Page 9 - Out Birding Winter 2024

a dozen Ruff and it was interes􏰀ng to see how much they varied in appearance.
We moved on and found a bench from where we could scan the Firth of Forth. There was a large gathering of Eider close in plus some smaller groups of Velvet Scoter. A few Ki􏰁wake and Gannet passed distantly offshore and Neil picked out a couple of Red-throated Diver.
Next we stopped in at the recently created lagoon that I had not seen before. This held many roos􏰀ng waders, mostly Oystercatcher, but also some Knot, a couple of Black-tailed Godwit and a lone Golden Plover.
It was then back for another scan of the sea. We quickly picked out two Red-necked Grebe, with their fine breeding plumage s􏰀ll mostly intact. A Black Guillemot in with the sea duck was a scare bird for southeast Scotland. We tried our best to find the long staying rare scoter (a Stejneger’s) amongst the Velvet, but the choppy sea made it tricky to give the birds a proper check. Unfortunately, it wasn’t picked out that day (by us or anyone else) and we had to admit defeat. S􏰀ll, we couldn’t complain, it had been an enjoyable event with a decent bird list.
Graeme
Cissbury Ring 07/09/2024
Twelve of us met up for Mark annual ascent up Cissbury Ring’s ramparts followed by Simon's post-descent buffet. The forecast suggested that rain might move in by early a􏰂ernoon, so most of us were lightly a􏰁red. How could the forecasters possible be wrong, given the supercomputers they employ these days?
The car park is not always ornithologically blessed, but on this occasion a flock of Long -tailed Tit accompanied by a flighty Chiffchaff plus Goldfinch were an encouraging start, boding well for the ascent up to the lo􏰂y heights of the ring which reaches a magnificent 184m (604􏰂). To us in this neck of the woods, it is like the Alps.
All of us being such trim athletes, we make steady progress up the west face of the ring, pausing only for an elusive Green Woodpecker. However, we had barely reached the top when it began to spit. The skies were moody and the threat of a blizzard hung in the air. The temperature might even have dropped below 20 degrees. But we’re a tough lot, us southerners, so we ba􏰃led on with for􏰀tude.
Another flock of Long-tailed Tits heralded a li􏰃le flurry of bird ac􏰀on, with a blink-and- miss-it Spo􏰃ed Flycatcher, a blackberry-guzzling Whitethroat, a Raven that croaked but barely flapped into view, and a few more Chiffchaffs wondering why they had chosen this bleak peak.
By the 􏰀me we were on top of the ring, it was beginning to really pelt it down in a torrent of drizzle. A Meadow Brown bu􏰃erfly bravely tried to fly, which caused a cheer - this is a site that o􏰂en offers up juicy bu􏰃erfly 􏰀tbits such as Adonis or Chalkhill Blues, but not today.
The biggest excitement on the way down were the sec􏰀ons of bare path where the 9