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

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.

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

started off around lewes brooks where 10 egyptian geese and 3 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.

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

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.

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

yday: 3 bitterns together at willingdon levels.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 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.

a nice surprise at arlington this morning was a black throated diver.

yday: 2362 skylarks and 556 lapwings flew west at sea off brighton marina between dawn and 8.20. i did manage to return later in the afternoon but with only 138 skylarks in a hour it was rathar boring and headed home.

21 goosanders (but only 2 bloody males) flew west off Brighton marina and a pom skua paused briefly around the pier and directly over the beach.

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

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.