Monday, 21st February: Yet another morning of gale force westerly winds, cooler than of late, though with some sunshine.....
Selsey Bill: It remains very quiet offshore, though a couple of Slavonian Grebes and three Great Northern Divers were about. Full log below. (SR/AH/AW)
(0725-0900hrs) (WNW, F8)
Great Northern Diver - 2W, 1os
Slavonian Grebe - 1W, 1os
Fulmar - 1W
Red-breasted Merganser - 2E, 2W
Turnstone - 7
Mediterranean Gull - 12os
Common Gull - 2os
Kittiwake - 3W
Ferry Pool: There were three Avocets and a dozen Black-tailed Godwits and Shelducks at the back of the pool this morning,with the usual Shovelers and Teal present, too, and the Kingfisher was again in the channel opposite. (TG-P/AH)
Black-tailed Godwits, Shovelers and Teal (above) & Teal at the Ferry (AH)
Church Norton: There were lots of Knot, Dunlin, Grey Plovers and Redshanks in the harbour today, but not much else beyond the odd Teal and Wigeon. (AH)
Dunlin (above) & Knot and Grey Plovers at Church Norton (AH)
Marsh Farm, Sidlesham: Thery was very little activity in the harsh wind, with no sign of any Glossy Ibises, with just 20 Cattle Egrets, four Little Egrets, 32 Wigeon, 14 Curlew, two Grey Herons, ten Canada Geese and a Greylag Goose in the fields. (SR)
Long Pool and West side: A Short-eared Owl was hunting over the saltings at dusk, whilst c1000 Brent Geese flew in and 30 or so Cattle Egrets could be seen flying into Owl Copse.
There was also a Water Rail and a Cetti's Warbler on the Long Pool, 15 Avocets in the channel and a Buzzard over. (S&SaH)
Fishbourne Creek: Leading up to high tide 200 Brent Geese and 200 Black-headed Gulls were on the winter cereal field between the harbour and the church, whilst in the harbour 11 Pintail, two Great Crested Grebe, small numbers of Wigeon, a Mediterranean Gull, two Lesser Black Backed Gull and a Great Black Backed Gull were in with the many commoner gulls.
On the remaining spit of salt marsh were two Oystercatcher and a Lapwing, but the only other waders noted were five Curlew at the Lavant outfall either side of the sea wall, where there was also a Grey Wagtail and a Kestrel, which was able to hang easily in the strong winds.
Also, the seawall has been damaged in several places north of the Lavant outfall in the recent storms. (RW)
damage to the seawall at Fishbourne Creek (RW)
Ivy Lake: A first winter drake Goldeneye was on the lake today and there were also a pair of Egyptian Geese and a Black swan about. (AW)
Goldeneye (above), Egyptian Geese & Black Swan at Ivy Lake (AW)
Sunday, 20th February: Another grey and very windy day, remaining largely dry through the morning with a strong to gale force south-westerly, but rain due by afternoon....
Photo gallery: Recently I had occasion to sort through my archive photos of the Peninsula (actually whilst giving my little office at home an overdue dusting), which brought me a number of smiles, so I wondered if others would feel the same way. Without wishing to look back all the time, I feel they are valid as they document the history of the site, so I shall add a few to the blog here and there as an occasional interest feature.
Some of these may already be familiar to the regulars, but some certainly won't, so herewith three to start things off - all being from autumn 1981 - these being the earliest ones I have and taken with a small plastic camera as I recall! (OM)
(centre) Richard Porter (RFP) (left) and Tony Marr (BAEM) - two big names from earlier days, and (below) John Hibberd making a late arrival at the Bill....and a careful look shows Chris Janman's old Green Ford Anglia parked far right! (All photo's from autumn 1981, OM).
Selsey Bill: There were five Great Northern Divers and five Slavonian Grebes on the sea on the sea, but again little was moving. Full log below. (JA/SH/BI/IP/SR/PB/AH et al)
Selsey Bill: There were five Great Northern Divers and five Slavonian Grebes on the sea on the sea, but again little was moving. Full log below. (JA/SH/BI/IP/SR/PB/AH et al)
(0650-0900hrs) (SW, F7-8)
Great Northern Diver - 1W, 5os
Red-throated Diver - 1W
Slavonian Grebe - 5os
Great Crested Grebe - 1os
Fulmar - 2W
Brent Goose - 14E, 12W
Red-breasted Merganser - 4E, 13W, 1os
Turnstone - 3
Black-headed Gull - 300 (on Oval Field)
Mediterranean Gull - 7os
Sandwich Tern - 3os
Razorbill - 3W
auk sp - 2W
(1315-1415hrs) (SH)
Slavonian Grebe- 2os
Red-breasted Merganser - 2W
Turnstone - 6
Mediterranean Gull - 15os
Guillemot - 1os
Razorbill - 3os
Razorbill (above), Sandwich Tern & Mediterranean Gulls at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: Three Avocets were on the pool, along with c60 Shovelers and c30 Teal, whilst 100+ Wigeon were on the field and the Kingfisher flew over from the channel opposite. (AH)
Avocets and Shovelers on the Ferry (AH)
Church Norton: A Slavonian Grebe was with six Red-breasted Mergansers on the sea, and there were also a Great Northern Diver on the sea and a Sandwich Tern, two Eider and three Razorbills flew west.
At least 300 Knot, 100 Grey Plovers and 500 Dunlin were on the mud, with half a dozen Pintail, with a few Wigeon and Teal and c50 Shelducks around the main channel and at least 500 Brent Geese flew up from the far end of the harbour.
A couple of calling Cetti's Warblers and a Green Woodpecker were around the Severals, with 15 Tufted Ducks on the second Several. (AH/IP/RM)
A Sandwich Tern and six Red-breasted Mergansers were in the harbour late in the afternoon. (AH)
Slavonian Grebe (above), Eider, Red-breasted Mergansers, Knot & Dunlin at Church Norton (AH)
Chichester Canal: There were plenty of gulls present on the flooded field today including c.150 Black-headed Gulls, c.40 Common Gulls, 25 Herring Gulls, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a Great Black-backed Gull. Also noted were 26 Mute Swans, C.50 Wigeon, 15 Canada Geese and six Shelducks whilst Black-tailed Godwit numbers had risen to five. (BI)
Drayton North Pit: A brief look from the gate on the A259 found a calling Coal Tit and, unusually, eight Brent Geese that soon flew off west. In the fields by the railway line were c.40 Greylag Geese. (BI)
Saturday, 19th February: Another very blowy day, with the bright start soon giving way to increasingly heavy cloud and the promise of rain as the south-westerly wind reached gale force again......
Selsey Bill: There wasn't too much around, though two Slavonian Grebes, two Great Northern Divers and six Red-throated Divers went west. Full log below. (BI/SR/AH)
(0700-0900hrs) (WSW, F4, increasing to F6)
Great Northern Diver - 2W
Red-throated Diver - 6W, 1os
Slavonian Grebe - 2W
Great Crested Grebe - 3W
Brent Goose - 5W
Common Scoter - 1W
Red-breasted Merganser - 11E, 4W, 2os
Oystercatcher - 2W
Dunlin - 1W
Turnstone - 24
Mediterranean Gull - 1E, 1W
Sandwich Tern - 3os
Razorbill - 2W, 1os
auk sp - 1E, 9W
Slavonian Grebe (above), Red-throated Diver, Great Crested Grebes, Mediterranean Gull & Razorbills at the Bill (AH)
(1515-1615hrs) (SW, F7) (JA)
Black-headed Gull - 300os
Mediterranean Gull - 2os
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1os
Kittiwake - 1W
Sandwich Tern - 5W
Later still, at just before1700hrs, a first-winter Little Gull went west, close inshore. (AW)
Little Gull at the Bill (AW)
Ferry Pool: Up to 25 Black-tailed Godwits were at the back, but otherwise there just c80 Shovelers and Teal and c200 Wigeon present. (AH)
The Merlin was again seen by the feeders outside the Visitor Centre this afternoon. (RP et al)
Black-tailed Godwits (above) & Shoveler and Teal on the Ferry (AH)
Church Norton: There was not much doing today, though a Sandwich Tern was offshore and 30 Mediterranean Gulls were on the fields at Greenlease Farm (S&SaH)
North Wall: There were c500 Brent Geese in Honer 2 this morning, along with a few Wigeon and Curlew, whilst eight Goldfinches and two Greenfinches were around the bushes.
White's Creek held the usual Wigeon and Teal, along with four Pintail, whilst the two Stonechats were still around the horse paddock. (LP)
Pagham Lagoon: A brief visit saw ten Tufted Ducks, two Great Crested Grebes, five Little Grebes, three Common Gulls and fifteen Mediterranean Gulls out on the water and a Kestrel and four Greenfinches along the banks. (LP)
Marsh Farm, Sidlesham: The six Glossy Ibises were feeding together in the fields between Chalder and Bramber this morning, with up to 40 Cattle Egrets and ten Little Egrets spread around the adjacent fields.
Also in the vicinity were three Egyptian Geese, a Greylag Goose, c30 Canada Geese, c200 Wigeon and c25 Black-tailed Godwits and Curlews, with 20 Shelducks near Bramber Farm.
A handful of Stock Doves and Skylarks were along Church Farm Lane, but little else was about. (AH)
Glossy Ibises (above), Cattle Egret, Egyptian Geese, Greylag and Canada Geese & Stock Dove and Wood Pigeon at Marsh Farm, Sidlesham (AH)
Chichester Canal: The flooded field to the east of Crosbie causeway provided most of the interest today with 25 Mute Swans, C.50 Wigeon, two Black-tailed Godwits, a Lesser Black-backed Gull in with Black-headed Gulls, and an Egyptian Goose all present.
To the west, five Chiffchaffs were around the small copse at the picnic benches but it was otherwise just the regular waterbird species. (BI)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (above) & Egyptian Goose at Chichester Canal (BI)
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