The first Brents

This week's birding Monday started off with a garden watch HERE in a north east breeze and partly cloudy skies, where highlights included a Firecrest, the start of the Chaffinch migration with 11 over, a couple of Chiffs and Blackcap, 2 Egyptian Geese and a Robin flew into the conservatory which we caught and released with the boys.

After the school run I then dropped into Ferry where the juvenile Little Stint was still present, there were 13 Stonechats in the field and 122 Lapwing were on the islands. Also my autumn's first Rock Pipit was flying around calling. The pool has been flooded now and it looks like the predator fence has been completed. Will be interesting how this habitat develops. 

I then headed over to East Side HERE for the rising tide which highlights including 2 Spotted Redshank, 4 Knot, a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull, a late Reed Warbler in the Breach Pool reeds, 12 Chiffchaff in the Sallows, a Marsh Harrier and the usual selection of waders and wildfowl including a couple of Avocet. 

After lunch with Holly at East Wittering I then went over to East Head and had a walk round the Dunes waiting for the tide to fall and then did Snowhill Marsh with Alan. The Dunes were quite interesting with 2 Dartford Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, 6 Stonechat, 1 Wheatear, 9 Chiffchaff and a few Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. There was also a Yellow Wagtail on Snowhill and a selection of wildfowl and waders which were present yesterday. HERE. Highlight of the afternoon was a flock of 12 Brent Geese which flew up the harbour, my first of the autumn. 

Easterlies are forecast for tomorrow and Yellow-brows are already influxing on the east coast and northern isles so hopefully plenty will arrive tomorrow and maybe one or two might filter down to us. 

There was a slight uptick in the moth trap with the highlight being a Dusky Lemon Sallow, a NFY.

Dartford Warblers (above and below) with Stonechat (below). An influx of Stonechat today across the Peninsula, I logged 19 myself but will be more at Medmerry and elsewhere (in fact there were 35 at Medmerry and more on the North Wall and Long Pool  HERE so probably well over 60 birds locally today). These are also my first Dartford Warblers away from the breeding area. 

Lesser Whitethroat

Chiffchaff- good numbers around 

First-winter Yellow-legged Gull 

My first autumn Brents 

Robin and Isaac 

A nicely marked Vestal 

Dusky Lemon Sallow