28th - 30th November 2021

Tuesday, 30th November: A much milder morning than of late, though under leaden skies and with the breeze fresh and from the west.........

Selsey Bill: It was a morning dominated by auk movement - primarily east, with a few Kittiwakes west, but not too much else beyond the odd Great Northern and Red-throated Diver. Full log below. (AH/SR/KT/IP)

(0745-0945hrs) (W, F5)

Great Northern Diver - 2E, 3os

Red-throated Diver - 1E, 1W, 2os

Gannet - 6E, 15W

Little Egret - 1W

Brent Goose - 2W

Common Scoter - 3W

Red-breasted Merganser - 6W

Oystercatcher - 1E, 1W

Turnstone - 6

Mediterranean Gull - 1W

Common Gull - 1W

Kittiwake - 32W

Guillemot - 2W

Razorbill - 27E, 112W

auk sp - c1800E, 175W

Pied Wagtail - 1E

Kittiwakes (above), Gannet, Razorbills and Guillemots, Great Northern Diver, Common Scoters & Red-breasted Mergansers at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: The Kingfisher was back in the channel opposite, whilst the pool held at least six Snipe, two Pintail and c50 Shovelers and Teal, with c80 Wigeon out on the field. (AH)

Later on, a Marsh Harrier was over the fields near the farm shop, south of the Ferry. (IP)

Kingfisher (above) & Pintail, Shovelers and Teal at the Ferry (AH)

West Wittering: A pair of Coal Tits and a Firecrest were again in the garden today. (GM)

North Wall: A Spoonbill was very busily feeding close to the sluice gates, along White's Creek early on, and there were close to 500 Brent Geese having a wash and brush up before flying north towards Sefter Farm. Elsewhere it was very quiet and predictable along the Wall. (JDW)

Spoonbill at the North Wall (JDW)

Church Norton: Around 100 Brent Geese were in the harbour, along with c80 Knot, a handful of Ringed Plovers, c50 Grey Plovers and c400 Dunlin, whilst up to a dozen Pintail were among the Wigeon and Teal. Also, at least 300 Golden Plovers and 500 Lapwing went up from the far end of the harbour.
The bushes were quiet, though two Chiffchaffs were along the path to the beach, along with a few Greenfinches, whilst a Jay was by the concrete wall. (AH)

Ringed Plover (above), Brent Geese & Jay at Church Norton (AH)

Monday, 29th November: After a surprisingly large amount of overnight snow, a cold and mostly bright morning in a moderate north-westerly.........

Selsey Bill: A Velvet Scoter west was the only thing of note this morning. Full log below. (SR/AH)

(0745-0845hrs) (NNW, F4)

Great Northern Diver - 1E

Gannet - 6E, 2W

Velvet Scoter - 1W

Common Scoter - 3E

Red-breasted Merganser - 2E, 3W

Oystercatcher - 1

Turnstone - 7

Common Gull - 1E

Razorbill - 3E

auk sp - 9E, 3W

Pied Wagtail - 1

Red-breasted Mergansers (above), Turnstone (AH) & a snowy Oval Field (SR) at the Bill

Ferry Pool: Up to eight Snipe were on the largely frozen pool this morning, along with c25 Lapwings, c50 Shoveler, c20 Teal and c80 Wigeon. (AH)

Snipe (above), Lapwings and Shovelers & Wigeon at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: An Eider was in the harbour mouth this morning, whilst half a dozen Red-breasted Mergansers were in the harbour, but a lone Great Crested Grebe was the only bird offshore.

Otherwise, c50 Brent Geese and plenty of Wigeon and Teal were in the harbour, along with the regular Whimbrel, a single Black-tailed Godwit, c50 Grey Plovers and 300 Dunlin, whilst at least two Goldcrests were among a mobile flock of Long-tailed and Blue Tits around the churchyard. (AH)

Eider (above), Red-breasted Mergansers, Teal, Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwit, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit & a snowy beach at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane toward Ham - A Barn Owl was hunting toward the centre of the reserve and a Marsh Harrier flew west. 

Three fields held mixed flocks of feeding Lapwing and Golden Plover and at Wilson's Farm there was a large mixed flock of Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers, Greenfinches, Chaffinches and Dunnocks with a flock of c30 Skylarks close by. Two Song Thrushes were also seen together with four Stonechats, two Green Woodpeckers and a Cetti's Warbler. (SR)

Marsh Harrier and Golden Plover at Medmerry (SR)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - Later on, a Short-eared Owl was hunting over the reserve by the Stilt Pool, before flying off north (GT) and the Spoonbill was again on the Stilt Pool (AH).

Spoonbill at Medmerry (AH)

Sunday, 28th November: A bright and breezy day in a fresh north-westerly, but with the temperature remaining just above freezing....

Selsey Bill: A Velvet Scoter east, a few Red-throated Divers west and a Slavonian Grebe on the sea were the highlights this morning. (SH/PB/SR/BI/AH/IP/OM/P&LH)

(0715-0900hrs) (NNW, F5-6)

Great Northern Diver - 3os

Red-throated Diver - 1E, 6W, 1os

Slavonian Grebe - 1os

Gannet - 36E, 3W

Common Scoter - 1W

Velvet Scoter - 1E

Ringed Plover - 2W

Knot - 1W

Dunlin - 12W

Turnstone - 10

Mediterranean Gull - 2W

Common Gull - 1E, 7W, 1os

Kittiwake - 3E, 5W

Razorbill - 9W

auk sp - 396E, 1W

Gannet (above) & Ringed Plover at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: Three Snipe were at the front and a dozen Black-tailed Godwits were among the roosting wildfowl, which included two drake Pintails, c120 Wigeon, c60 Shovelers and just c30 Teal. (AH)

Pintails (above) & Wigeon at the Ferry (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: A Grey Wagtail, a Green and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were along Park Lane, whilst a Buzzard went over the farm. (IP)

Church Norton: A Long-tailed Duck was again off of Church Morton beach, where there were also three Goosanders and eight Red-breasted Mergansers, though there were only about a dozen Brent Geese about.

There were the usual waders in the harbour, with at least 250 Dunlin amongst them and a single Black-tailed Godwit, and there were also a minimum of 30 Great Crested Grebes in the harbour too, along with a female Peregrine which appeared to be sunning herself on the new island, whilst a Green Woodpecker flew along the spit and a Grey Wagtail was in rectory Lane. (P&LH/IP/SR)

Goosander (IP) (above) & Grey Wagtail (SR) at Church Norton 

Pagham Spit: Another Goosander was viewable from the spit this morning. (BI)

Marsh and Chalder Farms: A pleasant walk in the sunshine but few birds about, though including 13 Cattle Egrets with the sheep, c150 Lapwings flying over toward the harbour, three Green Woodpeckers and a flock of eight Linnets, whilst a Mistle Thrush was in the churchyard. (SR)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A visiting birder reported the two Short-eared Owls and the Barn Owl out vey early this morning, whilst later on, a male and a female Merlin were out on the reserve and the Spoonbill was on the Stilt Pool.

Also around the pool were at least two Snipe, a Dunlin, a dozen Black-tailed Godwits and a few Lapwings, along with three Greylag Geese (with another among c80 Canada Geese on the reserve) and a few Shovelers, Teal and Wigeon.

The banks were quite quiet, though a couple of Dartford Warblers and Yellowhammers and at least ten Stonechats were present, along with a few Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Stock Doves. (AH/S&SaH/PB)

Spoonbill (above), Stonechat, Meadow Pipits, Greylag Geese & Stock Doves at Medmerry (AH)

At 1415hrs a Wheatear sp - considered probably Northern - was reported briefly from the middle of the reserve (AT). It naturally attracted some interest from other birders - not least the Editors of this blog (!) - due to the late date, but regrettably it could not be re-located later. However, the Spoonbill flew across towards Ham as some compensation at 1450hrs. (AT) 

Also, this afternoon, a Merlin was along Ham Road, a Raven went over the Easton Lane car-park and 100+ Golden Plovers were up over the reserve. (AH/S&SaH)

Raven at Medmerry (AH)