Friday 10 August 2012

10 August 2012 Beachy Head Fine hot & sunny SE-E 1

With the continuation of the fine settled weather, there was another small fall of common night migrants on the Headland during the first couple of hours, but as the temperature increased migrant numbers dropped away sharply and with the Eastbourne airdisplay week-end, the number of tourists increased rapidly. We met up with Peter at Birling and birded all the sites from Birling lane to Icky Ridge.


Met. Office View:
High pressure sits across the UK bringing dry, settled weather. A low pressure system in the Atlantic, to the west of Spain, will deepen over the coming days and head towards the UK, bringing a change to much more unsettled weather into next week.

Marsh Harrier 1 Juv. E over Icky Ridge @ 11.05. (Our first for the year)
Peregrine 1 ad male
Greenshank 1 E over Birling
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 near Belle Tout wood
Swallow 50 E
Nightingale 1 E side of Belle Tout wood.
Common Redstart 2 in Shooters Bottom
Wheatear 18
Sedge Warbler 8
Reed Warbler 1
Lesser Whitethroat 6
Common Whitethroat 60
Willow Warbler 70
Raven 1

Brimstone 1
Brown Argus 1
Chalk-hill Blue c100
Small Copper 2
Silver Spotted Skipper 2
Comma 1
Red Admiral 4
Gatekeeper 20

Migrant Hawker 2





Silver Spotted Skippers near Belle Tout



A rare sight at Beachy an Autumn Brimstone in the Hotel Garden



Green Woodpecker trapped in Whitbread Hollow
on the 3rd August. (Picture by Sarah McKenzie)