23rd - 25th January 2018

Thursday, 25th January: A much more pleasant day, with a moderate westerly breeze and quite warm in the sunny spells....

Ferry Pool: The pool was bereft of birds, save two Shelduck, whilst the creek in the field held ten Shovelers, c50 Teal and c200 Wigeon. (AH)

Shovelers and Wigeon on the Ferry (AH)

Honer Reservoir: The Long-tailed Duck was on the reservoir again this morning. (AH)

Long-tailed Duck on Honer Reservoir (AH)

North Wall: There were seven Ruff in White's Creek this morning, along with plenty of Redshank and Lapwing, but only a dozen or so Black-tailed Godwits, whilst the waterlogged fields behind the Breech Pool only held 55 feeding Curlews and a few Wigeon and the bushes were more or less empty, except for a couple of Reed Buntings.
There were c800 Brent Geese on the golf course by the Slipe Field, and at least 200 Linnets, plus a Kestrel were also present there. (AH/PC/IH)

Ruff (above), Curlews & Brent Geese around the North Wall (AH)

Pagham Lagoon and Spit: The Red-necked Grebe was showing nicely from the spit this morning, and further into the harbour there were three Goldeneye, two Red-breasted Mergansers and the female Eider on the water, and one of the Peregrines was on its island.
The Lagoon has held very few birds this winter - especially Little Grebes, which are normally quite numerous - and this morning was no exception, with just a couple of pairs present, along with nine Pochard and 20 Tufted Ducks. (AH/TG)

Red-necked Grebe (above), Eider & Red-breasted Merganser from the spit & Pochards on the lagoon (AH)

The Eameses and the Moores celebrating with a Mexican wave after seeing the Red-necked Grebe! (AH)

 

 

 

East Head: With the prospect of a little sunshine and less wind, we headed to East Head this morning, checking out the Brent flock without finding any interlopers! Not much was in the main channel as it was a low tide, but at the northern tip of the Head we spent an hour scanning the open channels. This produced a single Great Northern Diver, 20 Red-breasted Mergansers 20 Great Crested Grebes and a single Slavonian Grebe, whilst 3 Sandwich Terns flew west.  We managed a massive count of 287 Bar-tailed Godwits feeding at low tide on Pilsey Sands opposite, and in the dune slack were 45 Skylarks, 30 Meadow Pipits and 2 Stonechats. (BFF/DM)

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, 24th January: A thoroughly miserable day, though fairly mild, with gale force south-westerly winds and endless belts of drizzly rain......

Late news today of a second-winter Glaucous Gull that was seen on Friday (19th) on the shingle off of the harbour mouth for around 30 minutes from 1pm, which then flew off west. (P. Curnick via SOS)

Glaucous Gull at Church Norton on 19th January (P Curnick)

Pagham Lagoon and Spit: The Red-necked Grebe was just inside the harbour on the high tide in company with two Great Crested Grebes. On the Spit there were two Skylarks, a Sparrowhawk and a Green Woodpecker, whilst on the Lagoon there were two Red-breasted Mergansers, six Pochard and 27 Tufted Ducks. (JDW)

Honer Reservoir: The Long-tailed Duck was on the reservoir again this afternoon, along with a Tufted Duck and three Coots, with a Reed Bunting along the hedge, whilst 40 Grey Plovers and c200 Dunlin flew over from the harbour. (AB/IL)

Long-tailed Duck on Honer Reservoir (AB)

Ferry Pool: The Spotted Redshank was in Ferry Channel early on. (TG-P) 
Later on, there were two Shelducks, c50 Teal and c200 Lapwing on the pool, with c100 Wigeon and a few Canada Geese on the field. (AH)

Lapwings and Teal on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There was nothing much about beyond the regular waders, around 1000 Brent Geese before they departed and a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers and 50 Wigeon in the harbour, and a couple of Goldcrests among c25 Long-tailed Tits along the sheltered hedges. Also, a Sparrowhawk and a dozen Red-legged Partridges were along Rectory Lane. (AH)

Red-breasted Merganser (above), Wigeon, Brent Geese & Long-tailed Tit at Church Norton (AH)

Tuesday, 23rd January: Yet another damp, drizzly and blustery day under leaden skies, though a little milder than of late....

Selsey Bill: In forty-five minutes from 8am, just five Common Scoter and two Brent Geese went west and a Mediterranean Gull went east. (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were c600 Lapwing, c200 Wigeon, c80 Teal, eight Shoveler and 12 Canada Geese around the pool and field this morning. (AH)

Sidlesham Churchyard: The two Coal Tits were around the feeder in the garden near to the gate again this morning. (AH)

Coal Tits at Sidlesham Churchyard (AH)

Church Norton: There was not much out of the ordinary in a fairly quick look, though the Whimbrel, three or four Bar-tailed Godwits and c60 Knot were among the many Grey Plovers and Dunlin, whilst there were also a Red-breasted Merganser and c400 Brent Geese out in the harbour, but small birds were non-existent. (AH)

Bar-tailed Godwit (above), Curlew and Whimbrel, Knot, Red-breasted Merganser & Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

Birdham Pool/Itchenor Pond: There were c20 Little Grebes, a single Pochard and c30 Tufted Ducks on Birdham Pool, plus at least 100 Mallard, with a Grey Heron on the far bank and a Water Rail squealing from the reeds.

There was nothing of note around Itchenor Pond save a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers. (AH)

Little Grebe on Birdham Pool (AH)

20th - 22nd January 2018

Monday, 22nd January: After more overnight rain, a fairly bright and breezy morning, though clouding up later....

Ferry Pool: There were c800 Lapwing on the field, with c100 Teal split between the pool and the flooded creek, where there were also eight Shoveler and c250 Wigeon. (AH)

Church Norton: The Red-necked Grebe was still in the harbour mouth and the four Goldeneye were still in the main channel, but there wasn't too much else of note around, with the fairly flat sea (albeit at low tide) producing just a single distant Great Northern Diver.
The Whimbrel was still present, as was the lonely Knot, and at least 1000 Brent Geese and similar of Lapwing, plus 100 or more Golden Plovers were on the far side of the harbour, whilst the pair of Bullfinches were at the back of the churchyard and a Green Woodpecker was by the concrete wall. (AH/AW)

On the WeBS count this afternoon, 87 Knot, two Peregrine with kills and three Goldeneye in the harbour from Church Norton, a Firecrest and a Chiffchaff near the steps behind the churchyard and c 20 Avocet at roost along the west side. (CRJ/RJS)

Red-necked Grebe (above), Whimbrel, Knot, Curlew,Green Woodpecker (AH) & Bullfinches (AW) at Church Norton 

Pagham Spit: The Red-necked Grebe was viewable from here, too, and a Chiffchaff was along the side of the Lagoon. (PB)
On the Lagoon were 22 Tufted Ducks, 6 Pochard and a Great Crested Grebe. In the harbour were 2 Peregrine and 2 Sandwich Terns were around the harbour entrance. (JDW)

Lockgate Road, Sidlesham: A quick look at the paddocks here produced a Buzzard, half a dozen Linnets and 50+ Pied Wagtails. (AH)

Buzzard in Lockgate Road, Sidlesham (AH)

Medmerry: Breach Viewpoint - A brief look with the tide rising rapidly showed the breach has widened considerably since I last visited. There was a large flock of several hundred Grey Plover, Dunlin and Turnstone constantly on the move, being displaced by the tide. A flock of Meadow Pipits were in the grass but in the strong wind and with building work close at hand there was little else of interest. 

Meanwhile at Medmerry Cliffs a pair of Ravens dropped in and a Stonechat was along the fenceline. (SR)

Raven (above), Dunlin and Grey Plover & the ever-widening breach at Medmerry (SR)

North Wall: Early afternoon found a spectacle within the harbour of say 5000 birds milling about, up and down as the tide came in, big glistening flocks of waders, say 2000 Lapwing and similar for Brent Goose and some hundreds of duck, truly breath-taking in the sunshine and the air humming with the constant purring of the Brent Geese and the curlewing of Curlews. Under the Wall for a while among Lapwing were nine Ruff. (ARK per SOS)

Sunday, 21st January: The weather fully lived up to the dire forecast this morning, with persistent drizzly rain and a moderate south-easterly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: Very little moving this morning, though a couple of Great Northern Divers were on the sea and the Rock Pipit was again present. Full log later. (JA/SH/AH/IP)
(0740-0900hrs)
Great Northern Diver - 2os
Red-throated Diver - 1E, 1W
Shag - 1E
Common Scoter - 3W
Red-breasted Merganser - 5E, 3os
Mediterranean Gull - 2os
Common Gull - 1W
Razorbill - 3E
auk sp - 1W
RockPipit - 1p
Chiffchaff - 1p

Rock Pipit at the Bill (AH)

Selsey: A Raven went over our garden to the north of the village this morning. Also, a Grey Wagtail was at Park Farm. (SH)

Ferry Pool: There were at least 500 Lapwing and 150 Teal around the pool this morning, with at least 100 Wigeon in the flooded creek in the field. (AH)
Also, the Spotted Redshank was in Ferry Channel. (BFF)

Lapwings on the Ferry (AH)

Sidlesham Churchyard: The two Coal Tits were present again on a feeder in a garden near the church today. (SA/BI)

Ivy Lake complex: The Tree-creeper was again near New Lake today. (BI)

Church Norton: There were plenty of waders about, including the Whimbrel, at least half a dozen Bar-tailed Godwits, three Avocets,  c20 Knot, c40 Grey Plovers, c500 Dunlin and a few Redshanks and Curlews.
Also, three Goldeneye and c50 Pintail were in the main channel and at least 40 Shelduck were on the mud, but the only small birds noted were the pair of Bullfinches, briefly, and a few Goldfinches, plus the very tame Robin that was inside the hide!. (AH) Also, a Stonechat was in the horse field. (S&SaH)
Later on the three Avocets were joined by five others as they worked together in the channel by the hide, a Peregrine was perched on the island looking rather forlorn in the rain and a few Mediterranean Gulls were seen loafing in the harbour, whilst a Roe Deer dashed along the path by the hide a couple of times.
At the end of the Norton shingle spit a female Goosander was seen  rafting the incoming tide, going really fast, and there were also the Red-necked Grebe and three Red breasted Merganser.In the main channel inside the harbour and the female Eider was on the far side. (BFF).

Whimbrel (above), Bar-tailed Godwit, Avocets, Goldeneye and Pintail, Shelducks & Dunlin at Church Norton (AH)

A very close Robin - I was attached to the binoculars at the time! (AH)

Saturday, 20th January: An altogether better morning than forecast, after early rain, with light winds and nothing worse than a bit of light drizzle, and even a bit of sunshine later on.....

Selsey Bill: (0800-0900hrs) (JA)

Great Northern Diver - 3os

Red-throated Diver - 2W

diver sp - 1W

Gannet - 1W

Shelduck - 1W

Common Scoter - 1W

Red-breasted Merganser - 1W, 10os

Mediterranean Gull - 2E

Kittiwake - 6W

Sandwich Tern - 4os, then E

Rock Pipit - 1p

Sidlesham Churchyard: There were two Coal Tits on a feeder in a garden near the church this morning. (SA)

Ferry Pool: There were eight Shoveler, c120 Teal and three Redshank on the pool, c500 Lapwing and c200 Wigeon on the field and another 30 Lapwing and half a dozen Curlews on the adjacent arable field. (AH)

Teal (above) & Wigeon and Lapwing on the Ferry (AH)

Also, a Water Rail was feeding in Red Barn Ditch this morning, but apart from a flock of Long-tailed Tits and a few Goldcrests it was otherwise very quiet around the Tramway. (SR)

Water Rail from Tramway (SR)

Park Farm, Selsey: There was not too much about beyond 20 or so Curlews and Oystercatchers on the fields, plus a Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel. (AH/IP)

Oystercatchers at Park Farm, Selsey (AH)

Church Norton: The Red-necked Grebe was still around the harbour mouth area, along with a female Goosander, the female Eider, four Goldeneye and at least half a dozen Red-breasted Mergansers.

Offshore there was a flock of five Velvet Scoters, along with two more Eider, a Great Northern Diver, a Red-throated Diver (plus two more west), a couple of Slavonian Grebes, a Guillemot, a Sandwich Tern, several small flocks of Teal, a couple of Wigeon and another half a dozen Red-breasted Mergansers.

The harbour also held a Kingfisher, an Avocet, a Peregrine, several Bar-tailed Godwits and plenty of the commoner waders and wildfowl, plus a few Mediterranean and Common Gulls, whilst there was also a pair of Mistle Thrushes in the churchyard. (AH/IP/BI)

Red-necked Grebe and Goldeneye (above), Goosander, Velvet Scoters, Great Northern Diver, Red-breasted Mergansers and Great Crested Grebe, Sandwich Tern, Kingfisher & Mediterranean Gull at Church Norton (AH)

IP having a bit of difficulty with the fence on the spit! (AH)

Sidlesham: There were two female Bullfinches in hedges in Cow Lane this afternoon. (AH)

Bullfinch in Sidlesham (AH)

Pagham Lagoon and Spit: There wasn't much on the Lagoon beyond nine Pochard, 16 Tufted Duck, six Little Grebes and a dozen Mediterranean Gulls, plus a Common Gull.

The Red-necked Grebe was still in the harbour mouth, with four Goldeneye, two Red-breasted Mergansers and half a dozen Little and Great Crested Grebes. A look through the gulls in the harbour and along the foreshore didn't produce much beyond 20 or so Mediterranean and Great Black-backed Gulls among a lot of Herring Gulls. (AH)

Red-necked Grebe (above), Goldeneye, Red-breasted Mergansers & Mediterranean and Herring Gulls around Pagham Spit (AH)