1st - 3rd November 2015

Tuesday, 3rd November: A grey but mild start, but with an increasing south-easterly wind bringing drizzle and the threat of rain....

Selsey Bill: The Snow Bunting was still along the front of the Oval Field and adjacent beach this morning, despite the almost continual flow of people and dogs - though it did retreat onto a nearby roof a couple of times, and there were over a dozen Goldcrests in the gardens, but not much else on offer there. Over a dozen Shags went east, and Slavonian Grebes and a Great Northern Diver featured this morning, but there was little other movement.....

 

Also of interest, local resident Michael Shergold, who lives just behind the beach at the west end of the Bill, reports a Red-legged Partridge regularly attending to feed in his garden, usually around 8-ish in the morning and 2-3pm afternoons....never an easy bird to get at the Bill-tip for those interested! (OM)

 Red-legged Partridge feeding in garden at the Bill-tip, 1st Nov (M. Shergold)

 

0730-1030hrs: SE2-4  (Obs: C&ME/DF/OM/AH et al)   Today's Log.....
Great Northern Diver - 1 os

Red-throated Diver - 1E, 1W

Great Crested Grebe - 2E, 1W

Slavonian Grebe - 3 os (inc. two which flew in from west and settled os)

Gannet - 1E, 4W

Shag - 14E

Brent Goose - 3W

Common Scoter - 7E

Red-breasted Merganser - 2E

Kestrel - 1 area

Razorbill - 1W

Auk sp - 5W

Woodpigeon - 100E

Meadow Pipit - 13E

Pied Wagtail - 9E

Goldcrest - 15 gardens

Goldfinch - 40E

Snow Bunting - 1 ob

Snow Bunting (above), Shag and Cormorant, Goldcrest & Wren at the Bill (AH)

Selsey East Beach Pond: There were two Firecrests present this morning, along with three Chiffchaffs and 30+ Goldcrests in the sallows and a Water Rail was squealing away from one of the patches of reeds. Also 40 Goldfinch, a Grey Wagtail and three Pied Wagtails over. (OM/AH)

Firecrest (above) & Goldcrest at East Beach Pond (AH)

Ferry Pool: No sign of the Little Stint this morning, though there was a Spotted Redshank, two Green Sandpipers, two Snipe, a few Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwits and three Avocets present. The Lapwing flock was approaching 500 birds this morning, and there were 30+ Red-legged Partridges in the Environment Agency yard and similar of 'released' Grey Partridges in the field behind. (AH)

Spotted Redshank and Teal (above), Red-legged Partridges & Grey Partridges around the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: The Dartford Warbler was skulking in the gorse along the beach this morning, along with a couple of Stonechats, there were a few Linnets, Goldfinches and Meadow Pipits about, and 20 or so Teal and a couple of Redshank in the creek by the horse field though it was generally quiet. (AH)

Teal at Church Norton (AH)

 Pagham Churchyard: Two Firecrests here this morning were a nice surprise, with around 15 Goldcrests and a single Chiffchaff also present (OM).

Pagham beach area: A search of the likely spots produced c.20 Goldcrests and at least 4 Chiffchaffs, plus a dozen Long-tailed Tits. (OM)

North Wall: A Short-eared Owl was hunting the fields at dusk (per SOS website)


 

Monday, 2nd November: A very foggy start, with visibility down to a few yards at times, though also clearing periodically.....

Advance Notice: Between the 6th and 13th November 2015, the Church Warden, Volunteers and contractors will be carrying out work in the Churchyard at Church Norton involving a variety of machinery. Could visitors to the site please be aware of this activity and take notice of any warning signs. Thank you (I. Lang, Warden)

(Let's just hope it's not too detrimental to the habitat there! Eds).

Double take.... I am very grateful to Juliet Moore for bringing the following to my attention..... she says "I was just looking at Spider's blog on Scilly and there was a Marsh Warbler with a white wing patch.... could it be your bird gone West?" She kindly forwarded the pic of the bird taken from Spider's Scilly blog, http://scillyspider.blogspot.co.uk/ which clearly shows a white (aberrant?) left wing panel and this is reproduced below......

Marsh Warbler on Scilly, 31st October (per Spider's Scilly blog)

Local observers may recall a strikingly similar-looking bird in the Bill House garden I photo'd on 20th October (see blog archive for that date); some of the Selsey bird's features seem pro-Marsh whilst others are less so in my (poor and variable) photo's. So, could it be the same bird, or even a bird from the same brood, or is it just wishful thinking...? Comments welcome...... (OM)

 Selsey bird 20th October (OM)

Selsey Bill: The Snow Bunting was still present this morning (SR)

Selsey East Beach: a Firecrest was tagging along with c30 Goldcrests and there were 6 Long-tailed Tits with numerous Blue and Great Tits, 2 Chiffchaffs and 4 Pied Wagtails. (SR)

Ferry Pool: The Little Stint was still at the back this morning, in the company of four Green Sandpipers and half a dozen Dunlin. There were still 20+ Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Avocet, 200 Lapwing, 42 Wigeon, c20 Shoveler and plenty of Teal on the pool, whilst the Kingfisher and Grey Wagtails both passed through. (AH/CRJ)

Around the Visitor Centre area were a Chiffchaff and several Goldcrests, a Short-eared Owl over and a Mediterranean Gull likewise (CRJ).

Long Pool:  A Buzzard,  1 Kestrel, a Meadow Pipit,  8 Blackbirds,  3 Stonechats (2m,1f) and  6 Reed Buntings were present (CRJ)

Church Norton: The Dartford Warbler was still along the front of the first Several, though always elusive, and there were still two pairs of Stonechats, two Cetti's Warblers and half a dozen Reed Buntings in the vicinity, whilst there were a dozen or so Linnets and Meadow Pipits around the beach, and three Redwings flew over towards the Priory.

It was hard to see much in the harbour, and there were just a couple of Jays and a few Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits around the bushes. (AH/SR)

Rear view of a Dartford Warbler!, (above), Stonechat & Reed Buntings at Church Norton (AH)

Pagham Lagoon: The Slavonian Grebe was still on the Lagoon early afternoon; also plenty of Little Grebes and Coots and a few Tufted Ducks. (BI)

Slavonian Grebe on Pagham Lagoon (BI)

Sunday, 1st November: A chilly and grey start to the new month, with thick morning fog and a light ESE wind.... and so as we enter the winter period, it's time to reflect on the autumn - a keenly anticipated time that brought a decent selection of interesting species to the Peninsula, but sadly no icing on the cake in the form of a quality rarity. Not that the autumn is actually quite over yet of course, as the first half of this month can be excellent for producing a late birding gem before the winter truly takes hold.... keep looking!

Selsey Bill: First news this morning is that the Snow Bunting has re-appeared, after going missing for a couple of days, much to the delight of our esteemed log-keeper JA for whom it was actually a Bill-tick! (SR)

There was also a Black Redstart around the Bill House, but not much else in the foggy conditions. full log below.

(0645-0900) (JA/SH/PB/AB/IP/SR/BI)

Shag - 1E
Grey Heron - 1E
Brent Goose - 1E
Shelduck - 1os
Skylark - 1W
Rock Pipit - 1p
Meadow Pipit - 2p
Pied Wagtail - 1E, 1p
Black Redstart - 1p
Goldcrest - 12p
Siskin - 5E
Chaffinch - 8E
Snow Bunting - 1p

Black Redstart (SH) (above) & Snow Bunting at the Bill (SH/BI/IP/AH)

Below - four additional pics of the Black Redstart and Snow Bunting at the Bill this morning (AB)

Park Farm, Selsey: The was a Black Redstart on the new building site, opposite the farm buildings this morning, and a Redwing was heard in nearby bushes. (S&SaH/IP/AB/PB/AH)

Black Redstart at Park Farm, Selsey (AH)

Church Norton: The Dartford Warbler was present along the front of the first Several, in the company of two Stonechats, though typically elusive. There were also another pair of Stonechats about, one - and  possibly two - Kingfishers, a few Linnets and Goldfinches, a few Goldcrests along the front towards Selsey and a Rock Pipit went over, though most birds were lost in the fog!(S&SaH/IP/AB/PB/AH)

Ferry Pool: The Little Stint was present again on the pool, along with a Spotted Redshank, a few Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwits and c200 Lapwing, whilst the Grey Wagtail went over. (AH)

Long Pool: A Short-eared Owl was hunting over the fields at the far end this morning, and there were four Spotted Redshanks and 20 or so Avocets in Ferry Channel. Also a Water Rail and a Kingfisher were about. (AB/PB)

Medmerry: Windmill to the Breach - There was nothing much at the windmill end, save a few Linnets and Meadow Pipits, whilst offshore a single Shag went east and a single Brent was sat on the sea.

There were three Black Redstarts along the rocks at the Breach end, though the Robins kept seeing them off, and a Chiffchaff appeared briefly on the rocks, too, whilst two Goldcrests appeared on the fence by the sluice at the end of the caravans. A Kingfisher , briefly, and two Stonechats were there, too, whilst there were plenty of Linnets and Meadow Pipits in the vicinity. (AH)

Chiffchaff (above) & Goldcrest at Medmerry (AH)

Easton Lane - Late this afternoon there were at least two Short-eared Owls hunting near Marsh Farm, and the White-fronted Goose was back on the Stilt Pool, having apparently been on Farlington in Hampshire over the last week. Also about were seven Stonechats, a Green Sandpiper, and Cetti's Warbler, whilst there was a late Clouded Yellow along the banks. (S&SaH)

Short-eared Owls at Medmerry (SH)