10th - 13th March 2018

Tuesday, 13th March: A fairly mild and pleasant morning, with a light to moderate westerly breeze and a mix of sunshine and cloud.....

Selsey Bill: There was predictably little on the move today in the fresh westerly....
0700-1030hrs: (C&ME/OM/DF et al)
Red-throated Diver - 2E
Great Northern Diver - 2E
Slavonian Grebe - 1 os
Great Crested Grebe - 1E, 1W
Fulmar - 3W
Gannet - 1W
Brent Goose - 17E, 5W
Red-breasted Merganser - 8E, 12W
Sparrowhawk - 1 area
Mediterranean Gull - 2W
Meadow Pipit - 2N

Park Farm, Selsey: A Firecrest was along the hedge beside the new balancing pond this afternoon. (S&SaH)

Ferry Pool: There were eight Gadwall on the pool this morning, along with four Shovelers, two Shelduck, with c50 Lapwing and c200 Wigeon out in the field. Also, a Chiffchaff was in the hedges opposite and eight Curlews dropped into the adjacent arable field. (AH)

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

Long Pool: A Chiffchaff was singing along the hedges and there were also half a dozen Linnets and a couple of Reed Buntings about, with eight Tufted Ducks on the pool.
A Spotted Redshank was in Ferry Channel, along with about 20 very excitable Redshanks and there were 17 Avocets at the far end, along with a few Dunlin, Grey Plover, Wigeon and Teal, and a Greylag Goose flew over, heading west. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above), Greylag Goose, Linnet & Avocets along Long Pool (AH)

North Wall: a Merlin shot through at about 9.15am. (MO-W)
Among highlights later on were two Red Kites over, three Spotted Redshanks along White's Creek and the female Goosander along the side of the harbour.
Also, there were 380 Black-tailed Godwits in the fields west of the Breech Pool, where there were two Grey Herons and two Great Crested Grebes, and three Cetti's Warblers were heard, with two actually seen. (PB)
This afternoon a  Spotted Redshank along White's Creek and 280 Black-tailed Godwits were on the adjoining mud. A total of 14 Tufted Duck on Breech Pool and in the field behind were 1600 Brent Geese, 220 Wigeon, 37 Curlew and 12 Lapwing. Honer 1 field is very flooded and held 12 Shoveler and 2 Gadwall, whilst Grey Herons were busy in Owl Copse. (JDW)

Honer Reservoir: The long-staying Long-tailed Duck was all on its own on the reservoir this morning and the adjacent hedges were quiet, with just a couple of Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings and Linnets about, whilst there were also five Shelduck on the flooded fields. (AH)

Long-tailed Duck (above) & Yellowhammer at Honer Reservoir (AH)

Church Norton: The two Red Kites were also noted drifting over Rectory Lane (MJ)

Medmerry: Breach area - There were four Bar-tailed Godwits on the mud this afternoon. (TG-P)

East Head: It was was really quiet with hardly any birds out in the channels, save a few Great Crested Grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers, with the only other ducks out on the water being a few Wigeon.In the dunes the usual Skylarks & Meadow Pipits were about, plus a pair of Stonechats, whilst  aound 1000 Brent Geese were on the fields, with a single Barnacle Goose among them. (BFF)

Barnacle Goose and Brent Geese at East Head (BFF)

Fishbourne Creek: There wasn't too much of note, though there were still plenty of Brent Geese, Wigeon and Teal, with 12 Pintail, three Gadwall and a single Goldeneye among them. (BFF)

Chichester GPs: Ivy Lake -  Sure signs of spring today with at least five Chiffchaffs calling, Coots and Mute Swans displaying and a Black Swan chasing off both of its offspring from last year.  It didn't take long to see why it was acting like this as seven small cygnets soon came into view and their parent (I only saw one) was being very protective.  
Other birds on the lake included 52+ Gadwall, 8 Tufted Ducks, 6 Great Crested Grebes, 16 Canada Gees, a Firecrest, 5 Goldcrests and two flocks of Long-tailed Tits. (SR)

Black Swan and cygnets on Ivy Lake (SR)

Monday, 12th March: A mostly grey, but dry day, and quite mild despite the blustery westerly breeze....

Selsey Bill: Very little was on the move this morning, after yesterday's excitements. (AH)
(0815-0900hrs)
Great Northern Diver - 1os
Great Crested Grebe - 1os
Gannet - 1E, 14W
Brent Goose - 4E
Red-breasted Merganser - 2os
Sandwich Tern - 1E
Long-tailed Tit - 8p (in Bill House garden)

Gannet (above) & Long-tailed Tit at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were c100 Lapwings around the pool, along with eight Gadwall, two Shovelers, ten Shelducks and c40 Teal, and there were c200 Wigeon in the creek in the field. (AH)

Lapwings at the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Coastguard Station to the windmill - There wasn't too much on offer this morning, with just c40 Meadow Pipits around the fields, and just two Great Crested Grebes and the flock of c60 Common Scoter, plus half a dozen distant feeding Gannets offshore. (AH)

Common Scoter off Medmerry (AH)

 Church Norton: There were five Sandwich Terns and a dozen Mediterranean Gulls among the hundreds of Black-headed Gulls settling back in on Tern Island this morning, whilst there were at least 500 Brent Geese loafing about waiting to leave!
There wasn't too much else of note, though there were five Red-breasted Mergansers in the harbour and two Goldeneye on the far side, whilst there were at least 20 Bar-tailed Godwits and three Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the mud and a dozen Skylarks along the spit. (AH)

Sandwich Terns (above), Brent Geese, Bar-tailed Godwits and Grey Plovers, Lesser Black-backed Gulls & Skylark at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry, Stilt Pool: There were exactly 50 Avocets present at mid-day. (BI)

Sunday, 11th March: After a grey and gloomy start, quite a pleasant day, despite the persistent south-easterly, with sunshine by lunchtime and rain by teatime...

Selsey Bill: There was quite a bit of activity this morning, including the first (three) Wheatears of the spring, all seen coming in off the sea, though none settled nearby. Also of note were over 400 Meadow Pipits and a few Pied Wagtails arriving, too, along with a Merlin, whilst there was also a small amount of Red-throated Diver, Brent Goose and duck movement east, as well as a Velvet Scoter, and two Bonxies lingered offshore. 

Also, a newly arrived Robin was plucked from the air as it came in at the Bill this morning with a flock of passerines. Initially caught by a Black-headed Gull and fought over with another Black-headed, a Herring Gull then managed to snatch it away.
Full log below......
0630-1030hrs: (SH/PB/PM/IP/AH/SR/JD/DS/SHo)
Red-throated Diver - 8E, 3W, 1os
diver sp - 3E, 1W
Great Crested Grebe - 1W, 1os
Slavonian Grebe - 1E, 1os
Fulmar - 4W
Gannet - 3E, 13W, 10os
Brent Goose - 30E
Shelduck - 1E
Eider - 2E
Velvet Scoter - 1E
Common Scoter - 26E, 150 os
Red-breasted Merganser - 13E, 14W, 15os
Shoveler - 2E
Pintail - 8E
Teal - 2E
Dunlin - 1E
Golden Plover - 5E
Bar-tailed Godwit - 1E
Merlin - 1N
Razorbill - 5W
auk sp - 21W
Great Skua - 2os
Sandwich Tern - 8E, 2W
Kittiwake - 2W
Common Gull - 4E
Mediterranean Gull - 1E, 3W
Skylark - 4N
Meadow Pipit - 444N
Pied/alba Wagtail - 7N
Wheatear - 3N
Robin - 1N; plucked out of the air by marauding gulls
Linnet - 1N

(1420-1520hrs) (SH)
Great Northern Diver - 4os
Red-throated Diver - 2E
Great Crested Grebe - 1W, 1os
Gannet - 3E
Red-breasted Merganser - 1W
Common Gull - 2E

Velvet Scoter (above), Common Scoters, Red-throated Diver, Gannet (AH) & an untimely end for a migrant Robin (SR) at the Bill

Park Farm, Selsey: There were three Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a dozen Curlews and a pair of Linnets around the farm today, with at least 30 Meadow Pipits flying over. (AH/IP/S&SaH)

Lesser Black-backed Gull (above) & Linnet at Park Farm, Selsey (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were four Gadwall, six Shelducks, a dozen Shoveler, c80 Teal and c200 Wigeon about the pool and field, but just 40 Lapwing and no sign of the Ruff. Also, half a dozen Mediterranean gulls were among c100 Black-headed Gulls.(AH)

Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls (above) & Shoveler and Teal on the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A Firecrest was busy feeding in the gorse opposite the Stilt Pool this afternoon, with a pair of Stonechats nearby and 46 Avocets were on the Stilt Pool.

Also a Greenshank was near the poplars, where there were also seven Fieldfares and at least 100 Linnets were in the fields. (IP)

Medmerry: Ham Farm - A Corn Bunting was along the banks this afternoon. (IP)

Church Norton: There were just a single Slavonian Grebe and two Great Crested Grebes offshore this morning, plus 38 Brent Geese that flew east, whilst the female Eider and two Goldeneye were on the far side of the harbour, along with c500 Brent Geese.

The two Peregrines were around their island, about 50 Common Gulls were in the harbour, two Shovelers were on the first Several and a dozen Bar-tailed Godwits and c100 Knot were among the waders present, whilst a Mistle Thrush was at Greenlease Farm and a dozen Skylarks were along the spit. (AH/IP/S&SaH)

Bar-tailed Godwit and Common Gull (above), Bar-tailed Godwits and Grey Plovers, Brent Geese, Skylark & Mistle Thrush at Church Norton (AH)

Late this afternoon there were two Sandwich Terns among a gathering of Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls. There were also a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Herring Gull with an odd bill deformity present, whilst out at sea there were a single female Eider and three or four Red-breasted Mergansers. (AW)

Sandwich Terns and Black-headed Gulls (above), Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey Plover and Dunlin, and Herring Gull with an odd bill at Church Norton (AW)

East Head: The Black-throated Diver was present this morning, near the Copyhold/East Head buoys, and there were also a Great Northern Diver, six Great Crested Grebes and a dozen Red-breasted Mergansers offshore. Along the strandline was a single Sanderling whilst the dunes were quiet with just a few Skylarks and Meadow Pipits evident. (BI)

Saturday, 10th March: A really mixed day, with a dank and drizzly start, giving way to a grey and fairly still morning, before a bit of sun and more heavy cloud on a freshening breeze....

Selsey Bill: (0645-0830) (JA/IP/BI)
Great Northern Diver - 2os
Red-throated Diver - 22E, 2os
diver sp - 4E
Slavonian Grebe - 1E
Great Crested Grebe - 1E, 1os
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 9E, 20W, 12os
Shelduck - 2E
Common Scoter - 10E, 100os
Red-breasted Merganser - 3E, 7os
Turnstone - 23E
Mediterranean Gull -2W
Kittiwake - 8W
Razorbill - 1W
auk sp - 11W

Ferry Pool: Late this morning the six Ruff were still among c200 Lapwing on the field, whilst a Green Sandpiper was tucked away among the Teal at the back of the pool. There were also 13 Shelduck on the pool early on, whilst at least 200 Wigeon were in the creeks in the field. 

A group of a dozen Pheasants - all female - were outside the Visitor Centre, being fed by visitors! (AH)

Ruff, Lapwings, Starlings and Wigeon (above), Green Sandpiper, Shelduck & Pheasants around the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: The pool itself held nothing but a pair of Little Grebes and six Tufted Ducks, though a Cetti's Warbler and a Water Rail were heard, but not seen and there were a couple of Reed Buntings and Linnets along the hedges.

A Spotted Redshank was with a few Redshank and Grey Plovers in Ferry Channel early on, whilst 11 Avocets, five Bar-tailed Godwits and 16 Pintail were among the usual mix of waders and wildfowl at the far end. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above), Avocet, Pintails & Roe Deer from Long Pool (AH)

Church Norton: The female Goosander was in the harbour mouth again this morning, whilst a female Red-breasted Merganser flew out of the harbour and three Goldeneye were on the far side, along with several Great Crested Grebes. The only things of note offshore were a Common Seal, and a flock of 70 Brent Geese that headed purposefully east, well out to sea.

There were at least 500 Brent Geese still in the harbour, along with a Peregrine, 20 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, a Mediterranean Gull and a few Common Gulls, whilst three Grey Herons were in the horse field, but passerines were confined to a few Skylarks along the spit. (AH)

Goosander (above), Peregrine, Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Herons & Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

The Barn Owl was hunting over the horse field again this afternoon and there were two Chiffchaffs at the back of the Severals.

The Goosander was still in the harbour mouth, an Eider and a Red-breasted Merganser were offshore, two Sandwich Terns were with the roosting Black-headed Gulls and there were two Black-tailed Godwits along with 20+ Bar-tailed Godwits. (S&SaH)

Barn Owl (above) & Goosander at Church Norton (SH)

The Barn Owl was still about just before 6pm, when it flew off over Severals carrying a vole. (AH/BI) Also, a Tawny Owl was calling from the Priory. (SR)

A video of the Barn Owl is here

Barn Owl at Church Norton (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: There were five Goldcrests in the hedges and two Mediterranean Gulls and a Buzzard over. (S&SaH)

Chichester Marina: An hour or so in the hide, well out of the rain this morning produced a pair of Buzzards in the field, sitting out in the rain, seemingly unconcerned, and two Snipe that were asleep in the reeds.  Three Reed Buntings were about, as was a Grey Heron, two Canada Geese, a Mute Swan, several calling Cetti's  Warblers and a Green Woodpecker.  In the field, alongside the Buzzards 71 Rooks were feeding, with one collecting large amount of grass for its nest. (SR)