Diary notes: Pre-blog years (1975-2012)

Diary notes: Pre-blog years (1975-2012): 

by Owen Mitchell

This paper is a follow-on from the earlier 'History of the Blog' and 'Birding at Selsey Bill - a Personal Review' which can easily be found by clicking the relevant links on the title bar, so this current paper effectively completes a bit of a trilogy.  As will be seen, the 'Personal Review' in particular already includes several examples of pages from my birding diaries. I have religiously kept detailed Birding Diaries/Yearbooks since I started birding way back in 1973. My first notebook from that year, followed by the 1974 edition, both sadly went astray after a house move, but I have kept my annual diaries since the year 1975 until the present (2024), this year marking my 50^th consecutive year of these birding compilations. 

Times change however, and these days I find myself spending increasing amounts of time in front of my computer, with some duplication involved in running both a diary and birding blog(s) and I've now reached the point where maintaining a written diary has now become a bit of a chore. I’m now well into my seventies and I've been giving things a lot of consideration, finally coming to some decisions. So, to cut a long story short, the time has come for me to bow to the inevitable and embrace digital recording more fully and I’ve already adopted some changes with the increased use of Bird Track, Bird Guides and other formats. I've therefore decided that 2024 will see my last diary in this format, completing fifty years of filling my bookshelves. Truly the end of an era.

The end of an era - 50 years of birding diaries. Note the various notebook styles until the loose leaf folder covers were adopted.

I’m still reasonably fit and active for my age at the present time, but I don’t take that for granted. Inevitably I am slowing down a bit, with health issues playing their part and me also doing less driving, resulting in fewer trips being made to the Peninsula. I've previously spent a huge amount of time at the Bill and on the journeys back and forth from home, but now feel the need to just step back a bit. I'm really pleased to see there has also been a welcome influx of fresh faces and younger blood on the Peninsula birding scene of late, so it's timely for them to carry the baton forward as I ease back. That doesn't mean I've lost interest or have given up going there, just that I make fewer visits now as suits my lifestyle best.

Well, if you've read this far, you might now be thinking 'OK, no more diary, so what?'.... which brings me to the point. Amongst these dusty diary pages there is a wealth of information on how bird numbers and populations have varied over time....flocks of Tree Sparrows, roosts of Short-eared Owls, numbers of Spotted Flycatchers, resident Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and so on. Such details will be largely unappreciated to newer observers on the Peninsula. When I started the Selsey Blog in 2013 I could not imagine that it would turn out the way it has, and I am eternally grateful for the effort and assistance provided by Andy House along the way, for he has been the catalyst that made it all work.

Since the inception of the blog, there has been a great deal of data gathered, stored and documented in respect of the Peninsula's birds from 2013 to the present time. Prior to that however, from 2012 right back to 1975, this was not really the case. Certainly there are records for that period in the Sussex Bird Reports, published annually by the Sussex Ornithological Society (SOS) but that doesn't often capture the 'flavour' of the day. As small examples, my first diary-recorded visit to the Peninsula was on 6th Feb 1975, with Bernie Forbes, when we walked around the entire harbour and back (!), seeing amongst other things two Scaup and a roost of eight Short-eared Owls. And then on 27th October 1979 at the Bill, with Dick Senior and Mick Hay, we came across a Lapland Bunting, with back-up birds including a Little Auk, five Black Redstarts, three Tree Sparrows and five Redpoll. I could even tell you what the weather was like that day.

So, I wondered if it would be of interest to add some selected sightings reports from this period, starting from year 1975 and slowly moving up to 2012. I don't envisage a whole mass of data, but perhaps a couple of pages or so of interest from the relevant year, thus filling a data gap to some degree. This would be on an occasional basis, with updates as time and commitments allow. Have a read then of what follows - and see what birding patterns may or may not have changed....plus the odd scarcity. And do bear in mind I was new to birding in the 1970's....! Here goes, with the list being in reverse order, thus oldest entries at the bottom and gradually working up towards 2012, when it will connect with the first blog year of 2013.

1986: A fairly hectic year domestically as I adapted to long hours and shift work again, which inevitably took its toll. This diary records that from mid-June to early August I took a six-week rest - a summer sabbatical - during which time no birding at all was done. I did manage to catch up on some good birds though during the year.....

So who's this young lad then? This photo somehow found its way into the diary and it actually dates to 30th September (1986),,,it is of course none other than my birding mentor Bernie Forbes and we spent a lot of time together in the field in these early years. The car he is leaning on is my old Morris Ital, a nice shade of cow-pat green and not the best purchase I ever made.

9th February: A cold day and I finally caught up with the Red-breasted Goose which had been around for a couple of days and kept evading me.

1985: A change from the commercially printed diaries of the preceding four years, reverting back to hand-written notebooks again...although no longer in foolscap size, but now A5 size. As it turned out there was sufficient space to get two year's worth of notes in this notebook, partly due to the fact that at this time I was back to working full seven-day shifts, including nights, and there were periods in the year when I couldn't get much birding time in!

29th October: This mega came out of the blue - a Sora Rail at Pagham was surely on nobody's list of anticipated additions for the Peninsula. It stayed for almost three months during which time it gave truly exceptional views, almost walking over the feet of one observer whilst I was there and allowing many images to be taken. Below is a cropped version from such an an image (photo: Tony Croucher)

Note also the good list of interesting back-up birds.

19th January: The cold spell continued here and some grey geese appeared around the Ferry pool, including a Bean Goose (it was actually a Tundra Bean under today's nomenclature). Note also the Smew, Grey Partridges and Twite.

8th January: A really cold spell, with some scarcer wildfowl at the Bill as a result. The highlight here was a Smew leading a flock of Pochard - the former being a difficult bird to get at the Bill. Note also a total of 10 Goldeneye - also a Bill scarcity - with a total of 46 Pochard, not common here either!

1984: There was a lot going on in my life this year, so birding trips were often limited and a lot of blank pages appear in this diary. Even so there were a few highlights and trips to Majorca etc and it wasn't all bad by any means. Best of all, I managed to see the year's stand-out bird for the patch.....

A very brief entry for such a mega! I did actually take some fairly detailed notes for my own purposes, but at the time had the idea of storing such notes in a 'field book' and these were last seen in the loft of my previous house many years ago, so they do exist somewhere. I didn't need to do a formal submission thankfully, the bird was seen well by many and the rest is history. What chance of another in the future?

1983: So, it's a decade or so since I started birding and the Bill and Peninsula are now firmly established as favourite locations. However, it is now also a time in life when I have a young family, a house move and particularly difficult working circumstances....as a result there are an awful lot of blank pages in the diaries over the next couple of years.

7th September: Another Woodchat Shrike - again on the old horse field at the front (which I'd now dubbed the 'shrike field') and I think this one was initially found by Charles and Beryl James. As can be seen, my drawing skills had not improved! Sadly, this fine area, which was a bit of a migrant trap, would all too soon be developed.

2nd April: It was a fairly average sea-watch at the Bill, but my entries took up the space for 2nd, so I used the empty page for 3rd April to attach the photo, taken outside Bill House garden. On the left is Chris Janman (CRJ) whilst on the right is the late Dave Smith (DIS) who came from Worthing, both my good friends. CRJ had a bit more experience than me at the time which was to prove invaluable and we both became very keen Bill watchers. DIS was a lovely guy and good birder too. It is interesting to note the birding optics and equipment of the time; Barbour coats were a must-have then!

5th March: In early winter this year a flock of 14 Snow Geese were seen at several sites on the Peninsula - actually a fine sight, although of course they were assumed to be 'plastic' i.e. of feral or unknown origins. Fair enough, but few observers actually saw them at the Bill, so it was great to see them settle on the sea awhile and not too far out either. There was much debate and speculation as to their origins, with some suggestion they had originated from a feral flock in the Netherlands. So, just in case in the future they should ever be accepted as category C feral birds...they will be going on my Bill list!

1982: An interesting year, which saw me adding a few more Peninsula and life ticks, whilst still putting in a good few hours at the Bill when commitments allowed.....

5th December: This was a star find back in the 1980's by Alan Kitson I believe - one of the youthful group of observers who started watching at the Bill in the early days around the start of the 1960's. Although it has become an annual bird nationally it remains a scarcity and for many years was a real blocker on the Peninsula; it was not until the blog year of 2021 that another occurred on our patch (Honer reservoir), the finder being none other than editor-in-chief Andy House, giving newer observers the chance to finally add it to their Peninsula lists.

4th November: Nothing special but a nice watch at the Bill, although obviously nothing much moving. It was notable however for the Little Owl actually in the trees by the Oval field. The species was recorded a couple of times at Pontins in later years but is still a scarce prize for those that keep a Bill list!

12th September: An inexplicably brief entry, given the finding of a Melodious Warbler, which remains a remarkably rare bird on the Peninsula to this day.* The finder was none other than Mervyn Jones - perhaps his all-time highlight - though of course he will be better known to many regulars for his antics at the Bill, when he was often to be found reposing on an old mattress whilst waiting for Pom's to pass!

(*Ironically, another Melodious was found at Church Norton the following year)

1981:This year, and the following three, saw a complete change of style, using commercially produced diaries as opposed to a large notebook. This had some advantages, but as I was to soon find out, there was a good deal of wasted space with many unused pages - I was after all in full time employment! There would be times when there were perhaps only a handful of entries in a month and it could be a bit frustrating wading through lots of unused pages to find the right date.

I was by now a committed Peninsula birder and it was at a time when there was still some good habitat at and around the Bill. I also increasingly found myself in the company of a number of regular observers there.

15th August: Another good bit of birding by CRJ when MJWH and I were with him (see also the entry for 1st August). Basically, CRJ was first to clap eyes on the Ortolan Bunting and he then drew our attention to it...a nice little bird. Note the heading for Selsey West Fields (now part of Medmerry) which also included OSF, which stands for Old Sewage Farm, now long gone. The OSF was a good little spot in its day....note the count of 35 Turtle Doves in the area.

1st August: A good day at the Ferry Pool. It was early afternoon and I was with Mick Hay (MJWH) when we found this odd 'Dunlin' which appeared sort of long-bodied. We were uneasy but didn't want to immediately head down the rare bird path and so held uncertainty for a while until Chris Janman (CRJ) turned up to join us. We all watched and CRJ thought he saw a white rump flash briefly, whilst MJWH and I were not so sure. CRJ was of course right and in a short while the bird flew around showing its credentials nicely...this new bird for me went down as a joint find but well done Chris. 

There is one abiding memory I have though...wanting to be totally sure we contacted local farmer and expert birder (and I think SOS rarities committee member?), the late Mike Shrubb, who lived just a little way off. Within a very few short minutes an old car roared up in a cloud of dust, as Mike pulled up with a screech next to us, just abandoning the vehicle on the carriageway. We frantically pointed out the bird which then showed well and a delighted Mike could not contain his excitement, punching the air and proclaiming 'tick, tick'...he must have needed it for his patch list!

 

1980: There was still a good bit of open habitat left at the Bill by this time and I was by now making frequent visits whenever possible with work commitments. However, the number of birders visiting and the times when there was no coverage simply cannot be compared to the blog years.....

My first diary, a large, foolscap-sized notebook which was to last for the first six years,1975-80.

17th October: The 'horse field' along the front, west of Bill House, was attractive to migrants and I subsequently dubbed it the 'Shrike field' in future years for obvious reasons. This was a nice find, but once again my lack of artistic ability is on show, although it was enough to convince BBRC who adjudicated these at the time.

5th January: Another winter with a cold snap and a good number of visiting birds of interest, producing my first Grey Phalarope.

1979: By this time I was visiting the Peninsula, especially the Bill, on a frequent basis, regularly meeting up with Chris Janman (CRJ) in particular and considering myself one of the regulars. However, it would I think be fair to say that being very keen, and with just six or seven years experience, there were some older and more established birders in the national and county hierarchy who were perhaps a little over-cautious in accepting Bill records from the 'young upstarts' of the time! This is not a hard luck story and looking back now, I can understand it, though it was to cost the rejection of two valid Bill records. As a result, 1979 was a year of disappointment to me with a degree of naivety that I learnt not to repeat. 

This one is a hard luck story and I'm led to believe due to my insufficient description. I was with the late duo of Frank Forbes and Bob Knight on a calm late morning in August, when suddenly this dark falcon arrived off the sea in a fairly leisurely manner, heading north almost above us. I saw it well enough and knowing the other two wouldn't do a description, I agreed to. A short while later, the three of us went to Church Norton, where by chance we met Hampshire birder Mick Hay (MJWH). Mick then told us he had just had a male Red-foot there, being completely unaware of our sighting. We both agreed to submit the record, which I thought would be straightforward. Little did this upstart know it wasn't.

In short, my sighting was rejected, whilst Mick's was accepted! Quite some time later (several years??) I appealed against this decision and decided to do a re-submission. I had come to realise that my bird was likely to be a 1st-summer male, showing barring on the underwing, which I believe I had carelessly described initially as looking like a chequered pattern in flight. No matter, BBRC wouldn't wear it...but it didn't stop there. They then decided to reject Mick's record...so as far as the record books now show, it never existed. Painful, but you can't win them all.

This one still hurts to this day. A pair of European Stonechats was nesting in a hedge in the field just west of Bill House (now a housing estate) when suddenly a second male Stonechat appeared. I recall CRJ was with me, though not sure if I went to fetch him or not, but anyway the second male was a striking black-and-white bird with just a small orangey breast patch. I honestly thought for a few seconds it might be a male Pied Flycatcher, but then began to take in that it was a definite Stonechat, unlike the resident male bird. It was a cracker, with a massive white collar, a big white rump and two large white wing patches. It was also at a time when no-one really carried a camera, there were no mobile phones and everyone had to write full descriptive notes. In short, the resident male Common Stonechat soon drove the intruder away from its nesting area and we didn't see it again.

CRJ and I both saw it well but being a bit naive and wanting to do the right thing, we both agreed to send in separate notes, bearing in mind this was 'just an eastern subspecies' at the time. I can picture it now and I'm certain it was of the 'maurus' form or whatever it is currently called. We duly sent in the record to BBRC but to my/our amazement it was rejected (I later heard rumour that CRJ and I had not both described the white wing patches sufficiently and there was variation). Whatever - this gem from the young upstarts was never accepted - truly one that got away.

6th January: A cold spell producing a nice selection of winter wildfowl plus owls and harriers - in the sort of numbers rarely ever seen nowadays.

1978: More regular visits to the Peninsula now and my species list grows as a result. However, I could not have foreseen a first for Britain appearing.....!

9th December: This bird was, I believe, originally found by the late Charles James (possibly County Recorder then?) who tentatively identified it as a Kentish Plover.  I soon arrived to see it, with Chris Janman and in a short while also Mick Hay joined us. It was superficially confirmed as a KP by us, although as the notes show we had obvious reservations as we continued to watch but not enough experience to contradict this. As doubts began to grow, the mystery was eventually solved by Richard Porter (of RSPB fame) and Alan Kitson and the rest is history. There are three races of the species and potential splits are never too far away. I learnt a valuable lesson that day.

I could never draw but made an attempt to at least show the features of the bird and took quite a few notes, which I won't bore you with here, Chris Janman actually had a camera and could use it! I attach a copy of his 'famous' photo below......

Greater Sand Plover at Pagham Hbr, 9th December 1978 (photo: CR Janman)

16th & 21st December: The Sand Plover was to remain at Pagham Hbr until 1st January of the new year, when it is thought likely to have perished, and inevitably attracted many birders during its stay. The above two lists show some of the additional interesting species seen during these times, the best being the Shorelark on 21st. Note also the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Church Norton...the species was resident then and I recorded at least eight sightings that year.

1977: An eventful year for me, with career changes and recent house moves amongst other things,  but by now I was beginning to be more focused on the Peninsula...

25th April: No apologies for repeating this date entry which has appeared in earlier papers, but it gives an indication of how things used to be. The star bird of course was the singing male Cirl Bunting...I'm pretty sure the person I was with at the time was respected birder Tony Marr (BAEM) and the bird allowed a close approach. This was well before the time of mobile phones, messaging systems or even portable cameras and sadly there is no photographic record; written notes and descriptions were the order of the day then. The location of the bird was in a hedge behind the open field just to the west of Bill House, sadly the field and hedge disappeared when the site was developed some years later - a familiar story. Note too the fine pair of spring Pied Flycatchers at Church Norton.

27th August: Another nice selection of migrants, including 25 Spotted Flycatchers, a Wood Warbler and 68 Black Terns.

1976: Another year when the majority of my birding outings were actually not on the Peninsula, for example, the Downs, Amberley Wildbrooks and even Climping Gap. However, my interest in the Peninsula sites was now growing...

14th February: These two images refer to the same date, with a nice selection of winter birds that have now become far less common. As usual then, I was accompanied by Bernie Forbes (BFF). Interestingly, the entry above shows comments for an earlier date (5th February) when a Black-necked Grebe and a Smew were on the Ferry Pool...!

28th August: A nice selection of autumn migrants. This was a time when Common Buzzard was much scarcer and this was quite a good record. Note also the odd Wheatear...I remember getting quite excited about it at the time.

14th December: A good winter selection, when 10 Slavonian Grebes and 20 Twite were obviously not worthy of special mention then...!

1975: A year which saw the number of my visits to the Peninsula being quite limited, the majority of my birding time being spent inland or at other non-Peninsula sites.

This 'Isabelline' Shrike is still the only one recorded on the Peninsula thus far, so is still tickable for our Peninsula list purposes at present, although recent taxonomic changes have since split this form to two species. A fine rarity for a fairly new birder....I remember being so excited!

Cracking views of a Dotterel but some nice other common migrants too.