

2011-01-13T20:57:00.006Z

a poss caspian gull was at willingdon this afternoon. remarkably it appeared to be the cuckmere bird. I'll upload some video soon. the slav is still at shinewater.

2011-01-13T07:37:00.003Z

yday: the poss caspian gull was still present late morning just north of the golden galleon but flew off towards seafood. 3 goosanders still at arlington.

2011-01-08T16:52:00.004Z

a confiding slav grebe, jack snipe and yellow legged gull were at shinewater. 8 bewicks swans were in fields between stone cross and hailsham viewed from the B2104 and 3 goosanders (1 male) were at arlington late in the afternoon but flew off.

2011-01-06T14:20:00.001Z

yday: 3 bitterns together at willingdon levels.

2011-01-03T19:50:00.001Z

today: 2 slavs on the drink between the marina and pier and the remains of a woodcock, presumably from a peregrine kill was found under st peters church, brighton.

2011-01-03T19:45:00.002Z

more late news: 2 bitterns shinewater, rh goosander piddinghoe pond, 53 barnacle geese and 69 whitefronts just north of the golden galleon on 31 dec.

2011-01-03T19:08:00.005Z

spent the xmas oop north again just outside manchester. temporary local patch was dovestone res, a pretty but birdless tourist spot. i'd never even seen a large gull on it before. however on the first visit(23rd) 3 ad whooper swans were present briefly before flying off over the snow capped hilltops surrounding the area. later in the day 10 goosanders (5 males) were present and became the focus of interest during visits peaking at 17 (4 males) on 28th. also on this date 4 waxwings were found but only stayed a few seconds before being chased off by mistle thrushes. the surrounding moorland and streams held red grouse and dippers. highlight of the trip was a visit to audenshaw res in manchester on the 29th. it was a bit of a shot in the dark, not knowing whether it was private and anticipated them being frozen over. they were frozen over except for a tiny patch close to the path and on arrival was greeted with 15 goosanders (9 male) and 20 goldeneye (14 males) all showing very well. there was a massive gull roost on the ice but thick mist over the res made it impossible to work. i decided to go back and video the goosanders staying until dusk when an amazing 85!! (33 males) had gathered, an awesome sight and a great end to the holiday.

2010-12-22T15:02:00.002Z

the bittern was still present at shinewater and a lapland bunting flew over.

2010-12-19T14:43:00.003Z

top billing today were 5 very confiding jack snipes in a ditch at shinewater. also present was a bittern seen twice in flight and a single fly over waxwing. in freezing conditions it was no surprise to see 10 water rails in the area. arlington is frozen over if anyone is thinking of going there.

2010-12-11T17:43:00.008Z

started off at arlington this morning where a yellow legged gull was seen. next stop was shinewater where 3 drake goosanders, 4+ bearded tits (at least 2 pairs), 2 yellow leggeds gulls, scan herring gull and an adult female caspian gull were found. not feeling very enthusiastic, we finally ended up on pevensey levels. 3 bewicks swan flew into the levels and gave very good views before flying off. we then got news of a white tailed eagle at amberley and within the hour were on site. views were always distant but the bird was seen a few times in flight. a sussex tick for everyone.

2010-12-04T14:27:00.007Z

a nice surprise at arlington this morning was a black throated diver. also there a fine drake goosander, yellow legged gull, 3 scan herring gulls, shelduck and a woodcock tail feather. nearby at shinewater a yellow legged gull and a woodcock were seen.

2010-12-03T12:25:00.004Z

yday: due to heavy snowfall the previous evening, arrived at the marina at dawn. there wasnt actually much going on except for a large passage of skylarks and lesser numbers of lapwings. frustratingly, i had to leave at 8:20 but still managed to rack up 2362 skylarks and 556 lapwings, all heading W at sea. i did manage to return later in the afternoon but with only a 138 skylarks in a hour it was rather boring and i decided to head home. the seal was still present but is actually a common not a grey.

2010-12-01T18:54:00.002Z

an hour of work was all it took to realise it was a waste of time. i headed home and then straight to the marina. highlight were 21 goosanders (but only 2 bloody males) flying w. probably the biggest flock i've seen in sussex. a pom skua paused briefly around the pier and directly over the beach chasing gulls. other odds and ends were 3 lapwing on the beach (also 5 and 23 over) and a grey seal very close in by the west arm. arlington didnt produce anything interesting though there were lots of birds there.

2010-11-13T19:18:00.004Z

another interesting(?) jackdaw, this time on the beach at rottingdean before flying over the cliff. 3 shags returned to the marina this evening and 2 little gulls were at saltdean.

2010-11-11T13:21:00.003Z

5 delightful little gulls and 26 dunlin at arlington late morning.

2010-11-09T17:51:00.003Z

2 goldeneye, 19 dunlin, med gull and a confiding little gull at arlington this evening. oh and my brolly turned up again.

2010-11-08T21:59:00.001Z

2010-11-08T21:58:00.001Z

2010-11-08T21:38:00.004Z

great news this morning, day off work! straight to the marina. the driving rain made it bloody hard work but very little was seen apart from a constant passage of kittiwakes, most in the surf. i decided to cut my loses and return an hour before high tide. arrived at the seafront 11:30. most obvious was the continued passage of kittiwakes, reluctant to pass over the pier most were driven inshore the moment they passed it affording great views and a real treat to see. the total tally was about 1500. other highlights included 2 separate little auks heading E in the surf with kittiwakes, med shear, long tailed duck, rh goosander, 4 arctic skuas and 19 little gulls. everything was very close in. it all went dead by early afternoon with clearer conditions and a lift in the wind. 11 dunlin were at arlington this evening.

2010-11-06T20:41:00.008Z

a dartford was the best at sheepcote. an eastern type jackdaw was at ovingdean briefly in fields between the village and the A259 and a little egret flew north up the through the valley there.

2010-11-06T20:04:00.002Z

late news: a 3rd winter caspian gull, ad yellow legged gull, ad scan herring gull roosted at brighton marina on 4th(thurs).

2010-10-31T12:58:00.003Z

bang on cue, a pallass warbler was found at sheepcote valley this morning. an elusive little bugger, it was first seen in the hedge around whitehawk footy pitch but also heard calling from the camp site. it was sort of tagging onto a small tit flock but the many crests, tits and few chiffs in the area made it hard to relocate. more of a surpise however was a richards pipit flying south calling as we waited for the warbler to show. also treecreeper and 4 firecrests. a firecrest was at ovingdean and the deer still present there.

yday: 2 raven, ring ouzel and 2 firecrests sheepcote. wheatear and 200 skylarks ovingdean.

2010-10-24T13:08:00.004+01:00

just visited ovingdean this morning. very little in the bushes but a great deal going on overhead with the following totals between 8:00-11:00am: 1259 fieldfares, 50 stock doves, 6 house martins, 117 bramblings!, 3 redwings, 16 reed buntings, 209 chaffinches, woodlark, 2 great spots, mistle thrush, 6 redpolls, 379 jackdaws, 2 ring ouzels, c.20 blue tits, 18 cormorants, golden plover, 8 magpies (all high in the sky) and several siskins. also shit loads (many many thousands) of wood pigeons but i did not count them due to concentrating on everything else. i didnt want to leave especially as chaffinches began coming thru more frequently but had to due to family commitments.

2010-10-17T15:56:00.003+01:00

sat 16th: rather quiet at sheepcote. a little egret, merlin, 2 ring ouzels and 14 stonechats (10 males) were noteworthy. little egrets is still a good sighting here. an avocet was in the cuckmere viewed from seaford head eventually landing in a field near foxhole barn, arlington bird? bins only.

2010-10-11T20:02:00.009+01:00

expectations were running high today. it was the last day of my holiday and there had been shit loads up the east coast yesterday. unfortunately the 'mega' never materialised but it was still an enjoyable day. the wind made birding hard work. best of the bunch at sheepcote were 11 ring ouzels. ovingdean was dead, i then went to newhaven heights. the usual walk around the cliff tops revealled a ring ouzel but then decided to head down to the base of the cliffs to search for rare wheatears. i parked the car and began walking along the cliff base. i flushed a thrush into some grass near an out building and went over to have a second look. it was just a song thrush but then right infront of me was an adult rose coloured starling. it ended up showing well feeding on the grassy slopes but was rather flighty. it possibly flew over the cliff top but i cant confirm this. the day ended with 2 ring ouzels in cow gap

though the bird appears adult, i was wondering if this bird is a 2nd winter. on closer inspection there is contrast between the glossy coverts and duller primaries and the nape had a slight brown wash.

2010-10-10T00:45:00.001+01:00

highlight of the day was a great grey shrike found this afternoon at ovingdean. the bird was in the NW corner of the horse paddocks to the NW of the main farm buildings in the centre of the village. a satisfying find tick, i've always wanted to find me own and i've been checking this area in particular for such species. other sightings today included a turtle dove and firecrest at sheepcote.

2010-10-08T18:11:00.002+01:00

another quiet day at sheepcote. other than the owl, not much to shout about. a brambling and a flock of c.45 blue tits flew high west over the top level. at ovingdean an osprey flew west and a flock of c.20 blue tits were by the farm building before flying off high to the west. twenty mins later a flock of 7 done the same. a single blue tit also flew west along the cliff top at newhaven heights.

2010-10-08T10:35:00.002+01:00

2010-10-08T06:55:00.004+01:00

additional dross from yday included a woodlark flying south at ovingdean, turtle dove at newhaven and firecest at cow gap.

2010-10-07T11:37:00.003+01:00

plenty of stuff flying over sheepcote with goldfinches, siskins, chaffinches and hirundines being the most abundant. bushes relatively quiet and the mornings highlights were a marsh harrier flying south, ring ouzel and a gropper (yes, just a bog standard gropper).