16th - 18th November 2015

Wednesday, 18th November: Another mild and windy day, with even the odd glimpse of the morning sun, but also a few light showers and the brisk WSW steadily increasing....reaching gale force by afternoon with rain later.

Selsey Bill:  (0720-1130hrs): WSW5-7. (Obs: CRJ/SH/OM/C&ME/AH et al) Not too much moving again, with just a few Kittiwakes, the odd Great Crested Grebe  and a single Great Northern Diver going west. Full log below....  
Red-throated Diver - 1W

Great Northern Diver - 1W

Slavonian Grebe - 1 os

Great Crested Grebe - 6W

Gannet - 1E

Brent Goose - 6W

Common Scoter - 1E, 4W

Red-breasted Merganser - 2W, 1os

Dunlin - 6W

Woodpigeon - 24W

Razorbill - 1W

Kittiwake - 1E, 16W

Arctic Skua - 1W (d/p)

Goldfinch - 19W

Linnet - 23W

1400-1500hrs: (SH)
Great Northern Diver - 3os
Common Scoter - 2E
Little Gull - 4W
Mediterranean Gull - 1os

Selsey East Beach pond: Just a Chiffchaff and a couple of Goldcrests present today (OM)

Ferry Pool: The gales seems to have cleared the birds out, with considerably smaller numbers of the regular birds than of late, though there were five Avocets and two Dunlin present, and three Rooks were braving the wind. (AH)

Rooks on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: One, and probably both, Dartford Warblers were showing occasionally along the west side again this morning, and a Firecrest was in among 20+ Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits at the bottom of the path from the car-park.

There was not much else to report, though there were two Red-breasted Mergansers and eleven Avocets in the main channel, though the latter all flew off towards the Ferry. There was a lot of disturbance, with the wildfowl and waders repeatedly taking to the air, but the source wasn't evident. Among them were a dozen Shoveler (presumably from the Ferry), and good numbers of Grey Plover, Dunlin and Curlew. (AH/CRJ)

Just a little to add to this report....I had two brief flight views of Dartford Warbler in slightly different places, and later a single call at the far end of Reedy Marsh. On the way back, there was a nice surprise behind the hide, a female Black Redstart, often being chased off by a Robin. (CRJ)

Firecrest (above), Goldcrest, Curlew, Grey Plovers and Dunlin & Shelducks and Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

Sidlesham: St Mary's Churchyard: My first visit to this site, on a particularly blustery afternoon, produced 15 Redwings, a dozen Blackbirds, a Jay, several Goldcrests and a calling Chiffchaff (OM).
 

Redwings at St Mary's Churchyard, Sidlesham (OM)

Birdham: A Barn Owl went across the main road and flew into the petrol station inBirdham this evening. It circled around a couple of times under the lights and carried on its way out the other side, to the bemusement of the customers. (AB)

East Head/Snowhill Creek: A pair of Red-breasted Mergansers were offshore today, two Greenshank were sheltering in the creek before relocating to the Pool, two Spotted Redshanks were on the east pool near the hide, a Mediterranean Gull was in the field with 500 plus Brent Geese, and there were a couple of Skylarks and a few Meadow Pipits in the dunes. (K. Jackson)

Tuesday, 17th November: Remaining very unsettled; cloudy and grey this morning and mainly dry with a fresh WSW breeze, but the forecast is for heavy rain and severe gales in the Channel later today, with some damaging gusts.......

Selsey Bill: A Little Auk went west at 10.40 this morning. (RJS/DF/M Greenwood)

Selsey: There was a steady trail of Redwings over our bungalow at dawn, heading north-west. (SR)

Ferry Pool: Not much unusual this morning, but a lot of birds, including four Avocets, 35 Black-tailed Godwits, 20 Curlew, 48 Shoveler, 60 Teal, 120 Wigeon, 12 Shelduck and 250 Lapwing. (AH)

Shoveler and Avocets (above) & Black-tailed Godwits and Curlews at the Ferry (AH)

East Head: Very quiet around the Head, with just a solitary Red-breasted Merganser on the water, plus another four that flew through, and c100 Meadow Pipits and a few Skylarks in the dunes, and a flock of 60+ Greenfinches and a few Pied Wagtails at the northern tip. (AH)

 Red-breasted Merganser (above), Meadow Pipit & Greenfinches at East Head (AH)

Snowhill Creek: A Spotted Redshank was on the harbour side, plus a few Grey Plovers and Black-tailed Godwits, but the creek was very quiet, with just a few Wigeon, Teal, Lapwing and Redshank present. Brent Geese numbers have increased considerably, though, with around 1500 birds spread out across the grass. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above) & Brent Geese at Snowhill Creek (AH)

Monday, 16th November: Another overcast grey day with the prospect of heavy rain and strong westerly winds later, as conditions remain unsettled due to a succession of Atlantic lows sweeping in.....not too encouraging for birding in the field, but at least it remains unseasonably mild!

Selsey Bill: Little encouragement here - just a dozen Brent Geese and a Common Scoter east in an hour this morning. (C&ME/SR)

Church Norton: On the other hand, perseverance paid off here, with two Dartford Warblers (together at one point) and a Firecrest along the 'reedy marsh' on the west side, in the company of 30 or so Goldcrests. There were three Chiffchaffs and a flock of Long-tailed Tits around the hide area, and at least half a dozen Jays around the churchyard.

There were plenty of the regular waders in the harbour, but it was quiet along the beach, with just a Sparrowhawk and a few Reed Buntings and Linnets on show, though a Great Northern Diver which flew in off the sea and overland towards Selsey was a surprise. Also, two Red-breasted Mergansers went east offshore, and there was a family of six Mute Swans sitting on the sea. (AH)

Dartford Warblers (above), Firecrest, Goldcrest, Chiffchaff & Great Northern Diver at Church Norton (AH)

Ferry Pool: Three Snipe were along the edges this morning, and there were six Avocets, 30 Black-tailed Godwits, 40 Shoveler and 100+ Lapwings roosting on the pool, with similar of the latter on the adjacent cropped field. (AH)

Avocets, Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwing and Shoveler on the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: Little on the Breech Pool this morning, save for six Black-tailed Godwits, a Snipe and small flocks of Teal, Wigeon and Mallard, plus a single Shoveler. A flock of c.750 Brent Geese flew into the harbour from the back fields, and a Kingfisher flew from the sluice into White's Creek. The latter area also held 60 Golden Plover, 250 Lapwing and 60 Redshank amongst the regular wildfowl, and a Chiffchaff was present in the vegetation. (OM)

Brent Geese flighting into Pagham Harbour from the North fields (OM)

Pagham Churchyard: Not much activity, but there were a small number of Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits in the increasingly leafless trees, plus at least a dozen Blackbirds, a Kestrel and a Grey Wagtail (OM).

Sidlesham: St Mary's Churchyard:  9 Fieldfare, 3 Redwing, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Song Thrush, 2 Mistle Thrush, c30 Goldcrest, c30 Goldfinch (SR).

Medmerry: Ham viewpoint - This morning, most surprisingly, there was a singing Corn Bunting near the viewpoint, and there were ca.310 Brent Geese on nearby arable, plus a Spotted Redshank on the West side.

(For info, yesterday, c.110 Pintail were on the eastern side, certainly the most Pintail I’ve seen on site since the breach, with c.800 Teal, 250 Wigeon and 280 Mallard over the whole site). (PH).

Snowhill Creek: A Short-eared Owl was hunting over the marsh late this afternoon. (M M Roterman)