Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 4th

Monday, 6th November: After a very frosty start, a glorious, warm and sunny day with barely a breath of breeze.....

Selsey Bill: There was not too much moving offshore, though four Shags went east and four Great Northern Divers were on the sea, but a very late House Martin circled the old Pontins estate for a while and a Lesser Redpoll went over east. Also, a Painted Lady butterfly was between the Bill and East Beach. Full log below.......

0715-1045hrs: (OM/C&ME/SR)
Great Northern Diver - 4 os
Gannet - 2E
Shag - 4E
Brent Goose - 4E, 6W
Common Scoter - 3E
Red-breasted Merganser - 3E
Turnstone - 25 ob
Grey Plover - 15E
Redshank - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 3W
auk sp - 2W
House Martin - 1 (over old Pontins estate) drifted off E
Meadow Pipit - 3W
Pied Wagtail - 10W
Skylark - 1W
Lesser Redpoll - 1E
Goldfinch - 25W
Chiffchaff - 2 gardens
Goldcrest - 5 gardens

Painted Lady in Selsey (SR)

Northcommon Farm: A Ring Ouzel was seen in the first paddock on the left as you go down Golf Links Lane. (JW).

Ferry Pool: Just five Snipe were on the concealed pool and c40 Teal and c100 Lapwing were on the main pool. (AH)

Church Norton: An interesting morning, with two redhead Goosanders and two Ruddy Shelducks in the harbour on the rising tide, before both sets flew off west, and offshore the first four Slavonian Grebes were loafing with three Eider and six Great Crested Grebes towards the end of the spit.

The harbour was full of waders, but nothing too unusual, and a Pale-bellied Brent Goose was in the harbour before joining the 800+ Brent Geese that were split between the harbour and the arable fields. Also, a Greylag went over west.

There were two male Bullfinches in the churchyard and a couple of Mistle Thrushes were about, too, whilst along the spit there were at least a dozen Skylarks, c50 Meadow Pipits and a huge mixed flock of Linnets and Greenfinches. (AH/AW/OM/BI)

Slavonian Grebes (above), Eider, Ruddy Shelducks, Goosanders, Brent Geese, Linnets and Greenfinches (AH), Bullfinches & Greylag Goose (AW) at Church Norton

(above) Cropped and distant shot of the Pale-bellied Brent Goose in the harbour; it seemed to mostly keep its distance from the main Dark-bellied flock (below). (OM)

Dark-bellied Brent Geese.....I could only locate three juveniles amongst this lot. (OM)

This afternoon the Curlew sandpiper was roosting with the Dunlin flock on the old harbour mouth and two Little Grebes were on the water. (AW)

Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlin (above) & Little Grebe at Church Norton (AW)

Medmerry: Ham and Porthole Farms - There were two Bearded Tits around the ponds at Ham this afternoon, and two Swallows went over. Also, the Barn Owl was out hunting again at Porthole Farm. (BO'D)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - It was fairly quiet here early on, though a couple of Dartford Warblers, at least ten Stonechats, c20 Yellowhammers, a few Skylarks and Reed Buntings and 100+ Meadow Pipits were along the banks and a Green Sandpiper was by the first sluice.

There were no other waders beyond 50 or so Lapwings on the Stilt Pool, where there were also six Gadwall, c40 Teal and c100 Wigeon, plus 50 Canada Geese. (AH)

Dartford Wartbler (above), Skylark, Stonechats & Yellowhammer at Medmerry (AH)

Sunday, 5th November: A bright, sunny and crisp morning after a chilly start, with a light to moderate NW wind.....

Selsey Bill: It was pretty quiet again, though a Lesser Redpoll went over and a Great Northern diver was on the sea. Full log below. (SH/PB/IP/PM/AH/JA/SR)
(0650-0900hrs)
Great Northern Diver - 1os
Gannet - 4E, 4W
Brent Goose - 6E, 7W
Common Scoter - 2E
Sparrowhawk - 1p
Mediterranean Gull - 4W
auk sp - 1E, 3W
Stock Dove - 2S
Wood Pigeon - 30S
Meadow Pipit - 10W
Pied Wagtail - 7W, 1p
Chiffchaff - 2p
Lesser Redpoll - 1W
Linnet - 5W
Chaffinch - 2p
Goldfinch - 21N, 28p

Chiffchaff at the Bill (AH)

Selsey: I opened our curtains at 7.30am to find a Ring Ouzel on our lawn, in the north of the village! (AW)

Ring Ouzel in a Selsey garden (AW)

Selsey: A Grey Wagtail has been frequenting our garden, near the Lifeboat station, for the last week.....presumably the regular returning bird from last winter. (SW)

Grey Wagtail in a Selsey garden (SW)

North Wall: A Great White Egret flew NW across the area at approx. 0815hrs but could not be relocated (more details later). (DM)

Otherwise, generally regular fare this morning, with plenty of birds, but nothing out of the ordinary..... there were plenty of Wigeon, 250 Lapwing and c.30 Golden Plover, plus two Spotted Redshank in White's creek, whilst a flyover Brambling was the best of the rest. (OM)

Distant record shots of the Great White Egret (dark area on wing apparently shadow) (DM)

Pagham Lagoon: The drake Goldeneye was still present, with 15 Tufted Duck and a Pochard, plus 4 Great Crested and 10 Little Grebes, whilst the margins and hedgerows produced a Water Rail and just 2 Chiffchaffs, 5 Goldcrests and 2 Cetti's Warblers. (OM)

Goldeneye on Pagham Lagoon (BI)

Ferry Pool: There were nine Snipe roosting on the concealed pool, though the main pol held just 40 Lapwing, two Shelduck and 30 Teal, with similar of the latter, plus a couple of Gadwall and a few Mallard in the adjacent rife. (AH)

Snipe (above), Gadwall, Teal, Mallards and Coots at the Ferry (AH)

Ferry Channel on the very high tide (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: There were 65 Curlews and an Oystercatcher on the field ear-marked for development this morning, with a pair of Stonechats, a couple of Meadow Pipits and a Mistle Thrush around the fields. (AH/IP/S&SaH/PB)

Curlews (above) & Sparrowhawk and Rook at Park Farm, Selsey (AH)

Church Norton: The most unusual sight was three Goosanders - a male and two females - that flew west along the beach late this morning, and also two Eider were offshore.
Otherwise there was plenty of activity in the harbour, though nothing particularly unusual, including 500+ Brent Geese, a Kingfisher, a few Pintail among plenty of Wigeon and Teal and a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits and a dozen Knot among large numbers of Grey Plover and Dunlin.

A Firecrest was with three or four Goldcrests between the Severals, with a couple of pairs of Stonechats in the vicinity, three Mistle Thrushes were around Greenlease Farm and two Siskins dropped in with the Linnet flock along the spit, where there were also up to a dozen Skylarks present. (AH/IP/S&SaH/PB)

Goosanders (above), Stonechat, Skylark, Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot and Grer Plovers & Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

Ivy Lake complex: There were 54 Common Pochards on Ivy Lake along with 26 Tufted Ducks and 18 Great Crested Grebes this morning. There was also a pair of Black Swans present, along with their brood, although their "wild" credentials may be in question as they were later being hand fed from the chalets! On Nunnery Lake were six Gadwalls, West Trout Lake held plenty of Coots & Black-headed Gulls and on East Trout Lake were two Greylag Geese and 100+ Canada Geese. There was little along the paths other than a few Blue & Great Tits, a Cetti's Warbler and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers. (BI)

Black Swans, above, & Great Spotted Woodpecker at Ivy Lake (BI)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Marsh Farm - This afternoon there were four Greenshanks near the poplars, four Stonechats along the banks and a Peregrine and two Buzzards over. (S&SaH)

Medmerry: Porthole Farm - The Barn Owl was out hunting at dusk again today. (AH)

Barn Owl at Medmerry (AH)

Saturday, 4th November: After all the fine weather, a thoroughly wet and miserable morning, with a brisk breeze veering round from south-west to north-west and plenty of heavy showers, though brightening a little later on......

Selsey: A totally unexpected bird - a Tree Sparrow - dropped into the garden (on the north of the village) briefly this morning, before quickly moving off to other gardens. Also a Fieldfare was briefly present, too. (JA)

Selsey Bill: A pretty wet watch didn't produce too much, though both an Arctic Skua and a Bonxie went west. Full log below.

(0700-0845hrs)

Great Northern Diver - 1os

Gannet - 3E, 25W

Common Scoter - 3E

Red-breasted Merganser - 5W

Arctic Skua - 1W

Bonxie - 1W

Common Gull - 2E

Kittiwake - 1E, 7W

auk sp - 2E

Pied Wagtail - 4W

Red-breasted Merganser (above) & Gannets at the Bill (AH)

JA and IP not really enjoying the weather! (AH)

Selsey East Beach: No sign of the Rosy Starling in the area but lots of very mobile Starling flocks, plus a female Stonechat on Selsey Common, a single Great Northern Diver (adult still retaining quite a bit of breeding plumage) west at 12.15, and a very distant diver sp east at 12.30. (J-PC)

Ferry Pool: There were eight Snipe on the concealed pool, and on the main pool there were c90 roosting Redshanks, c250 Lapwing, c50 Teal, 120 Wigeon, four Black-tailed Godwits, four Shelduck and six Shoveler, with a pair of Gadwall in the adjacent rife. (AH)

Snipe (above), Gadwall & Shovelers at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were plenty of Dunlin and Grey Plover on the mud and then roosting around the old harbour mouth and concrete blocks, plus about a dozen Knot and a Bar-tailed Godwit, whilst the Whimbrel was in its usual area.

Five Red-breasted Mergansers were in the harbour, along with the usual Wigeon and Teal, whilst at least 500 Brent Geese were in the arable field behind the churchyard.

Unsurprisingly, the bushes were quiet, though a Redwing and three or four Song Thrushes were around the churchyard, the odd Goldcrest and Long-tailed Tit moved through and at least 100 Linnets were along the beach. (AH/AW)
Later in the morning the Brent Geese moved en masse into the harbour and there were six Little Grebes and at least 10 Great Crested Grebes out on the water whilst the Spoonbill was feeding along the edge of Tern Island. There was also a Firecrest near the bench and 3 Lesser Redpolls dropped into the trees briefly accompanied by a few Goldfinches. (BI/JPC et al)
This afternoon there were 47 Avocets along the west side of the harbour, the two Peregrines were out in the middle, a Kingfisher went through and there were also a Chiffchaff and four Goldcrests along the bushes. (S&SaH)