Steyning Round Hill, South Downs Way (w) & return: Redstart in new spot, 3 Wheatear, 12 Stonechat, 150 mixed flock of Linnet & Goldfinch, 100 Corn Bunting (remarkable), 10 Chiffs, 50 Mipits & 25 Skylark. c48 Corn Buntings in this 1 bush with same no. in hedgerow

Does anyone know if there's a local WhatsApp for Hanningfield Res? Had a Casp there this afternoon and a couple other bits. Be useful to contribute as will checking it more regularly! #ukbirding #essexbirding

Steyning Round Hill, South Downs Way (w) & return: Redstart in a new spot, 3 Wheatear, 12 Stonechat, 150 Mixed flock of Linnet and Goldfinch, 100 Corn Bunting (remarkable) , 10 Chiffs, 50 Mipits and 25 Skylark.

Round Hill, migration less frantic today. Grounded: 20 Chiffs, 150+ Mipit, 9 Wheatear, 10 Stonechat, 3 Lapwing, 500 mainly HGs following the plough. Flew over: 15 Siskin, 25+ Skylark, 1 Great Spot, 6 small waders (Dunlin size), 14 Canada Goose, 1 Grey Lag, few Swallows, 5 HMs, 1 Sand Martin

R. Adur valley: Nothing on the Dacre Gardens/Botolph’s wader pool but this Great White Egret was nice to see at Coombes (Relocated by local birder Jerry C). 3 Common Sandpipers, 4 Little Egret and a Kingfisher on the river at the Cement Works.

Steyning Round Hill, 08.00 - 12.15: Migration not quite so frenzied today; 250+ Mipits, 40+ Chiffs, 16 Stonechat, 2 Wheatear, 16 Skylark, 150+ Swallow, 5 HM. 6 Crossbill flew over N at 08.20

Steyning Round Hill: 500+ Mipits, 50+ Chiffs, 12+ Stonechat, 6 Wheatear, Hobby, 6 Skylark, 2 Blackcap, 1 WW, 150+ Swallow, c25 HM. Chiffs, Mipits & Wheatear moving through fast in strong NW breeze. Checkout those Mipit long hind claws #AutumnMigration

Lifeboat Station Shoreham Harbour: Kingfisher ♀ with successful catch (low tide this afternoon)

Got on to it a bit late - HOBBY flew over Brighton Marina at 12.31 heading South East (big crop) @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

Adult ♂ Kestrel - Steyning Round Hill this afternoon

A few pixels of 2 different (distant) male COMMON REDSTART on Steyning Round Hill this afternoon @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

After checking my local downland, tried the R. Adur valley at Dacre Gardens/Botolphs Pond: 8.45 - 9.15. No sign of Little Stint this morning unfortunately. Looks like it may have moved on.

Steyning Round Hill first thing, fairly cool at 11 degrees, dry, sunny and blustery: 3 Wheatear (one looked a youngster), 1 Whinchat, Male Redstart, 4 Mipits, Blackcap, 3 Chiffs @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

#PatchGold on Sunday evening, I found a 1st w Grey Phalarope on my inland Dorset patch, the first record here. Amazingly it stayed 4 days & departed last night (private area with no public access) @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @patchbirding.bsky.social #PWC2025

R. Adur falling tide this afternoon with RF and Ralf - gave 7 Common Sandpipers! Most I’ve ever seen at this location. And managed to get all 7 in the pic … honest 😃😇

Great views of this juvenile LITTLE STINT and a Dunlin - a super find by Shoreham Birder Jerry C. in a small pond on the R. Adur floodplain near Bramber. Nice year tick and local too.

Steyning Round Hill: 6 Redstart (N. Slope fenceline), 3 Spot Flys dotted around, 1 Mipit, a few Blackcap, Whitethroat & Chiffs, 2 Green Woodpecker, 2 Chaffinches, constant stream of Hirundines (e) O/H, 50 Linnet, 3 Yellowhammer, 1 Corn Bunting. No Wheatear or Whinchat for me this morning.

Steyning Round Hill, around Midday: finished with 3 Redstart (Shame this one was in dark shadow and I messed up the camera settings. Looks a lovely male) and another 3 Spotted Flycatchers (working the edge of the wood from dead Ash trees in the shelter of the valley)

Pagham - Church Norton benches falling tide 7th September: GREY PHALAROPE flew in, settled briefly a couple of times and then flew back into the harbour at 14.30 yesterday. Whimbrel near concrete blocks. Wheatear fence posts. Spot Fly from hide …/3 of 3

Pagham Harbour - Ferry Pool (yesterday around Midday): Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper …/2 of 3

Pagham Harbour - N. Wall and East side rising tide: Spotted Redshank (Adult retaining some dark feathers), 3 Spoonbill, Juv Curlew Sand, c40 Grey Plover, 2 Avocet, Sanderling, constant stream of Hirundines O/H. Great day out yesterday with RF and DB …/1 of 3

Grey Phalarope from the benches at Pagham, Church Norton at 14.30

A few more photos from this morning at Steyning Round Hill - Whinchat, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart with distant Spot Fly, Blackcap (m) @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

Steyning Round Hill: 8+ Spot Flys (pretty good number for site, along fenceline & dead Ash trees on path up from Steyning), 3 Redstart, 2 Wheatear, 2 Whinchat, 6 Blackcap, 4 Whitethroat. Calling Curlew flew over South at 8.55. A nice morning @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

Steyning Coombe early morning: c12 Swallow, c25 HM, 25+ Blackcap, 6 Whitethroat, 2 Redstart, 5 WW, 5 Chiff. Went back for another look around late afternoon - a nice autumn migration moment with a Spotted Fly and a Redstart together. Still a few Blackcaps in the bushes, otherwise quiet.

Juvenile Sabine’s Gull, a great find by @jamko69.bsky.social yesterday evening, west arm of Brighton Marina @nickybond.bsky.social Pity it didn’t show again for us this morning but nice to chat/meet with a few locals including @birdingbodds.bsky.social for the first time

Colder over night this week with the first mists of the Autumn in the vale. Simply stunning. (Steyning Round Hill looking north and east along the South Downs escarpment) #Autumn @southdownsnp.bsky.social #Sussex

Steyning Roundhill, Monument and SD Way (w) to cross path. Wheatear (15), Whinchat (5), Mipits (12). Redstart still in the small trees near monument this morning. Red Kite with what looked like a corvid.

Thanks go to the nice Steyning DS lady and gent, C & D, who showed me the intriguing tiny orchid autumn lady’s-tresses. Seen thousands on internet posts, never actually seen one myself before. So that was great!

Steyning Coombe: 3 Spot Flys, 1 Redstart.

Steyning Round Hill: Slow going this morning. Redstart again. Decent close views of this Yellowhammer. An uptick in the number of Yellow Wagtails (c25) around the cattle herd was nice though. No Wheatear or Whinchat today.

Redstart moving through this section of the S. Downs in decent numbers this week, at least 13 reported on Friday from Highdown, Worthing to Beeding Hill (per local Whatsapp group) @lf59ysy.bsky.social @nickbond007.bsky.social @adurbirder.bsky.social @bostalbirder.bsky.social @jamko69.bsky.social

Small Copper, Common Blue butterfly, a very large (15mm) Orbweaver spider of some sort and a Bloody-nosed Beetle all seen on the Downs near Steyning this week while out birding.

Steyning Round Hill 7.00 - 10.30 : 2 Yellow Wag (over), Redstart, 4 Wheatear, 3 Whinchat, 1m & 1f type Blackcap, 1WW. Also the usual mix of Corn Bunting (12), Yellowhammer (3), Linnet (15), Goldfinch (6) and Whitethroat (6). Redstart more confiding today.

Steyning Round Hill and SDW west to cross path and return (07.00 - 11.00): 5 Whinchat (3 in this pic with 2 Linnet), 1 Wheatear and a Redstart (1w male probably arrived 10.30), 2 Stonechat.

Cissbury Hill circuit and Monarch’s Way to dip: Mistle T. 18 (feeding on ground around anthills) Wheatear 6 Green W 1 Jay 1 Spot Fly 1 Mipit 2 Hobby 1 (over lane to Findon chasing Linnets) WW 4 Robin 1 Whitethroat 2 Linnet 1 Yellow Wag 4 (with cattle)

Steyning Round Hill and SDW early morning: Whinchat 2 Wheatear 1 Raven 2 Red Kite 1 Blue Tit 1. Mipit 2 Yellowhammer 2 Corn B 12 Linnet 30 Goldfinch 20 Whitethroat 1

Reviewing my photos from Friday 15th, so many Corn Buntings & Yellowhammers about I very nearly missed this beauty - ORTOLAN BUNTING (1st image only & a Lifer for me ) + 2x Yellowhammer. Appears these are the only BirdGuides records in last 5 yrs, all Sussex

Steyning Round Hill / Monument: Redstart again same bush, Reed Bunting, 5 Yellowhammer, 12 Corn Bunting, 34 Linnet (good showing), 10+ Goldfinch, 10+ Whitethroat, S. Thrush. Lots of activity on the wild sown strips.

Charmouth, Dorset: this wooded, slumped under cliff is inaccessible, even to a team of SAS operatives. What birds make landfall here? What rarities have been missed? How many migration events have been unrecorded? Why do I obsess about such things?…

Steyning Round Hill to Monarch’s Way: Whinchat, 2 Willow Warbler, 10 C. Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, 2 Greenfinch, Sedge Warbler, Green Woodpecker, Peregrine, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, 4 Swallow, 3 HM, Buzzard, 20 Linnet, 10 Goldfinch, 3 Yellowhammer, Robin, 6 Corn Bunting, Wren, 6 Dunnock, Blue & Gt.Tit

Common Centaury a tiny flower in the gentian family Obsidentify tells me, growing on the chalky Steyning Round Hill. 🙂

Redstart again on the South Downs above Steyning, present for 5th day. Singles of Garden Warbler & Willow Warbler.

The Downs near the monument with RF: a bare trickle of migrant evidence in the form of this Spotted Flycatcher which dropped in briefly. Redstart still present.

26th October 2017 - what a morning on patch that was!! Thanks for the happy reminder and the tag. Good to see that you’re visiting all the good bits, Steve. Have fun 😀

Nice start to early autumn birding on the South Downs this week with Juv. Green Woodpecker, Red Kite, Chiffchaff and Sparrowhawk 2/2

Nice start to early autumn birding on the South Downs this week with Redstart, Whitethroat, Meadow Pipit and Swallow 1/2

Near Farmer’s monument, Monarch’s Way above Steyning, W Sussex: Redstart, Lssr Whitethroat, 8 C. Whitethroat

Near Farmer’s monument, Monarch’s Way above Steyning, W Sussex: Redstart, Lssr Whitethroat, 8 C. Whitethroat

Near Farmer’s monument, Monarch’s Way above Steyning: 2 Redstart*, Lssr Whitethroat*, 12 C. Whitethroat, 2 Wheatear*, 2 WW. *1st Autumn birds