Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 17th

Thursday, 19th January: It remains cold and bright, but with the breeze turning north-easterly and finally falling light........

Selsey Bill: There was plenty of activity from the regular species on the high tide this morning. Full log below. (AH/SR)

(0755-0910hrs) (NE, F2-3)

Great Northern Diver - 1E, 1W, 1os

Red-throated Diver - 14E, 14W

Slavonian Grebe - 1E

Great Crested Grebe - 2E, 13W, 2os

Shag - 1W

Common Scoter - 6E, 8W, 12os

Red-breasted Merganser - 20E, 6W, 1os

Oystercatcher - 2E, 2W

Mediterranean Gull - 1E

Razorbill - 13W, 1os

auk sp - 25E, 33W

Ferry Pool: The pool remains frozen and birdless, though a Snipe dropped into the roadside reeds, whilst Spotted Redshank was in the channel opposite again this morning, along with c20 Snipe, half a dozen Redshanks, a dozen Shovelers and Mallard, c50 Wigeon and c100 Teal. (AH/AHu/NB)

Chichester GPs: Two Cattle Egrets were at the back of Trout Lake West this morning. (NB/AHu)

Church Norton: A Great White Egret was out in the middle of the harbour at high tide, whilst there were plenty of Knot, Dunlin and Grey Plovers about as the tide fell, along with c40 Pintail and lots of Wigeon and Teal.

A flat calm sea was disappointingly bereft of birds, though, with two distant Slavonian Grebes and Great Crested Grebes on the water and three Red-throated Divers heading west being the only birds seen.

There was a bit of passerine activity, with two Siskins briefly on the trees by the Mound before flying off, two or three Redwings skulking in the hedgerows of the churchyard and two Rock Pipits along the path to the beach. (AH/NB/AHu et al)

Runcton, North Mundham and South Mundham: A walk around the three villages this morning produced two Canada Geese, two Mallard, singles of Buzzard, Kestrel and Cattle Egret, four Moorhens, four Great Spotted Woodpeckers, six Meadow Pipits, two Dunnocks, three Robins, three Song Thrushes, a flock of 19 Redwing, 13 Blackbirds, a pair of Stonechats, a Chiffchaff, two Wrens, four Great Tits, two Blue Tits, nine Long-tailed Tits, nine Magpies, 17 Jackdaws, 35 Rooks, three Starlings, five Chaffinches, six Goldfinches and two Greenfinches.

Also seen were Snowdrops, Winter Heliotrope,and Stinking Hellebore.(CRJ)

Long-tailed Tit (above), Snowdrops, Winter Heliotrope,& Stinking Hellebore in the Runcton area (CRJ)

Wednesday, 18th January: Another very cold morning, though bright and sunny in a moderate north-westerly breeze........

Selsey Bill: A few Red-throated Divers were moving about again this morning, but it was mainly the regular species in modest numbers. Full log below. (P&LH/AH/SR)

(0750-0920hrs) (NW, F4-5)

Great Northern Diver - 2W, 3os

Red-throated Diver - 13E, 28W, 1os

Great Crested Grebe - 4W, 1os

Gannet - 7W

Shag - 1os

Common Scoter - 6E, 7W, 11os

Red-breasted Merganser - 4E, 7W, 3os

Oystercatcher - 1W

Mediterranean Gull - 2os

Common Gull - 8W, 1os

Razorbill - 2W

auk sp - 7E, 12W

Great Northern and Red-throated Divers (above), Red-throated Divers,Shag & Common Gull at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: The Spotted Redshank was in the channel again this morning, along with two Grey Plovers, four Redshanks, three Gadwall, c50 Wigeon and c120 Teal, whilst c150 Lapwings were on the arable fields, but the pool itself remains fully frozen. (AH)

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

Church Norton: A Marsh Harrier and a Peregrine were both upsetting the many waders in the harbour, which included three Ringed Plovers, whilst a Kingfisher was also about, and two Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest were in the churchyard. (P&LH)

Pagham Lagoon: A drake Goldeneye was on the Lagoon this afternoon. (LP)

Medmerry: Windmill to the Breach - It was very quiet this morning, with a pair of Stonechats and three Meadow Pipits around the rocks by the breach being he only passerines noted, and there was nothing at all offshore.

Thee was a bit more activity in the tidal areas, including a Greenshank, two Knot, c30 Grey Plovers and c200 Dunlin, plus a dozen or so Teal and Shelducks, but nothing else out of the ordinary. (AH)

Stonechat (above), Meadow Pipit, Greenshank & Knot and Dunlin at Medmerry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - The Barn Owl as out hunting this afternoon, a Kingfisher was seen and two Ravens went over, whilst along the banks there were a Dartford Warbler, three Stonechats, seven Yellowhammers and c40 Stock Doves.
There were plenty of wildfowl about, including c400 Brent Geese, 60 Canada Geese, 35 Shelducks, four Shovelers and two Gadwall, along with c40 Lapwings. (P&LH)

Medmerry: Old House Farm - There were c30 Fieldfares in the trees near the house late this afternoon, with a couple of Yellowhammers along the hedges and c50 Lapwings were on the stubble fields. (AH)

Fieldfares at Medmerry (AH)

Tuesday, 17th January: A very cold morning in a fairly brisk north-easterly, struggling to get above freezing by midday, despite the hazy sunshine.....

Selsey Bill: Two Velvet Scoters - one west and one that flew in and landed with a Common Scoter - were the highlight this morning, whilst a Slavonian Grebe east and 65 Red-throated Divers west, including a splendid flock of 33, were also noteworthy. Full log below. (AH/SR)

(0750-0920hrs) (NE, F4-5)

Great Northern Diver - 2W, 1os

Red-throated Diver - 65W, 1os (including a flock of 33)

Slavonian Grebe - 1E

Great Crested Grebe - 1os

Brent Goose - 2W

Velvet Scoter - 1W, 1os

Common Scoter - 2E, 1W, 13os

Red-breasted Merganser - 6E, 5W, 7os

Mediterranean Gull - 6os

Common Gull - 2os

Sandwich Tern - 2os

Velvet Scoter (above), Slavonian Grebe, Great Northern Diver & Red-throated Divers at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: The pool was completely frozen this morning, with just two Common and c60 Black-headed Gulls on the ice, whilst the Spotted Redshank was in the channel opposite, along with four Little Egrets, six Redshanks and c150 Teal. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above) & Spotted Redshank, Little Egrets and Teal in Ferry Channel (AH)

Late this afternoon, the Water Rail was again in Red Barn Ditch. (AH)

Water Rail in Red Barn Ditch (AH)

Pagham Spit: The Snow Bunting was still at the end of the spit this morning, with a Rock Pipit and a few Skylarks nearby. (PB)

North Wall: There were 80 Dunlin along White’s Creek this morning, together with a Ringed Plover, six Grey Plovers and the usual Redshank, Lapwing, Wigeon and Teal, with a few Pintail and Shelduck further out.

A Kingfisher was by the sluice and a Water Vole was in the Rife, while both male and female Marsh Harriers were over the reeds and a Buzzard was sat in the trees, whilst in and around the flooded Honer fields there were 200 Black-tailed Godwits, 100 Curlew, 200 Lapwing, along with eight Shovelers and lots of Wigeon and Teal.

Along the wall a flock of 20 Long-tailed Tits moved through, and a Goldcrest and a Cetti’s Warbler were in the hedgerow., whilst a Snipe was on the mud near Owl Copse together with a few more Dunlin, Redshank and Grey Plovers. (LP/CT)

Marsh Harrier (above), Buzzard, Snipe, Grey Plover & Ringed Plover and Dunlin at the North Wall (LP)

Fishbourne Creek: At least half a dozen Rock Pipits, plus a Reed Bunting, a Stonechat and a Grey Wagtail, were along the edge of the creek, but there was no sign of the Water Pipit this morning.

The Creek itself was full of birds, including a Spotted Redshank, three Greenshank, c600 Black-tailed Godwits, lots of the commoner waders, c200 Wigeon and at least 1500 Brent Geese (including good numbers of juveniles) that were commuting between the harbour and the field west of the church.

Also, at least 200 Common Gulls were in the channel, and at the Dell Quay end there were three Goldeneyes (a drake and two ducks), up to ten Little Grebes and a Kingfisher. (AH)