4th - 6th February 2022

Sunday, 6th February: A very windy day, with a gale-force westerly blowing through a few heavy showers and banks of heavy cloud.............

Selsey Bill: A steady stream of Gannets went west, as did 11 Fulmars, with half a dozen Sandwich Terns offshore. Full log later. (SH/JA/SR/AH/IP)

(0720-0920hrs) (WSW, F8-9)

Great Northern Diver - 1E

diver sp - 1E

Great Crested Grebe - 1E

Fulmar - 11W

Gannet - 74W

Brent Geese - 13E

Red-breasted Merganser - 6E, 6W

Mediterranean Gull - 3os

Kittiwake - 20W

Sandwich Tern - 6os

Razorbill - 3W

auk - 7W

(1330-1430hrs) (SH)

Red-throated Diver - 2W

Gannet - 1E

Common Scoter - 2E

Red-breasted Merganser - 2W

Turnstone - 2

Mediterranean Gull - 1os

Common Gull -1 os

Kittiwake - 1W

Razorbill - 1W

Sandwich Terns (above) & Fulmar at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were 14 Avocets and c30 Black-tailed Godwits on the pool this morning, along with 50+ Teal, Shovelers and Wigeon, whilst the Kingfisher was again in the channel opposite. (AH)

This afternoon the Spotted Redshank was in Ferry Channel. (JJE)

Kingfisher (above), Shovelers & Teal at the Ferry (AH)

Marsh Farm, Sidlesham: The six Glossy Ibises and at least six Cattle Egrets were in the field behind the rolled up astroturf this afternoon. (JJE)

North Wall: The six Glossy Ibises  flew into roost in Owl Copse at 1700hrs this afternoon, along with a couple of Cattle Egrets, whilst earlier there were a male and three female Marsh Harriers around the Breech Pool and a Merlin was seen chasing a Meadow Pipit.

There were also a Rock Pipit, a Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel, c500 Golden Plovers and Lapwing and c2000 Brent Geese about, whilst a flock of 19 Barnacle Geese, with nothing obviously different among them, flew over the wall. (S&SaH/SP et al)

Glossy Ibises at the North Wall (MT)

Church Norton: A flock of 17 Barnacle Geese flew around the harbour for about twenty minutes and may have eventually dropped in near the harbour mouth late this morning. 

Also, the Red-necked Grebe and a Red-breasted Merganser were offshore and a Raven went over the first Several. (S&SaH)

Otherwise it was just the regular wildfowl and waders, though five Red-breasted Mergansers were near the harbour mouth, five Pintail were in the main channel and at least 150 Knot were among the Dunlin and Grey Plovers on the mud. (AH)

Barnacle Geese and possible 'Cackling-type' Goose at Church Norton (SH)

The Barnacle Goose flock, seemingly containing a 'Cackling-type' Goose and two possible hybrids, were out in the harbour at high tide this afternoon. (SR/JJE)

Barnacle Geese at Church Norton (SR)

Chichester Gravel Pits: Ivy Lake - A total of 110 Pochard were on the main lake, along with a dozen Shovelers, c50 Tufted Ducks, c25 Canada Geese and several hundred Coots, but there wasn't much else. (AH)

Pochard at Ivy Lake (AH)

Chichester Gravel Pits: Drayton Pits - The pits were quiet beyond a few Pochard and Tufted Ducks, whilst c20 Redwings were in the trees in the adjacent car-park and a Woodcock was flushed from nearby trees. (AH)

Redwing at Drayton Pits (AH)

Saturday, 5th February: A bright and blustery morning in a fresh south-westerly, warm in the sun, chill in the wind.............

Selsey Bill: A Bonxie and two Slavonian Grebes went east, with another of the latter on the sea, but otherwise it was just a mix of the regular species. Full log below. (PB/BI/AH/IP/SR/P&LH)

(0730-0900hrs) (SW, F5-6)

Great Northern Diver - 2os

Red-throated Diver - 3E, 5W

diver sp - 1E

Slavonian Grebe - 2E, 1os

Fulmar - 1W

Gannet - 32E, 40W, 65os

Shag - 1E

Brent Goose - 1W

Common Scoter - 2E

Red-breasted Merganser - 10E, 5W

Oystercatcher - 1W

Turnstone - 6W

Great Skua - 1E

Mediterranean Gull - 4os

Kittiwake - 23E, 1W

Razorbill - 15E, 29W

auk sp - 610E, 106W

(1240-1340hrs) (SH)

Great Northern Diver - 2os

Red-throated Diver - 2E

Gannet - 7E, 47W

Brent Goose - 1W

Red-breasted Merganser - 4E

Turnstone - 2

Common Gull - 1W

Kittiwake - 10W

Ferry Pool: There were 42 Avocets and 37 Black-tailed Godwits on/around the pool, before they mostly flew off, with 46 Shoveler and c50 Teal and Wigeon also about, whilst the Kingfisher was in the channel opposite, the Water Rail was again in Red Barn Ditch and a Marsh Harrier was over the Long Pool. (AH/PB/MPr et al)

Kingfisher (above) Avocets, Shovelers & Black-tailed Godwits at the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: A Green Sandpiper was in Honer 2 this morning, whilst a Marsh Harrier and a Buzzard were over the north fields and in the field southeast of Marsh Farm there were a large number of Brent Geese, Wigeon, Curlew and Black-tailed Godwits.

On the mud in the harbour there were c500 Lapwing and a similar number of Golden Plover, whilst a Rock Pipit was by the Salt House and a pair of Stonechats and a Song Thrush were in the horse paddock. (LP/CT/IH)

Green Sandpiper and Wigeon at the North Wall (LP)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - Two Dartford Warblers and eight Stonechats were along the banks, along with c40 Skylarks, whilst the only waders on the Stilt Pool were 11 Ringed Plovers, a Turnstone and three Redshanks. (S&SaH)

Park Farm, Selsey: A Stonechat, three Pied Wagtails, three Long-tailed Tits and a Grey Heron were it this morning. (IP)

Church Norton: There were at least 500 Brent Geese, 100 Teal, three Pintail, a single Red-breasted Merganser and 30 Wigeon were in the harbour, along with lots of Dunlin and Grey Plovers, though oddly with just two Knot among them, Also, a Marsh Harrier and a Sparrowhawk were briefly seen, along with a single Common Gull, and the large flock of Golden Plovers and Lapwings went up from the far end.

A Red-breasted Merganser was the only bird offshore, whilst three Red-legged Partridges at Greenlease Farm and four Skylarks over the harbour were about the only land birds noted. (AH/IP/P&LH/MPr et al)

Grey Plover (above), Dunlin, Wigeon, Teal & Common Gull at Church Norton (AH)

Friday, 4th February: A cool and mixed morning in a freshening south-westerly, starting overcast, then a fairly short spell of heavy rain before a mix of sun and white cloud........

Selsey Bill: There were lots of Kittiwakes and Gannets offshore and moving west, along with a couple of Fulmars, whilst five Eider and a Great Northern Diver were on the sea. Full log below. (AH/BI/SR)

(0745-0900hrs) (SSW, F6)

Great Northern Diver - 1os

Red-throated Diver - 1W

Great Crested Grebe - 1W

Fulmar - 2W

Gannet - 1E, 127W, 60os

Brent Goose - 15E

Eider - 5os

Common Scoter - 3W

Red-breasted Merganser - 2E

Curlew - 1W

Turnstone - 1W

Kittiwake - 64W, 75os

Razorbill - 46W

auk sp - 222W

Fulmars (above), Red-throated Diver & Curlew at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: Around 40 Avocets and a dozen Black-tailed Godwits were on the pool, but there wasn't anything else about beyond the usual Shovelers and Teal. (AH)

Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits on the Ferry (AH)

Fishbourne Creek: This morning there were four Goldeneyes, three Red-breasted Mergansers, four Greenshank and a Spotted Redshank in the creek and a Peregrine flew over carrying prey. (HB)

Church Norton: At least 30 Gannets were feeding offshore this morning, bu otherwise there were just eight Red-breasted Mergansers and a Great Crested Grebe on the sea.

Three more of the latter were in the harbour, along with c500 Brent Geese, c50 Teal and a few Wigeon, whilst waders included an Avocets, c250 Knot, c100 Grey Plovers and c800 Dunlin, whilst the huge flock of Golden Plovers and Lapwing went up from the far end of the harbour.

Passerines were few, but included a Chiffchaff, two Mistle Thrushes and four Song Thrushes at Greenlease Farm. (AH) This evening two Tawny Owls were calling from Priory Wood. (BI)

Gannet (above), Red-breasted Mergansers, Knot, Dunlin, Brent Geese, Mistle Thrushes & Song Thrushes at Church Norton (AH)

1st - 3rd February 2022

Thursday, 3rd February: A fairly mild morning of sunshine and heavy cloud, with the breeze a little lighter and more south-westerly............

RSPB Warden moving on: We forward herewith a message from Ivan Lang, RSPB warden at Pagham Harbour.....

"After 17 years as warden at Pagham I am moving on to a new position as warden of RSPB Crook of Baldoon in south-west Scotland, starting next week. I have had some wonderful times and seen some special birds. I wish to thank all the local birders for their help over the years. 
Also all the visiting birders that use the blog, I wish to thank you for helping to keep Pagham one of the country's premier birding sites. I will miss meeting with everyone around the reserve, but looking forward to swapping Brent for Pink-feet and Barnacles. I hope for fruitful birding for everyone in the future.                     

Ivan Lang ex-warden Pagham and Medmerry "

I feel sure all readers will join us in wishing Ivan every success in his new venture and thank him for all the good works done here on the Peninsula, in particular his efforts in monitoring and developing the Tern Island, to produce the successful results we (and the terns!) now enjoy. Good luck and well done Ivan.  (Eds)

Selsey Bill: There were a few more Gannets, Kittiwakes and auks than yesterday, but it was generally quiet. Full log below. (SR/AH/MO-W)
(0755-0905hrs) (SW, F3)
Great Northern Diver - 1os
Red-throated Diver - 4E, 6W
Great Crested Grebe - 2os
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 18W
Brent Goose - 11E
Red-breasted Merganser - 3E, 1W, 3os
Turnstone - 2
Mediterranean Gull - 1E
Kittiwake - 15W, 6os
Razorbill - 3W
auk sp - 6E, 178W
Bottle-nosed Dolphin - 1os

Red-throated Divers (above) & Red-breasted Merganser at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were 58 Avocets on the pool late this morning, along with c40 Black-tailed Godwits and c40 Teal and Shoveler, whilst at least five Snipe were in the reeds, c50 Wigeon were on the fields and the Kingfisher was briefly in the channel opposite. (AH)

Avocet (above) & Snipe at the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: There was absolutely nothing along the pool, but the far end of Ferry Chanel was fulls of birds until, first a Marsh Harrier, then a Peregrine upset them all.

Among species seen were c50 Avocets (that later flew to the Ferry), c800 Golden Plovers, c1500 Lapwings, c50 Black-tailed Godwits, a dozen Pintail and Shelducks, c50 Wigeon and c100 Teal, with 20 Curlews out on the fields. (AH)

Marsh Harrier (above), Pintail, Teal, Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits & Golden Plovers from the Long Pool (AH)

North Wall: The six Glossy Ibises dropped into Owl Copse at 1645hrs today, with at least 30 Cattle Egrets also going in to roost. (CM et al)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - The Spoonbill, now starting to acquire some breeding plumage, was on the Stilt Pool this afternoon, and 20 Snipe flew out from the southern end, too.
Also, a Raven was sat out, calling, from the poplars and a couple of calling Dartford Warblers were along the banks. (AT)

Wednesday, 2nd February: A bright and breezy morning, a little milder than of late in the moderate westerly............

Selsey Bill: A Swallow was around the houses for several minutes early this morning - we will never know for sure, but it is a distinct possibility that this was the one seen here in early January and has been overwintering around the Broadreeds Estate.

Otherwise, it was extremely quiet offshore, with not much more than a handful of Red-throated Divers on the move. Full log below. (MO-W/AH/SR)

(0750-0905hrs) (W, F4)

Great Northern Diver - 1os

Red-throated Diver - 2E, 4W

diver sp - 3E

Great Crested Grebe - 1os

Brent Goose - 2E

Common Scoter - 4os

Red-breasted Merganser - 1W, 3os

Mediterranean Gull - 2os

Kittiwake - 2W

auk sp - 2E

Swallow - 1

Swallow (above), Red-throated Diver & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: At least 50 Black-tailed Godwits and 150 Wigeon were feeding on the field this morning, whilst c40 Avocets, plus the usual Shovelers and Teal were on the pool, and a Spotted Redshank was in the channel opposite. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above), Teal & Avocets around the Ferry (AH)

Marsh Farm, Sidlesham:  The six Glossy Ibises were around the farm this morning. (AW)

Glossy Ibises at Marsh Farm, Sidlesham (AW)

Later, at least 40 Cattle Egrets were spread between Chalder Farm and Bramber Farm, where there were also 25 Curlews and a few Stock Doves among the Wood Pigeons, plus a couple of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks, but there really was very little else to report. (AH)

Cattle Egrets (above), Meadow Pipit & Curlews at Marsh Farm, Sidlesham (AH)

Church Norton: The Red-necked Grebe and three Slavonian Grebes were reported offshore from the spit by others this morning, but otherwise there were just two Great Crested Grebes and two Red-breasted Mergansers on the sea, and the harbour just held the usual mix of waders, along with c1000 Brent Geese in the main channel and plenty of Wigeon and Teal. (AH et al)

Grey Plover (above) & Teal at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall:  The six Glossy Ibises were seen leaving Owl Copse just before sunrise this morning. (AW)

Glossy Ibises at the North Wall (AW)

Apart from a Sparrowhawk, nine Yellowhammers and a Rock Pipit, it was quiet along the wall later on. 

There was a large gathering of birds in the large field south-east of Marsh Farm, including 2200 Brent Geese, 240 Wigeon, 110 Curlew and 14 Black-tailed Godwits plus a large number of various gulls including Common, whilst a Green and a Great Spotted Woodpeckers were close to Honer Farm. (JDW)

Also, two Marsh Harriers were over the wall this morning and a Weasel was seen hunting along the rocks. (PB)

Brent Geese on the North Fields (JDW)

Tuesday, 1st February: A fairly cool and grey morning, brightening up later, though still with a brisk north-westerly blowing.......

As a point of interest, the January total for the Peninsula was 140 species, the highest recorded since we started the blog. 

All the up-to-date statistics can be accessed from the header bar above. (Eds)

Selsey Bill: Inevitably, it was a much quieter morning than yesterday, but there were seven Eider and a few Common Scoters about, and still few Gannets, Kittiwakes and auks moving west. Full log below. (AH/IP)

(0745-0915hrs) (NW, F5-6)

Great Northern Diver - 3os

Red-throated Diver - 2E, 10W

Great Crested Grebe - 1W

Gannet - 19W, 10os

Brent Goose - 1W

Eider - 7E

Common Scoter - 7W, 6os

Red-breasted Merganser - 5W, 3os

Turnstone - 2

Mediterranean Gull - 2os

Common Gull - 5W

Kittiwake - 49W

Sandwich Tern - 1W

Razorbill - 113W

auk sp - 132W

Great Northern Diver (above), Red-throated Divers, Kittiwake, Common Scoters, Common Gull & Gannet and Razorbills at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: Five Snipe were back in the roadside reeds this morning, but beyond the 40 or so Avocets present there were just the usual Shovelers and Teal and a dozen Wigeon, with nothing on the field, save a Kestrel. (AH)

Avocet (above), Snipe & Kestrel at the Ferry (AH)

Fishbourne Creek: An adult Yellow-legged Gull was among the gulls in the creek this morning. (SM)

On a blustery afternoon there was the usual range of wildfowl and waders, including, bfore the tide dropped, several hundred Brent Geese off the Lavant outfall, along with four Goldeneye (three males) and five Pintail.

there was also a Grey Wagtail at the waters edge, and later a Spotted Redshank was in the outflow stream, whilst at Dell Quay there were three Greenshank on the far shore and 40 Turnstone near the boatyard. (RW)

Yellow-legged Gull at Fishbourne Creek (SM)

North Wall: The six Glossy Ibises came into roost again, though a bit later tonight. (MT et al)

Glossy Ibises at the North Wall (MT)

Church Norton: The Red-necked Grebe was offshore again this morning, along with at least half a dozen Slavonian Grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers, and there were also a handful of distant Gannets, too.

A Kittiwake inside the harbour was unusual, but otherwise there were three more Red-breasted Mergansers, plenty of Brent Geese, Wigeon and Teal and the Whimbrel was among the many regular waders. 

Two Goldcrests were between the Severals and a few Long-tailed Tits were about, but Greenlease Farm just produced a Raven over, three Jays, a Green Woodpecker and a Red-legged Partridge.. (AH/ESt et al)

Red-breasted Merganser (above), Wigeon & Goldcrest Church Norton (AH)