2011: Winter: 9/2 5 E with Brents, Spring Sea-watches: Recorded on just three dates 25/3 1 E, 4/4 2 E, 9/4 2 E. Autumn: 13/11 2 high E out to sea. Birds seen on the 9/2 & 13/11 may have been genuine migrants. Per B.H.Log.
(Always difficult to judge if birds seen off Beachy are of local origin or genuine migrants. Ringing recoveries have shown that local orgin birds are very sedentary, although there is a large wintering population in Southern Spain from Scandivinian and Iceland, and some birds seen moving past Beachy could relate to migrants on the move, although large numbers have never been recorded past Beachy and they are not annually recorded.)
DARK BELLIED BRENT GOOSE
2011: Jan & Feb: A total of 887 moved East on 10 dates with a daily maximum of 701 East on the 9/2. Spring sea-watches: A total of 1,899 were recorded moving East on 16 dates from 6/3 to 20/4. Daily Maximums of 492 on the 26/3. Autumn: Recorded on 8 dates with 623 moved W between the 17/9 (27 W) to 26/11 with the daily maximum of 415 W on the 9/10. On the 8/3 a leucistic bird was seen in a party of Brents. Per B.H.Log.
(Generally a poor year, although in some years Brents can move in large numbers during the early Spring when sea-watching is not so intense. Our last good year was in 2006, when a total of 8,507 birds were logged moving East during the Spring. During the 1960’s & early 70’s far smaller numbers were recorded, as the wintering population in the West was far less, than it is now).
EGYPTIAN GOOSE
2011: 3/1 1 W at 08.40, was first seen way out off Birling, it then flew towards us, before departing West still out to sea J.F.Cooper & D.Cooper. This is just our 2nd record for Beachy with the first being in 2006, and generally reflects the small increase in numbers now being recorded in Sussex.
(On the 17/4, 1 a long way out to sea, was considered to be either an Egyptian Goose or a Ruddy Shelduck, but was just to far out to be certain J.F.Cooper & D.Cooper).
MUTE SWAN
(Our largest daily total to date).
MUTE SWAN
2011: 8 E on the 6/5 Per B.H.Log
