13th - 15th November 2022

Tuesday, 15th November: A thoroughly wet and windy morning, with persistent heavy rain driven through by a near gale force southerly, though it remains mild and it began to brighten by midday......

Selsey Bill: A total of 28 Common Scoters west was the highest so far this autumn, though otherwise there were just a few Gannets and Red-breasted Mergansers on the move. Full log below. (SH/SR/AH)

(0700-0930hrs) (SSE, F7)

Gannet - 11E

Common Scoter - 2E, 28W, 6os

Red-breasted Merganser - 7W

Turnstone - 3

Mediterranean Gull - 2W

(1330-1500hrs) (SW, F5) (SH)

Great Crested Grebe- 1os

Gannet - 21W

Brent Goose - 48W

Red-breasted Merganser - 4E, 3W

Kestrel - 1

Turnstone - 1

Mediterranean Gull - 7W

Kittiwake - 8W

Sandwich Tern - 1W

Gannet at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were just lots of ducks again this morning, including c75 Shovelers, c40 Wigeon, c100 Teal, c30 Mallards and 15 Shelducks. (AH)

Shovelers on the Ferry (AH)

This afternoon, a Raven went over west, chasing a Buzzard. (AH)

Buzzard and Raven over the Ferry (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: A total of 53 Brent Geese went over west, late this morning, with a Srparrowhawk, four Goldcrests and four Pied Wagtails around the farm. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: There were 120 Knot out on the mud this morning, the first decent flock of the autumn, whilst a dozen Avocets were in the channel near the concrete blocks, and c300 Dunlin and 80 Grey Plovers were also about.

At least 500 Brent Geese flew in from the fields, but beyond a couple of Pintail and a few Wigeon and Teal, that was about it in the harbour, whilst a mix of gulls along the fields in Rectory Lane included a Lesser Black-backed Gull, three Great Black-backed Gulls, four Common Gulls and seven Mediterranean Gulls among the Herring and Black-headed Gulls, with, oddly, two Grey Plovers among them, too. (AH)

Later on, when the weather improved, there were three Marsh Harriers - two males and a female - over the Severals. (S&SaH)

Avocets (above), Knot, Grey Plovers, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Gull & Mediterranean and Great Black-backed Gulls at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: There was no sign of the Long-tailed Duck today but an impressive flock of 300+ Golden Plovers were noted going south over Selsey at 1530hrs. (P-VP)

Monday, 14th November: It was very warm and sunny again this morning, in just a light south-easterly breeze...

Selsey Bill: There were a few Brent Geese, Wigeon and Wood Pigeons on the move this morning. Full log below. (SR/ABi/AH/IP)

(0710-0900hrs) (ESE, F3)

Red-throated Diver - 1E

Great Crested Grebe - 1E

Gannet - 1E, 2W

Shag - 4E

Brent Goose - 8E, 109W

Shelduck - 11W

Wigeon - 20E, 25W

Common Scoter - 2os

Red-breasted Merganser - 8W

Kestrel - 1

Oystercatcher - 1W

Turnstone - 1

Mediterranean Gull - 3E, 2W

auk sp - 1E

Wood Pigeon - 734E

Meadow Pipit - 12E

Pied Wagtail - 3E

Linnet - 10E

Red-throated Diver (above), Wigeon & Wood Pigeons at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There was a Little Grebe on the pool this morning, reflecting the very high water levels, but otherwise there were just lots of ducks, namely c150 Tea, c40 Wigeon, c30 Shovelers, two Gadwall, eight Mallards and seven Shelducks. (AH)

Little Grebe (above) & Wigeon and Teal on the Ferry (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: A female Black Redstart was briefly around the buildings this morning, along with a Grey Wagtail and two Pied Wagtails, with a Goldcrest, a Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel also seen. (IP)

Grey Wagtail at Park Farm, Selsey (IP)

Medmerry: Stilt Pool - The Long-tailed Duck was still present today on the Stilt Pool. (per B Brewer per SOS)

North Wall: A Dartford Warbler was in bushes along the top path, near Owl Copse this morning, before dropping down to the lower path and out of view. 

A Pochard was with 24 Tufted Ducks, three Shovelers and 12 Mallards on the Breech Pool this morning, with a Kingfisher, four Stonechats, a Cetti's Warbler, two Reed Buntings, two Linnets and a Kestrel seen along the wall.

Also, another Stonechat, five Linnets, ten Goldfinches and a Sparrowhawk were around the Slipe field. (JDW/CRJ)

Church Norton: There was a big increase in the number of Brent Geese around, with up to 800 spread across the harbour and the fields behind the church, with another 35 seen going west offshore,whilst there were also c250 Wigeon, c100 Teal and c20 Pintail present.

At least 400 Dunlin and 100 Grey Plovers were in a big loose flock on the mud, 18 Avocets were in the main channel, with another on the far side of the harbour, and a Kingfisher and a Little Grebe were also about..

A Tree-creeper was at Greenlease Farm, the first record for this area in a number of years, whilst there were several mixed flocks of Long-tailed, Great and Blue Tits around the farm, the Severals and the churchyard, with up to a dozen Goldcrests and a couple of Chiffchaffs mixed in among them, whilst at least four Song Thrushes were in the churchyard, too. 

There were also two Dartford Warblers and a Stonechat around the Severals, (AH/IP)

Tree-creeper (above), Goldcrest, Song Thrush, Long-tailed Tit & Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

Sunday, 13th November: Another very mild morning, initially grey and murky, later sunny, in a fairly fresh south-easterly breeze...

Note: Following the passing of our friend and former Bill regular Dave Smith, we have been asked to put out the following;-

The funeral arrangements for Dave are as follows.......November 22nd at 2pm Worthing Crematorium, Horsham Road, Findon, Worthing BN14 0RG just off the A24 northbound. There is no dress code and Dave wouldn't want anyone to dress up. No flowers, but any Donations to St Barnabas Hospice, Worthing.

The funeral will be followed by a reception at Goring Conservative Club,49 Mulberry Lane, Goring-by -Sea, Worthing BN12 4RA. (Eds)

Selsey Bill: There was quite a bit of variety, including five species of dabbling duck, on the move, if nothing very rare, though a Peregrine and Great Northern and Red-throated Divers were about, as were two Swallows. Full log below. (JA/SH/MB/BI/AH/IP/SR/P&LH)

(0650-0930hrs) (SSE, F3-4)
Great Northern Diver - 1os
Red-throated Diver - 1W

diver sp - 1E

Great Crested Grebe - 1os

Gannet - 1E, 9W

Shag - 2E

Little Egret - 1E

Brent Goose - 26W

Wigeon - 17E, 2W

Teal - 3W

Pintail - 2E

Gadwall - 2W

Shoveler - 14W

Common Scoter  - 6E, 11W

Sparrowhawk - 1E

Peregrine - 1

Kestrel - 1

Sanderling - 6E

Dunlin - 2E, 2W

Turnstone - 4

Mediterranean Gull - 3os

auk sp - 1W, 1os

Wood Pigeon - 120E

Stock Dove - 18E

Swallow - 2E

Meadow Pipit - 2E

Pied Wagtail - 4

Goldfinch - 15

(1320-1530hrs) (SH/P&LH)

Great Northern Diver - 1os

Red-throated Diver - 3E, 1os

Great Crested Grebe - 1E

Gannet - 2W

Brent Goose - 3E, 58W

Kestrel - 1

Red-breasted Merganser - 2os

Turnstone - 21

Pied Wagtail - 1

Red-throated Diver (above), Shag & Swallow at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There was just the usual mix of c50 Shoveler, c100 Teal and a few Wigeon and Shelducks on the pool this morning. (AH)

Church Norton: A Firecrest and four Goldcrests were in the churchyard this morning, along with two Chiffchaffs, a Mistle Thrush, two Jays, two Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Green Woodpecker and nine Long-tailed Tits, whilst the flock of Brent Geese in the field behind the churchyard had grown to 246 birds, and there were also six Red-legged Partridges present, too. (P&LH)

Chi GPs - Drayton house Pits: Sadly it is apparent that much of the general lakeside vegetation and reed-beds are being stripped away at present, leaving just starkly bare banks in places. The water level also remains low, although it is heron city at the moment….there being four Great White Egrets, 15 Little Egrets, six Grey Herons and c.20 Cormorants on the exposed mud.
The South pit water level seems fairly high but back to normal really; most of the ducks present were unsurprisingly on this pit (30+ Pochard, 20+ Tufted, 10 Gadwall and a Shoveler) plus at least eight Great Crested Grebes. (OM)

Great White Egrets on Drayton House North pit and a view of the habitat destruction there (OM)

Pagham Spit and East side: There was no sign of the Snow Bunting this morning, with just a Sparrowhawk, a pair of Stonechats and a dozen or so Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Greenfinches to be seen.

There were at least 400 Brent Geese in the harbour, with several flocks appearing to be just arriving, with at least 600 Wigeon and c50 Teal, but just a handful of Pintail, also present, whilst there were also 20 Common Gulls in the main channel and waders included two Bar-tailed Godwits, a flock of c400 Black-tailed Godwits, c80 Grey Plovers, c300 Dunlin and c100 Redshanks, whilst c150 Golden Plovers and c500 Lapwings went up from various locations at various times.

At least half a dozen Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits were all that could be seen in the hedges. (AH)

Stonechat (above), Meadow Pipit & Linnet at Pagham Spit, Brent Geese & Pintail and Wigeon along East side (AH)

North Wall: Both the male and female Marsh Harriers were about this morning over the Breech Pool, where 28 Tufted Ducks were the most conspicuous species, followed by a dozen or so Teal and Mallards and two Gadwall.

There were at least 50 Brent Geese and a huge flock of gulls on the flooded fields at the back, but not much else was around. (AH)

Marsh Harrier (above) & Tufted Ducks at the North Wall (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to theStilt Pool - The Long-tailed Duck was showing well again this morning on the Stilt Pool, along with two Snipe, whilst two Marsh Harriers, a Peregrine, a Buzzard, a Sparrowhawk and three Kestrels were on/over the reserve, along with a Raven and c80 Brent Geese.

Four Dartford Warblers were along the banks, too, along with eight Stonechats, six Yellowhammers and a Reed Bunting. (S&SaH/SR/MB) A Great White Egret was also out on the reserve with a Black Redstart also in the area.

Also, early this morning, a Barn Owl was out hunting the banks. (AD)

Barn Owl at Medmerry (AD)