19th - 21st November 2014

Friday, 21st November: More of the same weather-wise; remaining dull and cloudy, but still fairly mild for the time of year, with a fresh E/SE wind and the likelihood of some heavy showers later.

 

Church Norton: A quick look in the harbour produced the 2 Spoonbills roosting out in the middle, and 3 Red-breasted Mergansers and 2 Great Crested Grebes on the water, plus at least 50 Knot amongst 200+ Dunlin.

There was a big flock of Long-tailed Tits moving through the churchyard, with at least half a dozen Goldcrests with them. (AH)

 

Goldcrest (above) & Long-tailed Tit at Church Norton (AH)

 

Fishbourne Creek: I retreated from the strong easterly wind blowing across the harbour at Church Norton to the relative shelter of Dell Quay, but the tide was too high for much to be on show. Best birds were a couple of Kingfishers along the eastern edge.

Very quiet in the harbour - a couple of hundred Wigeon and Brent Geese, a dozen Little Grebes and a few Great Crested Grebes were the only birds on the water, and all the waders - including c50 Lapwing, c20 Grey Plover and Black-tailed Godwit and c200 Redshank were all packed in on a few bits of dry ground at the northern end.

Around the riding school and the churchyard there were up to 20 Yellowhammers, a Mistle Thrush, 6 Song Thrushes and a few Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests, plus a pair of Buzzards. (AH)

 

Kingfishers in Fishbourne Creek (AH)

 

Thursday, 20th November: A fairly dismal and overcast morning with a moderate E/NE wind and conditions likely to remain this way throughout the day.

 

Selsey Bill: (0745-1015hrs) (C&ME)
Great Northern Diver - 1E, 2os

Red- throated Diver - 1W, 2E

Slavonian Grebe - 1W

Great Crested Grebe - 5W

Gannet - 1W

Brent Goose - 22W, 9E

Shelduck - 5E

Eider - 6W

Red-breasted Merganser - 1W, 9E
Dunlin - 18E
Skylark - 4 in off sea 

Medmerry: West Sands to the breach - In a brief visit this afternoon, still one Black Redstart in the car park at the far end of West Sands caravan park and the Great Northern Diver still on the eastern most pool from the viewpoint. (Paul James per SOS)

Ferry Pool: Wigeon 73, Lapwing 2, Black-Headed Gull 232 with 2 unseasonal Yellow-legged Gulls, Curlew 7, Herring Gull 46, Shoveler 33 and Shelduck 6 (IL}

Church Norton:  a single Rock Pipit, plus the 2 Spoonbills on Tern Island and the regular Whimbrel in the harbour (IL}

 

Whimbrel in the harbour (IL}

North Wall: Not a lot happening along the Wall, the highlight being 4 Rock Pipits close to the sluice. On the Breach Pool over a 100 noisy Teal, 60 Mallard and a single Little Grebe. 38 Curlew in the field behind the Pool. A further 23 Curlew and 5 Black-tailed Godwits in Honer Field. In the large field immediately east of Marsh Farm were 140 Wigeon but they were disturbed by some guy tearing around on a quad bike. A very recent growth of pretty yellow fungi in the field behind Owl Copse. (JDW)

 

Fungus on the North Wall (JDW)

 

East Head: Nothing out of the ordinary this morning, but plenty of the regular species about. There were c120 Sanderlings on the beach with a dozen Dunlin amongst them, but nothing on the water bar two Great Crested Grebes. There were possibly 3 pairs of Stonechats around the dunes, along with half a dozen Reed Buntings, and along the inner edge c100 Skylarks, c50 Meadow Pipits, c200 Linnets and two Rock Pipits, with 2-300 Dunlin and 40 Grey Plovers roosting nearby,

In Snowhill Creek there were c30 Golden Plover with 300+ Lapwings, 12 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Snipe and plenty of Wigeon and Teal. A Sparrowhawk was in the hedgerow, and there were at least 2000 Brent Geese on the grass, with good numbers of juveniles amongst them. (AH)

 

 

Sanderling and Dunlin (above), Skylark, Rock Pipit, Sparrowhawk & juvenile Brent Geese at East Head (AH)

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, 19th November: A brisk SSE wind, with mostly heavy cloud and the occasional sunny break... but despite the drier weather and better birding conditions it felt like a real mid-November doldrums day with very little new to report and not much happening, despite the tinge of east in the wind. 

With the end of the year now but a few weeks away, the editors are busily compiling data behind the scenes to update some of the pages. As a starter, readers can now click the page link to view the up-to-date Selsey Peninsula checklist which has just been added..... I won't spoil the fun here, but before you look, have a guess at how many species you think are on the list ... you may be surprised!

Selsey Bill (0745-0915hrs): (Obs: AH/C&ME)
Great Northern Diver - 4E, 2os
Red-throated Diver - 2E
diver sp - 1W
Slavonian Grebe - 1E, then os
Great Crested Grebe - 4W
Gannet - 12E
Brent Goose - 1E, 11W
Red-breasted Merganser - 12W
Kittiwake - 1W
Razorbill - 2E
auk sp -1E
Pied Wagtail - 2p

Additional seawatch until 1105hrs (C&ME}
Red-throated Diver - 1W
diver sp - 3W
Great Crested Grebe - 1E
Gannet - 9W, 3E
Brent Goose - 41W
Red-breasted Merganser - 3E
Arctic Skua - 1W
Razorbill - 3W
auk sp - 9E 

Church Norton: Not much on the move in the harbour on the high tide - the 2 Spoonbills and the Whimbrel were still present, plus a Red-breasted Merganser, with another offshore with 5 Great Crested Grebes.

A Firecrest was briefly present (per A&YF) in the hide/churchyard area, along with 3 Redwings, 3 Jays, both Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Chiffchaff, a few Goldcrests and c40 Goldfinches. (AH)

 

Jays at Church Norton (AH)

 

West Wittering & Ella Nore: Tempted by the easterly airflow of the last couple of days I decided to try something a bit different and felt this area was worthy of some serious tree and bush-bashing. Despite my best efforts though, no hidden gems were located and it actually turned out to be hard work with few passerines on offer... all I came up with were half a dozen Goldcrests, a single Chiffchaff, a Cetti's Warbler and a couple of small tit flocks which were mainly Long-tailed Tits. Back-up birds were few too, except for the flock of 1200+ Brent Geese, with a distant Greenshank, 5 Bar-tailed Godwits and 65 Curlew the most notable amongst the common waders and 4 Jays, 30 Meadow Pipits, a Sparrowhawk and a Buzzard making up the numbers.... perhaps I timed it wrong but there was just nothing worth mentioning on Snowhill marsh when I visited (OM).

 

Birdham Pool: A brief visit produced 6+ Little Grebes, 5 Tufted Ducks, 2+ Gadwall and 5 Wigeon on the pool - the latter two species tucked into the reeds at the back and hard to count - plus a couple of Goldcrests in the surrounding vegetation (OM).

 

16th - 18th November 2014

Tuesday, 18th November: The promised easterly winds duly arrived with a fresh E/NE blowing this morning and the prospect of a drier day ahead after early showers.

Selsey Bill: (0745-0845hrs): NE 3-4 (Obs: AH/DF/DS)

Great Northern Diver - 2os

Great Crested Grebe - 2W

Gannet - 1E, 1W

Little Egret - 3W

Brent Goose - 9E, 44W

Common Scoter - 2os

Red-breasted Merganser - 9W

Church Norton: The first 2 Firecrests of the autumn were along the path to the harbour this morning, and in the harbour the 2 Spoonbills were on show again, along with the Whimbrel and 3 Greenshank. (BFF/DM et al)

 

Firecrest at Church Norton (DM}

Medmerry: West Sands to the breach -  There were a remarkable six Black Redstarts this morning along the sea-defence rocks, in the company of a pair of Stonechats and a few Meadow Pipits. Also a female Merlin was hunting low over the rough vegetation at the back when it put up a Short-eared Owl, that flew around for a few minutes before settling back exactly where it had been disturbed from.

The Great Northern Diver was still on the far pool, and there were c18 Common Scoters together offshore. At least 1000 Brent Geese, along with 150 Canada Geese and a single Greylag, came in from all directions for a wash and brush up before dispersing again, though there were not many waders about - just a few Curlew, Dunlin and Ringed Plovers around the pools, plus a flock of 500+ Lapwing that came up from the middle of the reserve. (AH/DF/DS) Also 2 Red-throated Divers were on the sea. (BFF/DM)
 

Chainbridge - Ham: A Jack Snipe was present this am in the rife behind the new sea wall (J. Wootton).

West side: A Wheatear was on the rocks on the west side of Medmerry this afternoon. (PH)

above - Black Redstart at Medmerry (DM)

 

Black Redstarts (above), Stonechat & part of the Brent Goose flock at Medmerry (AH)

 

Ferry Pool: The Green Sandpiper was again present this morning, though all the wildfowl - c30 each of Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal and Mallard - plus 2 Black-tailed Godwits were on the flooded creek in the field. (AH)
 

Fishbourne & Dell Quay: 20 Yellowhammers feeding around the manure pile in the horse paddock. Out in the creek 8 Greenshank, single Spotted Redshank and wintering Little Stint. Water Rail squealing from the reed bed plus a Stonechat with a couple of Chiffchaffs calling. On the salt marsh 3 Rock Pipits and 2 Kingfishers near Dell Quay. (BFF/DM)

Birdham: A Barn Owl flew over the Birdham Straight this evening at 8.20pm, just before the Sidlesham turning. Sadly, this is my first and only sighting of the year. (AH)

 

Monday, 17th November: Another real 'November day', with leaden skies and heavy drizzle increasing to steady rain.... then remaining wet all day. The wind was a moderate WSW to start but by midday had eased round to a light SE; however with the promise of more easterly winds for the next few days it will be interesting to see if any late migrants drop in.

Selsey Bill: (0745-1015hrs): Still nothing much moving - the most interesting bird was a first-winter Shag that dropped onto the sea very close in, but otherwise there were a couple of Great Northern Divers moving offshore plus a small westerly movement of Great Crested Grebes. Full log of just eight species below! (AH/OM)

Great Northern Diver - 1E, 2W

Great Crested Grebe  - 19 W (including 1E that settled os and flew back W}

Gannet - 3W

Shag  1 os, close in

Brent Goose - 8E, 12W

Common Scoter - 3W

R/b Merganser - 2E, 1 os

Med Gull - 4W

 

 Shag off Selsey Bill (AH)

 

Selsey area: Little to report despite the effort put in.... it was a case of trying to keep as dry as possible whilst checking out the trees and hedgerows. At Northcommon Farm the best on offer were a measly 6 Goldcrests around the fir trees, whilst other species seen included a Buzzard, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 5 Curlew, a Mistle Thrush and 15 Med Gulls amongst c.300 Black-headeds on the flooded sports field. Wellies were necessary to check out the Drift Lane marsh area but I only came up with 12 Snipe and a Little Egret. Other areas including Coastguards drew a blank and the birding seemed to match the weather for me today (OM}.

 

Church Norton:  Not a lot to report in the miserable weather this morning - highlights being two Greenshank flying about and calling, the Whimbrel and 5 Red-breasted Mergansers in the harbour, 7 Great Crested Grebes on the sea (with 5 more in the harbour) and a couple of Skylarks over the spit. (AH)

 

Red-breasted Merganser at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: West Sands/Breach Viewpoint - A brief visit this afternoon produced 2 Black Redstarts flitting about the rocks at the viewpoint, along with half a dozen Meadow Pipits, quite oblivious of the rain. Offshore close to the breach were 3 female Eider and the Great Northern Diver was in the distant pool to the right. There was also 2 Pintail, 43 Brent Geese, 36 Ringed Plover, 3 Curlew, c150 Lapwing, and good numbers of Teal and Wigeon (SR)  

Sunday, 16th November: A dank and gloomy November day, with a lightish SSE wind and the odd heavy shower....

Selsey Bill: (0710-0930hrs): (SH/JA/SR/AH)
Great Northern Diver - 2os
Red-throated Diver - 1W
diver sp - 1W, 1E
Great Crested Grebe - 6W, 2E, 1os
Gannet - 23W, 4E
Brent Goose - 67W
Common Scoter - 8W, 3E
Eider - 1W
Red-breasted Merganser - 4E, 2os
Bonxie - 1E
Mediterranean Gull - 4W, 4os
auk sp - 1W, 4E

Church Norton: The two Spoonbills were showing well again this morning from the bench, before settling to feed in the channel by Tern Island. Also a Spotted Redshank was nearby, a Red-breasted Merganser was offshore and the Ruddy Shelducks were distantly visible on the far side of the harbour. (AH)

Spoonbills (above), with Little Egret & Spotted Redshank at Church Norton (AH)

 

This afternoon there was a Wheatear on the beach - our latest sighting ever. In the harbour the Spoonbills were back asleep again, and there were still 2 Greenshank present, and at Park Farm, Selsey there was a Grey Wagtail and 50+ Pied Wagtails. (S&SaH)

 

Wheatear at Church Norton (SH)

 

Ferry Pool: A Green Sandpiper and a Dunlin were on the pool this morning, along with 80 Lapwing, 55 Shelduck and 30 Shoveler. (AH)

 

Medmerry: Easton Lane eastwards to Greenwood Farm - There were about 20 Yellowhammers and 12 Reed Buntings coming up into the bushes along the path, particularly where it turns in from the bank. There were also 2 pairs of Stonechat present, along with a single Skylark, and a few Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails. (AH)

Reed Bunting (above), Yellowhammers & Stonechat at Medmerry (AH)

13th - 15th November 2014

Saturday, 15th November: A fairly pleasant morning with cloud and sunny spells and a moderate S-SSE breeze force 3-4. On the birding front not too much new stuff to report, though some of the previously-reported species continue to please, including the Great Northern Diver still showing well at Medmerry and the Ruddy Shelducks in the harbour.....

Selsey Bill: (0700-0900) (SH/JA/C&ME)
Great Northern Diver - 2os
Red-throated Diver - 4W, 1E
diver sp - 1W
Slavonian Grebe - 1W
Great Crested Grebe 1W, 4E, 4os
Gannet - 12W
Brent Goose - 69W
Wigeon - 1W
Common Scoter - 6W, 8E
Velvet Scoter - 1os
Eider - 4W, 3os
Red-breasted Merganser - 3os
Mediterranean Gull - 2os
auk sp - 6W
Meadow Pipit - 8N
Black Redstart - 1p

 

Tall ship behind the Mile Basket at Selsey Bill (SH)

Selsey area: Drift Lane Marsh: 6 Snipe a-sleeping, 1 Grey Wagtail a-bobbing  and a bouncing Jay!  
Coastguard Field: 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 male Stonechat
Chainbridge/Archery Field: 3 Stonechats, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Reed Buntings, 2 Kestrels, 1 Buzzard, 3 Pied Wagtails, and c150 overhead heading toward Ham.(SR)

A rather feeble rainbow just about discernible to the right of the windmill, during a brief shower over Drift Lane Marsh this morning (SR} 

Medmerry: West Sands to the breach - The Great Northern Diver was still present on the easternmost part of the pools this morning, and there were 6 Common Scoter and a Great Crested Grebe offshore.
A Black Redstart was actively feeding around the viewpoint, with a pair of Stonechats nearby, and 30-40 Meadow Pipits were around the rough ground.
A group of 6 Corn Buntings flew over from the fields beyond the pools along with a dozen or more Skylarks, and at least 50 more of the latter could be seen over the fields. On the pools there were a Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Curlew, c12 Grey Plover, c40 Dunlin, c100 Golden Plover and c200 Lapwing (with at least double that out in the middle of the reserve). (AH)
 

 

Black Redstart (above) & Grey Plover at Medmerry (AH)

 

Ham Farm - A couple of Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests in the hedge near the new pond, and at least 1000 Brent Geese came into one of the arable fields. Also a Little Owl was present at a nearby private site that usually holds a pair, but where I hadn't encountered one since the spring. (AH)

Church Norton: On the walk from Selsey this morning, totals were - 1 Swallow over the Severals, 1 Snipe in the Severals, 1 Stonechat, 1 Grey Wagtail, 10+ Goldcrests in the oak copse, 1 Blackcap at Park Farm and 1 Red-breasted Merganser offshore, whilst in the harbour there were 2 Ruddy Shelducks and 2 Greenshank. (S&SaH)

Also seen in the harbour from the small spit were the Whimbrel, a total of 3 Greenshank and a Sanderling, along with the commoner waders. (AH)

 

Blackcap at Park Farm (above), Starling and 'leucistic' Black-headed Gull at Church Norton (SH)

 

  Friday, 14th November: A grey, very wet and gloomy start to the day with heavy overnight rain persisting into the morning and with a fairly strong SW wind 5-6 occasionally gusting 7, though by late morning the sun had come out. It still remains comparatively mild due to the southerly based winds and this weather pattern shows no sign of abating as yet.

The long dark nights and inclement weather are a good time to get on with birding paperwork, and I also hope to find time to update some of the pages on the blog; the editors assisted by IP are currently working on fully updating the Peninsula bird list, so watch this space (OM). 
One more thing....... seems the hackers and spammers are still targeting me with phishing emails  - mainly but not entirely fake BT ones - and despite a new PC and various safeguards the odd one purporting to be from me may still sneak through to you. So, if it looks odd just don't open it, but meanwhile I would advise all my regular contacts I now have two more email addresses which I shall use privately IN ADDITION to the normal one as above for the blog - so don't be surprised if you think the address seems wrong when you go to reply. Thanks for your patience! (OM}.

 

Church Norton: The weather was awful, early on, but an unexpected bonus came in the form of the two juvenile Spoonbills out on the mud, quite close in from the bench. Initially the unringed bird was on its own, then the ringed one appeared from a creek and sidled up next to it, whereupon there was a bit of a spat - hard to know if it was fighting or flirting - before they settled down and wandered off to preen and roost together.

Not much else in the dismal conditions - the Whimbrel was present amongst the commoner waders, as were 6 Black-tailed Godwits, and a Red-breasted Merganser flew into the harbour. (AH)

 

Spoonbills at Church Norton (AH)

 

 

 

West side/Long Pool: The Ruddy Shelduck was visible over towards the North Wall side, Milky the Curlew was still out and showing well (but never very close!) and 3 Avocets, 1 fem Merganser and 4 Great Crested Grebes were in the channel, plus a Greenshank near Tern Island. A walk up past the Long pool resulted in a nice fem Merlin perched up out in the fields - very distant as the dodgy record shots show!! Also c500 Brents in the far fields too and lots of Red-legged Partridges still around and still 1 male Common Darter around the first pool. (AB}.

 

Below: Red-legged Partridges and Merlin, West side fields (AB}

 

Medmerry: West Sands to the breach - The Great Northern Diver was still present, though it has moved further back into the furthest pool. Also, the 2 Stonechats were still on the rocks and 10 Skylarks flew over, whilst on the pools there were c80 Golden Plover, 8 Grey Plover, c150 Lapwing, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Curlew and 25 Dunlin, plus c120 Brent Geese near the breach. (AH)

 

Great Northern Diver (above) & Stonechat at Medmerry (AH)

 

East Side: There were two Ruddy Shelducks together on the east side of the harbour this afternoon. (TG per Pagham Birder) (Hopefully this is last winter's pair re-united, after the single bird having frequented similar haunts since its return. ed.)

A Black Redstart was reported near the harbour mouth. (per Birdguides)

Selsey area: One of my East Beach neighbours had a male Black Redstart in his garden early morning but it had moved on by the time I got there early afternoon.
Northcommon Farm: 2 Kestrels, 1 Buzzard, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Med. Gulls amongst the 428 Black-headed Gulls but generally very quiet.
Horse Paddocks, Warner Lane: Large numbers of Blackbirds and 2 Mistle Thrushes yanking out of the ground massive worms, 1 calling Cetti's Warbler and that was about it.
Drift Lane Marsh: 2 Snipe were just about visible, one moved along and started bobbing but it was a bit feeble and didn't last long. (SR)

 

Ferry Pool: There were 2 Snipe at the back this morning, plus the Green Sandpiper, and 8 Shelduck, 12 Teal and 30+ Shoveler were on the water. At least 200 Lapwing were on the field, along with 6 Black-tailed Godwits and 4 Curlews. (AH)

Snipe (above) & Shelduck on the Ferry (AH)

 

Thursday, 13th November: A fairly bleak day, with a cold, gusty south-easterly making conditions somewhat unpleasant....and with rain arriving by afternoon.

Selsey Bill: (0745-0915hrs): SE F5 (AH/PC/TR et al)

Great Northern Diver - 2os

Gannet - 1E, 5os

Shag - 1E

Common Scoter - 4E

Red-breasted Merganser - 2E, 4W

Turnstone - 40E

Mediterranean Gull - 5W, 2E

Common Gull - 2E, 4W

Kittiwake - 1E, 1W

Meadow Pipit - 10N, 1p

Juvenile Gannet past Selsey Bill (AH)

 

Church Norton: Not much to report in pretty horrible conditions. The Whimbrel was again present, along with 20+ Curlews, including the leucistic bird, and there were at least 50 Knot with 200+ Dunlin out on the mud. There were one or two Goldcrests lurking in the bushes, 30+ Goldfinches flew around the mound area and a Sparrowhawk went over. (AH/TR)

Whimbrel (left) & with Curlew at Church Norton (AH)

 

Ferry Pool: The Ruddy Shelduck was present this morning, along with a dozen Common Shelduck, 40 Shoveler and 20 Teal. A Green Sandpiper was also present, as were 12 Black-tailed Godwits and 50+ Lapwing. (AH)

Ruddy Shelduck (above) & Green Sandpiper on the Ferry (AH)