1st - 3rd November 2017

Friday, 3rd November: Fortunately, there was no repeat of yesterday's fog, despite the forecast, and it was a pleasantly mild and fairly sunny morning, with just a gentle north-easterly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: It was pretty quiet again, with very little overhead and just the odd Brent Goose, Great Northern Diver and Shag moving offshore, though there was a Stonechat briefly along the front of the Oval Field and a Chiffchaff and one or two Goldcrests in the ornamental bushes in the new estate on the old Pontin's site. Full log below... (C&ME/AH/MO-W/JA/SR)
(0700-1100hrs)
Great Northern Diver - 1E, 2W, 1os
Gannet - 32W
Shag - 3E
Brent Goose - 13W
Shelduck - 2W
Common Scoter - 2W
Red-breasted Merganser - 1W
Turnstone - 21p
Common Gull - 1W
Sandwich Tern - 1E
Razorbill - 2E
auk sp 8W
Meadow Pipit - 2E
Pied Wagtail - 13N
Stonechat - 1p
Chiffchaff - 1p
Goldcrest - 3p
Long-tailed Tit - 7p

Great Northern Diver (above), Shags, Chiffchaff & Goldfinch at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were three Snipe on the concealed pool, and on the main pool there were three Black-tailed Godwits, four Shelduck, c150 Lapwing and c40 Teal, with c100 Wigeon on the adjacent field. (AH)

Snipe (above), Lapwing & Wigeon at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: The bushes were quiet save a couple of Goldcrests and a pair of Siskins among a flighty flock of 50 or so Goldfinches, whilst along the beach and spit there were around a dozen Skylarks and Meadow Pipits and at least 100 Linnets.

The Spoonbill was roosting in the harbour, a couple of Kingfishers flew through and there were several hundred Brent Geese and plenty of Wigeon and Pintail on the water at high tide, whilst around the concrete blocks and the old harbour mouth there were a Curlew Sandpiper, a handful of Knot and the Whimbrel among the many Grey Plover, Dunlin, Redshank and Turnstones. (AH)

Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlin, Knot and Grey Plover, Dunlin and Grey Plover, Dunlin, Whimbrel, Brent Geese & Linnet at Church Norton (AH)

There were two Dartford Warblers showing along hte west side at midday, with a Black-necked Grebe in the harbour on the high tide. (MD)

At least one Dartford Warbler was still showing this afternoon along the West Side. (AW)

Dartford Warbler at Church Norton (AW)

Thursday, 2nd November: After a misty but sunny start, a huge bank of fog rolled in, reducing visibility down to 100m for an hour or more, before it burnt off to leave another bright and still morning.....

Hide and Seek: With the imminent construction of a new hide at the Ferry, a timely reminder  has been forwarded to me by Bob Lord, then the Warden of Pagham Harbour, recalling the days when the old hide was shiny and new!

He says, "Reading the blog about the RSPB's replacement Ferry Hide reminds me of 15 April 1982 when the Youth Opportunities Programme lads, and others, posed for the Chichester Observer photographer on that wet and windy day." 

So far so good, but Bob went on, "The others, including yourself that is - I think you were supposed to be at work and took some time out - hence being a bit camera-shy!!! - You actually stood next to Bob Edgar against the hide if I recall correctly. Please see attached photo (bit grainy I'm afraid) and the short write-up. Happy days!!"

Ah,,,,erm...yes....I recall now Bob. Happy days indeed! (OM)

The official hand-over of the new Ferry Pool hide on 15th April 1982 (photo/article Chi Observer, per Bob Lord).....and for the record I am there but seem to be missing from view! (OM) 

 

Selsey Bill: Fairly quiet, even without the fog.....A smart male Brambling was in the small ornamental garden on the estate (old Pontins site) before being flushed all too soon by an inquisitive resident, whilst a Lesser Redpoll went over and a handful of Goldcrests were present. (OM)    Full log below......

0700-1100hrs:  (OM/C&ME/MJ)

Gannet - 1E, 8W

Grey Heron - 1E

Brent Goose - 9E, 7W

Common Scoter - 2E

Mediterranean Gull - 2W

Common Gull - 1W, 1ob

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1W

Woodpigeon - 30W

Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1 gardens

Pied Wagtail - 6W

Greenfinch - 6, estate gardens

Brambling - 1, estate gardens

Goldfinch - 25W, 15p

Lesser Redpoll - 1W

Goldcrest - 10 gardens

Chiffchaff - 2 gardens

Greenfinch at the Bill - becoming increasingly scarce here - and the ornamental garden offering the last vestiges of any habitat on the 'old Pontins estate.' (OM)

Selsey, West:  I made a brief visit to several sites, but all were quiet or worse....the best I could do was at Drift Lane/Warner Lane paddocks where just 2 Stonechats, 2 Chiffchaffs and 2-3 Goldcrests were about it! (OM) 

Ferry Pool: There were still four Snipe on the pool, along with a couple of Black-tailed Godwits, six Shelduck, c60 Teal and c150 Lapwing, with similar of Wigeon on the adjacent field. Also, a Buzzard was feeding on prey at the back. (AH)

Buzzard (above), Black-tailed Godwit & Shelducks and Lapwings on the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: The Dartford Warbler was still present, but highly mobile, beyond the end of the pool, but beyond a couple of Stonechats and a couple of fly-over Skylarks, passerines were in short supply. A total of 55 Avocets were roosting at the end of Ferry Channel, and there were plenty of Wigeon, Teal, Pintail and Shelduck on the water, and Redshanks, Dunlin, Curlews and Grey Plover on the odd bits of dry land. (AH)

Two halves of the Avocet flock (above), Pintails, Curlew and grey Plover & Stonechat along Long Pool (AH)

North Wall: The Spoonbill was viewable from the wall on the high tide, but there weren't too many waders to be found, besides a few fly-over Snipe. Along the wall there were a Kingfisher, a Stonechat, a Cetti's Warbler and a few Reed Buntings. (PB)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A Merlin was active around the Easton Lane end early on, and along the banks there were at least six Stonechats and a dozen or so Yellowhammers and Meadow Pipits, but all that could be seen on the Stilt Pool as the fog descended were a Snipe, a pair of Gadwall and a few Lapwings. (AH)

Yellowhammers (above) & Stonechat at Medmerry (AH)

Church Norton: The Dartford Warbler was still along the west side this afternoon, whilst a female Pintail was near Church Norton with five Shelducks and there were four Stonechats along the Severals. Also, the flock of Brent Geese has grown to well over 300. (AW)

Pintail (above) & Stonechat at Church Norton (AW)

Medmerry: Porthole Farm - A Barn Owl was hunting around the fields again this evening. (AH)

Barn Owl (above) & a dramatic moon at Medmerry (AH)

Wednesday, 1st November: A lovely morning, with just a light southerly breeze and plenty of warm sunshine.....

Selsey Bill: As has been noted, good weather doesn't always make for good bird-watching, and the Bill was very quiet early on, with just an Eider west and a Kittiwake and a couple of Guillemots east of note and almost no overhead migration...though later on a Bonxie and a Red-throated Diver were among a wider range of species seen. Full log below....
(0635-1000hrs)   .(AH/GH/C&ME)
Red-throated Diver - 1E
diver sp - 1W
Great Crested Grebe -1W
Gannet - 8E, 11W
Brent Goose - 3W
Common Scoter - 2E
Eider - 1W
Red-breasted Merganser - 1E
Great Skua - 1W
skua sp - 1W
Kittiwake - 1E, 2W

Common Gull - 2W

Guillemot - 5E
auk sp 25E, 15W, 6os
Wood Pigeon - 20W
Rock Pipit - 1N
Grey Wagtail - 1E
Pied Wagtail - 2N
Chiffchaff - 1p
Goldfinch - 65W

Ferry Pool: There were at least four Snipe on the pool, plus six Black-tailed Godwits, six Shelduck, c60 Teal and an increase to at least 300 Lapwings, whilst most of the 150 or so Wigeon were on the adjoining cropped field. (AH)

Snipe (above) & Wigeon on the ferry (AH)

Long Pool/West Side: A Dartford Warbler was in the gorse in the old 'Hay Bales' area, well away from yesterday's sighting, but there wasn't much else along the side of the harbour. Along the Long Pool there were a pair of Stonechats, half a dozen Reed Buntings and similar of very flighty Goldcrests, plus two calling Cetti's Warblers, but there was little to be seen in Ferry Channel, on the high tide, beyond a fleeting Kingfisher and a few Wigeon and Teal. (AH)

Dartford Warbler along the West Side (AH)

Church Norton: There was a busy group of Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits around the hide area, but not too much else, whilst along the beach and spit there were just half a dozen Skylarks and Meadow Pipits and c50 each of Greenfinch and Linnet.

Two Peregrines were out in the harbour, the Whimbrel was in its usual area, and among the roosting waders there were at least 80 Grey Plovers and a couple of Bar-tailed Godwit, with a couple of Pintail among the Wigeon and Teal, and there were also at least 200 Brent Geese and 30 Shelduck on the water. (AH)

Whimbrel (above), Goldcrest, Meadow Pipit, Peregrine, Grey Plovers & Shelducks at Church Norton (AH)

Chi GPs - Drayton Pits: The most notable feature was an obvious influx of Pochards, with a fairly tight group of 47 birds present. That apart, it was standard late autumn fare, with 24 Shoveler, 27 Gadwall and 8 Snipe on or around the lakes. Four Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk were soaring, whilst in the hedgerows and sallows were 12 Chiffchaffs, a few Goldcrests, 4 Cetti's Warblers and 10 Song Thrushes.  (OM)

Pochards at Drayton GPs (OM)