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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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