21 January: Goring by Sea and Ferring Rife
We were meeting a friend at Goring Gap for lunch and to discuss our upcoming trip to Costa Rica. Beforehand we parked opposite a field which is frequently used by many gulls and waders as a high tide roost, and across the road from the shingle beach. There was little on the field as it was low tide, just some regular gulls and we saw a few skylarks bounce across.
We walked out onto the beach and scoped the water’s edge where there were reasonable numbers of waders present, despite the general busyness on a gloriously sunny afternoon, with frequent disturbance to the birds from both dogs and walkers. I managed my first Ringed Plovers of the year and Tim had his first Sanderling scurrying frantically in front of the incoming waves. Turnstones and Dunlin were also actively feeding, before swooping out to sea when approached, then circling back to the beach to continue as before.
After a tasty lunch at the Bluebell cafe, we walked up Ferring Rife, a site with a good record for Water Rail. However today there was little about, just a Little Egret, several Moorhen and a few small birds in the hedgerows lining the path.
We walked out onto the beach and scoped the water’s edge where there were reasonable numbers of waders present, despite the general busyness on a gloriously sunny afternoon, with frequent disturbance to the birds from both dogs and walkers. I managed my first Ringed Plovers of the year and Tim had his first Sanderling scurrying frantically in front of the incoming waves. Turnstones and Dunlin were also actively feeding, before swooping out to sea when approached, then circling back to the beach to continue as before.
After a tasty lunch at the Bluebell cafe, we walked up Ferring Rife, a site with a good record for Water Rail. However today there was little about, just a Little Egret, several Moorhen and a few small birds in the hedgerows lining the path.
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