Beachy Bonanza!!

 Lots of reports of Migration during the week, several Wrynecks in the country, seemed a good idea to head down to Beachy Head, where there have also been multiple reports of Honey Buzzards. I managed to get up early and was at Shooters Bottom just before 6 AM, it seemed quiet in the gloom and I walked through the main channel to the cliffs without troubling the scorers, though I could here bits and bobs in the undergrowth!!

Beachy Head lighthouse

Pre sunrise cloud

Belle Tout, I'm thinking that ain't gonna be there much longer😲!!

Seaford Head ,am I gonna regret driving past there today!

I tracked east, first bird appeared, a Spotted Flycatcher result!!

Spot Fly in the gloom! 

Sunrise

Sunrise continuing!!

I wandered around the area, it was quiet but every now and then there was a burst of activity, mainly Common Whitethroats, Willow/Chiffs and Robins. Another Spot Fly was on the gorse west of the main channel.

Robin, still pretty gloomy

Spot Fly

Common Whitethroat

I headed west towards Belle Tout, was just thinking I hadn't seen any Stonechats, when I saw a Stonechat, Hurrah!! Even better there were several, even better than that, there were a few Whinchats with em even more Hurrah!!!!😂 Be warned I filled my boots!!

Stonechat

Stonechat

Stonechat

Whinchat

One of the Whinchats was a Wheatear!

Even a Blackcap came out to play!

Whinchat

Whinchat looking good in the early morning sun

Stonechat

Common Whitethroat

One of the Whinchats was a Sedge Warbler!

A fantastic 20 minutes with birds popping all over, by now it was nearing eight O'clock so I decided to move up to the Horseshoe Plantation before I had to pay!! One of the annoying things about Beachy is the parking tickets are only valid in the one car park, the good thing is the charges don't start until 8!! The even better news was the parking machine at Horseshoe was busted, result!! Straight out of the carpark was another Spotted Flycatcher and this one posed nicely in good light!! another result!!

Spotted Flycatcher

Common Whitethroat popped up to see what all the fuss was about!

Spot Fly

Willow Warbler

Common Whitethroat

Rather than go straight up the slope, it's steep and my knees don't like it! I walked down towards Birling Gap, then back along the cliffs to Belle Tout, fair bit of activity, 4 Wheatears on the big open slope leading up to Belle Tout, a flock of Goldfinch feeding in the grassland, Whitethroats and Stonechats in the undergrowth and east of the Horseshoe Plantation another Spot Fly. Disappointingly I couldn't find a Corn Bunting, possibly the 1st time I've not seen one in this area!

Common Whitethroat

Goldfinch

Starling

Belle Tout from the other side

Wheatear

Autumn Colour makes sense now

Fulmar flying along the cliff

Linnet on Belle Tout wall, not the Black Redstart I was hoping it was

Spot Fly and Willow Warbler

Stonechat sans tail

Stonechat in tree

By now I was flagging so headed back to the car, saw a Kestrel sat in a tree but to distant for pics. Lots of Swallows going through mainly flying along the cliffs but every now and then a group would head straight out to sea.

Another Stonechat seemed to be a lot today

Common Whitethroat

Swallow, I've pretty much given up trying to get pictures of them but this came out alright 

Another birder had mentioned that a Pied Flycatcher had been reported at the toilet block, near the Beachy Head pub, the glamourous life of a birder hey!! Although the report was a couple of hours old I decided to head up there, with tourist numbers building I had little hope but it would give me an elevated position for a bit of Honey Buzzard scanning! I arrived in good order, my luck on the parking machines ran out, had to put a quid in😢 I headed around behind the toilet block, plenty of bushes here , things started well with a cracking Willow Warbler posing well. 

Willow Warbler

Another birder was present, sitting on the floor studying the bushes intently with her camera poised, I enquired after the Flycatcher, sadly not seen for a couple of hours, however she informed me that there were a couple of Redstarts and a Whinchat which were appearing regularly, I sat down and waited, this is not a good move for me, my knees don't like it and getting up again is a nightmare, however my suffering paid off with cracking views of both Redstarts and the Whinchat!

Common Redstart female

Male redstart

Whinchat

Once my legs started working again I had a wander around, Blue Butterfly and another or maybe the same female Redstart about the best of it. I scanned for 10 minutes but no Honey Buzzards, I know not really much of an effort but after 5 hours in what was now very hot sun it was the best I could manage!!

Tatty Blue Butterfly

So that was that, pretty good morning of migration, nothing massively exciting, would have liked a Wryneck,  can't win em all, not a bad return for 5 miles walked, !! Whinchats are awesome!!