On the 11th I made the short trip west to Norman’s Bay to catch up with the 1CY Sabine’s Gull which had been hanging around there since the 5th Nov. In the end this came with the very nice bonus of a Grey Phalarope and at least 7 Little Gull. These storm blown birds have taken a liking to the relatively sheltered stretch of coast between Pevensey Bay and Cooden Beach. During my visit all three species were feeding in close proximity, just off the Waller’s Haven outflow at Norman’s Bay.
The Sabine’s and phalarope would have been making their first migrations from Arctic breeding grounds to the tropical waters where they winter, before they were diverted into the Sussex coastline by Storm Ciarán. All three species seemed quite unafraid of people and at times foraged just meters away from the small crowd gathered to watch them.
A new species for me, the Sabine’s Gull was a 1CY bird which had started moulting its brownish pale-edged 1st generation scapular and covert feathers, replacing them with blue-grey 2nd generation feathers. While it’s really all about the wing pattern with Sabine’s, I was surprised how much it stood when sitting on the water, with its sooty upper half and distinctive profile.
The Grey Phalarope was as charismatic as this species is always is, dipping, bobbing and twirling as it fed in the shallows. I think this was a 1CY bird, well-advanced in its post-juvenile moult — despite an overall grey impression there were a few black pale-edged wing feathers visible and some darker streaking in the mantle.
Distracted by the two rarer birds I forgot to record the ages of all the Little Gull, but they seemed to mostly be 1CY birds. Interesting as this is unlike the birds I see moving west past Hastings at the moment, which seem to be predominantly adults. Amazing birds, it’s been a treat to see so many this autumn.
A additional oddity was a 1CY Common Tern, patrolling the shoreline for food. Late in its southward migration and perhaps also diverted by storms.
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