Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 25th

Sunday, 27th November: A grey and cloudy sort of day, though fortunately dry, but still chilly with a moderate north-easterly wind force 4-5....

We start with an update from yesterday concerning the three Great White Egrets which flew in with a Little Egret and gave good views at the Bill, having being observed arriving from way out. The sole and fortunate observer (JA) was without camera, but managed to take a couple of shots on his mobile phone, which are included below. A bit of cropping has been applied, and with a bit of imagination the images at least give the impression of size. Interestingly, what were presumably the same GWE's were seen soon after at Chichester Harbour (see yesterday's blog) and latter passing Hayling Island, Hants....though the Little Egret escort seems to have increased to three!

Three Great White Egrets and a Little Egret arriving from the sea at Selsey Bill.... the smaller size of the latter can clearly be made out (JA).

Selsey Bill: There were a few divers on the move this morning, and a few other bits, too. Full log below. (JA/SH/AH/MJ/JD/DS)
(0715-1000hrs) NE4 cloudy

Red-throated Diver - 29E, 8W, 1os
Black-throated Diver - 1E

Great Northern Diver - 6os

Slavonian Grebe - 1W, 1os

Great Crested Grebe - 2E, 3W, 2os

Gannet - 9E, 9W

Little Egret - 1W

Brent Goose - 2E, 5W

Wigeon - 2E
Pintail - 1E

Common Scoter - 12E, 51W, 7os

Red-breasted Merganser - 7E, 9W, 10os

Turnstone - 12p

Sanderling - 1p

Mediterranean Gull - 3E, 2os

Common Gull - 1W
Razorbill - 1E, 1W
Guillemot - 1E
auk sp - 8E, 32W
Wood Pigeon - 123W
Grey Wagtail - 1E

Also - 1500-1600hrs: (SH)
Red-throated Diver - 4E, 1W
Great Crested Grebe - 1W
Gannet - 8E, 7W and 25os mixed in with large distant gull flock

Brent Goose - 5E

Common Scoter - 8E

Teal - 25W

Red-breasted Merganser - 2E, 4W

auk sp - 1W

Sandwich Tern - 1os (mobbed by gulls)

Little Gull - 1E (adult)

Common Gull - 5E

Red-throated Divers (above), Great Northern Diver, Red-breasted Mergansers & Sanderling and Turnstone at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: Just a Black-tailed Godwit and a Redshank on the pool and c40 Wigeon on the field this morning. (AH)

Church Norton: The Long-tailed Duck was in the harbour again, along with three Red-breasted Mergansers, three Little Grebes and at least six Great Crested Grebes, but there was nothing offshore save a few Mediterranean Gulls.
There were many hundreds of Brent Geese around the harbour, and at least half a dozen Bar-tailed Godwits and 50+ Knot among the large numbers of waders present, and the small male Peregrine was on the island.
There were also couple of Chiffchaffs, a couple of Stonechats and a few Goldcrests about, plus a few Skylarks and a couple of Meadow Pipits along the spit. (S&SaH/AH)

Knot, Grey Plover, Dunlin and Turnstone (SH) (above), Knot, Knot, Dunlin and Grey Plover & Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

Chichester GPs: On Drayton from the A259 were c.25 Pochards, 12 Shoveler, six Great Crested Grebes, a Little Grebe, 20 Tufted Ducks and, as always, lots of Coots. On Ivy Lake, the Scaup was again present trying with a few Tufted Ducks to get some shelter from the biting wind on the far side, 18 Great Crested Grebes, a few Herring Gulls & Mallards and five Little Egrets in the trees. Copse Lake only held a single Great Crested Grebe, East & West Trout Lakes had Coots, more Great Crested Grebes and Black-headed & Herring Gulls whilst on Nunnery were four Gadwall. (BI)

Gadwall, above, on Nunnery lake and Little Egret, below, at Ivy Lake. (BI)

Medmerry: Four Velvet Scoter & a male Common Pochard flew past eastwards at 1415hrs. (PJ)

Saturday, 26th November: A better day than forecast, with a modest - if chilly - easterly breeze and quite a bit of sunshine....

Selsey Bill: Three Great White Egrets flew in with a Little Egret from far offshore and disappeared over the houses inland. Also a Merlin and a Peregrine were both hunting offshore. Full log below:

(0715-0915hrs) (JA)

Red-throated Diver - 1E, 10W
Black-throated Diver - 1W

Great Northern Diver - 5os

Slavonian Grebe - 2os

Great Crested Grebe - 1E, 6W, 1os

Gannet - 4E

Great White Egret - 3N (at 8.06am)

Little Egret - 1N

Brent Goose - 2E, 1W

Wigeon - 7E

Eider - 11W

Common Scoter - 2E, 5W

Red-breasted Merganser - 5E, 8W, 8os

Sparrowhawk - 1p

Peregrine - 1os

Merlin - 1os

Mediterranean Gull - 1W

auk sp - 11E

Wood Pigeon - 63W

Pied Wagtail - 1p

(0915-1030hrs) (SR)

Red-throated Diver - 12E, 1W
Great Northern Diver - 1os drifting W
Slavonian Grebe - 2os drifting W
Great Crested Grebe - 3E, 8W, 1os
Gannet - 4E
Brent Goose - 4E, 1W
Common Scoter - 3E, 1W
Red-breasted Merganser - 12E, 1W, 1os drifting W
auk sp - 2W
Meadow Pipit - 1N

Snowhill Creek: It looks like the three Great White Egrets went west and over Chichester Harbour this morning, in the company of three Little Egrets, after passing the Bill. (MR)

Great White and Little Egrets over Snowhill Creek (MR)

A Kingfisher was also showing well there this morning. (MR)

Kingfisher at Snowhill Creek (MR)

Ferry Pool: A Green Sand[piper and a Black-tailed Godwit were on the pool this morning, along with eight Shoveler and 15 Teal, and also a Grey Wagtail went over. (AH)

Long Pool: A Water Rail and half a dozen Reed Buntings were on the pool this morning, a Mistle Thrush was on the conifers by the houses, and in Ferry Channel there were a Kingfisher, a Spotted Redshank, ten Grey Plover, five Black-tailed Godwits and 200 Wigeon, and there were at least 30 Avocets at the far end. (AH)

Water Rail (above), Spotted Redshank and Grey Plover, Kingfisher, Avocets and Brent Geese & Mistle Thrush around Long Pool (AH)

Church Norton: A Long-tailed Duck was offshore first thing (D&MB), with another in the harbour, along with nine Red-breasted Mergansers, half a dozen Little Grebes and a dozen Great Crested Grebes.

There were a pair of Stonechats in the horse field and a dozen Skylarks and a couple of Greenfinches along the spit, and at the far end of it there were up to 200 Mediterranean Gulls, plus a few Common Gulls. Plenty of the regular wintering waders and wildfowl were about, including a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits, a Black-tailed Godwit, 20+ Knot and 40+ Ringed Plover, whilst a Buzzard was on Peregrine Island, and a Peregrine was sat nearby. (AH)

Long-tailed Duck (above), Turnstones, Grey Plovers, Knot, Turnstones, Grey Plovers and Dunlin & the new shape of the harbour mouth at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane - Very quiet this afternoon, with just a couple of Reed Buntings, four Stonechats, a Sparrowhawk, a Buzzard and four Kestrels about. (S&SaH)

Friday, 25th November: Another bright and very breezy day, with a bracing north-north-easterly keeping the temperature well down, despite the sun......

Selsey Bill: A surprising amount of movement compared to recent days, though nothing unusual. Three Great Northern Divers were present offshore, whilst very distantly a flock of 3000+ gulls could be made out on the horizon, but too far out to offer any chance of an ID....

Full log below......

0815-1030hrs: NNE5-6, easing later (JA/SR/A&YF et al)
Red-throated Diver - 20W
Great Northern Diver - 3os
diver sp - 36W
Slavonian Grebe - 1E
Great Crested Grebe - 2W, 1os
Gannet - 2E, 9W
Brent Goose - 2E, 4W
Common Scoter - 6E, 34W, 4os
Red-breasted Merganser - 1E, 5W, 11os
Sanderling - 1E
Peregrine - 1os hunting
Razorbill - 5E
Guillemot - 1W
Auk sp - 109W
Stock Dove - 1N
Kittiwake - 8E
Rock Pipit - 1ob
Meadow Pipit - 5N
Skylark - 10N
Starling - 37N

Ferry Pool: Just 22 Teal on the pool this morning. (AH)

Pagham Lagoon: There were three Goldeneye present this morning - a drake and two redheads, along with a fly-by Kingfisher and the usual 20+ Little Grebes and Tufted Duck. There were also 80 Mediterranean Gulls and ten Common Gulls on the water and 50 Brent Geese dropped in. (AH)

Goldeneye (above)< Mediterranean Gulls & Brent Geese at Pagham Lagoon (AH)

North Wall/East Side: There was very little besides 50+ Teal and similar of Mallard on the Breech Pool, though a Kingfisher was around the sluice, and there were 40 Black-tailed Godwits and 500+ Brent Geese in White's Creek.

Out in the harbour there were six Red-breasted Mergansers and a couple of Great Crested and Little Grebes, plus plenty of Wigeon, Pintail and Shelduck, and at least 100 Golden Plover and 500 Lapwing went up a couple of times. As the tide dropped there were large numbers of Dunlin, Grey Plover and Ringed Plover on the mud, along with 40 Knot and a handful of Bar-tailed Godwits, and in the hedge along the Slipe Field there were 30+ Reed Buntings and Goldfinches. (AH)

Kingfisher (above), Golden Plovers, Black-tailed Godwits, Reed Bunting, Curlew, Knot, Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Grey Plover & Dunlin and Knot along east side of harbour (AH)