29th April 2014: Widewater seawatch and Angering 2024

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 Weather conditions were reported as being ideal for seawatching today. With Pilates at 9.30 there wasn’t time to travel far, but a quick visit to Widewater was fairly unproductive, although a passing Sandwich Tern was new for the list.

Later in the day, reports came through of a Woodchat Shrike at Angmering. Although I have seen these overseas, it would be new for the UK, so after lunch we sat off across the fields to the area where it had been seen. Others were looking, but it was not in view, although had been seen fairly recently. We scoured the area, tracking the fencelines and hedgerows with our scopes, checking the long grassy areas and the barn, but to no avail. We were at the point of giving up, and chatting to other birders, when as I put my bins up to check again, I suddenly spotted it sat on the top a distant bramble thicket. We all moved nearer and spreading into the field managed decent scope views. The bird was quite mobile, but showed well. Unfortunately it was too far away for a decent photo, but you can just make it out in this photo, sat on a post, and dwarfed by the corvid!

Woodchat Shrike



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