7th - 9th January 2017

Monday, 9th January: A fairly miserable day, starting grey and breezy, with rain setting in from early afternoon....

North Wall: There was not much out of the ordinary along the wall, though there were plenty of Black-tailed Godwits, Curlews and Wigeon on the fields and many hundreds of Brent Geese in the harbour.

Around Honer Reservoir there were c20 Yellowhammers and 40 Reed Buntings in the hedges, and four Gadwall, a Shelduck and 20 Tufted Duck were on the water. (AH)

Reed Bunting (above), Curlew & Black-tailed Godwits around North Wall (AH)

Ferry Pool: Just a Shoveler and four Teal were on the pool today. (AH)

Shoveler on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: A quick look on the sea produced 50 Gannets offshore, but not much else, whilst in the harbour there were several hundred Brent Geese and plenty of Dunlin, plus two Goldeneye and at least 30 Black-tailed Godwits, whilst at least 100 Golden Plover went up with 500+ Lapwing at the other end. (AH)

Gannet, Black-tailed Godwit & Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

Sidlesham churchyard: A Firecrest and a Treecreeper were the best this morning, but otherwise quiet with just 4 Goldcrests, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and 40 Goldfinch. (OM)


Fishbourne Creek:  I searched for the Water Pipit this morning but had no luck, just 3 Meadow Pipits and 2 Grey Wagtails. In the channel 3 stunning male Goldeneye displayed to a lone female and near the pony field were a flock of 50 Yellowhammers, 6 Greenfinch and a couple of Reed Buntings. (CRJ)

Chi GPs - Ivy Lake: A brief stop failed to produce either the Long-tailed Duck or Scaup, but 27 Pochard were near the chalets.  (CRJ)

At around midday the Long-tailed Duck and the four Black Swans were near the chalets. (SR)

Sunday, 8th January: A really dank, misty and dreary morning, clearing only slowly, but still mild and calm with little or no breeze throughout the day....

From the Archives: It's probably going to be a bit of a slow day for bird news, so as a bit of padding, herewith just a couple of items, which now date back around 25 years and may be of interest...... (OM)

 Gateway to Paradise! This shot, taken for posterity in Sept 1992, shows the entrance to the old Pontins Broadreeds holiday camp in Grafton Road, when the site had been wonderfully derelict for almost three years and superb for wildlife. Where are those gates now I wonder! (OM)

The famous impromptu football match on the Oval Field, 1st May 1993. The weather conditions looked promising, but on arrival sea-watchers found a dense fog over the sea which lasted all morning, yet just inland it was fairly clear. Impatience grew and eventually MJ's son went and fetched a football and a game began....we had great fun though the scoreline has faded into history. Left to right are John Brame, Lesley Coley, the late Barry Carter, Mervyn Jones, Jim Weston, anon (sorry), Martin Jones and Chris Janman. (OM)

Selsey Bill: (0745-0830hrs): The only bird of note was a female Blackcap in the Bill House garden. (JA/IP/AH)

Brent Goose - 6W
Mallard - 2W
Oystercatcher - 2W
Turnstone - 3p
Mediterranean Gull - 2p
Blackcap - 1p

Coastguard Station: Early this afternoon there were two Great Northern Divers, 84 Common Scoters, 14 Red-breasted Mergansers and two Great Crested Grebes offshore. (JA)

Selsey - Park Farm: Five Shoveler and two Buzzards were present this morning, and a Grey Wagtail flew north over the town. (SH)

East Beach Pond: There was a Black Swan on the pool this morning. (NH)

Bramber Farm: Two White-fronted Geese were in fields near the reservoir this morning. (PLS)

Church Norton: A walk from Selsey to Norton started in rain and fog, but finally produced 58 species, the highlights being three Long-tailed Ducks and a Razorbill offshore, seven Common Scoter east, a Grey Wagtail on the Severals and 2 Stonechats on the concrete spit. (S&SaH) 

Offshore later there were 12 Slavonian Grebes. (A.Gray)

Also, the Whimbrel was still present, several hundred Brent geese left the harbour to settle on the sea and a Chiffchaff and a Goldcrest were in the hedges. (AH/IP/JA)

Whimbrel (above) & Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

JA - having abandoned a fog-bound Bill - on a less than annual visit to Church Norton, with IP and friend (AH)

Medmerry: East side - The Black Redstart was present around the rubble and offshore were c.70 Common Scoter & a single Velvet Scoter. A Black-throated Diver was also close inshore. (A.Gray)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - The Barn Owl was present again this afternoon, and there were also 300+ Golden Plover and Lapwing on the reserve, a Stonechat and a Yellowhammer along the banks and 100+ Fieldfare, with a few Redwing among them around the poplars. (SH/IP)

Ivy Lake: The Scaup and the Long-tailed Duck were both still present this morning. (A Gray/L Beadell)

Itchenor Pond:  Not much about in the rain but there were at least 2 Treecreepers, 7 Goldcrests, a Jay, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a bedraggled Buzzard trying to dry itself out. (SR)

Buzzard at Itchenor Pond (SR)

Ferry Pool: Late this afternoon there were three Shoveler, 25 Teal and c300 Wigeon on the pool. (AH)

Wigeon on the Ferry (AH) 

Pagham Spit: A count of 19 Slavonian Grebes today.....  3 (quite far out), 12 (just beyond the spit) and 4 (on the breaker line at the channel entrance).  A gloomy old day, but a feast of birds in the harbour too. (per R. Reedman, Berks OC)

Saturday, 7th January: Mild but very murky, damp and misty to start, becoming clearer but cloudy with a light NW breeze....

Selsey Bill: (0740-0850hrs) W3 cloudy (JA)
Slavonian Grebe - 1E, 2os
Gannet - 1E, 5W
Common Scoter - 4E
Red-breasted Merganser - 2E, 3W, 2os
Turnstone - 3obs
Kittiwake - 1W

Park Farm, Selsey: The long-staying Dartford Warbler was present again today. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: There were three Long-tailed Ducks offshore together this afternoon, plus the two Velvet Scoters. (S&SaH/IL)

Ivy Lake: The Bittern showed again briefly this afternoon. (RHa per IP)

East Head: There was no sign of the Snow Bunting this morning, though there were two Dartford Warblers present and at least a dozen Stonechats around the dunes. A flock of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits was on the marsh and c.200 Golden Plover were roosting on the north east side. Later a Black-throated Diver flew into the harbour and headed up Emsworth Channel.  (BI)

Dartford Warbler (above) & Golden Plover at East Head (BI)

Fishbourne Creek: There was one (and quite possibly two) Water Pipits along with six Rock Pipits this morning, and two Jack Snipe and a Common Snipe were nearby, with a Spotted Redshank and a Kingfisher also present. There were also a few Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers along the hedges and two Stonechats on the saltmarsh. (IP/PB/AB/BI)

Water Pipit at Fishbourne (BI)

Itchenor Pond: There were a Nuthatch and a Tree-creeper present this morning. (IP)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - The Common Sandpiper was on the Stilt Pool again this morning, and there were two mixed thrush flocks near the poplars, totalling 97 birds, of which the majority were Redwing. (IP/PB)

At dusk this evening a Barn Owl was out hunting in its traditional area. (AH)

Medmerry: Breach area - The Black Redstart was around the fenced-off compound near the breach this morning, and a Merlin was sitting out in the middle of the reserve. (IL)

Chi GPs - Drayton pit: Nothing out of the ordinary, though 12 Snipe and 90 Shoveler were present, also 40 Gadwall, 25 Pochard and 2 Green Woodpeckers, whilst 2 Water Rails were calling on and off. (OM)

Ferry Pool: There were two Black-tailed Godwits, 30 Teal and c150 Lapwing on the pool at lunchtime. (AH)