21 August 2013 Beachy Head Fine sunny with 1/8 cloud cover W 1-2

Bob was ringing in Whitbread Hollow and had small numbers of migrants with an influx of Common Whitethroats.
Birds ringed in brackets.

Great-Spotted Woodpecker 1
Nightingale 1
Reed Warbler 9 (5)
Lesser Whitethroat 5 (4)
Common Whitethroat 45 (19)
Blackcap 4 (3)
Chiffchaff 2 (2)
Willow Warbler 10 (5)
Bullfinch 2

Small Tortoiseshell 5
Clouded Yellow 1
Red Admiral 1

19 August 2013 Beachy Head Overcast with good sunny periods warm WNW 1 increasing to 2-3

Covered all the usual sites on the Headland and also walked up to Cornish Farm. Met up with both RB and GG. RDME was ringing in Whitbread Hollow. A fairly quiet morning with just a scattering of migrants.

Birds ringed in brackets.

Kestrel 1

Peregrine 1

Collared Dove 1

Great-spotted Woodpecker 1

Sand Martin 3

Swallow 50

Tree Pipit 3

Yellow Wagtail 10

Common Redstart 3

Whinchat 1

Reed Warbler 1

Lesser Whitethroat 3 (1)

Common Whitethroat 60 (11)

Garden Warbler 1 (1)

Blackcap 1

Chiffchaff 1 (1)

Willow Warbler 47 (13)

Spotted Flycatcher 1

Raven 1

Goldfinch 17

Bullfinch 2 Hollow

Small Tortoiseshell 2

Wall 1

Brown Argus 3

Common Blue 50

Painted Lady 1

 

Yellow Wagtail at Cornish Farm

17 August 2013 Beachy Head Overcast SW 1-3

We covered most of the sites on the Headland with JK and we also met up with RK. The BHRG were ringing in Whitbread Hollow. Willow Warbler numbers were low on the Headland but a reasonable fall occurred in the Hollow although birds had soon moved on. Otherwise there was just a thin scattering of other night migrants in the area.
Birds ringed in brackets

Sparrowhawk 1
Kestrel 1
Tawny Owl 1
Sand Martin 30
Swallow 40
Tree Pipit 2
Yellow Wagtail 3
Nightingale 1 calling Chat Vale
Common Redstart 1
Grasshopper Warbler 1 (1)
Sedge Warbler 3 (1)
Reed Warbler 4 (4)
Lesser Whitethroat 2
Common Whitethroat 46 (8)
Garden Warbler 1 (1)
Blackcap 3 (2)
Willow Warbler 90 (38)
Spotted Flycatcher 1
Raven 2
Bullfinch 1 ad.

Meadow Brown 50
Clouded Yellow 1
Wall 3
Common Blue 30
Chalk Hill Blue 30

Clouded Yellow near Birling

16 August 2013 Beachy Head Overcast with drizzle at times, W 2-3

RDME paid a brief visit to the Head and covered a few sites and also briefly visited the Hollow. Migrant numbers were very low,with the areas visit were very quiet and no diurnal migration was logged.

Stonechat The pair of continental birds were still present in Shooters Bottom with 2 small young.
Reed Warbler 1
Common Whitethroat 15
Willow Warbler 2
Bullfinch 1 Juvenile

14 August 2013 Beachy Head Fine & sunny Wind light and variable

 We covered virtually all the areas on the Headland meeting up with RKH & RK. Bob and Sarah were ringing in Whitbread Hollow. Another good fall and quite a nice variety of common night migrants which included our largest fall this Autumn of Willow Warblers which included some Northern acredula race individuals.
Birds trapped in brackets

Tawny Owl 1
Swift 4
Sand Martin 3
Swallow 50
Tree Pipit 1
Nightingale 1 calling Chat Vale
Common Redstart 2
Whinchat 1
Wheatear 2
Sedge Warbler 5 (1)
Reed Warbler 12 (5)
Lesser Whitethroat 8 (1)
Common Whitethroat 51 (4)
Garden Warbler 2 (1)
Blackcap 2 (1)
Willow Warbler 180 (33) (including several acredula race)
Raven 2 +

Peacock 1
Small Tortoiseshell 2
Clouded Yellow 1
Common Blue 12+
Dark Green Fritillary 1
Red Admiral 1
Silver Y moth c40
Migrant Hawker 5

Sedge Warbler at Birling (the last two pictures taken in shadow)

Garden Warbler in the Old Trapping Area

Whinchat in Chat Vale taken by Ron Knight

 

Northern Willow Warbler (p.t.acredula) at Birling

Willow Warbler (p. trochilus) with Northern Willow Warbler

(p.t.acredula) in Whitbread Hollow taken by Sarah McKenzie.

1stW Pied Flycatcher in Whitbread Hollow on the 10th August

taken by Veronica Yee.

This bird has still retained some of its juvenile feathers on the crown and

lower back.

Belgian Air Force F16 over Beachy, taken by Ron Knight

13 August 2013 Beachy Head Clear, sunny but cooler. NW veering to WNW 2-3

 A cooler morning and we covered virtually all the areas on the Headland. RDME visited Whitbread Hollow and we also met up with RHC & PN. Another decent fall of Willow Warblers also 9 Wheatears but the highlight was a female Hen Harrier which graced Chat Vale area for some 50 minutes.

Adult female Hen Harrier over Chat Vale from 09.10-10.00 hrs. (Our earliest Autumn date was on the 10/8/1997).
Sparrowhawk 1
Sand Martin 2
Swallow 25
Tree Pipit 1
Wheatear 9
Sedge Warbler 1
Reed Warbler 1
Common Whitethroat 37
Blackcap 1
Chiffchaff 2
Willow Warbler 100
Jay 2
Starling 300
Bullfinch 1 Juv Hollow

Brown Argus 2
Chalk Hill Blue 50
Silver Spotted Skipper 20 (inc. 10 showing in Shooters Bottom)
Small White 20

Common Whitethroat - living up to its name.

Willow Warbler - Another decent fall today

 

 

 

 Adult female Hen Harrier over Chat Vale

12 August 2013 Beachy Head Overcast mild NW 0-1

We covered most of the sites on the Headland and RDME was ringing in Whitbread Hollow. Although the weather seemed perfect for a decent fall of night migrants, the Headland was extremely quiet with only a thin scattering of migrants. Whitbread Hollow was initially quiet, but then a fall of migrants occurred around 7.30 am when the majority of birds were trapped and then they quickly moved on.

Birds ringed in brackets.

Common Buzzard 1

Great-spotted Woodpecker 2

Sand Martin 15

Swallow 35

Grasshopper Warbler 1 (1)

Sedge Warbler 4 (4)

Reed Warbler 6 (5)

Lesser Whitethroat 3 (1)

Common Whitethroat 24 (6)

Garden Warbler 4 (4)

Willow Warbler 71 (40)

Long-tailed Tit  2

Greenfinch 2 W

Bullfinch 2+

Clouded Yellow 1

Painted Lady 2

Young Fox in Chat Vale

11 August 2013 Beachy Head Cool Overcast with heavy showers SW 5

Arrived at Birling to a cool miserable morning with a strong SW breeze. A walk up the lane produced virtually nothing and therefore decided on a short sea-watch which was also unproductive. We next visited Shooters Bottom  with the 2 Nightingales still croaking but little else seen. The Old Trapping Area produced a brief Pied Flycatcher which departed abruptly, and little was seen in the Hotel Garden. It then became misty with a very heavy shower and we therefore decided to call it a day.

Fulmar 7
Gannet 12 E & 3 W
Common Scoter 9 E
Kittiwake Small numbers of juveniles W
Nightingale 2 calling in Shooters Bottom
Lesser Whitethroat 1
Common Whitethroat 9
Willow Warbler 7
Pied Flycatcher 1 Old Trapping Area departed E
Raven 2+

10 August 2013 Beachy Head Overcast cool becoming warm NE 3

A somewhat slow start on the Head but migrants became more in evidence after the sun came out and it warmed up. We covered all the areas on the Headland and members of the BHRG were ringing in Whitbread Hollow. The highlight being a Pied Flycatcher trapped in the Hollow and our highest number of Willow Warblers for the year so far.
Birds trapped in brackets.

Common Buzzard 1
Kestrel 2
Peregrine 1 juv.
Swift 12
Great-spotted Woodpecker 1
Sand Martin 24
Swallow 20
Nightingale 2
Common Redstart 1
Stonechat 11
Wheatear 1
Sedge Warbler 3 (1)
Reed Warbler 9 (5)
Lesser Whitethroat 1
Common Whitethroat 42 (2)
Garden Warbler 5 (2)
Blackcap 5 (1)
Chiffchaff 4 (4)
Willow Warbler 115 (31)
Pied Flycatcher 1 (1)
Raven 3
Bullfinch 3 (1)

Clouded Yellow 1
Wall 2
Common Blue 10
Marbled White 2
Dark Green Firtillary 1
Painted Lady 7
Comma 2
Red Admiral 6
Emperor Dragonfly 3
Common Blue Damselfly 1

Oystercatchers over the sea off Birling

Garden Warbler at Birling

Garden Warbler in the Hotel Garden

 

Reed Warbler at Birling

Willow Warbler - Our best day so far this Autumn for Willows.

 

Common Whitethroat in the Hotel Garden

Wall Butterfly at Belle Tout

Small Copper in The Old Trapping Area

Common Blue Damselfly in the Old Trapping Area

8 August 2013 Beachy Head Fine sunny becoming hot NE 1 backing SW 1-2

We arrived  at Birling at 06.15 and good numbers of Willow Warblers were seen up the lane with a nice selection of other night migrants. As we moved over the Headland, numbers dropped away with only a few migrants being seen in The Old Trapping Area and Hotel Garden and by 9.30 there were just a few stragglers left in the area. We covered virtually all the sites on the Head and RDME was trapping in Whitbread Hollow. We also met up with RB & PN & MN.

An interesting grey looking Reed Warbler showed well in Shooters Bottom and a photograph appears below.

Birds ringed are shown in brackets.

Good numbers of butterflies were also present.

Sparrowhawk 1

Kestrel 1

Yellow-legged Gull 2 Juvs coasted W off Birling

Great-spotted Woodpecker 4

Sand Martin 15 E

Swallow 40

Nightingale 1

Common Redstart 1

Grasshopper Warbler 2 (2)

Sedge Warbler 11 (1)

Reed Warbler 12 (7)

Lesser Whitethroat 2

Common Whitethroat 50

Garden Warbler 2 (1)

Blackcap 3

Chiffchaff 1 (1)

Willow Warbler 81 (12)

Spotted Flycatcher 1

Jay 2

Greenfinch 3

Bullfinch 2 (1 Juv )

Peacock 4

Small Tortoiseshell 4

Brimstone 1

Clouded Yellow 3

Brown Argus 2

Adonis Blue 1 very fresh male

Chalk Hill Blue 100+

Marbled White 1

Silver-spotted Skipper 6

Dark Green Fritillary 1

Painted Lady 3

Silver Y Moth 60+

Emperor Dragonfly 1 male

Record shot of today's Spotted Flycatcher at Birling

Another decent fall of Willow Warblers, but most had moved on by 8.30 am.

Normal looking Reed Warbler at Birling

Reed Warbler in Shooters Bottom - Almost grey enough for a Blyth's.

Two more pictures of the grey looking Reed Warbler in Shooters Bottom.

Although it appeared very grey, structurally it did not stand out and as different to a Reed 

Warbler. On referring to Advanced Bird ID Handbook by Duivendijk, which states that

Blyth's shows a faint dark shadow on  the tip of the lower  mandible, which this bird clearly

 doesn't. We have seen grey Reed Warblers in the past at Beachy and I also found one on 

the Shetlands. On this occasion,  I contacted two experienced observers, one of which was 

a member of the BBRC, and both watched this grey acro. with myself. We all considered it 

may be a Blyth's and decided to trap it. In the hand the measurements clearly identified

it to be a Reed Warbler.

Another Reed Warbler - Our best day this Autumn for Reed Warblers

Clouded Yellow - 3 were seen on the Head today