Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 10th

Friday, 12th February: Another bitingly cold morning, quite sunny, but with a near-gale force easterly wind making conditions very unpleasant......

A number of people are involved in assisting us behind the scenes, but none more so than two stalwarts, namely JA who monitors and compiles the Bill Log and sea-watch data, and our 'statto' IP who compiles the general statistics for the Peninsula.

Statto has been particularly busy recently, setting up the details for the new year, which already reveal that the total count for January 2021 was 133 species - exceeding January 2020 by one - and that 136 species have been logged on the Peninsula to date.

We are very grateful for their efforts and appreciate the work that is involved in keeping things up to date. Statistics are really the life blood of the historical record and provide great interest when comparing years and seasons; do take the time to look through them when you get a moment by clicking the link on the title bar. (Eds)

Selsey Bill: There wasn't much on the move this morning, with 21 Red-throated Divers and 15 Red-breasted Mergansers east the best counts, whilst a Sandwich Tern also went east and a Great Northern Diver dropped on the sea. Full log below.

(0715-0900hrs) (E, F7-8)
Great Northern Diver – 1os
Red-throated Diver – 21E, 3W
diver sp – 3E
Gannet – 14E
Red-breasted Merganser – 15E, 2W, 4os
Curlew – 1E
Mediterranean Gull – 1E
Common Gull – 8E
Sandwich Tern – 1E
Razorbill – 4E
auk sp – 6E

Great Northern Diver (above), Red-breasted Mergansers & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There was still nothing on the frozen pool and fields, whilst in the channel opposite there were c50 Dunlin, plus a Grey Plover and a couple of Redshanks, along with c30 Teal and c100 Wigeon, along with a handful of Mallard.

Teal (above), Wigeon, Dunlin & Mallard in Ferry Channel (AH)

Church Norton: There was no sign of any Goosanders in the channel this morning, though there were at least 10 Avocets, 40 Pintail, five Great Crested Grebes, 200 Brent Geese, a single Bar-tailed Godwit and plenty of Knot, Grey Plovers and Dunlin on the rising tide.

A Raven going over was the only other bird of note.

Later, a Little Gull was briefly on the beach during a WeBS count before lost to view, having probably gone out to sea.

Raven (above), Bar-tailed Godwit, Avocets, Pintail & Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

Late this afternoon, a redhead Goosander was in the main channel, drifting towards the harbour-mouth. There wasn't much else different to this morning, though two Red-breasted Mergansers were also in the harbour and a Peregrine was out hunting.

Goosander at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - Two Woodcocks were seen late this afternoon - one flying out from the pond opposite the first sluice and another near Marsh Barn.

There were also five Snipe, two Grey Plovers, 100+ Dunlin, 200+ Golden Plovers and 300+ Lapwings on the reserve, and a Stonechat, three Fieldfares and three different Sparrowhawks were also present.

Also, strangely, a Gannet was seen flying over Marsh Barn, some half a mile inland from the sea.

West Itchenor: A Red Kite went over today and there were lots of Lapwings in the fields.

Sidlesham: There were three Mistle Thrushes, two Redwings and 25 Fieldfares in the paddocks along Cow Lane this morning.

Mistle Thrush (above), Redwing and Fieldfare & Fieldfare in Sidlesham (AH)

Thursday, 11th February: A bitterly cold morning, mostly overcast and with the north-easterly wind freshening considerably.....

Selsey Bill: Two Great Northern Divers and nine Red-throated Divers went east (plus three of the latter west), along with two Shags, but generally it was just the local birds moving about. Full log below.

(0730-0900hrs) (NE, F4-5)
Great Northern Diver – 2E
Red-throated Diver – 9E, 3W, 3os
Great Crested Grebe – 1os
Gannet – 33E, 4W
Shag – 2E
Brent Goose – 14W
Shelduck – 5W
Red-breasted Merganser – 8E, 3os
Ringed Plover – 1E
Turnstone – 3E
Mediterranean Gull – 3os
Common Gull – 17E, 5os
Razorbill – 4E
auk sp – 25E

Great Northern Divers (above), Shag & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: The frozen pool and fields were birdless again, with all the activity in the adjacent channel, including a Spotted Redshank, a Grey Plover, a few Redshanks and Dunlin, two Gadwall, c50 Teal and c150 Wigeon.

Spotted Redshank (above), Grey Plover & Wigeon in Ferry Channel (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: At least 2000 Brent Geese were on the fields this morning and a Jack Snipe flew over, but the only other bird of note was a Green Woodpecker.

Church Norton: The harbour held a few of the commoner waders in small scattered groups, and also included a Ringed Plover and three Knot, whilst a flock of 20 Pintail flew east out of the harbour mouth.

The only passerine noted was a Goldcrest between the Severals.

A tight group of eight Goosanders (two drakes and six ducks and possibly the same flock seen on the River Arun at Pulborough a few days ago) were in the central channel late this afternoon, and there were also two Bar-tailed Godwits, three Avocets, 100+ Knot and 1000+ Brent Geese present.

Bar-tailed Godwit at Church Norton (AW)

Birdham Pool area: On the mud and seaweed at Westlands jetty were c100 Dunlin with eight Turnstones and small numbers of Lapwing, Redshank and Curlew, whilst on the water were small numbers of Brent Geese and Shelducks

Birdham Pool was iced over, with just a few forlorn looking Black-headed Gulls on it, and Salterns copse equally bereft of birds, whilst on the waters edge were four Black-tailed Godwits, and small numbers of Oystercatchers and Shelducks

Finally, a flock of about 20 Redwings were seen on the far side of Birdham Pool, just off Lock Lane.

North Wall: At the sluice gates this morning were a Kingfisher, two Grey Plover and plenty of Wigeon and Teal, together with a Chiffchaff flitting in the trees by the Salt House.

The Wall was quiet in the early morning cold, apart from two Snipe spooked by an overflying Marsh Harrier.

Marsh Harrier at the North Wall (AH)

East Side: At least 20 Pintail were among some 200 Wigeon and Teal, two Bar-tailed Godwits fed alone from a group of about 300 Black-tailed Godwits and a few Curlew, Redshank and Ringed Plovers were dotted amongst 200 Dunlin and 20+ Grey Plovers.

More distantly there were 50 Great Black-backed Gulls, at least 300 Knot and several hundred Lapwing, along with a female Red-breasted Merganser, a couple of Great crested Grebes and c50 Brent Geese.

Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwits, Ringed Plover, Pintail, Dunlin & Knot from the East side (AH)

Ivy Lake: There were just 62 Tufted Ducks, 54 Pochard, two Gadwall and 76 Coots on the lakes.

Hunston Copse: A Firecrest was in the holly bushes and a Green Woodpecker and Song Thrush were nearby, but that was about it.

Runcton: Highlights from the garden today were three Stock Doves and three Reed Buntings.

Reed Buntings in a Runcton garden (CRJ)

Sidlesham: There were a dozen Fieldfares and a couple Redwings around our garden today - always a sure sign of cold weather!

Fieldfare in a Sidlesham garden (AH)

Wednesday, 10th February: Another very cold morning, though with some sunshine later on and a slight easing of the north-easterly wind......

Selsey Bill: It was pretty quiet this morning, though two Eider went west, 12 Red-throated Divers went east, 16 went west and five dropped in on the sea. Otherwise, just a single Sandwich Tern was offshore and a few Razorbills/auks, Gannets and Red-breasted Mergansers were moving, mostly east. Full log below.

(0745-0900hrs) (NE, F4)
Red-throated Diver – 12E, 14W, 5os
Great Crested Grebe – 1E, 1os
Gannet – 12E, 5W
Eider – 2W
Common Scoter – 2os
Red-breasted Merganser – 11E, 4os
Turnstone – 4E
Mediterranean Gull – 3os
Common Gull – 17E, 5os
Sandwich Tern – 1os
Razorbill – 8E
auk sp – 60E, 20W

Eider (above), Red-breasted Mergansers, Mediterranean Gull & Common Gull at the Bill (AH)

Drift Lane, Selsey: A check of the frozen marshy areas produced just three Snipe this morning.

Snipe at Drift Lane, Selsey (AH)

Ferry Pool: The pool was devoid of birds and the fields just held 100 Lapwing, but the channel opposite was busy, including a Spotted Redshank, ten Redshanks, an Avocet, two Gadwall, c30 Teal and c60 Wigeon.

Avocet (above), Spotted Redshank & Spotted Redshank and Redshank in Ferry Channel (AH)

Long Pool and west side: This evening there were three Water Rails on the pool, with a Snipe flushed from nearby, whilst a Sparrowhawk and a Buzzard went over and the two Goldeneyes and 15 Avocets could be seen in the main channel.

Church Norton: The harbour was dominated by Brent Geese, with c1500 coming and going from various fields to settle in the harbour or on the sea, with the same sort of number coming up from behind the North Wall. Also, the Barnacle Goose was among a flock that settled behind the churchyard.

Otherwise, the two female Goldeneye and a female Red-breasted Merganser were in the harbour, along with a few Shoveler, Wigeon and Teal, whilst waders included the Whimbrel, half a dozen Bar-tailed Godwits and Knot and many Grey Plovers and Dunlin, with many of the latter feeding in the area alongside the path to the beach.

Barnacle Goose and Brent Geese (above), Brent Geese, Bar-tailed Godwit and Dunlin, Knot & Knot, Grey Plover and Dunlin at Church Norton (AH)

Runcton - Chichester GPs: This morning a walk from Runcton, through Peckhams Copse, and back via Merston, produced the following:

East Trout Lake; six Canada and eight Greylag Geese; New Lake 22 Shoveler, four Tufted Duck and six Cormorant; Runcton Lake 42 Pochard, four Tufted Duck; Peckhams Copse, a Bullfinch and four House Sparrows; Vinnetrow Lake, 21 Pochard and 26 Tufted Duck; Peckham Lake seven Tufted Duck.

Around the rural Merston area were a number of commoner species which included a Kestrel, a Buzzard, three Stock Doves, six Song Thrushes, a Redwing, eight Goldfinch and two Yellowhammers.

North Wall: Three Song Thrushes were in the horse paddocks this afternoon while at the sluice gates three Ringed Plovers were amongst a group of 20 Dunlin, a Kingfisher flashed by and a Grey Wagtail was also present.

The rest of the Wall was quiet apart from a few Redshank and Dunlin on the mud opposite Owl Copse and 20 Black-tailed Godwits flying south through the snowflakes.

Chalder Farm - Fisher: Quiet around Chalder apart from a flock of eight Redwing and a Green and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Further along the cycle path in a flooded field near Bramber Farm was a flock of 30 Curlew, 18 Black-tailed Godwits (one ringed but too far away to see clearly), five Shelducks, 18 Cattle Egrets, a Little Egret and a Grey Heron, whilst in a field beyond were more Cattle Egrets. Also, a pair of Stonechats were along the rife and c50 Lapwings flew over.

Just before the cottages at Fisher, the stubble field was surprisingly full of birds. Watching a flock of feeding Redwings led me to a more distant flock of Fieldfare, then I noticed a Red Kite coming up from the back of the field sending up impressively large flocks of birds including Starling, Lapwing, Yellowhammer, Linnet and Skylark. Pied Wagtails, Stock Doves, whilst two Kestrels and a Buzzard were also over the field and four Mistle Thrushes and a Cattle Egret were on the grassy verge.

Red Kite (above) & Lapwings at Fisher (SR)

Fishbourne Creek: There were 300 Wigeon and good number and selection of common waders and gulls north of Apuldram church. The highlights were a very close Spotted Redshank and a flyby Kingfisher, and there were also one or two Rock Pipits about.