Marsh Harrier

A good day for raptors. After warming up with Hobby and Peregrine, Paul S had two sightings of (presumably a single) Marsh Harrier, which came in from the North before working its way East along the escarpment and was then seen again over the village.

Firecrest on the escarpment

Cold and windy up on the escarpment early on Bank Holiday Monday  morning, and few birds were showing themselves. But a second go at the scrub west of the Beacon car park revealed an early Firecrest, plus a couple of Wheatears.

In the same area, a (presumed) family group of four Buzzards, a few Red-legged Partridges still chuntering and a single hare lying in the sun.

Yellow Wagtails

There’s been some good migration through Sussex in recent days, including decent numbers of Redstarts, Pied Flycatchers and Yellow Wagtails at Seaford and Beachy (not to mention a couple of Hoopoes in West Sussex – can we have a couple over this side please?)

I went up onto the escarpment mid-morning today with an unruly dog and a three-year-old in tow, not expecting to see much, but the numbers of Yellow Wagtails were impossible to miss.

At least fifteen, probably many more, passed over us in the course of an hour, and coming back to the car past a field of cows a single loose group of 15+ birds came noisily over us, close enough to see the colour without bins.

This is easily the most I’ve seen in one go in Firle, and the first since a single overhead during the spring.

There was also a Wheatear near the Beacon car park, and a few Willow Warblers and Blackcaps in the scrub, while yesterday afternoon a pair of Ravens were seen over the Plantation.

Round-headed Rampion etc

After three years or so of exchanging comments on our blogs, it was great to finally meet Steve Kingsdowner (I’m adopting the NME tradition of calling band members by their first name followed by the name of the band they’re in – works for bloggers too). Steve hails from the chalky bit of East Kent, so it was fascinating to hear his take on the differences as he sees them between our home county (we’re both originally from Maidstone) and my adopted one.

There were few birds to be seen last Saturday afternoon, although I was careful to tell Steve about every bird I had previously seen in each spot we visited during our walk (did I protest too much?).

Indeed, I think I got the better half of the deal. Because I learnt quite a lot about some of the weeds I’m prone to ignoring, such as the Round-headed Rampion pictured above, which I thought was a) not there, and b) probably Devil’s Bit Scabious anyway, but what do I know?

I also learnt not to demand specific ID of dandelions/hawkbits, because apparently they’re impossible to tell apart and it’s therefore quite rude to ask.

I was able to (part) identify this Dor Beetle that Steve snapped.

I can only claim part because I couldn’t remember the wonderful common name, Lousy Watchman – so named ‘Lousy’ because of the colony of mites that you can often find on its undercarriage. A bit grisly, which I find tends to appeal to any children who are shown the evidence.

We also saw a Wall brown butterfly or two and some flowering Silverweed (apparently it doesn’t bother flowering very much) but later in the evening Steve went on to record much more unusual items, such as Red Star-Thistle and Moon Carrot at Seaford Head (read all about it over on his excellent blog).

Black Redstart

A Black Redstart (amid many commoner birds) feeding on flying ants in the paddocks just south of the village – watched for 20 minutes by Paul S.

A fem/imm bird, this is the first record in the period I’ve been keeping track, since 2005. It follows a bird reported at High and Over (Alfriston) a few days ago.

Common Blues

Common Blues by Mary Berridge

A great lot of Common Blues down the Bostal road, near Chalky Road – Paul counted 83 last night.

These two performed for Mary’s camera today.

Reverse jinx Red Kite

Left the house this morning saying I wouldn’t be late back (I’m always late back) because there are no birds to distract me at this time of year.

Well, the reverse jinx gods were listening in, because 10 minutes later I was watching a Red Kite drifting over the Old Coach Road.

While no longer rare here, to see one is still a pleasant surprise. This one was attended by two incredibly persistent crows (vel-crows?), as it sailed over Firle Plantation and then back across the track, disappearing out of view as it headed towards the village.

Between that point and Beanstalk, there were a few Bullfinch-y noises coming from the Pleasure Gardens (young birds?), a definite young Chiffchaff very close along the track (and a fleshy-legged counterpart that may have been a Willow Warbler) plus Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Meanwhile back in the village a Coal Tit has started singing again, after an absence of two months or so. Recently relieved of parental duties, perhaps?

The tail of The Ram Herring Gull – no end in sight

I see lots of Herring Gulls in Brighton. Yes, I’m pretty observant.

But in Firle, as noted previously, we have a pioneering, partially-feathered fellow that I have particular soft spot for.

Having not seen him (her?) for a few months, it warmed my early-morning dog-walking cockles to see the Tail-less One raiding the bins at The Ram on Tuesday morning.

Unlike its ballsy Brighton contemporaries, who will fly only when it looks like you’re about to kick them in the face, this one is gratifyingly wild in its behaviour (if you ignore, for a moment, its propensity for the pub’s rubbish).

It invariably flies before I get a decent photo (thumbnail above offered as evidence), and then spends the next few minutes circling around the Park and cricket field, cackling in territorial fashion all the while. In the coolness of the early morning, before the A27 has wound up, it’s a great, evocative sound.

I don’t particularly want Herring Gulls to colonise Firle. But if this charismatic one-off wants to stay on, that would be just fine by me.

Hummer, juv Spot Fly, and one that got away

Swallow at Middle Farm, June 2010 by SheffieldPenguin

Plenty of young birds around Firle over recent weeks.

Chalky Road is host to a good mix of juvenile finches – Gold, Green, Chaff and Linnets.

Nuthatches have performed their usual mid-summer reappearance, and can be heard all around the centre of the village, for the first time since early spring.

Rarity is often relative, and on 8 July Paul S had a possible Firle mega – a mystery warbler that was probably a Reed feeding in his garden in the afternoon. Yes, don’t all twitch at once.

Alas, attempts to pin it down drew a blank, but Paul had some consolation in the form of a newly-fledged Spotted Flycatcher alongside an adult (in almost exactly the same spot as mine last year, though a full three weeks earlier this time).

When I joined Paul later on for stakeout, a Hummingbird Hawkmoth nectaring on newly-planted red valerian was my first of the year.

And this evening, Paul had a Peregrine over the centre of the village, and a good July count of around 60 House Martins at Place Farm. This healthy crew bodes well for the late summer build-up of local birds supplemented by migrants – a good chance they’ll top 300 in August?

Glynde Reach

Belated report about an ill-advised trip the weekend before last, along the scratchiest possible route up the Reach from Glynde Station.

A Lapwing was in the sedgy field over the road from the train station, as Kevin B had mentioned. It called and circled madly as if territorial when I passed, but no second adult or young birds were seen.

Along the Reach a Reed Bunting was still ‘singing’, in as much as they do, and Reed Warblers carried food low over the water.

A mixed bag of geese was mainly made up of Canadas, including a dozen or so young, but also a couple of Greylags – greater numbers of which tend to prefer the stretch up by Beddingham roundabout.

There were also a dozen Marbled Whites here, and a blue damselfly that I photographed far too poorly to ID after the event. Distant over Glyndeourne, a Buzzard soared.

When the brambles and nettles finally forced me to turn back, I retreated over to the Beddingham side of the station, where there was a Yellowhammer singing from the same spot as in April, and where two Little Owls briefly called in a moment of mid-day madness.

Over on Caburn, a Kestrel hunted it favourite stretch, while on the bank of the Reach, a largish grass snake was disturbed from (almost) underfoot – warm enough by now to move with some zip.