Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 22nd

Thursday, 24th November: Yet another very blustery, if mostly sunny and slightly milder, morning, with the wind strengthening as it shifted from the west to the south...............

Selsey Bill: Three Little Gulls, two adults and a first-winter, went west this morning, along with 82 Kittiwakes, including many first-winter birds, and with many of them very close in, though it was again quiet otherwise. Full log below. (SR/AH/IP)

(0740-0930hrs) (WSW, F4, freshening to SSW, F6-7)

diver sp - 1E

Great Crested Grebe - 2W

Gannet - 1W

Common Scoter - 2W

Red-breasted Merganser - 12W

Turnstone - 12

Little Gull - 3W

Mediterranean Gull - 4W

Common Gull - 2W

Kittiwake - 82W

Sandwich Tern - 1E

(1045-1130hrs) (AH)

Little Gull - 2W

Mediterranean Gull - 6W

Common Gull - 1W

Kittiwake - 27W

(1250-1420hrs) (SSW, F6-7) (SR)

Red-breasted Merganser - 7W

Turnstone - 1W

Little Gull - 1W

Mediterranean Gull - 5W, 30s

Kittiwake - 126W, (including a flock of 20)

Little Gulls (above), Kittiwakes & a stormy sea at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: A Kittiwake came out of the harbour and went off west over the fields late this morning, but, beyond a dozen roosting it was just ducks all the way, including c100 Shovelers and Wigeon, at least 200 Teal, c40 Mallards and eight Shelducks. (AH)

Kittiwake (above), Shovelers & Avocets at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There was a Kittiwake along the beach this morning, among a handful of Common and Mediterranean Gulls, numerous Black-headed Gulls and c50 roosting Turnstones.

The harbour was very full again, with just a scattering of Wigeon, Teal and Shelducks to be seen, plus a few roosting Curlews and Redshanks, whilst two Snipe flew up high, heading for the horse field and a Kingfisher flew towards the concrete blocks. (AH)

Kittiwake (above), Common Gull, Kingfisher & Snipe at Church Norton (AH)

Fishbourne Creek: There were five Little Gulls and a Kittiwake at the Lavant outflow this morning,showing very well.(PH)

North Wall: A Grey Wagtail and two Pied Wagtails were around the sluice this morning, and 200 Black-tailed Godwits were further back with a few Wigeon, Teal and Brent Geese on the water. It was quiet along the wall in the blustery conditions with just a few Blackbirds in the hedgerows and a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk overhead, while at Halsey’s Farm a Little Grebe was fishing in the rife and a Grey Heron and 37 Curlews were around the fields.

A pair of Shovelers were on the Breech Pool and the male Marsh Harrier made a brief appearance over the reeds behind, whilst a Stonechat was around the paddock, but most of the action was in the field at the end of Church Lane where there were 500 Lapwing, 300 Golden Plover, 20 Pied Wagtails, eight Goldfinches, a few Meadow Pipits and lots of Starlings. (LP/CT/PC)

Little Grebe (above), Grey Heron & Black-tailed Godwits and Teal at the North Wall (LP)

Wednesday, 23rd November: After heavy rain early on, in a strong southerly, the wind shifted to the west, leaving another bright, but very blustery day............

Selsey Bill: The highlight this morning was undoubtedly the Little Auk that flew west, quite close in, at 0852hrs - the first on the Peninsula since December 2017.

Otherwise, it was a strange morning, with 15 Little Gulls and a few Kittiwakes moving west right along the beach, but hardly anything moving further out. Full log below. (SR/AH/IP)

(0745-0945hrs) (SSW, F6-7)

Great Crested Grebe - 1os

Wigeon - 3W

Common Scoter - 2W

Red-breasted Merganser - 1W

Knot - 2E

Dunlin - 16W

Turnstone - 18

Little Gull - 15W

Mediterranean Gull - 6W, 6os

Common Gull - 1W

Kittiwake - 23W

Little Auk - 1W (0852hrs)

Little Auk (above), Kittiwakes, Little Gulls, Little Gull and Black-headed Gull & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There was a huge flock of at least 500 Black-tailed Godwits at the back of the pool this morning, along with a dozen Avocets and100+ Lapwings, and there were also 15 Shelducks, c50 Shoveler, c20 Mallards and c100 wigeon and Teal present, with c40 Canada Geese in the fields. (AH)

Avocets (above) & Black-tailed Godwits at the Ferry (AH)

Pagham Spit: A Short-eared Owl was on the spit this morning, whilst the Snow Bunting was still around its usual area and a Slavonian Grebe was inside the harbour. (LP)

Short-eared Owl (above), Snow Bunting & Slavonian Grebe at Pagham Spit (LP)

East Side: On the Slipe Field this morning there were 250 Wood Pigeons, a Stock Dove and a Stonechat. (CRJ)

Church Norton: The harbour was very full of water this morning, with the ducks - c50 Pintail and Shovelers and c200 Teal and Wigeon - enjoying it along the west side, but the waders struggling to find places to roost, with just a few scattered Black-tailed Godwits and Grey Plovers and plenty of Curlews and Redshanks moving about, looking to settle.

A Dartford Warbler was briefly along the west side, with otherwise just a couple of Skylarks and half a dozen Reed Buntings seen, whilst c150 Golden Plovers flew up from the fields and at least 800 Brent Geese were in the field behind the churchyard. (AH)

Golden Plovers (above), Pintail, Wigeon and Teal & Curlews, Redshanks and Black-tailed Godwits at Church Norton (AH)

West Itchenor: An adult Little Gull was in the harbour, near Stakes Island, late this morning. (PH)

Fishbourne Creek: On the high tide this morning there were seven Little Gulls feeding at the sewage works outfall, where there was also a male Goldeneye, a Rock Pipit and a Grey Wagtail.

The nearby salt marshes held another Rock Pipit, a Snipe and two Stonechats, whilst heading towards Dell Quay there were two more Grey Wagtails along the foreshore, and a redhead Red-breasted Merganser off Dell Quay. Also, many hundreds of Brent Geese flew into and out of the creek. (RW)

Little Gulls (above) & Rock Pipit at Fishbourne Creek (RW)

Tuesday, 22nd November: A cold, bright and breezy morning in a fresh north-westerly......

Selsey Bill: At least seven Little Gulls, including one first-winter, were lingering off the east side of the Bill this morning, among a mix of other gulls, but beyond a few distant Kittiwakes and a few Red-breasted Mergansers, it was quiet offshore. Full log below. (SR/AH/P&LH/IP/ABi)

(0740-0925hrs) (WNW, F6)

Great Northern Diver - 2W, 1os

Red-throated Diver - 1W

diver sp - 1E

Great Crested Grebe - 1E, 3W

Shelduck - 2E

Common Scoter - 2W

Red-breasted Merganser - 6E, 8W

Oystercatcher - 1E

Turnstone - 2

Little Gull - 7os

Mediterranean Gull - 3os

Common Gull - 1os

Kittiwake - 39W

Sandwich Tern - 1W

auk sp - 1W

Meadow Pipit - 1

Goldfinch - 15

Later in the morning, there were still three Little Gulls off the Bill and five more off Hillfield Road. (AH)

(1345-1530hrs) (P&LH)

Great Northern Diver - 2os

Great Crested Grebe - 1os

Gannet - 1W

Little Egret - 1 (on beach)

Red-breasted Merganser - 8os

Kestrel - 1

Turnstone - 11

Little Gull - 3W

Mediterranean Gull - 8W

Kittiwake - 7W

Sandwich Tern - 1E

Little Gulls at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: The flooded field was busy this morning, with at least 300 Black-tailed Godwits and 500 Lapwings on it, all put up by a passing Marsh Harrier, whilst 16 Avocets were on the pool, along with a dozen Shelducks and at least 100 Shoveler, Wigeon and Teal. (AH)

Avocets (above) & Black-tailed Godwits at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: The Snow Bunting could be seen on Pagham Spit from the end of the spit this morning. with a Stonechat, 60 Linnets and eight Skylarks in the vicinity, whilst a Slavonian Grebe could be seen offshore.

A Red-breasted Merganser was in the harbour, along with 50 Wigeon, 40 Teal and 500 Brent Geese, whilst waders included six Knot, 60 Ringed Plovers, 150 Golden Plovers, 250 Grey Plovers, 50 Turnstones and 300 Dunlin, with two Mediterranean Gulls and four Common Gulls also about. (P&LH/KJ/NR et al)

North Wall: Three Marsh Harriers and a Sparrowhawk were behind the Breech Pool and five Snipe and 30 Brent Geese flew over, while in the flooded fields further back there were at least 1000 Lapwings and a few Golden Plover, but the harbour was quiet at high water, with just a few Wigeon and Teal about, and in the Breech Pool there ere just a pair of Shovelers with the regular Mallards.

Two Rock Pipits were along the wall and a pair of Stonechats, a Reed Bunting and a Greenfinch were in the bushes, whilst at Halsey’s Farm two Peregrines were in one of the dead trees and a few Rooks were in the fields, and 30 Curlew, 20 Redshank and two Grey Herons were around Heron Island, along with a few Brent Geese, four Shelduck and a Little Grebe. (LP/CT/JDW)

Peregrines (above), Rock Pipit, Stonechat & Shovelers at the North Wall (LP)

Chichester GPs: Ivy Lake area - It was fairly quiet this morning, though a Little Egret, 15 Tufted Ducks, six Pochard, five Gadwall and a Chiffchaff were around Ivy Lake and eight Gadwall were also on Nunnery Lake. (CRJ)

Drayton Pits: The four Great White Egrets were still present today on the North Pits, along with five Grey Herons and a dozen Little Egrets. (BI)

Great White Egret at Drayton Pit (BI)

Medmerry: Windmill to the Breach - It was quiet here, with a pair of Stonechats at either end, a Rock Pipit along the beach and a few Goldfinches and Linnets being the only small birds seen.

It was equally quiet around the breach, with just a few roosting Grey Plovers and Curlews seen, along with a handful of Brent Geese and Wigeon. (AH)