Sunday 12 August 2012

12 August 2012 Beachy Head Fine & warm E 3-4

Although still a good easterly wind, there appeared to be very little in the way of new arrivals overnight with probably most of the migrants were left-overs from the previous days. Also diurnal migration was virtually non-existence. We covered the Headland sites including the rough field, with JK & PN and we also saw RK and RKH briefly. Bob was ringing and birding in Whitbread Hollow. Birds ringed are shown in brackets. 


Met Office View:
The UK sits between an area of low and high pressure, with a couple of troughs in between lying across Northern Ireland and southwest England. These troughs are associated with lines of heavy showers and local thunderstorms. Weather fronts out to the west behind these troughs are expected to move eastwards for tomorrow:

Cormorant A flock of 15 E
Sparrowhawk 1
Common Buzzard 1
Peregrine 4
Common Sandpiper 1
Arctic Skua 1 juv. off Birling
Swift 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1
Sand Martin 1
Swallow 10
Common Redstart 1 ad male still in Shooters Bottom
Wheatear 26 with 20 still in cut-grass field.
Sedge Warbler 1 (1)
Reed Warbler 2 (2)
Lesser Whitethroat 1
Common Whitethroat 43 (2)
Garden Warbler 3 (2)
Chiffchaff 1
Willow Warbler 19 (1)
Raven 1
Bullfinch 1 in the Hotel Garden departed high to the E until out of sight.

Peacock 1
Small Tortoiseshell 1
Wall 2
Essex Skipper 1
Dark Green Fritillary 1
Red Admiral 2

Late news for yesterday was of a Merlin seen in the fields at Birling by RK. This is our earliest Autumn record since regular watching was commenced in 1960 with our previous earliest was on the 14 August, 1996.







 

Essex Skipper in the Old Trapping Area
Shows the black underside of the antennae also the
more distinct black and white outer borders from Small Skipper


Wall in the Old Trapping Area


 Peacock in the Hotel Garden



Adult male Common Redstart in Shooters Bottom