22nd - 24th February 2024

Saturday, 24th February: After a sunny and frosty start in a light north-westerly, a spell of prolonged drizzly rain before slowly brightening as the breeze backed to the south-west.....

Selsey Bill: A Red-necked Grebe was offshore this morning, along with two Slavonian Grebes and three Long-tailed Ducks, but not much was on the move. Full log below. (SH/BI/IP/RW/AH/SR)

(0630-0900hrs) (NW, F2)

Great Northern Diver - 3os

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

diver sp - 1W

Red-necked Grebe -  1os

Slavonian Grebe - 2os

Great Crested Grebe - 1E, 2os

Fulmar - 1W

Brent Goose - 5W

Eider - 1W

Long-tailed Duck - 3os

Common Scoter - 10W, 1os

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

Oystercatcher - 1W

Mediterranean Gull - 1E, 2W

Sandwich Tern - 5os

Razorbill - 1E

auk sp - 1W

The Red-necked Grebe was seen again this afternoon, along with five Slavonian Grebes. Full log below. (SH)

(1300-1400hrs)

Great Northern Diver - 2os

Red-necked Grebe -  1E

Slavonian Grebe - 1E, 4os

Red-breasted Merganser - 2os

Mediterranean Gull - 10W

Kittiwake - 2W

Ferry Pool: A flock of 17 Snipe were lurking in the poolside sedges until something flushed them, whilst ten Lapwings dropped in and three Avocets were feeding on the pool.

There were large numbers of wildfowl about, too, this morning, comprising six Shelducks, six Gadwall, c120 Shovelers, c80 Teal, c30 Mallards and c200 Wigeon. (AH)

Snipe (above) & Avocet at the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: A singing Reed Bunting and a few Linnets were about it along the hedges, whilst two pairs of Tufted Ducks and a Little Grebe were on the pool, four Lapwings flew over and a few Wigeon, Teal and Redshanks were along the channel. (AH)

Reed Buntig & Teal along the Long Pool (AH)

Medmerry: Windmill to the Breach - The two Purple Sandpipers flew in to roost at the breach this morning, among good numbers of Knot, Dunlin, Ringed Plovers and Grey Plovers, plus three Bar-tailed Godwits, whilst c200 Golden Plovers flew up from the reserve opposite.

Unusually, a Cattle Egret was roosting on the far side of the breach, where there were also a few Skylarks and a large flock of Linnets, with a Peregrine, a Kestrel, a Sparrowhawk and two Buzzards also seen. (IP/RW)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Marsh Barn - A Merlin and a Marsh Harrier went over this morning, with c50 Brent Geese and c100 Golden Plovers on the reserve, whilst a Dartford Warbler, two Stonechats, three Yellowhammers, two Cetti's Warblers, a Pied Wagtail and two Green Woodpeckers were along the banks. (S&SaH)

Ivy Lake: A quick look only found a Lesser Black-backed Gull of note. (BI) 

Church Norton: There were four Long-tailed Ducks together offshore this morning, along with four Great Northern Divers, six Red-breasted Mergansers and six Great Crested Grebes.

The harbour was dominated by Brent Geese again, with at least 500 present, along with a few Wigeon,Teal and Shelducks, but waders were few, with a Bar-tailed Godwit, c30 Curlews c20 Oystercatcher and c50 Redshanks and Dunlin about it, whilst a Peregrine was sat on New Island and a couple of Skylarks were on Tern Island. (AH)

Long-tailed Ducks (above), Great Northern Divers & Wigeon and Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: Two Ruff were in the fields this afternoon, along with c200 Black-tailed Godwits, with a Spotted Redshank in White's Creek and six Golden Plovers and four Snipe about, too, whilst a Rock Pipit, a Reed Bunting and four Cetti's Warblers were along the wall.

Also, a Merlin, a Marsh Harrier and three Buzzards went over and c1000 Brent Geese were feeding in the fields off Mill Lane. (S&SaH)

Pagham Spit and Lagoon: The two long-staying Eiders were in the channel off the spit and a Peregrine was sat on the new island, but around high tide there wasn’t much else about - just a few Brent Geese and Wigeon in the harbour and three Meadow Pipits, a Skylark, and a Little Egret along the spit.

On the Lagoon there were two Brent Geese, six Mediterranean Gulls, two Common Gulls, a Little Grebe, and a Great Crested Grebe, while a Green Woodpecker and 30 House Sparrows were along the hedges. (LP)

Eider (above), Peregrine, Little Egret & Green Woodpecker at Pagham Spit (LP)

Friday, 23rd February: A cooler, but brighter morning, with a mix of hazy sun and cloud in a moderate westerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: It was very slow this morning! Full log below. (BI/SR/AH) 

(0655-0825hrs) (WNW, F4)

diver sp - 1E

Great Crested Grebe - 1W

Brent Goose - 7E, 4W

Common Scoter - 6W

Red-breasted Merganser - 5E, 3W

Oystercatcher - 1W

Dunlin - 50W

Turnstone - 40W, 5 present

Mediterranean Gull - 3W, 1os

Sandwich Tern - 3os

(1330-1500hrs) (SH)

Great Northern Diver - 3os

Red-throated Diver - 1W

Slavonian Grebe - 2os

Great Crested Grebe - 1os

Fulmar - 1W

Gannet - 6W

Shag - 1os

Long-tailed Duck - 1os

Common Scoter - 4W

Red-breasted Merganser - 2W, 3os

Turnstone - 4

Mediterranean Gull - 2W

Common Gull - 3W

Sandwich Tern - 1os

Red-breasted Merganser (above), Mediterranean Gull & Turnstone at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were just seven Shelducks, six Gadwall and c20 Wigeon, Teal and Shovelers around the pool this morning. (AH)

Gadwalls at the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Breach area - The two Purple Sandpipers were again among the Dunlin, Knot and Grey Plover flock near the breach this morning, just before high tide. (BI)

Purple Sandpipers with Knot, Dunlin and Grey Plovers at Medmerry (BI)

Church Norton: Three Great Northern Divers were together on the sea, quite close in, this morning, but there were only otherwise a Red-throated Diver flying west, a Great Crested Grebe, a couple of Mediterranean Gulls and a dozen Common Gulls offshore, with a few Dunlin, Ringed Plovers and Turnstones along the beach.

The harbour was dominated by 500+ widely scattered Brent Geese, in small and agitated groups preparing to leave, with otherwise just a few Wigeon, Teal, Shelducks and Redshank about, whilst a pair of Stonechats and a handful of Linnets and Skylarks were along the spit. (AH)

Great Northern Divers (above), Common Gull, Dunlin and Ringed Plovers, Stonechat, Linnet & Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: A Ruff was in the flooded fields this morning, along with 250 Black-tailed Godwits, 120 Lapwing, a Redshank, a Buzzard, 14 Curlews, 80 Wigeon, 40 Teal, two Shelducks and eight Shovelers, with six Reed Buntings, four Long-tailed Tits and three Chiffchaffs along the hedgerows and a Marsh Harrier further back over the reeds.

A Snipe was in the wet area by the sluice, 1000 Brent Geese were on the water, and a Rock Pipit was along the wall, whilst at Owl Copse, ten Grey Herons were in the trees and at Halsey’s Farm, four Meadow Pipits, a Stonechat and a Skylark were along the fences.

Also, a Grey Wagtail was in the paddock and by the Church Barton reservoir there were 32 Reed Buntings, 46 Linnets, 18 Goldfinches, a Song Thrush and 16 Stock Doves. (LP,SP,TRH)

Marsh Harrier (above), Grey Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Linnets, Black-tailed Godwits, Shovelers and Black-tailed Godwits & Brent Geese at the North Wall (LP)

Later, a Spotted Redshank was in White's Creek and a Slavonian Grebe was seen drifting out of the harbour mouth. (NBd)

Spotted Redshank (above) & Rock Pipit at the North Wall (NBd)

Fishbourne Creek: A female Long-tailed Duck was reported from the Dell Quay area again this morning, though it could not be relocated later on. Otherwise, there were seven Red-breasted Mergansers on the water and three Greenshanks in the wader roost of note, wildfowl numbers, however, seemed much reduced. (BI)

Later, along the footpath from Donnington to Fishbourne there were several Redwings, Song Thrushes, Goldcrests, Blackbirds, etc, whilst along the creek it was quiet, though there were plenty of Wigeon and Coots and a few Little Egrets, but I did get a close flyby from a Peregrine that was heading back towards Chichester. (MT)

Peregrine (above) & Redwings at Fishbourne Creek (MT)

Thursday, 22nd February: Another pretty dire morning's weather, with more or less continuous heavy drizzle in a freshening south-westerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: It was very quiet this morning, with just a Guillemot and a Great Northern Diver west of note. Full log below. (SR/AH)

(0740-0855hrs) (SSW, F5-6)

Great Northern Diver - 1W

Gannet - 2E, 3W

Red-breasted Merganser - 2W

Mediterranean Gull - 1os

Sandwich Tern - 7os

Guillemot - 1W

Sandwich Tern at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were five Avocets roosting at the back of the pool this morning, with a lot of ducks about, too, comprising six Gadwall, c90 Teal, c80 Shovelers, c200 Wigeon and c20 Mallards. (AH)

Avocets and Gadwall (above), Teal & Shovelers at the Ferry (AH)

West Itchenor: The Black-throated Diver was off the jetty again this afternoon, along with a Great Northern Diver. (PH)

Church Norton: A Razorbill was offshore this morning, along with two Red-breasted Mergansers, but again there was little in the harbour on the full tide, though the Whimbrel was present, along with a displaying pair of Ringed Plovers, c50 Redshanks, c20 Oystercatchers, c30 Wigeon and c150 Brent Geese. (AH)

Razorbill (above), Ringed Plover, Shelducks & Whimbrel at Church Norton (AH)