The first half of August was warm and relatively calm, with some great days for observing migration. In the third week of the month the remains of Hurricane Ernesto passed over the UK, bringing with it strong winds and rain which largely put a hold on movement. This was followed by a final period of respite to close out the month and an associated burst of movement.

Dispersing Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls were noted off the seafront from early in the month, though dispersal movements were hard to disentangle from those related to feeding frenzies. The morning of the 1st was particularly memorable, with small mixed species parties of Herring (c300), Black-headed (160), Mediterranean (17) and Common Gull (3) flying east in warm and overcast conditions over a couple of hours.

On the 9th the first westward passage of large gulls was noted, with Great and Lesser Black-backed Gull, mostly adults and 1CYs, joining the Herring Gulls passing along the cliffs. Yellow-legged Gull were somewhat regular (my totals were five 1CY and one 2CY), always either flybys from West Hill or preening on the Pelham Beach section of Hastings seafront between the harbour arm and pier. Wondering if the strong south-westerlies might blow some seabirds up the channel I had a few goes at seawatching from West Hill but there was little moving.

A sand extraction pit (‘Scotney Court Sand Pit’) on the East Sussex side of Scotney GPs became an unlikely local hotspot, the flats and shallow water of the pits attracting a phenomenal diversity and abundance of waders. I visited with David Campbell and Christian Cogley on the 26th and we had 15 wader species including two juvenile Wood Sandpiper and a Curlew Sandpiper. A juvenile Garganey was also on the pit, a Merlin briefly caused chaos and flocks of Corn Bunting and Yellow Wagtail were moving around overhead. All-in-all a fun spot which will be worth visiting again in the coming months, providing extraction works don’t resume. While not present on our visit, a Temminck’s Stint, Pectoral Sandpiper and a few Little Stint were also seen there in August.

An adult Hobby over Filsham Reed (Combe Valley CP) on the 18th was presumed to be a migrant but otherwise I didn’t see much evidence of raptor movement until near the end of the month. As the weather improved, there was a Honey Buzzard bonanza on the East Sussex coast between the 28th and the 30th, including at least 3 individuals seen by David Campbell (his truly gripping photos of a ringed Sussex-born juvenile on eBird) and Andrew Grace in Hastings. I managed to miss out on them all, somehow! On the 29th I made a personal high count of 18 Common Buzzard (including kettles of 5 and 7) at Hastings CP.

The better weather saw more migrant passerines hitting the coast in the Hastings area. My first Reed Warbler was on the 7th while Sedge Warbler continued to trickle through. Always enjoy seeing these migrant Acrocephalus warblers in a-typical coastal scrub habitat and a Reed Warbler flycatching from a willow near Little Warren Cottage was particularly fun.

A walk at Hastings CP on 11th with David C was the first really good day up there, where fog clearing to clear skies and a light E breeze saw my first southbound Whinchat (2) drop into the coastguard fields and Tree Pipit and Yellow Wagtail moving overhead. Northern Wheatear seemed fairly regular at Hastings CP and along the seafront between Hastings and Bexhill.

Hirundine numbers started to build only towards the very end of the month and a steady stream of Sand Martin (I counted 180 in a couple of hours) east along Pannel Valley on the 31st was notable. From West Hill (Hastings) on the 28th, eight Common Swift may well have been my last of the year.

I didn’t see any Common Redstart until the 29th (perhaps delayed leaving breeding grounds?) when I noted four scattered around the high ground between the church and radar station at Hastings CP. No flycatchers were seen at all in August, so I’m hoping that changes in September. Finally (and not migration related), a juvenile Yellowhammer was a happy sight in Warren Glen, indicating that the local singing male did successfully raise young after all.