7th - 9th January 2023

Monday, 9th January: A cool, but mostly bright morning, in a decidedly fresh and blustery westerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: There were a few Great Northern Divers about again, plus a few Sandwich Terns and a Shag, but nothing was really on the move. Full log below. (SR/MO-W/ABi/RP/AH/IP/PD)

(0750-0920hrs) (W, F6)

Great Northern Diver - 1W, 4os

Red-throated Diver - 1W

Gannet - 1W

Shag - 1os

Brent Goose - 17E

Common Scoter - 1E, 8os

Red-breasted Merganser - 8W

Sparrowhawk - 1

Oystercatcher - 2

Turnstone - 7

Mediterranean Gull - 6os

Sandwich Tern - 4os

Great Northern Divers (above), Sandwich Tern & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: A flock of 39 Avocets, plus a Dunlin, flew in from the harbour and settled at the back, whilst two Gadwall, eight Tufted Ducks, c50 Shovelers, c100 Teal and c30 Wigeon and Mallards were spread around the edges. (AH)

Avocets at the Ferry (AH)

Pagham Spit and Lagoon: The Snow Bunting was again at the west end of the spit, with the Slavonian Grebe again in the adjacent channel, whilst a female Goldeneye was on the Lagoon. (IH/TG-P et al)

East Beach: The male Blackcap was again in the garden this morning. (SR)

Drayton Pits: There were two Great White Egrets viewable on the North Pit this afternoon. (SM)

Church Norton: There were two Great Northern Divers together offshore this morning, but a Shag,  five Red-breasted Mergansers and a few Common Gulls were the only other birds seen.

The harbour, though was again full of waders, including c450 Knot, c200 Grey Plovers, c1500 Dunlin, c500 Golden Plovers and c1000 Lapwings, but, again, just a single Bar-tailed Godwit, whilst wildfowl included c400 Brent Geese, c30 Shelducks, c40 Pintails, c50 Wigeon and c100 Teal.

Two Green Woodpeckers behind the hide, two Goldcrests by the carpark and a Stonechat and a couple of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits along the west side were about the only landbirds seen. (AH/ABi/PD et al)

Later on, a White-tailed Eagle was hunting over the harbour, dropping onto one of the islands before flying off again. (R Trueman)

Great Northern Divers (above), Shag, Red-breasted Merganser, Bar-tailed Godwit and Grey Plovers, Knot and Dunlin & Pintails at Church Norton (AH)

Sunday, 8th January: Another very breezy morning, with a mix of some sun and some squally showers, and a little cooler than yesterday.....

Selsey Bill: There were nine Great Northern Divers about this morning, along with lots of Red-breasted Merganser activity, but not much else was on the move. Full log below. (SH/PB/MRB/PM/AH/IP/SR)

(0740-0930hrs) (SW, F4-5)

Great Northern Diver- 6W, 3os

Red-throated Diver - 1E, 7W

diver sp - 3E, 1W

Great Crested Grebe - 1W

Fulmar - 1W

Gannet - 24W

Brent Goose - 47W

Common Scoter - 1W, 1os

Red-breasted Merganser - 16E, 25W, 2os

Turnstone - 15

Mediterranean Gull - 7W

Common Gull - 1W

Kittiwake - 1E, 10W

Sandwich Tern - 3os

auk sp - 1E, 2W

Great Northern Diver (above), Kittiwake & Common Scoter at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were 32 Avocets roosting at the back this morning, with a lot of ducks, including c80 Shovelers, c100 Wigeon, c200 Teal, four Tufted Ducks and c30 Mallards present, along with six Canada Geese and two Mute Swans. (AH)

Avocets on the Ferry (AH)

East Beach: A male Blackcap was in the garden this afternoon. (SR)

West Itchenor: A Great Northern Diver was in the main channel today. (HB)

Church Norton: There was a flock of 16 Barnacle Geese, plus a CacklingXBarnacle Goose hybrid in the harbour this morning, along with c400 Brent Geese, whilst a Slavonian Grebe was, unusually, along the main channel, with at least three Red-breasted Mergansers.

There were also 48 Pintail among large numbers of Wigeon and Teal, and at least 300 Knot, 200 Grey Plovers, 50 Turnstones and 1000 Dunlin, plus a lone Bar-tailed Godwit, being moved about by both a Peregrine and a Marsh Harrier.

There was nothing offshore beyond a couple of Common Gulls, though, and a Green Woodpecker behind the hide, a Kestrel in the carpark and four Red-legged Partridges in the field behind the churchyard were about the only landbirds noted. (PB/MRB/AH/IP/SR et al)

Barnacle Geese (above), Marsh Harrier, Red-breasted Merganser, Knot and Grey Plovers, Green Woodpecker & Kestrel at Church Norton (AH)

Pagham Spit: The Barnacle Geese and Cackling Goose were also viewable (just!) from a wind tunnel-like spit this morning. On the spit itself was a Rock Pipit, and a Dartford Warbler was heard here but not seen. Two Red-breasted Mergansers dropped into the harbour and c.40 Brent Geese went west offshore. (BI)

Barnacle Geese from Pagham Spit (BI)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - This morning a Greenshank and three Snipe were near the poplars, c300 Golden Plovers and c500 Lapwings were on the reserve, with a goldcrest and a Pied Wagtail all that was seen along the very windy banks. (S&SaH)

Fishbourne Creek: It was also very windy here this morning and all that could be found were three singing Song Thrushes along the paths and a Snipe in the seagrass. (BI)

Song Thrush at Fishbourne (BI)

Saturday, 7th January: A pretty dire morning, with a near gale-force southerly pushing through belts of drizzle, though quite mild and slightly drier than forecast.....

Selsey Bill: There wan't too much going on, with just a few of the regular species about. Full log later. (SH/PB/BI/SR/AH/IP)

(0745-1000hrs) (S, F7)

Great Northern Diver - 1os

Red-throated Diver - 5E, 8W, 2os

Great Crested Grebe - 1W

Fulmar - 1E

Gannet - 3E, 13W

Brent Goose - 2E, 1W

Red-breasted Merganser - 10E, 16W

Oystercatcher - 1E

Curlew - 1E

Turnstone - 13

Kittiwake - 5E, 2W

Sandwich Tern - 8os

Guillemot - 1os

auk sp - 1E, 3W

(1200-1300hrs) (SH)

Great Northern Diver - 3os

Great Crested Grebe - 2W

Fulmar - 1E

Red-breasted Merganser - 2E, 6W, 3os

Common Gull - 3W

Kittiwake - 4W

Sandwich Tern - 1os

Razorbill - 1os

Fulmar (above), Kittiwake, Gannet & Red-breasted Merganser at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were eight Tufted Ducks, four Shelducks, two Mute Swans, c50 Shovelers, c20 Mallards, c80 Wigeon and c120 Teal on the pool this morning, with c50 Lapwings over, heading west. (AH)

Wigeon on the Ferry (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: There was a bit of activity around the farm this morning, including two Ravens over, with six Brent Geese, c50 Mediterranean Gulls, a Grey Wagtail and 30 or so Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits on the fields. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: There were a lot of waders moving about on the full tide, with c100 Grey Plovers and c400 Dunlin towards the harbour mouth and c400 Black-tailed Godwits, c500 Golden Plovers and c1000 Lapwings along the west side, with c500 Brent Geese, c50 Shelducks and a few Pintail, Wigeon and Teal also moving about.

There wasn't much else to report, though, beyond a Snipe that flew out from the horse field, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers that flew out of the harbour and two female Eider offshore. (AH)

Snipe (above), Red-breasted Merganser, Black-tailed Godwits & Lapwings at Church Norton (AH)

Fishbourne Creek: A Coal Tit was again at the end of the path to the harbour along with a flock of Long-tailed Tits but there was little on the water in the blustery conditions other than a few Wigeon. (BI) 

Later, a Jack Snipe was present in the area. (AB)

Coal Tit at Fishbourne Creek (BI)

Pagham Lagoon and Spit: There were four Goldeneyes on the Lagoon this morning, along with two Great Crested Grebes, six Little Grebes and a Common Gull.

At the end of the spit, the Snow Bunting was in its usual spot, a Rock Pipit, 12 Skylarks and a Kingfisher were also about, and out in the harbour, approaching high tide, there were 30 Pintails along with a few Wigeon, Teal and Brent Geese, with a few hundred mixed waders relocating from the harbour out to the new spit and a large number of Lapwings over towards the North Wall. (LP)

Goldeneyes (above), Snow Bunting, Rock Pipit & Knot, Dunlin and Grey Plovers at Pagham Spit (LP)