Saturday, 13th December: It was one of those rare, still and bright mornings, cool early on and warming up later .........
Selsey Bill: The Long-tailed Duck re-appeared for the first time this month, with an Eider, the first-winter Little Gull and up to seven Slavonian Grebes about, too. (SH/BI/IP/AH)
(0730-0900hrs) (NE, F2)
Great Northern Diver - 1E, 6os
Red-throated Diver - 1E, 3W, 1os
diver sp - 1W
Slavonian Grebe - 3E, 4os
Great Crested Grebe - 1E, 2W, 3os
Gannet - 4E, 4W, 2os
Shag - 10E
Brent Goose - 7W
Eider - 1E
Long-tailed Duck - 1E
Common Scoter - 30os
Red-breasted Merganser - 2E, 2W, 6os
Little Gull - 1os
Great Black-backed Gull - 1E
Razorbill - 3W
Chiffchaff - 1
Little Gull at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: There were lots of birds back on the pool and fields this morning, including an Avocet, c50 Lapwings, c80 Shovelers, c200 Teal, c400 Wigeon and c120 Canada Geese. (AH)
Avocet and Teal (above) & Shovelers at the Ferry (AH)
Pagham Lagoon: The Black-necked Grebe was still present on the lagoon this morning. (AHu)
Church Norton: The first-winter Little Gull turned up offshore late this morning, with two Slavonian Grebes, two Red-throated Divers and c30 Common Scoters on the sea, eight Shovelers going west and c75 Brent Geese sat on the shingle.
There were plenty of birds in the harbour, including a Black-tailed Godwit, 20 Knot, 100 Dunlin, ten Turnstones, six Avocets, c40 Pintail, a Little Grebe,
Also, the trees between the two Severals held a couple of Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs amongst a large flock of Goldfinches and a Great Spotted Woodpecker; with a Water Rail briefly seen in the waterlogged undergrowth, whilst a few Cetti's warblers were calling in the Severals and our Stock Doves went over Priory Woods. (IP)
North Wall: A Kingfisher was by the sluice and it was busy along White’s Creek, with hundreds of Brent Geese, Lapwings, Black-tailed Godwits, Dunlin, Grey Plovers, Wigeon, Teal, Shelducks and Pintail. present. A Rock Pipit was along the rocks and the mixed flock of c40 Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings, Greenfinches, Linnets, and Blue Tits were moving along the hedgerows, where there was also at least four Song Thrushes.
Two Shovelers and a Little Grebe were along Owl Water, and at Halsey’s Farm 26 Curlews were in the fields, a Snipe flew up and c60 Wigeon and Teal were along the rife.
A Water Rail was in the paddock, as were two Pied Wagtails, two Stonechats, and a Song Thrush, whilst in the fields further back, two Egyptian Geese were around the flooded area. (LP/MJa)
Yellowhammer (above), Stonechat, Song Thrush, Rock Pipit, Wigeon & Shoveler at the North Wall (LP)
Park Farm, Selsey: Around 50 Meadow Pipits were at the eastern end of the fields, where a Dartford Warbler was gently singing from the lone hawthorn bush, whilst a Kestrel seen over the fields from Park Lane. (IP)
East Head: The Snow Bunting was still present along the west side of the dunes, but was inevitably mobile with number of people and dogs about. (MRe/AHu)
Fishbourne Creek: A drake Goldeneye was off Dell Quay this morning, and there were also five Red-breasted Mergansers and two Spotted Redshanks about, too. (HB)
Birdham: A Blackcap was in the garden this morning. (AB)
Sidleham: There were five Fieldfares and six Redwings along Cow Lane this morning (PA) and this afternoon a Raven went over, heading west (AH)
Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - Most of the activity this morning was along the banks at the southern end of the reserve, including two Dartford Warblers, up to six Stonechats, a dozen Meadow Pipits, c30 Yellowhammers and Skylarks and at least 100 Linnets, with two Ravens going over east, but a single Buzzard was the only raptor seen.
There were just a few Redshanks, Curlews and Teal by the Poplars, with c250 Brent Geese out on the reserve, whilst the Stilt Pool held seven Snipe, three Dunlin, c75 Lapwings, c150 Teal, c100 Wigeon, six Tufted Ducks and two Little Grebes. (AH)
It was much the same this afternoon, but with a selection of raptors about, namely two, and possibly three Marsh Harriers, a Peregrine, two Kestrel and two Buzzards. (S&SaH)
After dark this evening, a Barn Owl and a Woodcock were located near Marsh Barn. (MRe/PA)
Dartford Warbler (above), Raven, Yellowhammer, Linnet, Meadow Pipits, Snipe & Buzzard at Medmerry (AH)
Friday, 12th December: A mild but grey morning in a moderate southerly breeze.........
Selsey Bill: The Little Gull was about again, as was a Slavonian Grebe, a Black-throated Diver and a selection of the regular species. Full log below. (PB/PM/AH/OM)
(0730-1115hrs) (S, F4)
Great Northern Diver - 2E, 2os
Black-throated Diver - 1E
Red-throated Diver - 3E, 5W
Slavonian Grebe - 1os
Great Crested Grebe - 2os
Gannet - 3W
Shag - 9E
Brent Goose - 13E
Common Scoter - 5E, 45os
Red-breasted Merganser - 4E, 14os
Turnstone - 1
Little Gull - 1os
Mediterranean Gull - 12E
Common Gull - 3E
Great Black-backed Gull - 13E
Sandwich Tern - 1W
Kittiwake - 18E
Razorbill - 2E
auk sp - 2E, 2W
Shags (above) & Brent Geese at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: There was nothing on the pool again this morning, though c40 Lapwings flew off from the field. (AH)
East Head: A Snow Bunting - the first for two years - was in their traditional site along the west side of the dunes, late this morning. (TS/BI/A/IP et al)
Snow Bunting at East Head (PA)
Also, the large flock of loafing gulls in the upper creek included c1000 Common Gulls, some Black-headed and Herring Gulls and two Great Black-backed Gulls. (RW)
East Beach Pond: A male Blackcap was along the west side path and two Chiffchaffs and two Goldcrests were in the trees around the pond early this afternoon. (OM)
Chiffchaffs at East beach Pond (OM)
Church Norton: There plenty of birds in the harbour this morning, including a Bar-tailed Godwit, 17 Avocets, c400 Golden Plovers and Lapwings, numerous Knot and Dunlin, c40 Brent Geese, two Great Crested Grebes, a few Wigeon and Teal and a female Marsh Harrier. (PB/PM)
Pagham Lagoon: The Black-necked Grebe was showing well again at the southern end this morning, and a Black Redstart was in the vicinity, too. (PA)
Black-necked Grebe (above) & Black Redstart at Pagham Lagoon (PA)
Marsh Farm, Sidlesham: There was a minimum of 70 Cattle Egrets in the fields adjacent to the dairy unit this morning, but there wasn't much else to report, with a Stonechat and a handful of Chaffinches and Pied Wagtails just about the only small birds seen all the way round, with a Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard, a dozen Curlews and 20 Stock Doves over and c85 Collared Doves in the hedge by the dairy about it, otherwise. (AH)
Cattle Egrets (above), Stonechat, Marsh Harrier and Collared Doves at Marsh Fam, Sidlesham (AH)
Chi GPs: Ivy lake complex - I looked at several lakes but concentrated on New Lake and Runcton Lake. The former held a small number of the regular diving ducks and also c35 Shoveler, whilst the latter held the most interest, with c,20 Pochard and c.45 Tufted Ducks the most prominent. Once again, the female Tufted showing some Scaup features was present; again quite distant and un-photogenic, diving frequently and at some angles inviting the belief it could perhaps be the scarcer species, before that band and extensive dark bill-tip dashed any hopes! (OM)
Tufted Ducks on Runcton lake. The female appears to show quite a large rounded head, compared to the male, and no obvious hint of a tuft, whilst the white blaze around the whole bill is fairly extensive (though doesn't show it well here). However, it is not bulkier than the male, there is no pale cheek colouration, it is rather brown overall and the bill tip seems extensively black with a hint of a pale band too. (OM)
Thursday, 11th December: Another fairly warm and pleasant morning of sunshine and white cloud in a moderate south-westerly, though clouding up later on.....
Selsey Bill: The first-winter Little Gull was about again this morning, and a dozen Sandwich Terns were seen, but otherwise it was just small numbers of a reasonable spread of species seen. Full log below. (SH/PB/AH/IP/RJS/MG)
(0730-1000hrs) (SW, F4)
Great Northern Diver - 1W, 1os
Red-throated Diver - 3E, 3W
Great Crested Grebe - 1W, 1os
Gannet - 1W
Shag - 1E, 2os
Brent Goose - 2W
Common Scoter - 3W, 60os
Red-breasted Merganser - 4W
Oystercatcher - 1E
Turnstone - 4
Little Gull - 1os
Mediterranean Gull - 2W, 1os
Common Gull - 1W
Great Black-backed Gull - 2W, 1os
Kittiwake - 7E, 8W
Sandwich Tern - 12W
Razorbill - 11W, 1os
auk sp - 28E, 1W
Pied Wagtail - 1
Little Gull at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: There was not a bird on the pool, with the digger active in the field behind, though a Greenshank dropped in on the creek opposite, where there were half a dozen Redshanks and c30 Teal. (AH)
Greenshank and Redshank in Ferry Channel (AH)
North Wall: There were still at least 15 Yellowhammers along the bushes this morning, together with eight Reed Buntings and a few Greenfinches, a Marsh Harrier was in the trees behind the Breech Pool, and a Rock Pipit was along the wall.
All the usual species were out in the harbour, but the main focus of the morning was in clearing a large amount of the plastic debris that had accumulated along the rocks. (LP/SP/IH/CT/TRH)
And well done to the above for their efforts in clearing up some more of this terrible mess! (Eds)
Yellowhammer (above) & Reed Bunting at the North Wall (LP)
The North Wall crew doing there bit to help clear the debris in the harbour (LP)
Pagham Lagoon: The Black-necked Grebe was showing well again this morning, along with at least 15 Little Grebes, a Great Crested Grebe, two Pochard, half a dozen Tufted Ducks and 50+ Coots, plus a Kingfisher.
(AH/LP/SP/IH/TRH/CT/AWi et al)
Black-necked Grebe (above) & Little Grebe on Pagham Lagoon (AH)
East side: There were vast numbers of birds along the side of the harbour this morning, including two Spotted Redshanks in White's Creek and c300 Black-tailed Godwits, c100 Grey Plovers, c500 Knot, c100 Dunlin and c150 Lapwings out on the mud, along with c400 Brent Geese, c80 Pintail, c150 Teal c300 Wigeon and a dozen Common Gulls. (AH/AWi et al)
Pintail (above), Common Gull and Wigeon, Knot & Brent Geese, Pintail and Black-tailed Godwits along the Est side (AH)
Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - Two Dartford Warblers, two Cetti's Warblers, nine Stonechats, a Reed Bunting, 14 Yellowhammers, c20 Skylarks, c30 Linnets and c40 Meadow Pipits were along the banks this morning, with a Greenshank and c500 Brent Geese on the reserve and two Marsh Harriers, a Buzzard and a Kestrel over. (SH/PB)
Wednesday, 10th December: An unseasonably mild morning of sun and cloud in a moderate south-westerly breeze.......
Selsey Bill: The first-winter Little Gull re-appeared offshore again this morning and six Sandwich Terns were feeding near the Mile Basket, but it remains slow.
Encouragingly, the beach around the Bill, at least, is looking much better, with most of the plastic having been removed, though a lot of black bananas remain. Full log below. (IP/AH)
(0800-0900hrs) (SW, F4)
Great Northern Diver - 1W
Great Crested Grebe - 1os
Gannet - 2E, 14W
Shag - 2E
Red-breasted Merganser - 2E
Turnstone - 1
Little Gull - 1os
Kittiwake - 2W
Sandwich Tern - 6os
auk sp - 1E, 1W
Little Gull at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: The digger was in the field this morning, having laid shingle on the new islands, making it quiet, with just three Lapwings and c30 Teal present. (AH)
Teal (above), Lapwings, the digger and the new look at the Ferry (AH)
Pagham Lagoon: The Black-necked Grebe was still present and showing well at the south end of the lagoon early this afternoon. (MRe/LP)
Black-necked Grebe on Pagham Lagoon (LP)
North Wall: It was busier along the hedgerows this morning, with 12 Yellowhammers, ten Reed Buntings, a Goldcrest, a Meadow Pipit, a Song Thrush, four Greenfinches and a few Goldfinches, Blue Tits and Great Tits about, whilst around the fields were 14 Snipe, 17 Curlews, including one tagged bird, A7, seven Skylarks, a Kestrel, and both male and female Marsh Harriers.
Two Rock Pipits were along the rocks, a Grey Wagtail was by the sluice, and in the paddock there were two Pied Wagtails and two Stonechats. whilst over the harbour c1000 Lapwings and c500 Brent Geese were moving between there and the fields.
Also, disappointingly, the container debris is now spread all around the harbour with lots of plastic crates and sheeting all along the wall, down the east side, and out on the saltmarsh. (LP/AW/MJa)
Snipe (above), Marsh Harrier, tagged Curlew (AW), Brent Geese, Kestrel, Meadow Pipit, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting & Skylark (LP) at the North Wall
Medmerry: A Pale-bellied Brent Goose was among c250 Dark-bellied Brent Geese on the west side of the reserve this afternoon. (HB )
Medmerry: Easton Lane to Wilson's Farm - At least 60 Yellowhammers were in the cover crops by Wilson's Farm, along with a handful of Reed Buntings and Chaffinches, whilst there were c20 Linnets and Skylarks, half a dozen Meadow Pipits, a pair of Stonechats and c50 Stock Doves around the fields south of the bank, and a dozen Egyptian Geese were in one of the flooded fields along Easton Lane. (AH)
Yellowhammers (above) & Skylark at Medmerry (AH)
