I went to the Sovereign Harbour at 09.30 this morning in hope of seeing the BTD. I found the one in the outer harbour and was pleasantly surprised to find two more in the inner harbour by the lock gates. I`ve assumed the bird in the picture is a BTD but, even though it was so close I couldn`t see it`s head and wasn`t 100% sure. Could it be a Guillemot? It was totally unbothered by my being there. The picture was taken on my phone.

(The bird in the photo is a Guillemot. It was in the same location yesterday. As far as I'm aware there has only been one Black-throated Diver at Sovereign Harbour though there was also a Great Northern Diver there on Sunday - Ed)

In need of some fresh air I spent a couple of hours, late afternoon, at Amberley Wildbrooks. I had my first Arun Valley Hen Harrier this winter when a tiny juvenile male was chased by two Crows. I sexed this bird on wingspan, which appeared shorter than the chasing Crows. There were two juvenile Marsh Harriers (one male, one female), then a Merlin, which stubbornly refused to leave its fence post. Finally, a very close view of a Barn Owl.

With a fellow birder from Eastbourne, from around 2.30pm today, I had extended views of a Short-eared Owl hunting low over the long grass, north and east of the scrape near the sea. It was shortly joined by another, and at 3.00pm the pair flew off east towards Birling Gap. On the scrape were 20+ Redshanks, 4 Snipe, Shelduck and Teal.

A Grey Plover this morning on the Adur between the Railway and Old Toll Bridges.
Up to 3 have been around but this one is distinctive due to the white feathers around its head. Also, approx 30 Dunlin and 30 Ringed Plover, at least 45 Lapwing, 15 Redshank and an Oystercatcher.
At Widewater this afternoon, a female-type Goosander on the western lagoon and a very confiding male Stonechat along the path by the beach huts.

Today's Black-throated Diver at Sovereign Harbour.

Recently we have been trying to use the car a bit less. Today we caught the train to Eastbourne and walked from the station via Princes Park to Sovereign Harbour. The juv Brent Goose was still in Princes Park but there was no sign of yesterday's drake Goosander. At Sovereign Harbour we soon located the Black-throated Diver found by Kris Gillam yesterday which showed nicely in the outer harbour. Whilst we were there a 2cy Iceland Gull appeared on the mud on the east side of the outer harbour where it remained until 12:10 when it flew west before returning at 12:45 with a mob of gulls following a fishing boat. Also seen were three Great Crested Grebes, five Ringed Plover, Guillemot, Razorbill & Kingfisher. We finished off at West Rise Marsh where there were lots of duck and gulls but we couldn't find anything unusual with them. A male Bearded Tit in the reeds by the sign near the entrance gate and a Marsh Harrier. Caught the train home from Hampden Park having walked 7.5 miles.

Following Mark's recent exhortation to go searching for Hawfinches, I took a look at Knowlands Wood just north of Barcombe early this afternoon and was thrilled to see two perched at the top of a tree, albeit a bit distantly. There is a lot of hornbeam in fruit within the wood.

The Long-tailed Duck showing today on Southwick Canal outside Barrett Steel warehouse.

Numbers of thrushes within the grounds of The Ridge Cemetery this morning, especially in cover of Yews and Hollies: Blackbird 49, Redwing 260, Song Thrush 12 and Mistle Thrush 17.

Great Spotted Woodpecker seen in East Brighton park.