4th - 6th March 2025

Thursday, 6th March: After a misty start, a pleasantly warm and hazily sunny morning in a light easterly, that veered to the south later on.....

Selsey Bill: A shift in the wind brought a good count of 356 Brent Geese east this morning, along with 44 Pintail, with three Wigeon and 20 Teal dropping in on the sea, whilst the first-winter drake Eider and the Black Redstart were both about again. Full log below. (SR/AH)

(0800-1015hrs) (ESE, F3-4)

Great Northern Diver - 4os

Red-throated Diver - 1E

Great Crested Grebe - 3os

Brent Goose - 356E, 1W

Wigeon - 3os

Teal - 20os

Pintail - 44E

Eider - 1os

Common Scoter - 3os

Red-breasted Merganser - 5os

Oystercatcher - 1E, 1 present

Turnstone - 1E, 6 present

Mediterranean Gull - 2E

Common Gull - 2E

Black Redstart - 1

Goldfinch - 1

Brent Geese (above), Pintail, Brent geese and Pintail, Black Redstart and Mediterranean Gulls at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: Around 30 Black-tailed Godwits and c50 Lapwings and Pintail were on the field this morning, with nine Shelducks, six Gadwall, c50 Teal and c80 Shovelers around the pool. (AH)

Wigeon (above) & Shovelers and Lapwings at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were still at least 1000 Brent Geese present this morning, split between the field and the harbour, but a pair of Pintail, c25 Shelducks and just a few Wigeon and Teal were the only other wildfowl present.

Also, the Greenshank and the Whimbrel were both present again, along with 22 Black-tailed Godwits, c50 Grey Plovers, c100 Knot and c500 Dunlin, but a pair of Mistle Thrushes behind the churchyard were the only passerines of note. (AH)

Knot (above), Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Pintail, Brent Geese & Mistle Thrush and Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

Wednesday, 5th March: It was more or less a white-out this morning, with dense fog persisting until nearly midday in the still conditions..........

Diary notes: Pre-blog years (1975-2012) I am pleased to say that this paper is now complete and I hope it will give a flavour of some of the highlights from earlier, pre-blog years. Just click the link on the title bar. May I thank those readers who have favourably commented already and I hope this document will be of interest and add to the archive. (OM)

See the update below from Adam Taylor at the RSPB - everything is ready and waiting for the gulls and terms to return! (Eds)

“A huge thanks to all who came along to one of our public volunteering sessions on Tern Island over the last few months, bar a small bit of clearance left to do around the edge of the fence we are now ready to go for the nesting season.

We will be deploying decoys and call lures on the island in the coming weeks to try and encourage the mixed gull colony back to the safety of the site, as well as erecting the temporary electric fences on the smaller islands ready for our Little Terns.

As always, this work is a product of hundreds of combined hours of manpower, and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without your support!

Adam Taylor, Site Manager for the RSPB Eastern Solent Reserves”

Build it and they will come! Tern Island ready and waiting for the return of its colony. (AT)

Selsey Bill: Unsurprisingly, sea-watching was effectively a write off this morning, with more heard than seen. Full log below. (AH)

(0740-0840hrs) (NE, F1-2)

Turnstone - 14

Mediterranean Gull - 6E

Sandwich Tern - 2os

Pied Wagtail - 1

Chiffchaff - 1

Goldfinch - 1

Later on, an Eider was on the sea and the Black Redstart was on the railings by Bill House. Full log below. (P&LH)

(1310-1410hrs) Red-throated Diver - 1os

Great Crested Grebe - 5os

Gannet - 1E

Eider - 1os

Turnstone - 1

Black Redstart - 1

Black Redstart at the Bill (LH)

Ferry Pool: All that could be discerned through the fog this morning were a couple of Shelducks and Gadwall, three Canada Geese and a dozen Shovelers. (AH)

Later on, there six Gadwall, four Shelducks, c30 Teal and c50 Shovelers on the pool and c100 Lapwings on the field. (AH)

Teal on the Ferry (AH)

Selsey Peninsula: There was still at least one Long-eared Owl present today. (Eds)

Church Norton: With visibility almost down to zero yards, a handful of Wigeon and Teal and a couple of Grey Plovers and Redshanks ere all that could be seen in the harbour, though a couple of Mediterranean Gulls and a flock of Brent Geese could be heard overhead. (AH)

Later, as visibility improved, a Greenshank, the Whimbrel, 15 Black-tailed Godwits, five Knot, nine Ringed Plovers, 25 Grey Plovers and c60 Dunlin were seen in the harbour, along with six Pintail and c500 Brent Geese, whilst a Mistle Thrush was in the hedges. (P&LH)

North Wall: Both Little Owls were again present this evening around Little Welboune. (IP)

Tuesday, 4th March: Following another sharp frost, lovely sunny morning in a light northerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: About as quiet as would be expected in a light northerly breeze and a flat low tide, with six Brent Geese east the only possible migrants. Full log below. (IP/AH/SR)

(0735-0835hrs) (N, F1-2)

Great Northern Diver - 5os

Red-throated Diver - 1E

Brent Goose - 6E

Red-breasted Merganser - 9os

Oystercatcher - 3E, 2W

Sandwich Tern - 1os

Pied Wagtail - 1

Linnet - 1

Brent Geese (above) & a newly-renovated green triangle at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were still c40 Black-tailed Godwits and c100 Lapwings present this morning, along with six Shelducks, six Gadwall, c50 Teal, c80 Shovelers and c100 Wigeon. (AH)

Later on, the Green Sandpiper was back on the roadside pool. (LP)

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

Long Pool: Along the path this morning there were three Yellowhammers, a Reed Bunting, a Cetti's Warbler, a Meadow Pipit and six Linnets, whilst a Snipe dropped into the adjacent fields and Ferry Channel held a dozen Teal, half a dozen Redshanks and a Grey Plover. (AH)

Yellowhammer (above), Reed Bunting, Linnet, Grey Plover & Teal at the Long Pool (AH)

Church Norton: Late this afternoon the drake Long-tailed Duck was offshore, along with four Great Crested Grebes, whilst a Barn Owl was over the horse field and a Greenshank, the Whimbrel and c30 Black-tailed Godwits were in the corner of the harbour opposite and c1000 Brent Geese were still behind the churchyard. (JC/AH)

Greenshank (above), Greenshank and Redshank, Whimbrel & Black-tailed Godwits at Church Norton (AH)

West Wittering: Two Firecrests were at the harbour end of Ella Nore Lane this afternoon. (SH)

Fishbourne Creek: On the low tide this morning off the Lavant outfall there were 200 Brent Geese, 22 Pintail and a Gadwall, whilst at least three Greenshanks were along the creek, and from Dell Quay there were four Great Crested Grebes and two Little Grebes.

Also, amongst the commoner roosting gulls were two Mediterranean, eight Lesser Black-backed and two Great Black-backed Gulls. (RW)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There were eight Stonechats, two Reed Buntings, two Cetti's Warblers and 45 Yellowhammers along the banks this afternoon, with two Kingfishers, a Water Rail, two Snipe, five Avocets and c40 Golden Plovers, including one in summer plumage, plus a Brown Hare, on the reserve, whilst a Peregrine, a Marsh Harrier and a Buzzard went over. (S&SaH)

Medmerry: Windmill to Ham Farm - There was very little to report this afternoon, though a Dartford Warbler and a few Linnets were along the banks and a few Redshanks ere in the tidal area. (EB)

Dartford Warbler (above) & Redshank at Medmerry (EB)