Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 16th

Saturday, 18th February: A very grey and windy morning in a freshening westerly breeze..........

Selsey Bill: Another fairly slow morning, though 24 Brent Geese went east and two Kittiwakes went west. Full log below. (SH/PB/BI/AH/IP/SR)

(0700-0900hrs) (W, F6)

Red-throated Diver - 2E

diver sp - 1E

Great Crested Grebe - 2W

Fulmar - 2W

Gannet - 1E, 11W

Brent Goose - 24E

Common Scoter - 3E, 2os

Red-breasted Merganser - 5E, 10W, 7os

Turnstone - 9

Mediterranean Gull - 1os

Common Gull - 1W

Kittiwake - 2W

Sandwich Tern - 7os

Razorbill - 1E

auk sp - 2W

(1230-1330hrs) (SH)

diver sp - 1E

Gannet - 4E, 3W

Mediterranean Gull - 1W, 2os

Sandwich Tern - 3os

Ferry Pool: There were 16 Avocets and 15 Black-tailed Godwits on the pool this morning, along with the drake Gadwall, six Shelducks, c75 Shovelers, c100 Teal and c200 Wigeon, whilst the Spotted Redshank was again in the channel opposite, along with c20 Teal .(AH)

Spotted Redshank (above) & Shovelers at the Ferry (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: The fields held a singing Skylark, a few Meadow Pipits flying over and one each of Pied and Grey Wagtail this morning. (IP)

Church Norton: A male Reed Bunting was again singing in the first Several, a Song Thrush flew over and later a female Marsh Harrier was hunting there, whilst a lone Cetti's Warbler also was calling..

Surprisingly, a Grey Wagtail flew over the harbour, which was very full of water and the regular waders were roosting wherever they could.

A pair of Red-breasted Mergansers flew into the harbour, whilst another four were offshore, along with two Great Crested Grebes, and a Common Scoter flew east. (IP)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - Two Dartford Warblers, a Stonechat, a Reed Bunting and a Cetti's Warbler were all that was along the banks in the wind, with the only other birds of note being a Greenshank, an Egyptian Goose, a Buzzard and two Kestrels, whilst a flock of 15 Brent Geese went over, heading east. (S&SAH)

Pagham Spit: There was no sign of the Snow Bunting this morning, with up to a dozen skylarks the only passerines around, whilst a female Goldeneye was in the newly forming lagoon and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers were in the harbour, along with c20 Pintail, c100 Wigeon and c300 Brent Geese.

There were plenty of roosting waders, including c200 Knot, c50 Grey Plovers, c50 Turnstones, a handful of Ringed Plovers and at least 500 Dunlin, with up to 20 Common Gulls and half a dozen Mediterranean Gulls also about. (AH)

Red-breasted Mergansers (above), Goldeneye, Common Gull, Dunlin & Pintails and Brent Geese at Pagham Spit (AH)

North Wall: A fairly brief look from the sluice produced a couple of sightings of a Marsh Harrier and a Buzzard, whilst in White's Creek and the adjacent harbour there were c60 Pintail, c200 Wigeon, c50 Teal, c300 Brent Geese, c100 Knot, c300 Dunlin, c50 Grey Plovers, c500 Golden Plovers and c2000 Lapwings. (AH)

Pintails (above) & Wigeon at the North Wall (AH)

Chichester GPs: Drayton Pits - There was a rather motley selection of geese in the field opposite the south pit at Drayton this morning including 97 Greylag Geese, two Egyptian Geese, 17 Canada Geese and the group of Barnacle/Cackling-type hybrids that have been frequenting the general area recently.

Also, a flock of Fieldfare and a Mistle Thrush were nearby and a Woodcock flew over. (BI)

Greylag and Barnacle/Cackling-type hybrid geese (above) & Egyptian Geese near Drayton Pits (BI)

West Wittering: At lunchtime today, a female Sparrowhawk took out a Wood Pigeon in mid-air and then did battle with it on the ground in the garden until it eventually succumbed. Quite a predator! (GM)

Sparrowhawk and Wood Pigeon in a West Wittering garden (GM)

Friday, 17th February: Another overcast and blustery, if quite mild, morning in a fresh south-westerly............

Selsey Bill: The Long-tailed Duck dropped in again, well offshore, but otherwise it was pretty slow again. Full log below. (SR/AH/MO-W)

(0800-0900hrs) (SW, F5-6)

Red-throated Diver - 2E, 1W

Gannet - 7W

Long-tailed Duck - 1os

Common Scoter - 1E, 1W

Red-breasted Merganser - 4W, 2os

Turnstone - 7

Common Scoter (above) & Red-breasted Mergansers at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were 11 Avocets and six Black-tailed Godwits on the pool this morning, along with two Shelducks, c60 Shovelers and c100 Teal, with c250 Wigeon split between the pool and he field.

The Spotted Redshank was again in the channel opposite and the vast flock of c800 Golden Plovers and c2000 Lapwings came up from the middle of the harbour. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above), Avocet & Golden Plovers and Lapwings at the Ferry (AH)

Late this afternoon the Water Rail was again in Red Barn Ditch, whilst a Marsh Harrier was hunting over the harbour and the Avocet count on the Ferry had risen to 14. (AH)

Water Rail (above) & Marsh Harrier at the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: Around high tide there were 200 Brent Geese in White’s Creek, together with a few Teal, Wigeon and Pintail, while on the mud further back there were 1000 Lapwing, 300 Golden Plover, 100 Grey Plover, 200 Dunlin, 18 Shelduck and a pair of Shovelers.

It was quiet along the wall in the blustery conditions but four Grey Herons were in the fields, two more on their island and another two in Owl Copse. In the harbour from there, a group of 30 Black-headed Gulls and 16 Mediterranean Gulls were on the mud, along with eight Redshank, two Oystercatchers and a Black-tailed Godwit. (LP/CT)

Grey Herons (above) & Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls at the North Wall (LP)

Marsh Farm, Sidlesham: A flock of 24 Cattle Egrets was sat out together near the dairy unit, and at least 80 Chaffinches and a dozen Pied Wagtails were around the silage clamps.

It was very quiet elsewhere, though, with just a lone Curlew and c25 Stock Doves on the nearby fields, a flock of c100 Wigeon on the remaining flooded areas and a single Buzzard over.

The churchyard was very quiet, though a Chiffchaff was by the Church Farm Lane gate. (AH)

Cattle Egrets (above), Chiffchaff, Pied Wagtail & Chaffinches at Marsh Farm, Sidlesham (AH)

Thursday, 16th February: A shift back to more seasonal weather this morning, with a brisk, though fairly mild, south-westerly pushing through drizzly squalls under very grey skies......

Selsey Bill: Plenty of Gannets and a few auks were heading west, though it was otherwise quiet. Full log below. (SR/AH)

(0740-0910hrs) (SW, F5-6)

Red-throated Diver - 1W

Gannet - 3E, 91W

Brent Goose - 1W

Red-breasted Merganser - 1E, 7W

Dunlin - 1E

Mediterranean Gull - 1E, 4W

Sandwich Tern - 1os

Razorbill - 22W

auk sp - 2E, 32W

Gannets (above) & Red-breasted Mergansers at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: The pool was quite quiet this morning, with just four Black-tailed Godwits, c50 Shovelers and c75 Teal spread around the pool, whilst the Spotted Redshank was again in the channel opposite. (AH)

Spotted Redshank at the Ferry (AH)

Late this afternoon the Water Rail was showing well in Red Barn Ditch. (AH)

Water Rail in Red Barn Ditch (AH)

North Wall: There were 50 Teal and just five Wigeon along White’s Creek this morning, together with a few hundred Brent Geese, with 100 Black-tailed Godwits and 500 Lapwing further out on the mud.

The male Marsh Harrier was over the reeds and another was out over the harbour, while in the flooded fields, a pair of Shovelers and a few Wigeon and Teal were on the water, and 30 Meadow Pipits were in the grass.

Three Grey Herons were in Owl Copse, and another four were around the fields, while 18 Cattle Egrets were seen distantly by the cow sheds at Marsh Farm. (LP/CT)

Shovelers (above) & Brent Geese a the North Wall (LP)

Church Norton: A Marsh Harrier was hunting over the harbour, where there were at least 500 Dunlin, plus a few Grey Plovers, Redshanks and Curlews, along with 14 Avocets in the main channel, and a pair of Ringed Plovers were display flighting, but wildfowl were restricted to c60 Teal and half a dozen Shelducks.

A pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, a Great Crested Grebe and a Common Gull were all that could be seen offshore and there wasn't much else to report beyond a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a couple of Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits around the Mound. (AH)

Late this afternoon along the west side there were a Merlin and a Sparrowhawk, with 27 Avocets in the main channel and huge numbers of Lapwings and Golden Plovers out on the mud. (S&SaH)