17th-19th January 2026

Sunday, 18th January: A generally dry day forecast although perhaps a little drizzle first thing...light winds from the south initially, backing towards the east through the day...

Selsey Bill: It was quality over quantity this morning with a Velvet Scoter going east, five Egyptian Geese west, a Fulmar moving west, the Common Scoter flock offshore and a nice flock of 19 Red-throated Divers flying high west. Full log below. (PB/SH/BI et al)

(0745-0915hrs) (S F3):

Brent Goose - 3E 3W

Egyptian Goose - 5W

Wigeon - 21E

Teal - 4W

Common Scoter - 20os
Velvet Scoter - 1E

Red-breasted Merganser - 2E 3W 5os

Red-throated Diver - 15E 26W 2os

Great Northern Diver - 4E 2os

Great Crested Grebe - 1os

Fulmar - 1W

Gannet - 4E 1W

Shag - 5E

Oystercatcher - 1E

Sanderling - 1E

Turnstone - 4

Great Black-backed Gull - 4E

Sandwich Tern - 1os

auk sp- 1E 10W

Razorbill - 3W 1os

Later in the day one of the Red-necked Grebes flew in from the west and landed offshore, a LIttle Gull was offshore and a flock of 11 Red-throated Divers went west. (SH)

(1425-1540hrs) Full log below:

Red-breasted Merganser 3E 2W 5os

Common Scoter 21os
Red-throated Diver 24W 4os
Great Northern Diver 6os
Great Crested Grebe 3os
Red-necked Grebe 1os
Gannet 7E 5W 6os
Sanderling 3E
Turnstone 13E 3ob
Great Black-backed Gull 2os
Little Gull 1os
Kittiwake 5E
Sandwich Tern 9E 1W
auk sp. 2E
Razorbill 1E 2W

Shags, above, and Wigeon passing the Bill (BI)

Park Lane: Three Redwings flew over today. (MRe)

Ferry Pool: It was much quieter than yesterday with just two flocks of Lapwings flying around and a mix of Shovelers, Teal and Wigeon and the regular waders on the pool itself. The Peregrine was also noted, perching on the radio mast. (BI)

Wildfowl & waders, above, & Peregrine at the Ferry (BI)

North Wall: Two Bearded Tits were reported in the reeds opposite the salthouse late yesterday afternoon but there was no obvious sign this morning with just a pair of Reed Buntings, a Cetti's Warbler and a few Greenfinches and Linnets to see here. The three White-fronted Geese were still in the Honer fields and two Ruff were with the Lapwings and Golden Plovers in White's Creek. A Rock Pipit was along the wall and a handful of Redwings and Song Thrushes were in the bushes, whilst 30 Fieldfares flew over, and around the paddock there was a Water Rail, a Grey Wagtail, two Pied Wagtails, six Chiffchaffs, a Stonechat, two Reed Buntings, 12 Long-tailed Tits, a Green Woodpecker and a Goldcrest. (MJa/LP/BI/DHi/EB/SBr et all)

Water Rail, above, Ruff, Rock Pipit, Grey Wagtail & Stonechat at the North Wall (LP)

Church Norton: Thirty Common Gulls & a Mediterranean Gull were on the spit this morning. (GW)

MIll Lane Marsh: A Coal Tit was in a nearby garden here today. (ML)

Medmerry, Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool: Four Buzzards were overhead today, a Kestrel was out hunting and a Marsh Harrier drifted through disturbing c.300 Golden Plover. On the Stilt Pool was an Avocet whilst the banks held six Skylarks, four Stonechats, c.20 Linnets, c.20 Meadow Pipits, two Filedfares and four Greenfinches. (SaH/SH/PB)

Shopwhyke Lake:  A Kingfisher was present here today. (SM)

Saturday, 17th January: After more overnight rain, a slowly improving morning, quite mild and with a bit of sunshine at times in a fairly light southerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: A Little Gull was lingering fairly distantly offshore this morning and a Velvet Scoter went west early on, with good counts of 21 Red-throated Divers and 52 Common Scoters on the sea. Full log below. (JA/SH/BI/AH)

(0740-0910hrs) S, F2-3)

Red-throated Diver - 16E, 31W, 21os

diver sp - 1W

Great Crested Grebe - 1W

Gannet - 1E, 5W

Shag - 1E

Brent Goose - 5E

Velvet Scoter - 1W

Common Scoter - 4E, 52os

Red-breasted Merganser - 3E, 3W, 6os

Oystercatcher - 1E

Turnstone - 4E, 55W

Little Gull - 1os

Kittiwake - 1W

Sandwich Tern - 2E, 4W, 1os

Razorbill - 2E, 5W

auk sp - 2E, 2W

Common Scoters (above), Red-throated Diver & Red-breasted Merganser at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were three Ruff on the flooded fields this morning, along with a Spotted Redshank, c125 Black-tailed Godwits, 1000+ Lapwings, c50 Shovelers, c100 Teal and c300 Wigeon, plus a Marsh Harrier over. 

(LP/IH/MJa/AH/BI/MP et al)

Ruff and Lapwings (above) & Black-tailed Godwits at Ferry (AH)

West side: Half a dozen Red-breasted Mergansers were in the harbour on the high tide and a Dartford Warbler was along the path. (MP)

Honer Reservoir: There was a huge flock of c200 Fieldfares, with c25 Redwings among them around the reservoir and adjacent trees late this morning, though they were very flighty and mobile, not settling anywhere for long.

Apart from that the reservoir itself as bird-less and there was nothing else to report. (AH)

Fieldfares (above) & Redwings at Honer Reservoir (AH)

North Wall: There were vast numbers of birds around White's Creek and the harbour on the rising tide this morning, including c1000 Brent Geese, c40 Avocets, c500 Golden Plovers, c200 Black-tailed Godwits and perhaps 2000 Lapwings, with more coming in all the time.

There were also c25 Pintail among many Wigeon and Teal, plus c40 Canada Geese, whilst a Peregrine went over, a Rock Pipit and a handful of Reed Buntings were along the wall, a Water Rail was in the paddocks and the pair of Marsh Harriers were over the reeds. (AH et al)

Water Rail (above), Rock Pipit, Lapwings and Golden Plovers & Black-tailed Godwits and Lapwings at the North Wall (AH)

Drayton Pits: A Bittern was seen during a WeBS count on the South Pit before it flew towards the North Pit this morning - the first since 2023. For those unfamiliar with the siituation at these pits, they are privately owned, believed by a property company, and the owners are unco-operative, with new signage appearing and no access permitted to members of the public and/or birders. Anyone thinking of visiting is advised to try and view from outside the boundaries. (OM)

Chichester GPs: On Ivy Lake this morning there were 88 Greylag Geese and four Mallard, and on Nunnery Pit there were four Tufted Ducks, with a Goldcrest in the hedges. (CRJ)

Medmerry: Ham Farm - There were at least three Corn Buntings here this morning, along with a few Yellowhammers and a Stonechat, plus three Roe Deer, whilst there were lots of Lapwings and Brent Geese in the tidal area. (EB)

Corn Buntings (above), Yellowhammer, Stonechat, Lapwings and Brent Geese & Roe Deer at Medmerry (EB)

Church Norton: A predated Kingfisher, possibly the work of the local Peregrine, was found on a bollard near Church Norton spit today. (HK)

Ex-Kingfisher at Church Norton, above & below. (HK)

14th - 16th January 2026

Friday, 16th January: After a showery start, a pleasant morning of sun and white cloud in a light to moderate south-westerly breeze......

Selsey Bill: A Slavonian Grebe went west, but it was surprisingly quiet, otherwise. Full log below. (AH/BI)

(0800-0900hrs) (SW, F3)

Great Northern Diver - 2W

Red-throated Diver - 1E, 10W, 5os

Slavonian Grebe - 1W

Gannet - 1E, 12W, 10os

Shelduck - 5W

Common Scoter - 20os

Red-breasted Merganser - 2E, 1W

Oystercatcher - 1E, 1W

Turnstone - 1

Great Black-backed Gull - 1os

Razorbill - 1os

auk sp - 9E, 2W

Mid-morning two Velvet Scoters went west along with two Brent Geese and a Shag, whilst a Great Northern Diver, three Red-throated Divers and four Red-breasted Mergansers were offshore. Full log below. (AW)

(1030-1130hrs)

Great Northern Diver - 1os

Red-throated Diver - 3os

Shag - 1W

Brent Goose - 1W

Velvet Scoter - 2W

Red-breasted Merganser - 4os

Mediterranean Gull - 1W

Velvet Scoters (above), Shag & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AW)

Ferry Pool: A Ruff was present again, along with the Green Sandpiper, a Greenshank, three Avocets, a dozen Golden Plovers, c20 Redshanks, c80 Black-tailed Godwits and c1000 Lapwings, and there were also c60 Shovelers, c40 Mallard, c150 Teal and c400 Wigeon about, but everything was very flighty this morning. (BI/JC/AH et al)

Golden Plover and Lapwing (above), Black-tailed Godwits, Shovelers & Avocets, Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwings and Shovelers at the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: There were half a dozen Redwings and c40 Fieldfares in the hedges at Halsey's Farm this morning, with another c40 of the latter along the wall, together with two Rock Pipits, two Reed Buntings and at least ten Yellowhammers, plus a Raven, a Peregrine and three Marsh Harriers going over. whilst the three first-winter White-fronted Geese were in the Honer fields again.

Also, the three first-winter White-fronted Geese were in the Honer fields again. along with a couple of Cattle Egrets and c20 Avocets were in the harbour, along with c300 Golden Plovers and c1000 Lapwings, whilst a Water Rail, a Grey wagtail and two Pied Wagtails were in the paddocks. (S&SaH/LP/IH/CT/GHi/SP/EB)

White-fronted Geese (LP) (above), Fieldfares (LP top, EB lower), Redwings (LP top, EB lower), Water Rail (LP), Cattle Egrets (EB), Yellowhammer (LP), Reed Bunting (EB) & Grey Wagtail (LP) at the North Wall

Church Norton: There were vast numbers of Dunlin, Knot, Grey Plovers, Black-tailed Godwits and Lapwings flying around the harbour near high tide this morning, presumably unsettled by the Peregrine that finally landed on New Island, with a couple of Greenshanks on the concrete blocks among the Redshanks, and a Bar-tailed Godwit and a Black-tailed Godwit on the metalwork.

There wasn't too much else, though, with just a few Wigeon and Teal in the harbour and nothing but a few Common Gulls offshore. (AH/BI/JC eta al).

Peregrine (above), Greenshanks, Redshanks and Wigeon, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin and Grey Plovers & Knot and Grey Plovers at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - An Avocet was on the Stilt Pool, a Water Rai was in one of the path-side pools and c500 Brent Geese, c100 Golden Plovers and c1000 Lapwings were out on the reserve this afternoon, with a Marsh Harrier and a Kestrel about, too.

Seven Stonechats were along the banks, though it was otherwise quite, with just a Goldcrest, a Cetti's Warbler, a Pied Wagtail, five Goldfinches and c50 Linnets noted. (S&SaH)

Thursday, 15th January: Another very wet morning, with overnight rain continuing throughout, heavy at times, in a moderate south-westerly breeze......

Selsey Bill: There was a bit of activity this morning, including a Fulmar west, along with a few Red-throated Divers, Gannets and Kittiwakes. Full log below. (AH)

(0800-0945hrs) (SSW, F4)

Great Northern Diver - 1W, 1os

Red-throated Diver - 2E, 24W, 2os

Fulmar - 1W

Gannet - 37W

Shag - 1E

Common Scoter - 1E

Red-breasted Merganser - 1E

Mediterranean Gull - 2W

Great Black-backed Gull - 6W, 1os

Kittiwake - 1E, 58W, 6os

Razorbill - 27W, 12os

Guillemot - 1W, 2os

auk sp - 36W

Red-throated Divers (above), Guillemot, Razorbills, Kittiwake & Gannet at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: The Ruff re-appeared this morning among c100 Black-tailed Godwits, with the Green Sandpiper, a Greenshank, a Snipe and an Avocet also about, along with c1500 Lapwings.

There were slightly fewer wildfowl than of late, but there were still c50 Shovelers and Mallard, c150 Teal and c250 Wigeon present. (AH et al), 

This afternoon there were two Ruffs present on the field. (AWi)

Ruff, Lapwings, Black-tailed Godwits and Wigeon (above), Green Sandpiper & Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwings, Wigeon and Mallard at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: A quick look at high tide didn't produce much in the harbour beyond a Greenshank and a few roosting Dunlin, Grey Plovers and Redshank, plus just a handful of Wigeon and Teal, with a couple of Goldcrests the only things in the hedges. (AH)

Dunlin and Grey Plovers at Church Norton (AH)

Wednesday, 14th January: A cold, but bright start in just a light northerly breeze, though slowly clouding over as the morning progressed......

Selsey Bill: Four Slavonian Grebes and four Great Northern Divers were offshore this morning, with good numbers of Red-throated Divers and Red-breasted Mergansers seen, too. Full log below. (SH/PB/AH/OM)

(0740-1125hrs) (N, F2)

Great Northern Diver - 4os

Red-throated Diver - 9E, 41W, 3os

Slavonian Grebe - 4os

Great Crested Grebe - 3E, 1W, 1os

Gannet - 1W

Shag - 2E

Brent Goose - 2E

Teal - 2E

Common Scoter - 1E, 45W, 22os

Red-breasted Merganser - 29E, 6W, 15os

Oystercatcher - 2E

Turnstone - 8E

Mediterranean Gull - 4W, 4os

Great Black-backed Gull - 1E, 4W

Sandwich Tern - 2E

Guillemot - 1E

Razorbill - 2W

auk sp - 11E

Pied Wagtail - 2

Red-breasted Mergansers (above) & Shags at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: A Spotted Redshank was in the channel opposite, along with two Avocets, this morning, with another of the latter and c60 Black-tailed Godwits among at least 2000 Lapwings on the pool and fields before they started shooting in the adjacent fields and everything took flight.

There were also six Shelducks, a pair of Gadwall, c75 Shovelers, 250 Teal, c400 Wigeon and c60 Canada Geese present, too, before they also all dispersed. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above), Avocet and Lapwings, Gadwall & Black-tailed Godwits and Lapwings at the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: Thousands of birds were in the harbour this morning, including c1000 Brent Geese, c500 Lapwings and c500 Golden Plovers, with the three White-fronted Geese in with the Brent Goose flock on Honer 1 early on, but flew off with them when a dog walker walked across the footpath.

In the hedgerows there were five Fieldfares, four Redwing, three Yellowhammers and two Reed Buntings, with a Kingfisher near the sluice and another over Halsey’s Farm. (CRJ)

Later, a mixed flock of c75 Fieldfares and Redwings were in the trees at Halsey’s Farm this morning, and a Kingfisher was along the rife, where there were also 150 Wigeon and a few Teal.

A Rock Pipit was on the rocks, and six Yellowhammers and a couple of Reed Buntings were along the lower path, whilst out in the fields the three White-fronted Geese were with a large flock of Brent Geese who were constantly moving between the fields and the harbour.

Elsewhere, it was just the usual species along White’s Creek, a Song Thrush and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers were around the paddock, and the pair of Marsh Harrier were over the reeds. (CRJ/LP/SP/EB)

Redwings and Fieldfares (above),White-fronted and Brent Geese, Rock Pipit (LP), Redwing, Marsh Harriers, Redwings and Fieldfares & Song Thrush (EB) at the North Wall

Dell Quay - Fishbourne Creek: A drake and a female Goldeneye were at the Dell Quay end, where there were also seven Red- breasted Mergansers, whilst a drake Gadwall and good numbers of Wigeon and Teal were along the creek this morning, with three Egyptian Geese at the top end, and waders included two Avocets, a Greenshank, a Snipe, c50 Black-tailed Godwits, c25 Grey Plovers and many hundreds of Dunlin.

There were also a Kingfisher and a couple of Rock Pipits along the creek, whilst at least 30 Redwings and half a dozen Song Thrushes, plus a dozen Chaffinches, were in Apuldram churchyard and a pair of Firecrests and two or three Goldcrests were in the adjacent car-park. A Chiffchaff was also present, actively feeding along the path near the moored boats. (RW/AH/OM)

Avocets (above) and Red-breasted Mergansers at Dell Quay (OM)

Goldeneye (above), Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Firecrest & Redwings at Fishbourne Creek (AH)