Birding at Selsey
Bill - a Personal Review
Owen Mitchell
Foreword
Welcome to anyone reading this, but firstly, if you haven’t
yet read the Birding History of Selsey Bill – coupled with the History of the
Blog – may I suggest you do so first as then it will put matters into context. These
can be easily accessed by clicking the blog title bar.
The ‘Selsey Blog’ as it has become known goes from strength
to strength, with not a single day’s report missed since its inception in 2013
and our two millionth page hit having recently been achieved. Our supporting
WhatsApp groups are functioning well and the extensive sea-watching coverage
continues…not a day having been missed in the last few years! A good deal of
data has now been gathered and our statistics are kept up to date. The blog daily
readership has also noticeably increased too and the enthusiasm of the locals
and regulars is unabated, with some folks from out of County also now travelling
a fair distance in order to put in a shift and send reports.
The Blog team still carry out their various functions to good
effect – all voluntarily of course – and it is now most definitely a team
effort not a one-man band, which ensures the smooth running of the whole thing.
The sheer effort of collating the daily records, reports and photos and
organising it into a consistent and readable form to tight deadlines, whilst
trying to get some decent personal birding and family time in and (in some
cases!) earn a living is always quite challenging, but we cope. I’m especially
grateful to my co-author Andy House, who now deals with the vast majority of
the daily reports, as I have stepped back a little in recent times…. of which
more later.
No-one could have foreseen the Covid-19 pandemic, and the
subsequent lockdowns which followed, early in 2020. Soon after that first
lockdown, it was my birthday in April, a special birthday, my 70th, which
slipped quietly by almost unnoticed, but certainly not by me. A good friend,
Eric Soden, a few years my senior, had warned me that ‘when you get to 70 you
can’t pretend you’re young any more’ and I instinctively knew he was right.
Sure, I was still feeling fairly fit, but conditions that affect men of a
certain age were already present, whilst stamina was reducing, joints often ached
and my eyesight was notably less sharp! The enforced lack of time out meant ample
time to review my past birding life, whilst the need to consider birding much
more locally was already obvious, with less travelling and a greener outlook being
strong considerations; in short it was time to look at the past and plan for
the future.
Birding at Selsey Bill
What follows is an unashamedly personal review of many years
of birding and sea-watching at the Bill, which all commenced during those
lockdown days. I hope that it will compliment and update the History of the
Blog, and whilst I don’t intend to repeat all that previous information, there may
inevitably be occasions when I need to touch upon it, so please allow a little
indulgence as I reflect on things. It’s taken a while for me to get around to putting
all this into writing, but at last I have done it……
As I write this it is now summer 2023 and I realise I have been birding and visiting the Bill for fifty years. A few things are still much the same, whilst inevitably many others are not, the negatives usually concerning over-development and/or habitat loss. The Peninsula in general and Selsey in particular is blighted by the relentless push for more and more development with the loss of much of its open green spaces and habitat. Even in the last couple of years, the already-massive caravan site to the west of the town has expanded considerably under new ownership, whilst certain local landowners who once relied on farming seem to be able to sell greenbelt land almost at will, doubtless for substantial profits, with developers and councils and ultimately central government seemingly only too willing to assist them, brushing aside the loss of bio-diversity and wildlife habitats and the many objections of the local population. These environmental issues are perhaps not often seen as vote winners in this over-populated area, especially when developers and landowners are doing very nicely thank you with their noses in the trough!
Large parts of Selsey are now almost unrecognisable from when I started watching there. And so it goes on; a bit of rough ground here, a few trees there, a hedgerow or two, another field – and then suddenly the area is irreversibly changed, a lovely Sussex fishing village becoming a town with urban sprawl.
And while I’m on about the negatives, I cannot let the road
conditions go without comment. I have personally seen massive changes, but
things have surely got far worse in the last decade or so. New developments on
the West Sussex coastal plain have ensured that if you don’t actually live on
the Peninsula, using any route now just to reach its boundaries is arduous and
usually fraught with delay, even before you begin to head towards the Bill.
Then once you have actually joined the B2145 – the ‘main road’ south – your
frustrating journey will almost certainly be delayed further as you crawl along
behind whatever tractor, lorry, caravan or traffic queue befalls you. An early
start is crucial to avoid the worst, but unlike earlier times, even at night there
is now never an obvious period without traffic. This road is just not fit for
its current loading; strangely though, none of the developers or landowners
that benefit so much from the sale of land seem willing to finance any suitable
road improvements, nor do they ever seem to be penalised in this respect by
Planning authorities.
My own journey from home to the Bill is approximately 16
miles – a subject I’ll explore later – but nowadays it can often take the best
part of an hour. But, going back to
2020, I was locked down and pondering on why I’ve never moved to the Peninsula
and just how many times I must have visited Selsey Bill. The first bit was easy;
basically, a combination of personal circumstances, a bit of give and take for domestic
bliss and my working situation. Then, too late in retirement days, with family
and friends living away, and roots laid down elsewhere, whilst the road
situation was also decidedly unattractive.
The second bit was less obvious but it intrigued me. I recall
the days in early 1973, when, new to birding, I was still living in Brighton
and my mentor and now lifetime friend Bernie Forbes first took me to the Bill.
I soon took to it there even as a novice, although visits were few then, but
when I moved to the Arundel area in late 1974 visits were set to increase. As
the years went by there was no doubt that I had become a regular, meeting such
stalwarts as Chris Janman, then later Pom-chaser Mervyn Jones during some great
times. I remember Merv dubbed me ‘Mr Selsey Bill’ back then and he was probably
right, given my enthusiasm and number of visits. As life moved on, I stayed in
the same general area of West Sussex and I found myself living in Yapton in
1975 then Barnham in 1982, before moving to the Middleton-on-sea area in 2002,
meaning my visits to the Bill continued to be roughly the same distance
throughout, give or take a bit.
I’ve always been one for keeping detailed notes and right at
the start in 1973 I began my first birding diary, which was admittedly a fairly
casual affair. This continued in 1974 and improved, with full details of
birding trips, including all visits to the Bill, often in company with Bernie.
One of the experienced regulars I met in these exciting early days was B.A.E.
‘Tony’ Marr – a founder of the Sussex Ornithological Society (SOS) and
well-respected by all. He was hugely influential and he always kept meticulous
notes; so it was that I adopted a similar style that largely mirrored his
system but also suited me. I still use it to this day.
My earlier notebooks, 1975 - 1990
As 1975 dawned a new foolscap book came into use, which
lasted until 1980, then I adopted the use of actual printed diaries for the
next four years, before going back to various notebooks again. The odd notes or
sketch would appear within, with perhaps a photo or article from a magazine to
back up the story, with this system lasting until 1990. Then in 1991 it was all
change, with the adoption of loose-leaf, hard cover A4 binders, which easily
allowed inserts and changes to pages, with the added bonus of appearing more
book-like and consistent. Hand-written sheets at first, eventually giving way
to printed sheets with photo insertions as the years progressed, until the
upsurge of personal computers.
.JPG)
Facts and Figures
My enquiries revealed that in the fifty years from 1973 to 2022,
I have made 2520 trips to Selsey Bill, clocking up a total of 80,640 miles in
the process. I may have had a lift or two during that time, but rather few, and
I have driven virtually all of those miles, perhaps not very green by today’s
standards. But the number of visits made each year from 1975 onwards varied
considerably; ranging from just eight in 1976 to a peak of 123 in 2016, some 40
years later. There were some surprises, but on studying the data it was obvious
that the number of yearly visits often reflected my availability at different
stages of life.
The following table gives details of the number of visits
I’ve made to the Bill each year during this time, together with a few notes for
interest on some scarcer/rarer species I’ve recorded there. I should clarify
that these species have all been added strictly within what is now considered
the Bill recording area; (note this area has not always been the same and
resulted in some previous variations in totals, before the ‘official’ area in
use today was adopted).
|
Year |
Trips |
Notes…………………..……..….. |
Year |
Trips |
Notes…………….…………………… |
|
1973 |
3* |
*estimated |
1998 |
51 |
Mandarin |
|
1974 |
6* |
*estimated |
1999 |
32 |
|
|
1975 |
11 |
|
2000 |
32 |
Bee-eater |
|
1976 |
8 |
|
2001 |
73 |
|
|
1977 |
16 |
Cirl Bunting |
2002 |
72 |
Rosy Starling, Montagu’s Harrier |
|
1978 |
35 |
|
2003 |
37 |
|
|
1979 |
64 |
Pink-footed Goose |
2004 |
45 |
Sabine’s Gull |
|
1980 |
61 |
Woodchat Shrike |
2005 |
43 |
|
|
1981 |
80 |
R/b Shrike |
2006 |
20 |
|
|
1982 |
66 |
R/b Shrike, Little Owl, Bullfinches |
2007 |
29 |
White-billed Diver |
|
1983 |
67 |
Woodchat,Grey Partridge, Scaup |
2008 |
57 |
|
|
1984 |
11 |
|
2009 |
54 |
|
|
1985 |
36 |
Smew |
2010 |
50 |
Black Guillemot |
|
1986 |
23 |
|
2011 |
36 |
Ruff, Bee-eater |
|
1987 |
23 |
|
2012 |
48 |
|
|
1988 |
23 |
Scaup |
2013 |
84 |
Hen Harrier |
|
1989 |
50 |
Desert Wheatear |
2014 |
104 |
|
|
1990 |
66 |
|
2015 |
97 |
Marsh Warbler |
|
1991 |
56 |
Radde’s W, R/b Shrike, Hawfinch |
2016 |
123 |
Marsh Tit |
|
1992 |
58 |
Golden Oriole |
2017 |
101 |
|
|
1993 |
54 |
Kentish Plover, Woodchat Shrike |
2018 |
108 |
|
|
1994 |
52 |
Hoopoe, Siberian Stonechat, Tawny Pipit,
Little Owl, Crossbills |
2019 |
99 |
Surf Scoter |
|
1995 |
62 |
|
2020 |
37 |
|
|
1996 |
37 |
|
2021 |
32 |
|
|
1997 |
43 |
Golden Oriole, Barnacle Goose |
2022 |
31 |
|
Total: 2520 trips, 80640 miles
The official Selsey Bill recording area – which is basically the southern tip of the Peninsula, south of a line stretching from the old Coastguard station in the west to the Lifeboat Station in the east.
I could not imagine when I started out that this Sussex boy
would still be watching at the Bill some fifty years later. It has of course
produced some very good birds over the years, especially during the very early
days in the 1960’s and well before I ever attended, and then again in the early
1990’s in the ‘golden years’ of the old Pontin’s site. There have been plenty
of lean times too, for there are certainly better sea-watching sites. Then
again, there are many worse places on the South Coast, and somehow there has
always been a core of interested observers at any given time. I came to realise
during my lockdown ponderings that I’ve had my part to play in its birding
history and that the story continues to be written. Sadly, quite a number of
old friends and personalities have now passed on, but I’m pleased to say that the
younger members of the current crew are well in place and will continue to take
the story forward, making their own history in due course.
Realistically, I now find myself slowing down and not quite
so keen on the early starts and long days of watching as I once was. I also
have a real job now with distant stuff on the horizon! Even so, I can put in a
decent shift when required, so don’t write me off just yet. And one of the plus
points of being an old-timer and having watched the Bill for so long is that
inevitably I have acquired a good list of species there.
Birds and Lists
Just about all birders keep lists. Life lists, British lists,
County lists, Local patch lists, whatever. (OK, my birding mate Bernie swears
he doesn’t, but he always seems to know exactly what he has or hasn’t seen at
any given site or time of year!) I certainly do keep a number of lists and
amongst them are my all-time Selsey Bill and Peninsula lists. As time goes on,
the list of species recorded at any regular migration watchpoint will slowly
increase, as is the case with both these areas, and it can lead to a certain amount of (friendly)
competition and rivalry amongst the regulars.
One of the problems with listing at the Bill-tip is that
passerines aren’t what they were. What do I mean by that? Well, scarce seabirds
occasionally pass offshore and viewing conditions are usually affected just by
the wind and weather; there is a certain degree of predictability and over time
many observers will catch up with the trickier species. In the case of passerines
however, in poor weather migrant birds arriving from the sea need some habitat
to rest, feed and recover. At the Bill there used to be open fields, plenty of bushes
and vegetation, but nowadays there is precious little, bar a few gardens
backing onto the beach and the open Oval field. Add to that the rapidly
declining numbers of trans-Saharan migrants now reaching the UK and the chances
of finding a scarcity to add to your list is very much reduced. The old guard
such as myself and a certain Mr Janman have a few blockers that may not
re-occur!
The all-time list of species logged in the official Bill
recording area currently stands at 264, the most recent addition being
Red-crested Pochard just a few months ago in March 2023 – which only a couple
of observers, not including me, managed to see. Note that only species which
have been officially scrutinised and accepted (by the SOSRC or BBRC as
appropriate) can be included. Time then to come clean on how many of those species
I’ve seen there; my personal Bill list stands at 218. There are plenty of
species I still need in order to boost the list, including Leach’s Petrel, Cory’s
Shearwater and Cattle Egret, plus other delights such as Coot, Little Grebe,
Kingfisher, Wood Sandpiper and Tawny Owl; surely one must fall soon. I’ve seen
three different Woodchat Shrikes there over the years but never any of those –
crazy!
On a personal note, many of the comments I’ve made in respect
of Selsey Bill also apply here, for I have put in the same number of years and a
similar number of days watching on the Peninsula, usually combining the two
areas. Apologies if it sounds like personal trumpet-blowing, but I should
mention that I’ve now seen some 310 species – about 90% of the total, which I
guess is a pretty fair percentage. My latest Peninsula addition was a long
overdue Alpine Swift in early April, but there is always room for more; two which readily
come to mind are the Baird’s Sandpiper which was just a speck in the sky as I
arrived, and Whiskered Tern, missed due to family duties.
I would be genuinely interested in similar personal Bill/Peninsula
lists from others, but in truth secretly hope that by now there are few, if
any, who can genuinely top my totals, although that Mr Janman might be running
me close. Competitive, what me? Nah!
My whole birding life from 1975 until the present day is documented somewhere in here on these bookshelves; sadly, the two notebooks from my first couple of years (1973-74) went missing in the 1970’s.
The future
I hope you, dear reader, have managed to find something of
interest in this very personal review, but nothing is forever, time moves on
and the future will doubtless see many more changes, both at the Bill and on
the Peninsula. I must be realistic as I look to the future through my 73-year-old
eyes, for I am already visiting the Bill less often and opting to watch more
locally now, with less travelling involved, albeit that my heart will always be
at the Bill.
I also have to consider the demands of running the blog. I have
already touched on some of the issues, but whilst I can continue at the present
time, the time will come when this is not the case. Some of you may be aware, and
I have already mentioned, that I’ve eased back leaving much of the daily
report-gathering and output in the hands of my stalwart and ever capable co-editor
Andy House. I have suggested to him that we need to identify someone to replace
me in the short to medium term, but so far my offer to resign has been
resolutely refused. It may be slightly flattering, but there will need to be
some future recruitment if things are to continue running smoothly.
A few final words now about Selsey Bill. New people will come
and some will go, but despite the changes it is my sincere hope that the place
I’ve considered as a local patch for so long will continue to thrive, as it
always has. Despite a few ups and downs over the years, there is something
special about the place and the people who spend their time birding there, with
a willingness to help and a determination to fully record their observations
for future researchers. As I look back I realise I’ve spent a great deal of my
adult life there and been through all sorts of birding emotions with some
wonderful memories. There have been so many wonderful birds and people in my
time; long may it last in the future. Have no doubts though; all the time I am
able to I will keep coming back!
I love this atmospheric shot of the sunrise at the Bill in mid-October 2021, with two observers (BI & SH) in position already ‘viz-migging’ (SR)
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