I went expecting a typical posing stonechat but the reality couldn't have been more different. It was extremely elusive and mobile. On arrival at 11.15 it had been on show but then went missing for 3 hours!
In the meantime I had a wander north along the common and was lucky to find a lovely showy Yellow-browed Warbler in brambles along the north section of 'Icky Ridge'. A Common Stonechat caused some very brief excitement but a fly-over and down Jack Snipe was very nice indeed. A 1w male Ring Ouzel followed and after a coffee at the cafe we ventured back onto the common. The stonechat had showed again along the south (fenced) part of Icky Ridge and within a few minutes we'd had a view at last. In the next hour it continued to show briefly several times on the ridge and nearby brambles and then on the weeds on the edge of the beach. During proceedings Nigel Odin walked up to the crowd and produced a ringed female Hawfinch for us all to have a gawp at which was very nice indeed!
Around the common we had several Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, loads of Goldcrests and Robins plus a single Fieldfare south and a few Song Thrushes and Redwings, a total of 4 Swallows south plus a couple of adult Mediterranean Gulls.
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