16th April, 2011. Beachy Head. Overcast & misty. NW 1

Another dire day at Beachy. Sea-mist prevented any sea-watch and only odd migrants seen as follows:

Sparrowhawk 1

Peregrine 2

Swallow 6

Alba Wagtail 6 W

Wheatear 3

Common Whitethraot 10

Garden Warbler 1 Shooters Bottom (our first for the year).

Blackcap 3

Chiffchaff 3

Willow Warbler 5

Raven 1

Linnet 60 W

Peacock 2

Small Copper 1

A misty Seven Sisters

Garden Warbler in Shooters Bottom

15th April, 2011. Beachy Head. Overcast, E 2

RDME sea-watched from 06.40 to 08.10 and then birded the Birling lane and then around to Belle Tout wood and Shooters Bottom. He met up with PN & MN and also RKH who were also working areas on the Headland. Combined totals as follows:

Red Throated Diver 1 E

Black Throated Diver 3 E

Diver Sp. 1 on sea.

Great Crested Grebe 1 W

Gannet 66 E & 32 W

Brent Goose 2 E

Shelduck 2 W

Common Scoter 2 E

Whimbrel 35 E

Bonxie 1 E

Greater Black Back Gull 50 in field at Birling.

Sandwich Tern 9 E & 2 W

Swallow 1

Wheatear 1 Greenland type.

Grasshopper Warbler 1 sang briefly in Shooters Bottom (RKH).

Common Whitethroat 5

Blackcap 2

Chiffchaff 1

Willow Warbler 1

Firecrest 1 Birling

Raven 2

Corn Bunting 1

14th April,2011.Beachy Head. Overcast, cool SW 0-1

Doreen and myself sea-watched again this morning and were joined by TWP & RHC. Sea-watch lasted for 3 hours but again proved disappointing, with not a single skua being seen, considering the conditions. We then covered most of the areas on the Headland including the rough field:

DC did an evening sea-watch between 18.30-20.00 hrs and had two sizeable flocks of Whimbrels moving totalling 110.

Red Throated Diver 9 E

Gannet 20 E & 40 W

Little Egret 1 E a good way out off Birling and appeared to be a genuine migrant.

Brent Goose 5 E

Shelduck 6 E

Mallard 1 E

Common Scoter 371 E

Red Br. Merganser 5 E

Whimbrel 110 E

Sandwich Tern 65 E

Wheatear 11

Common Whitethroat 1

Blackcap 2

Chiffchaff 2

Willow Warbler 6

Raven 1

13th April, 2011. Beachy Head Overcast cool, WNW 0-1

Sea-watched from 06.30-08.00, in good light conditions, but must have been one of my worst sea-watches of all time. We then walked the Headland visiting most of the birding sites, but again

very slow. Met up with PN who like us had seen very little:

Gannet 10 chiefly W

Sandwich Tern 1 E

Peregrine 1

Collared Dove 1 at Birling

Tawny Owl 1

Swallow 1

Wheatear 2

Common Whitethroat 4

Blackcap 4

Chiffchaff 3

Willow Warbler 4

Long Tailed Tit 2

Raven 1

Goldfinch 5 W

Corn Bunting 1

First Early Purple of the year.

12th April, 2011 Beachy Head. Part cloudy, cold NW 4/5

RDME covered the Old Trapping Area, Belle Tout Wood, and also covered Whitbread Hollow, Cow Gap and the Gully/beach area. He met up with PN & RKH who were working sites on the Head.

A general clear out of the few migrants seen yesterday: With a cold NW wind no sea-watch was attempted:

Sparrowhawk 1

Whitethroat 2

Blackcap 3

Chiffchaff 3

Willow warbler 1

Long Tailed Tit 2

Raven 1

On the 8th April, 2 RedKites were seen on the ground, one

had wing-tabs being blue and yellow 10. We have now found

out that it was ringed and wing-tagged on the 26th June, 2010

at Kingsclere, Hants. This picture shows our bird in the middle.

(photograph courtesy of Keith Betton).

11th April, 2011.Beachy Head Sunny with mist out to sea. WNW 1

Doreen and myself first did a sea-watch for 1.5 hrs and we then covered most of the sites on the

Headland including the rough field. We briefly met up with RDME who covered several of the sites on the Headland before walking Whitbread Hollow, the Gully and Cow Gap. We contacted RKH & RHC when the Pied Flycatcher was found.

The following are combined totals from ourselves & RDME:

Red Throated Diver 1 on sea

Shelduck 1 E

Common Scoter 14 E

Red Kite 1 drifted W over the Top Fields.

Common Buzzard 1 soaring over the Top Fields.

Arctic Skua 2 d/p E

Sandwich Tern 8 E

Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 drumming Whitbread Hollow.

Swallow 1

Nightingale 1 Whitbread Hollow (first for the year).

Stonechat 3 pairs

Wheatear 6 (including 2 leucorhoa, in the Gully above B/T wood).

Lesser Whitethroat 1 steps in Cow Gap. (first for the year).

Common Whitethroat 8

Blackcap 4-5

Chiffchaff 4

Willow Warbler 20-25

Pied Flycatcher 1 1stS.male in the Old Trapping Area.

Raven 2

Bullfinch 2 Whitbread Hollow.

Peacock 4+

Small Copper 1

Dotted Bee-fly 2 Birling

3 possibly 6 Bottle Nosed Dolphins type off Birling.

Red Kite over the Top Fields (RKH)

1st S male Pied Flycatcher in the Old Trapping Area.

Pair of Greenland type Wheatears in the Gully above Belle Tout wood.

These pictures show the male bird, race leucorhoa.

Large heavy looking birds with long upright legs, upright stance and long primaries.

They would fly and land on top of the small bushes inthe Gully and again very upright stance.

10th April 2011 Beachy Head Seawatch 6.15-9.15am NE2 Clear

Red-throated Diver 4E

Black-throated Diver 1 s/p

Canada Goose 2E, 2W, 2 in off

Shelduck 8E

Merganser 17E

Scoter 87E, 3W

Shoveler 7E

Kestrel 1

Curlew 4E

Arctic Skua 5E

Bonxie 1E

Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 ad. graellsii

Black-headed Gull 60

Little Gull 8E

Sandwich Tern 106E

Commic Tern 71E

Little Tern 2E

Tawny Owl 1

Swallow 12

Sand Martin 3

House Martin 1

Wheatear 4

Pied Wagtail 3

White Wagtail 2 (1 in rough field & 1 in B/T car park).

alba Wagtail 1

Whitethroat 11

Blackcap 7

Chiffchaff 12

Willow Warbler 3

Raven 2

Carrion Crow 11 in off sea

Small White 2

Small Copper 1

Brimstone 2

Peacock 5

Small Tortoiseshell 4

Cetacean sp. 2-3 off Birling Gap

RHC had a Common Swift over Hodcombe (our earliest ever record).

Male Blackcap in Belle Tout Wood

Raven and Carrion Crow above Whitbread Hollow

Raven at Whitbread Hollow

Small Copper at Birling Gap

Brimstone at Belle Tout

Small White in Whitbread Hollow