Mild, cloudy, NE 2 - Ted and I spent the morning with our Lucy (thanks for the snacks along the way) at the Hoe, a site I hadn`t visited for ages, and I was surprised as to how few people were about (probably due to the cafe being closed!); in fact, for most of the morning we had the place to ourselves. The walk through the stock field was relatively quiet with just a Ring Ouzel, a few Robins and Stonechats, four Swallows and a large flock of Goldfinches of note. But the birding picked up as we approached the under cliff and scrub towards the fossil beach with good numbers of grounded migrants; Linnets, Goldfinches, Robins and Chiffchaffs were well represented along with at least 20 Rock Pipits on the shingle beach, several Pied Wagtails and Stonechats and two Black Redstarts. High up on the chalk cliffs a pair of Ravens were being hassled by a gaggle of Jackdaws while two Kestrels and a Peregrine were also seen. The first bay towards the Warren hosted a couple of hundred roosting gulls, including 20 Mediterranean Gulls and six Little Egrets. An overhead passage during the first hour witnessed a few west bound Swallows, House Martins, Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Chaffinches, Goldfinches and a Grey Wagtail. As we drove out through the tunnel I promised myself not to leave it for another ten years until a return visit!
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