20th - 22nd January 2015

Thursday, 22nd January: A cold, crisp, sunny and bright winter's morning following a heavy overnight frost; wind light NE 2-3. 

Those observers that keep any sort of Peninsula patch birdlist might like to view the 'Site totals and Maps' page (see title bar) which I have now updated. It gives species totals for the Peninsula, Selsey (all) and Pagham Harbour, plus an estimate for the Bill-tip - and I even declare my personal patch list! If anyone wants to do likewise please submit details to me and I would be happy to include your total (OM).

Ferry Pool: Not as many birds as yesterday, but still well in excess of 1000 Lapwing, 100 Black-tailed Godwits and 400 Wigeon. A Snipe was in amongst the Teal and there were three Tufted Ducks on the water. (AH)

Snipe with Teal (above) & alone on the Ferry Pool (AH)

Church Norton: A Raven went over west, then two reappeared going north over the harbour. Otherwise there was not much to report - just plenty of the common waders and wildfowl looking smart in the winter sun on the high tide. (AH)

Ravens (above) Grey Plover, Wigeon & Teal at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Ham Viewpoint: The three Spoonbills were in their usual place in the middle of the reserve, and the Southern Pochard was again on the long pool along with half a dozen Tufted Ducks, Mallards and Coots (SR).

Chainbridge Field: A Short-eared Owl appeared on the red bin at 4 o clock, hunted around the field flushing a dozen Meadow Pipits before homing in on a vole, transferring it to its talons and flying off.  A Kestrel, 2 Stonechats, 1 Curlew and 2 Buzzards were also present (SR).

Selsey: Warner Lane horse paddocks: Two Stonechats, a Green Woodpecker and 2 Song Thrushes (SR).

Wednesday, 21st January: A grey, cold and gloomy morning, with a bit of south-easterly in the breeze...

Chichester Marina (Birdham): The Black Brant has re-surfaced, in amongst a large flock of 800+ Brent Geese in the fields to the north of the entrance track - actually part of Apuldram Manor Farm marsh. Also present were a few Teal, a pair of Gadwall, a Buzzard, a Cetti's Warbler and a calling Water Rail. (OM)

Poor record shots of the Black Brant (centre) feeding with dark-bellied Brent Geese, Chi marina (Apuldram Manor farm marsh) (OM)

Selsey Bill (0815-1045hrs): Cloud, cool, SE3. (Obs:OM/AH) Very little moving, but at one stage there were nine Great Northern Divers in view at the same time - a remarkable sight, and not one that can be seen at many places in Southern England. There were also four Eider, including a smart drake, on the sea, and two Slavonian Grebes..... full log below 

Great Northern Diver - 9 os
Red-throated Diver - 1W
Diver sp - 1W
Slavonian Grebe - 2 os
Great Crested Grebe - 1W
Shelduck - 2E
Eider - 4 os (including ad drake)
R/b Merganser - 3E, 22W
Wigeon - 6W
Common Scoter - 2W, 3os
Med Gull - 4 os

Great Northern Divers at Selsey Bill (AH)

Selsey (West): A look around the area produced very little, a dozen Snipe and a Kestrel being the only birds of note (OM).

Medmerry: Breach area - With Bunn's leisure apparently closed until 1st March to birders, I parked at the Medmerry windmill and yomped along to the Breach viewpoint. The three Spoonbills were viewable from there (year-tick at last!) but they were right out in the middle of the reserve. There were also 23 Common Scoter and a Great Crested Grebe offshore, whilst a swirling flock of 150+ Grey Plovers was flying around over the channel and lagoons, and on the way back a Kingfisher along the sluice ditch near the windmill was a surprise. (OM).

 Medmerry windmill (you can park here and yomp to the viewpoint) and a bit of local history (OM).

Church Norton: Not much new - the Peregrine buzzed the waders before retreating to its island, a single Red-breasted Merganser was in the harbour, there were thirty Common Gulls offshore, but otherwise it was the regular waders and wildfowl. (AH)

Curlews at Church Norton (AH)

Ferry Pool: A huge number of birds on here at high tide - conservative estimates include 270 Golden Plover, 350 Black-tailed Godwit, 2500 Lapwing, 20 Curlew, 400 Wigeon, 120 Teal, 30 Shelduck, 55 Shoveler, 25 Canada Goose, 40 Mallard and 2 Gadwall. (AH)

Gadwall (above), Lapwing and Golden Plover, Black-tailed Godwit and an idea of the number of birds on the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: Generally quiet along the Wall. Before the rising tide there were 200 Wigeon, 1000 plus lapwing, 7 Red-breasted Mergansers and a single Spotted Redshank in or around White's Creek. Just a few Tufted Ducks, Teal and Mallard were on the Breach Pool with 86 Curlew in the field behind. 

After a wash up in the Beckett Barn reservoir most of the Brent Geese were flying on in a NE direction. The flock of 91 Canada Geese are still in the field due west of Bremere bridge. They all went on full alert when I was seen and then a fox appeared and walked straight through them without causing any apparent alarm. (JDW)

Chichester GPs: A search around the Eastern side of Chi G P s mid to late afternoon failed to produce Dusky Warbler or Red-crested Pochard, but there were 10 Little Egrets on Triangle Lake, a Kingfisher on Ivy Lake and on the field south of West Lake were 54 Greylag Geese and a single Canada Goose. (CRJ).

West Itchenor: A walk along the harbourside in the twilight drizzle, but out of the chill easterly, unsurprisigly didn't produce a lot, but a wintering Whimbrel here was a surprise. At least 1000 Brent Geese drifted in in variably sized flocks, there were five Red-breasted Mergansers on the water, plenty of Grey Plover and Dunlin on the foreshore and quite a few Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits in the woodland edge. (AH)

Whimbrel in the twilight at West Itchenor (AH)

Tuesday, 20th January:  Another very cold and frosty start, with cloud and hints of sunshine. 

Medmerry: The three Spoonbills were out in the middle of the reserve this morning. Two looked to be colour-ringed, so presumably these are the ones that were in the harbour before Christmas, though are too distant to be 100% certain. Also a Peregrine hunting the local Teal, but without success. (PH)

Church Norton: A pair of Goldeneye were in the harbour, along with five Red-breasted Mergansers, four little Grebes, thirty Pintail and 200+ Wigeon. Half a dozen Skylarks were along the spit and the Peregrine was on its island, but otherwise all was quiet on the high tide. (AH)

Goldeneye in the harbour (above) & Skylark in a Buddleia on the spit (AH)

Ferry Pool: Still at least 1000 Lapwing, now on the fields on either side of the pool, and 100+ Black-tailed Godwits, too. Around 400 Wigeon were out on the grass and there were at least 40 Shovelers around the largely frozen pool first thing. (AH)

Shovelers on (above), and over the frozen Ferry (AH)

North Wall: Surprisingly warm along the Wall. There were 14 Pied Wagtails in the ploughed field at the end of Church Lane. Not a lot happening on the Breach Pool - just 15 Tufted Ducks and a few Teal and Mallard, although 12 Common Snipe flew in and lost themselves in the reeds at the back. 

A Rock Pipit was along the Wall, there were 700 Wigeon in the field between the Wall and Halsey's Farm, and to the south of Bremere bridge there was a flock of around 1200 Brent Geese intermingled with 90 Canada Geese. There were 900 Lapwing in the large field east of Manor Farm along with 170 Curlew. In Owl Copse there seems to have been a spurt in the growth of lichen with many trees now well festooned. (JDW) 

Lichen in Owl Copse (above) & the view from the North Wall at high tide (JDW)

Pagham Lagoon/Spit: The first-winter drake Scaup was present again early on, but in the time it took to retrieve the camera it had gone! (TG)

No sign of it later on, though there were three Goldeneye, four Pochard, fifteen Tufted Duck and 30+ Little Grebes present, along with half a dozen each of Common and Mediterranean Gulls.

Not much to report from the spit, though there were a further twenty Mediterranean Gulls around the new harbour mouth. 

Having not visited for a while, I was shocked by the scale of the erosion in front of the houses. (AH)

Little Grebe (above) & Moorhen on Pagham Lagoon (AH)

Mediterranean and Black-headed Gull on Pagham Spit (above) & the scale of erosion there (AH)

Chichester GPs - Drayton Pits: A frosty morning visit hoping for some of the scarcer cold weather wildfowl, but no luck, although numbers of the commoner species had obviously increased. There were several hundred Coots and c.150 Tufted Ducks, but otherwise the most numerous species was Gadwall, with 120 present, followed by 70 Shoveler and 70 Pochard. At least 6 Great Crested and 15 Little Grebes were logged, plus 6 Snipe and a Jack Snipe which unexpectedly flushed. Other species included 2 Cetti's Warblers, a Great Spotted and 2 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Jays and a dozen Long-tailed Tits. (OM).

Gadwall were very conspicuous this morning at the Drayton pits, although remaining fairly distant on the unfrozen spots (OM)

17th - 19th January 2015

Monday, 19th January: A very cold night with heavy frost, giving way to a dry, bright but cold day with sunshine and a light to moderate northerly wind.

A quick check of the Peninsula year-list shows the total is currently about 123 species, hopefully with a good few winter visitors yet to come, so keep looking, especially during this cold spell. Also, I don't want to speak too soon, but it looks as if the editors may well have resolved their technical issues with the blog, so we may be able to get back to normal. Finally, just a reminder that I have a new email address for the blog (see title page); if you do get a message purporting to be from me now under my old defunct address (owen.birder@btinternet.com) please ignore and delete it. (OM).

Pagham Lagoon: The Scaup has moved from the Breach Pool and was showing well on the Lagoon at 9am. (Christian Melgar). It was still showing well late morning when there were also eight Goldeneye and a dozen Pochard present. (BI) However, later another search for the Scaup this afternoon was negative and it wasn't at the Lagoon or Breach Pool at 1530hrs (SR).

 Displaying Goldeneyes (above) and 1st-w drakeScaup on Pagham Lagoon this morning (BI).

Pagham Hbr (entrance): At about 1100hrs, in the bottle-neck entrance to the harbour were three smart Goosanders (two drakes and a redhead) (ARK per SOS)

They were on the Lagoon at 1335, but five minutes later they flew south over the houses and out onto the sea. There was also a Chiffchaff in the bushes. (AB)

Goosanders on/over Pagham Lagoon (AB)

North Wall: There were four Spotted Redshanks deep water feeding on the harbour side this morning. (ARK, per SOS website)

Not much along the North Wall later on, with nothing unusual amongst the c800-strong Brent flock. There was still one Spotted Redshank and a Little Egret showing well in White's Creek, near the sluice, a Water Rail calling from the Breach Pool and a big female Sparrowhawk spooking the area. Also a flock of c30 Skylarks were flying around over the back fields. (AB)

Spotted Redshank, White's Creek (AB).

Chichester GP's: The Dusky Warbler was again reported today (per RBA).

Selsey Bill: (0815-0900hrs) (AH/GH)

Great Northern Diver - 8os

Slavonian Grebe - 3os

Great Crested Grebe - 2os

Eider - 1os

Common Scoter - 2W, 2os

Red-breasted Merganser - 10E, 1W

Mediterranean Gull - 3W

Great Northern Diver off the Bill (AH)

Selsey: East Beach pond - early this morning a Water Rail and a Chiffchaff were present (SR).

Sidlesham Ferry: There were 30+ Shovelers feeding like mad in the only unfrozen bit of water early this morning, with another 20 scattered around the edges with similar of Teal and Shelduck, and there were 70 Black-tailed Godwits and at least 500 Lapwings on the field, along with 200 Wigeon. (AH)

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

Birdham: There were at least 1000 Brent Geese feeding on an arable field just north of Sidlesham Lane. (AH)

Brent Geese at Birdham (AH)

Medmerry: At Chainbridge sluice a Short-eared Owl and the Barn Owl were present late afternoon, plus a Buzzard, a Kestrel, a Heron and a pair of Stonechats. Fifty Golden Plover were in the fields west of Ham Farm, and the Southern Pochard was still on its usual pool (TGP).

Sunday, 18th January: Cold and cloudy but mainly dry, with sunny periods due later. There was a big count of Slavonian Grebes off the Bill this morning, and more Spoonbill sightings, though quite how many are around the peninsula is still uncertain - possibly up to seven, but the bird of the day was a first-winter Scaup on the Breach Pool.

Selsey Bill: (0730-1000hrs) (SH/JA/PB/AB/IP/AH)
Great Northern Diver - 8os
Red-throated Diver - 2W, 2os
Slavonian Grebe - 14W, 17os
Great Crested Grebe - 3E, 3os
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 3W, 3E
Brent Goose - 17W
Common Scoter - 1W, 3E, 3os
Red-breasted Merganser - 66E, 17os
Eider - 1E
Peregrine - 2p
Great Skua - 1E
Mediterranean Gull - 4os
Kittiwake - 2W
auk spp - 47W, 3E

North Wall: Highlight was a first-winter drake Scaup with 17 Tufted Ducks on the Breach Pool this morning. A few Mallard, Wigeon and Teal also there and 170 Curlew sited across various fields as were 370 Brent Geese. 400 Wigeon in fields west of Bremere bridge along with 90 Canada Geese. A Peregrine causing havoc amongst the Lapwing north of Honer; also 2 Brown Hares and 4 Roe Deer in various fields. The flooded field north of the stables was bird empty apart from a Pheasant and Buzzard. (JDW/PC) .

The Scaup was still there this afternoon, mostly sleeping amongst the Tufted Ducks, and a Spotted Redshank and a Kingfisher were in White's Creek. (AH/IP)

First-winter drake Scaup on the Breach Pool (above) & Spotted Redshank in White's Creek (AH)

Medmerry: Chainbridge Field - A Short-eared Owl went over the bank and settled on the saltmarsh this morning. (PH)

This evening the Short-eared Owl was again over the field, and a Barn Owl appeared briefly over the bank and promptly vanished before finally it re-appeared hunting along the hedgerow at the back at dusk. (SH/IP/AH)

Short-eared Owl on Chainbridge Field (AH)

Easton Lane west - The three Spoonbills were out in the middle of the reserve again this morning, though there was not a lot else of note. A female Red-breasted Merganser was in one of the tidal pools, there were 30+ Gadwall, 80 Teal, 20 Wigeon, 4 Shelduck on the various pools, many Brent Geese were coming and going, and there were c40 Common Scoter well offshore. The only wader was a single Curlew.

There were at least three pairs of Stonechats, 20+ Skylarks and a few Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings along the banks. (AH/PH)

 Reed Bunting and Spoonbill at Medmerry (AH)

Church Norton: There was a Spoonbill at rest to the rear of Tern Island this morning, there were two Water Rails on the first Several, a Great Northern Diver went west offshore and there were at least 10 Red-breasted Mergansers in the harbour and offshore. (S&SaH) Also a Firecrest was at the bottom of the path to the harbour. (AB/PB)

Ferry Pool: A Merlin was sat on a fencepost in the field late morning and there were still c250 Black-tailed Godwits on the field, along with several hundred Wigeon and Brent Geese and a thousand or more Lapwing. (AB/PB)

Pagham Lagoon: This afternoon two pairs of Goldeneye looked their best in the sunshine, a Water Rail flew into the reeds next to the boardwalk and another squealed nearby, there was also two Pochards, 26+ Little Grebes, 22+ Tufted Duck, 2 Mute Swans, 56 Mallards and 22 Coots. (SR)

Runcton: A Great Spotted Woodpecker was showing well in my garden today, also a Tawny Owl calling at night in Runcton over the past few weeks. (CRJ)

Great Spotted Woodpecker in a Runcton garden (CRJ)

 

Sidlesham: A Tawny Owl has been calling regularly right outside our house again this winter, too - this must be the most under-reported species on the peninsula. (AH)

Saturday, 17th January: A very frosty and bright start with sunshine and cloud, remaining cold throughout the day...

Selsey Bill: (0740-0930hrs) (SH/JA/SR)
Great Northern Diver - 6os
diver spp - 1W, 1E
Slavonian Grebe - 4W, 9os
Great Crested Grebe - 1os
Gannet - 34E, 1W
Eider - 1os
Common Scoter - 2E, 4W, 1os
Red-breasted Merganser - 22E, 10W, 8os
Mediterranean Gull - 1os
Common Gull - 25W
Kittiwake - 2E, 7W
auk spp - 2E, 1W

Sidlesham Golf Course/B2166: A ringtail Hen Harrier flew low over the road this morning, heading towards the golf course. (A&YF)

Church Norton: Still quiet - just single Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser and Great Crested Grebe in front of Tern Island, and the Peregrine buzzed over briefly, otherwise just the usual waders and wildfowl in the harbour, a Green Woodpecker and two Mediterranean Gulls along the beach, and 2 Goldcrest and 20+ Long-tailed Tits around the bushes. There were a few Redshank, Grey Plover, Wigeon and Teal along Ferry Channel/Long Pool area, but otherwise quiet. (AH/BI)

Ferry Pool: Masses of birds on the field again today, including at least 250 Black-tailed Godwits, 60 Curlews, 1500 Lapwing, 400 Brent Geese, 200 Wigeon and 40 Canada Geese, whilst there were 40+ Shoveler, Teal and Shelduck around the pool. (AH)

Round-up of today's birds; large flock of Black-tailed Godwits around the Ferry Pool (top two pics), and below, three R/b Mergansers at Selsey Bill and a Med Gull at Church Nortonill (AH).

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Ham Viewpoint - Very quiet this morning: highlights being single Reed Bunting and Stonechat, plus a Snipe and the Southern Pochard at Ham. (IP)

Chainbridge Field to Ham Viewpoint: Success at last! Standing at the Chainbridge where I was watching a highly verbal SEO perched a-top the red dog poo bin, I turned round to see a Barn Owl flying toward me in the adjoining field. It caught a vole and took it back to the large black pipe spanning the ditch but wasn't allowed to eat in peace as a Kestrel landed at the other end of the pipe. The Owl lowered its head and tried to stare the Kestrel out but this didn't work so the Owl took it's meal elsewhere, with the Kestrel in hot pursuit. This was at 4.15, it was still daylight.
From Ham Viewpoint two Spoonbills were actively feeding quite some distance away on the other side of the rife, and I was amused to see one running toward it's partner that had just flown in. (SR)

Sidlesham: Not one, but two Ravens over the garden going west at lunchtime, calling quietly to each other. My third sighting this year at my own personal Raven hotspot! (AH)

Snowhill Creek: This afternoon the three Spoonbills were here, mostly asleep, along with a Spotted Redshank, with another in the Creek. (ARK per SOS) 

There was also a single Dartford Warbler in the gorse and scrub alongside Snowhill Marsh, with at least five Stonechat. (J-PC per SOS)