Tuesday, 6th January: Another very cold morning in a light north-westerly breeze, bright early on, before slowly clouding over.........
Selsey Bill: It was very quiet this morning! Full log below. (AH)
(0750-0850hrs) (NW, F2)
Great Northern Diver - 1os
Red-throated Diver - 1W, 3os
Great Crested Grebe - 2os
Shag - 3E
Red-breasted Merganser - 1E
Turnstone - 2
Sandwich Tern - 1os
Shags at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: The pool remains completely frozen, with all the activity in the channel opposite, including six Avocets, a Snipe, eight Black-tailed Godwits, seven Redshanks, c20 Teal, c30 Mallards and c80 Wigeon. (AH)
Snipe (above), Black-tailed Godwit & Avocets, Wigeon and Mallards in Ferry Channel (AH)
Mill Pond Marsh: A Stonechat was in the corner of Yeoman's Field and two Marsh Harriers went over, but that was about it. (AH)
Stonechat (above) & Marsh Harrier at Mill Pond Marsh (AH)
Church Norton: The Long-tailed Duck and at least three Slavonian Grebes were offshore again this afternoon. (JC)
North Wall: One or two Redwings were along the wall this morning, along with a Rock Pipit, a Grey Wagtail, a Reed Bunting and a Buzzard, and there were lots of Brent Geese about, though no sign of the White-fronted Geese. (E&SB)
Redwing (above), Grey Wagtail, Rock Pipit, Reed Bunting & Buzzard along the North Wall (EB)
Sidlesham: A dozen Redwings went west over Cow Lane at dusk this evening. (AH)
Sidlesham: At least 200 Lapwings were in the fields along Mapson's Lane late this morning. (AH)
Chichester Canal: Around 40 mobile Redwings were along the stretch between the Birdham Road and the Donnington Road, along with four Fieldfares, half a dozen Song Thrushes and c20 Blackbirds, plus a Sparrowhawk and a couple of Jays, with a Little Grebe and a few Moorhens and Coots on the bits of unfrozen water.
Also, three were c200 Golden Plovers and Lapwings in the fields south of the canal, together with at least four Snipe and a couple of Skylarks. (AH)
Redwings (above), Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Little Grebe & Golden Plovers at Chichester Canal (AH)
Monday, 5th January: After light flurries of snow overnight and a sharp frost, it was cold and bright throughout in just a light northerly breeze.........
Selsey Bill: It was quiet again, though a Sanderling went east and a few Great Northern and Red-throated Divers were on the sea. Full log below. (P&LH/AH/LP)
(0740-0910hrs) (N, F2)
Great Northern Diver - 2W, 3os
Red-throated Diver - 3E, 6W, 6os
Gannet - 2W
Shag - 9E
Wigeon - 2E
Common Scoter - 10W
Red-breasted Merganser - 2E
Oystercatcher - 1W
Sanderling - 1E
Turnstone - 3
Sandwich Tern - 1W, 3os
Razorbill - 3E
auk sp - 8E, 8W
Pied Wagtail - 1
Later, a Black-throated Diver and four Great Northern Divers were on the sea, along with a few Razorbills. (BFF/SL)
Red-throated Diver (above) & Shags at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: The pool was completely frozen again this morning, though two Avocets, half a dozen Black-tailed Godwits, five Redshanks, 30 Teal, c50 Mallards and c100 Wigeon were in the channel opposite. (AH)
Black-tailed Godwit (above) & Avocets, Wigeon and Mallards in Ferry Channel & the frozen Ferry (AH)
Park Farm, Selsey: A Dartford Warbler, two Stonechats, a Chiffchaff, seven Meadow Pipits, five Skylarks, 25 Linnets and a couple of Pied Wagtails were around the fields this morning, with a female Marsh Harrier going over, too. (SaH)
Church Norton: The drake Long-tailed Duck and up to fivr Slavonian Grebes were offshore again this morning, along with a Great Northern Diver, two Red-throated Divers, two Red-breasted Mergansers and half a dozen Great Crested Grebes.
Also, in the harbour there were a Snipe, eight Black-tailed Godwits 11 Ringed Plovers, c60 Grey Plovers, c50 Knot and c150 Dunlin, plus just a few Pintail, Wigeon and Teal, with just a couple of Redwings and a Goldcrest of note in the hedges. (P Wells/P&LH)
North Wall: The Breach Pool had two Water Rails to the rear, along with a Grey Heron, whilst along the wall there were a Kingfisher, a Yellowhammer, a Goldcrest and six Song Thrushes, plus a Raven going over, with a female Marsh Harrier was further back and the male was seen later near the stables.
The three first-winter White-fronted Geese were in Honer 3 field, along with four Brent Geese and another Water Rail was in Owl Water, whilst in the harbour there ere a Mediterranean Gull, a Common Gull, a couple of Pintail, a dozen shelduck and c150 Wigeon..
There were also c1000 Brent Geese in the distance towards Marsh Farm, and at Halsey's Farm there were a Jack Snipe, five Snipe, c100 Wigeon along with a few Redshanks and two Dunlin. (GHi/P&LH)
White-fronted Geese (above), Water Rail, Yellowhammer & Song Thrush at the North Wall (GHi)
Crablands Marsh: At least two Jack Snipe and four Snipe were in the frozen field along Mill Lane this morning. (AH/BFF/SL)
Snipe at Crablands Marsh (AH)
Fishbourne Creek: Highlights on a cold and wintery morning from the sewage works were two Goldeneyes, a Kingfisher showing well, four Shovelers near the far bank, 15 Pintail and a Rock Pipit, whilst an Avocet flew up the creek and was refound at the top of the creek, along with a Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank and seven Snipe. (RW)
Also, later, a Jack Snipe and a dozen Snipe were seen, along with a Green Sandpiper and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers. (AWi)
Kingfisher in Fishbourne Creek (RW)
Chichester GPs: Most of the pits completely ere frozen over this morning, but I saw the following -
New Lake - ten Long-tailed Tits among a few, Blue and Great Tits,
Copse Lake - a Mute Swan, 41 Mallard, two Pochard, 20 Coots and a Cetti’s Warbler,
East Lake - two Mute Swans and ten Mallard,
Ivy Lake - a Great Crested Grebe, a Little Grebe, two Egyptian Geese, ten Mallard, 20 Shovelers, two Gadwall, and two Tufted Ducks, plus a Green Woodpecker, a Chiffchaff and a Goldcrest along the path and 30 Coots and four Moorhens on the lawn of Peckhams Farmhouse,. (CRJ)
Medmerry: Windmill to the Breach - A pair of Stonechats were near the windmill and a handful of Linnets and Pied Wagtails were among the caravans this morning, with just four Red-breasted Mergansers and three Great Crested Grebes offshore.
There were large numbers of Wigeon and Teal, plus c40 Pintail, around the Breach, along with a Sanderling, c50 Ringed Plovers and Grey Plovers and 500+ Dunlin, with several hundred Lapwings and Brent Geese up over the reserve. (AH)
Stonechat (above), Sanderling and Grey Plover, Pintail and Wigeon & Brent Geese at Medmerry (AH)
Sunday, 4th January: Another very cold morning after a heavy overnight frost, though with uninterrupted sunshine and the north-westerly breeze having abated, a pleasant morning to be out.....
Selsey Bill: It was another quiet morning, with a Sanderling on the beach the only thing beyond the regular mix. Full log below. (JA/SH/BI/IP/AH)
(0735-0905hrs) (NW, F3-4)
Great Northern Diver - 1E, 2os
Red-throated Diver - 4E, 9W, 5os
Gannet - 6E, 4W
Shag - 6E
Little Egret - 1E
Common Scoter - 23W
Red-breasted Merganser - 7E, 7W
Oystercatcher - 1W
Sanderling - 1
Turnstone - 1E, 2 present
Mediterranean Gull - 1W
Great Black-backed Gull - 1E
Sandwich Tern - 5E, 1W
Guillemot - 2W
Razorbill - 6E, 2W
auk sp - 89E, 2W
Sanderling (above), Red-throated Divers & Sandwich Tern at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: The pool was completely frozen this morning, with just four Lapwings and four Black-headed Gulls on it, though an Avocet, a Snipe, eight Black-tailed Godwits, half a dozen Redshanks, c40 Wigeon and Teal and c20 Mallards were in the channel opposite. (AH)
Lapwings (above), Black-tailed Godwit & Avocet, Wigeon, Teal and Mallards around the Ferry (AH)
Mill Pond Marsh: A Raven went over Mill Lane this morning. (M&LL)
Church Norton: Three Greenshank were roosting on the concrete blocks this morning, whilst two Red-throated Divers were offshore and a Cetti's Warbler was calling from the Severals. (S&SaH)
This afternoon, the drake Long-tailed Duck and three Slavonian Grebes were offshore, along with a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, a Sandwich Tern and a dozen Great Crested Grebes.
At least 400 Knot and 1000 Dunlin were among the waders in the harbour, along with three Greenshanks, a Bar-tailed Godwit, three Black-tailed Godwits and plenty of Wigeon and Teal, plus a Marsh Harrier. (M&LH/AH)
Long-tailed Duck (above), Slavonian Grebe, Marsh Harrier and Carrion Crows, Teal & Wigeon at Church Norton (AH)
North Wall: The three first-winter White-fronted Geese were in Honer 3 field with c20 Brent Geese this morning, whilst the male and two female Marsh Harriers were up behind the Breech Pool, which held a Water Rail, a Little Grebe and at least four Snipe.
A couple of Rock Pipits, a Redwing and a few Song Thrushes were along the wall, though it was generally quiet, whilst White's Creek held large numbers of Wigeon and teal, plus a few Pintail, along with c300 Lapwings, but most waders were elsewhere on the high tide. (AH/LP/CS/GH/E&SB et al)
White-fronted Geese (above), Marsh Harrier, Rock Pipit, Water Rail, Snipe (AH), Redwing, Song Thrush, White-fronted Geese & Little Grebe (EB) at the North Wall
Pagham Lagoon: A quick look late morning produced nine Pochard, c40 Tufted Ducks and a dozen Little Grebes, but not much else. (AH)
Pochard on Pagham Lagoon (AH)
Fishbourne Creek: Two Jack Snipe and ten Common Snipe were along the saltmarsh this orning as werec.10 Rock Pipits. Two Goldeneye, a displaying male and a female were on the water as were c.300 Wigeon, c.300 Brent Geese, c.40 Teal & 12 Pintail. In the wader roost were Black-tailed Godwits, Redshanks, Ringed Plovers and many Curlew. (BI)
Park Farm, Selsey: Around the fields this morning, there were a Dartford Warbler, a Stonechat, three Grey Wagtails, eight Pied Wagtails and c30 Meadow Pipits, with a Buzzard over.
Also, nearby, a Snipe was on the waste ground opposite the Selsey Centre. (S&SaH)
Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A Merlin was about this afternoon, along with two Marsh Harriers and two Kestrels, with at least 500 Brent Geese, c100 Lapwings, a couple of Golden Plovers and a Snipe on the reserve, but just two Stonechats, a Yellowhammer and c20 Linnets were along the banks. (S&SaH)
