A dawn until dusk birding excursion to the east with Richard was a fairly quiet affair on the 2nd. We started off at Rye Harbour where no Bitterns were seen from the (non) Bittern viewpoint, though eight
Great White Egrets were seen leaving. We walked around to Castle Water, Long Pit and finished off at Oyster Creek where a
Goldeneye on Long Pit and a great view of a
Cetti's Warbler at Castle Water were the highlights. A walk out to Flat Beach didn't produce any Twite.
Scotney GP produced two
Avocets but again little else was around so we headed off west (a
Tree Sparrow being the highlight on route) to Pett Levels where fortunately there were many birds to see. Our 8th
Marsh Harrier cruised by spooking the many Lapwings on the fields, where two
Ruff were found mixed in. Offshore was more productive with two flocks of
Velvet Scoter totalling 11 birds. Many
Red-throated Divers and
Common Scoter were also present. A
Great White Egret and a couple of
Bearded Tits meant the day had been saved slightly.
A return visit to the viewpoint at Rye saw three
Great White Egrets return to the reedbed.
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| Starlings at Castle Water |
On the 3rd, an afternoon jaunt over to Dell Quay (Chichester harbour) produced superb views of the Long-tailed Duck. I didn't bother searching for the Water Pipit or small Grebes, but five Greenshank were nice. I wanted to see the Harrier action at Amberley and decided the lower path at Rackham would be a good viewing area. After walking into an invisible ditch and submerging my left leg, I had fine views of the ringtail Hen Harrier, three Marsh Harriers, several Red Kites and a vocal Tawny Owl.
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| Long-tailed Duck at Dell Quay |
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| Fallow Deer at Amberley |
