4th - 6th February 2018

Tuesday, 6th February: Cold and bright again, though with the wind shifting away from the east a little, with cloud building up, too.....

Ferry Pool/Long Pool: There was not a single bird on or around the Ferry this morning.
There were, however, a few birds in Ferry Channel, including a Spotted Redshank, c100 Teal, c50 Wigeon, a dozen Grey Plovers and a few Curlew and Redshank. At least a dozen Avocets were in the harbour at the far end, along with a few Pintail and plenty of the afore-mentioned species.
Along the Long Pool there were a couple of Reed Buntings, a couple of Goldcrests and a Meadow Pipit, whilst on the pool itself there was a pair of Little Grebes. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above), Reed Bunting, Grey Plover, Little Grebe, Wigeon, Avocets and Lapwings & Teal around the Long Pool (AH)

Medmerry: Windmill to the breach - There were a couple of Stonechats and a dozen Meadow Pipits near the windmill, and another pair of Stonechats and another dozen Meadow Pipits at Toe End, but nothing in between.
Around 60 Common Scoter and a Great Crested Grebe were offshore, but the pools aroiund the breach held just a few Curlews and Redshank, a couple of Grey Herons and c30 Shelduck and Teal. (AH)

Stonechat (above), Meadow Pipit & Common Scoters at Medmerry (AH)

Mapsons Lane, Sidlesham: A Buzzard was sat right by the roadside this morning. (AH)

Buzzard in Sidlesham (AH)

Monday, 5th February: Another very cold morning, with a brisk easterly breeze pushing on banks of heavy cloud between a few sunny intervals.....

Selsey Bill: There were up to four Sandwich Terns, two Red-breasted Mergansers and a Great Northern Diver offshore this morning, but absolutely nothing moving in 40 minutes from 8am. (AH)

Sandwich Tern at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: A single Shelduck was the only bird on the pool, field and creek this morning! (AH)

Just to let everyone know, today we have had a contractor on site, out on to Ferry field, to fill the hole and do some work on the footdrains..... this should take about 10 days, so that is why you may see machinery out there.
Further to this, whilst out in the field I unavoidably flushed 23 Snipe and one (or possibly two) Jack Snipe. I also took the opportunity to photograph the new hide from this location. (IL, Warden).

 Views of the new hide, taken from Ferry field (IL)

 
Church Norton: At a freezing cold Norton today there were 3 Bar-tailed Godwits in the harbour, whilst out at sea there was a Great Northern Diver and at least 3 Slavonian Grebes. Unusually for the patch there was also a flock of 20+ Rooks in the fields along Rectory Lane. (AW)

Bar-tailed Godwit and Great Northern Diver at Norton (AW)

 

 Slavonian Grebes off Church Norton (AW)

Fishbourne Creek: There were three Greenshanks in the creek this morning, along with c100 Black-tailed Godwits, a few Ringed Plovers, numerous Grey Plovers and Dunlin, c30 Pintail and hundreds of Wigeon and Teal, but no Brent Geese at all and only a handful of Common Gulls. A Grey Wagtail and a Rock Pipit were along the pathway and at least a dozen Yellowhammers were around the riding school. (AH)

Greenshank (above), Grey Wagtail, Pintail, Yellowhammer, Grey Plover & Black-tailed Godwits at Fishbourne Creek (AH)

Chi GP's - Drayton Pits: Overall a disappointing morning  (though my visit was unavoidably cut short)..... there being a clear reduction in the number of wildfowl present, despite the mainly ice-free water. A count of 70 Shoveler was less than half the total of a couple of weeks ago, though 88 Pochard was a clear peak. Those apart there was little to report, the best of the rest being 10 Snipe and a Mistle Thrush. (OM)

Panoramic view of Drayton North Pit (OM)

Ivy Lake Complex: Ivy Lake was quiet with just a few Herring & Black-headed Gulls on the water along with c.20 Tufted Ducks, a few Great Crested Grebes and three Black Swans. Nunnery Lake held the usual Gadwall but there was nothing on Triangle, Copse & West Trout lakes other than Coots, Tufted Ducks and a few more Black-headed Gulls. On East Trout Lake, however, were 73 Greylag Geese, 52 Canada Geese and a single Bar-headed Goose and on New Lake were c.20 Shovelers. The paths were generally quiet with just a single Goldcrest of note. (BI)

Sunday, 4th February: A bright and sunny morning, though the fresh easterly breeze made it feel cold.....

Selsey Bill: There were twelve Sandwich Terns offshore this morning - a new winter record, and there were also five Slavonian Grebes about and a Fulmar went west. Full log below. (JA/SH/PB/AH/IP/SR)

Great Northern Diver - 2os

Red-throated Diver - 1E, 2W

diver sp - 3E, 4W

Slavonian Grebe - 5os

Great Crested Grebe - 1E

Fulmar  1W

Gannet - 11E, 8W

Wigeon - 9W

Common Scoter - 25W, 3os

Red-breasted Merganser - 8E, 10os

Sandwich Tern - 12os

auk sp - 9E, 11W

Sandwich Terns at the Bill (AH)

The Black Redstart was back in the gardens just west of Bill House early this afternoon. (BI/PJ)

Black Redstart at Selsey Bill (BI)

Ferry Pool: There were no birds at all on the pool and just two Teal on the creek this morning. (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: There were two Stonechats and a Grey Wagtail on the fields, and there were a Lesser Black-backed Gull and three Mediterranean Gulls  on the field awaiting development, plus an Oystercatcher, a Pied Wagtail and half a dozen Linnets, whilst a Sparrowhawk and c100 Jackdaws went over. (AH/IP/S&SaH)

Stonechats (above), Linnet, Mediterranean Gull, Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls & Jackdaws at Park Farm, Selsey (AH)

Church Norton: The most unusual sight this morning was of three drake Goldeneye on the sea (whilst the regular drake and two redheads were in the harbour), and there were also a Great Northern Diver, a couple of Sandwich Terns and half a dozen Gannets offshore.

There were plenty of Brent Geese, Lapwing and Golden Plover at the far end of the harbour, but nothing much of note besides a Bar-tailed Godwit and a couple of Pintail. A Raven was over the churchyard area early on, a pair of Stonechats and a Reed Bunting were around the horse field, a couple of Skylarks were along the spit and the pair of Peregrines were on their island. (AH/IP/BI/S&SaH)

Skylark (above) & Peregrine at Church Norton (AH)

Later on the two Goosanders were in the harbour again and a Chiffchaff behind the hide. (IP)

Itchenor Pond:  The sunshine today brought the Tree-creepers out along with a flock of Long-tailed Tits, Goldfinches, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Buzzard. (SR)

Tree-creeper at Itchenor Pond (SR)

Medmerry: Easton lane to the Stilt Pool - This afternoon a Greenshank was on the reserve, 300+ Lapwing and 200+ Golden Plover went up over the reserve, two Stonechats and a Sparrowhawk were along the banks and 80+ Fieldfares were in the field behind Marsh Barn. (S&SaH)

1st - 3rd February 2018

Saturday, 3rd February: A fairly dismal day, cold and grey, with persistent heavy drizzle, though not much of a breeze....

Whilst researching for a forthcoming talk, I came across a couple of old photos taken at the Bill during early spring 1983. The first shows the old horse field which was always attractive to migrants, including shrikes, but is now occupied by bungalows (though their long gardens fortunately remain). The second shows part of the Bill House garden, with a small roundabout and swings and no tamarisk hedges; it is pleasing to say that at least this particular area has vastly improved since! (OM)

The old horse field at the Bill in spring 1983, and below, a rather sterile-looking Bill House garden as it was then. (OM)

Selsey Bill: (0730-0830hrs) (JA)
Great Northern Diver - 4os
Red-throated Diver - 2W, 2os
diver sp - 1E
Slavonian Grebe - 1os
Shag - 1os
Red-breasted Merganser - 10os
Sandwich Tern - 5os

Ferry Pool: There were c300 Lapwing on the pool this morning, along with two Shelduck, eight Teal and two Redshank. (AH)

Lapwing on the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: The Spotted Redshank was at the far end of Ferry Channel, along with a few Grey Plovers, Redshank and Teal, whilst a Water Rail flew out from the path along the Long Pool, a Common Snipe went over and a Reed Bunting was singing along the hedges. (AH/IP)

Spotted Redshank (above) & Teal in Ferry Channel (AH)

Church Norton: A Great Northern Diver, two Slavonian Grebes and a Great Crested Grebe were offshore, whilst in the harbour the Whimbrel was still present, along with a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits, seven Avocets, at least 500 Dunlin, c100 Grey Plover and c300 Brent Geese, and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers were drumming near the Mound. (AH)

Bar-tailed Godwit and Dunlin (above), Avocet & Grey Plover at Church Norton (AH)

Friday, 2nd February: Another chilly morning, with a brisk north-westerly breeze, though brightening up slowly......

Ferry Pool: There were just two Shelducks on the pool and c30 Teal on the creek. (AH)

Honer Reservoir: The Long-tailed Duck was still on the reservoir this morning, along with a lone Tufted Duck and a few Coots. (AH/JDW)

Long-tailed Duck on Honer Reservoir (AH)

Pagham Lagoon/Spit: The three Goldeneye were on the Lagoon, along with six Pochard, 22 Tufted Ducks, four Little Grebes and two Mediterranean Gulls. 
The Eider was out in the harbour from the spit, plus a few Little and Great Crested Grebes, the two Peregrines were on their island and a Rock Pipit and a handful of Skylarks were on the spit itself. (AH)

Eider, Pintail, Wigeon and Dunlin (above) & Peregrine from Pagham Spit & Goldeneye on Pagham Lagoon (AH)

North Wall: There were four Ruff and a Kingfisher in White's Creek, whilst along the east side of the harbour there were c250 Black-tailed Godwits, five Bar-tailed Godwits, c200 Knot, c50 Pintail, c100 Golden Plover and huge numbers of the commoner species, including at least 200 Brent Geese and Lapwing.
By contrast the Breech Pool held just a few Tufted Ducks, Mallard and Teal and the fields were empty save 50 or so Curlews. (AH)

Ruff, Lapwing, Wigeon and Teal (above), Ruff and Lapwing, Kingfisher, Pintails, Knot and Black-tailed Godwits and Brent Geese from North Wall (AH)

White's Creek was teeming with birds early on - good numbers of Wigeon, Teal, Lapwing, Black Tailed Godwits, Redshank, Dunlin and a single Ruff. Later everything was put to flight when a Peregrine appeared. In the field north of Bremere Bridge were 2700 Brent Geese along with 600 Wigeon and 90 Curlew. 
More Brent Geese flew in as I moved on and I guess the total was going to be close to 3000. There were 10 Little Egrets in the field north of Marsh Farm, and along Pagham Rife there were 56 Mute Swan plus the usual two Black Swans, whilst a Raven flew over Honer Cottages. (JDW)

Brent Geese (above), Little Egrets & Black Swans from the North Wall. (JDW)

Chichester Marina/Birdham Pool/Itchenor Pond: There were three Bullfinches around the hide at the marina this morning but other than that it was fairly quiet with just a distant Buzzard, two Cormorants and three Grey Herons of note. Birdham Pool also remained quiet with only a Kingfisher traversing the pool of interest. Plenty of small birds at Itchenor Pond mid-morning including a mixed flock of Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests and there were also at least three Great Spotted Woodpeckers also present in the area. (BI)

Bullfinch near the hide at Chichester Marina (BI)

Selsey, Broadreeds: There were two Redwings in the estate garden at mid-day. (BI)

Thursday, 1st February: A cold, bright and breezy morning, with a brisk westerly but plenty of sunshine.....

Ferry Pool: There were no birds at all around the pool, with just a dozen Shoveler and c50 Teal on the creek, and two Buzzards went over, flushing two Snipe out of the roadside reeds. (AH)

Shovelers and Teal at the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There was nothing out of the ordinary, but there were at least three pairs of Stonechats, c40 Meadow Pipits and Skylarks, plus a couple of Reed Buntings, 20+ Pied Wagtails, half a dozen Song Thrushes and c20 Stock Doves along the banks, and at least 300 Linnets around the back of Marsh Farm where they are being fed.

The Common Sandpiper was on the Stilt Pool, along with c50 Lapwings, six Gadwall, ten Tufted Ducks, c20 Shoveler, c50 Canada Geese and plenty of Wigeon and Teal, and c150 Golden Plover flew low over the beach heading west. (AH)

Common Sandpiper (above), Golden Plovers, Gadwall, Linnets, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit & Song Thrush at Medmerry (AH)

Chichester Marina/Birdham Pool/Itchenor Pond: A look at these sites this morning was very unproductive! There was nothing around the reed-beds at the Marina, just a handful of Goldcrests of note in Salterns Copse and nothing on the water save one or two Little and Great Crested Grebes, though there were plenty of Shelduck, Curlew, Lapwing etc roosting on the far side of the harbour.

Birdham Pool just held a Pochard of note among the regular Tufted Ducks, Mallards and Little Grebes, whilst Itchenor Pond was more or less birdless. (AH)

Curlews and Oystercatchers at Chichester Marina (AH)

Church Norton: Just before noon there were at least 4 Slavonian Grebes offshore, whilst displaying Teal and a white-headed Cormorant hinted at the first signs of spring. (AW)

 Slavonian Grebes, displaying Teal and white-headed Cormorant off Church Norton (AW)