23rd-25th January 2016

Monday, 25th January: Another pleasant day, bright early on, but due to deteriorate later.....

Selsey Bill: (0745-1000hrs) (C&ME)

Great Northern Diver - 2W, 2os
Red-throated Diver - 3E, 2W
Slavonian Grebe - 1E, 1os
Gannet - 3E, 4W
Brent Goose - 3W
Pintail - 5E
Common Scoter - 14E
Red-breasted Merganser - 3E, 4W, 2os
Kittiwake - 3W
auk sp - 3os

(1130-1230)

Red-throated Diver - 6E

diver sp - 1E

Slavonian Grebe - 1os

Gannet - 3W

Eider - 1os

Red-breasted Merganser - 5E

Razorbill - 1W

auk sp - 1W, 1os (possibly a Little Auk, but couldn't be 100% certain)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Stilt Pool - The Dartford Warbler was singing in gorse by the sluice, just opposite the barn near Easton viewpoint and there was also a Kestrel, snipe Snipe, four Gadwall, two Black-tailed Godwits, 200 Lapwing and the usual Teal and Wigeon. Skylarks were in full song and there was a flock of around 30 Chaffinches and similar of Meadow Pipits. Eight Stonechats were along the route but very little on the Stilt Pool apart from four Shoveler, a Little Grebe, six Canada Geese and a handful of Teal. (SR)

Church Norton: A walk around from 1030-1230 today produced a Spoonbill in the harbour, and a flock of 20 Long-tailed Tits around Greenlease Farm. There was a movement of around 500 Brent Geese in various sized flocks, all moving west. (CRJ)

West Itchenor: The highlight was a group of four Great Northern Divers feeding along the far bank, drifting in with the tide up the Bosham Channel. 

Also the wintering Whimbrel was again present, half a dozen Red-breasted Mergansers and Great Crested Grebes were on the water, and large numbers of waders were moving about on the rising tide, including a flock of 30 Bar-tailed Godwits, and there were still plenty of Brent Geese and a few Teal about.

A look around Westlands Copse failed to produce much beyond a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Song Thrush. (AH)

Great Northern Divers (above), Bar-tailed Godwits, Brent Goose, Teal, Grey Herons & Curlew and Redshank at West Itchenor (AH)

Birdham Pool: Not much to see beyond a Grey Heron, a Gadwall and a dozen each of Tufted Duck and Little Grebe. (AH)

Pagham Lagoon/Spit: There were five Goldeneye (two pairs and a spare redhead!), four Red-breasted Mergansers (two pairs), four Pochard (two pairs) and 44 Tufted Ducks. From Pagham Spit as the big tide came up, roosting over on Tern Island were the leucistic Curlew and a Spoonbill. (ARK per SOS)

North Wall: On the fields there were say 2500 Dark-bellied Brent Geese and a Black Brant, which was well scoped, and a Water Pipit flew from the back of the Breach Pool, landed on the wall and then, at the sight of my camera, flew to Heron Island! (ARK per SOS)

Sunday, 24th January: Notably milder today, but a dank grey day after a very foggy start....

Firstly, a message from Ivan Lang, RSPB Warden for Pagham Harbour - 

“Each year at Pagham we venture out on to Tern Island, in the centre of the harbour (at low tide I may add) to carry out a vegetation clearance project (weeding) to ensure that there is plenty of open shingle for the returning Little Terns in April. It is an ideal opportunity to view the reserve from a different aspect, which few have the opportunity to do.

If you are interested and want more information or wish to join us then please contact me on ivan.lang@rspb.org.uk or 01243 641508

To join us meet at Church Norton Car Park, which is at the end of Rectory Lane off the B2145 just before reaching Selsey at

11.30 on 3rd Feb 2016, or 13.00 on 4th Feb 2016

Please ensure that you have wet weather gear, warm clothes as it can be chilly out on the island, and wellingtons are essential to cross to the island. If you have work gloves and a garden fork that would be useful to bring but not essential.

Thanks you, your help will be appreciated by all the birds that use the Island this summer

Watch this space for further projects.”

Selsey Bill: (1150-1350) (SH)

Great Northern Diver - 2os

Red-throated Diver - 4W, 1os

Slavonian Grebe - 2os

Fulmar - 1W

Gannet - 2E, 1W

Eider - 1os 

Red-breasted Merganser - 4E, 1W, 6os
Common Gull - 3W, 1os

Mediterranean Gull - 1W

Razorbill - 1W, 1W, 1os (pretty sure they were different birds)

Guillemot - 1os

Church Norton: Not much out of the ordinary, but a fair selection this morning, including a Spoonbill roosting in the harbour, as many as 15 Bar-tailed Godwits on Tern Island, the Whimbrel in its usual area near the bench and a pair of Stonechats by the horse field.

Wildfowl numbers have dropped off considerably in the harbour, but there are still plenty of the commoner waders, including at least 40 Ringed Plovers in with the roosting Dunlin and Grey Plover. There were just four Red-breasted Mergansers and the 'Selsey' Eider offshore, plus a couple of Common Gulls, whilst on the water at high tide in the harbour there were just four Little Grebes. 

Also a Green Woodpecker was by the first Several, a Mistle Thrush went over southwards, a dozen Skylarks came up from the spit and 37 Red-legged Partridges were on the fields behind the Severals.

A huge flock of Brent Geese - c1500 birds - built up during the morning on the arable fields between Rectory Lane and the main road, with a single Pale-bellied Brent Goose lurking among them. (AH/IP/S&SaH/IL/RJS et al)

Pale-bellied and Dark-bellied Brent Geese (above), Dark-bellied Brent Geese, Green Woodpecker & Dunlin and Turnstones at Church Norton (AH)

Ferry Pool/Long Pool: At least 100 Lapwing were on the pool and field this morning, along with 40 Redshank and c100 Wigeon, whilst a flock of 50 or so Golden Plover drifted over from the harbour, but didn't settle, and a flock of a dozen or so Long-tailed Tits were right by the road. (AH)

Three Snipe were at the end of the Long Pool (and another dead Snipe was on the nearby path), whilst the Grey Wagtail was in the Environment Agency yard by the Ferry. (BI)

Golden Plover and Lapwings (above) & Long-tailed Tit at the Ferry (AH)

Fishbourne Creek: In Apuldram churchyard a Firecrest was in the ilex with a Goldcrest, a Song Thrush and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, and there were 40 Yellowhammers around the dung heap at the riding school. 

The Whimbrel and six Curlew were on the salt marsh, A Cetti's Warbler, four Stonechats, 10+ Meadow Pipits and three Rock Pipits were along the path. There were 11 Goldeneye, fewer Wigeon than of late, but still plenty of Brent Geese on the water and there were 150 Lapwings in the flooded field, and four Reed Buntings in the reeds. (BI)

Whimbrel (above), Reed Bunting & Stonechat at Fishbourne Creek (BI)

Medmerry: Chairbridge Field to Ham Viewpoint - The field held c60 Brent Geese, two Song Thrush and a flock of 20+ Linnets. At Ham there were around a dozen Skylarks singing, five Reed Buntings, eight Yellowhammers, five Stonechats, a Cettis Warbler and c75 Stock Doves, but only one Tufted Duck and two Coots on the pools. 

Towards the breach there was a single Great Crested Grebe and c40 Brent Geese along with a few Wigeon and Teal. Pleasant in the mild weather but generally quiet. (SR)

A Green Sandpiper was on the flooded track near Chainbridge, whilst on the tidal area on the east side of the reserve there were ca.90 Grey Plover, ca.140 Dunlin, ca.40 Ringed Plover, ca.90 Brent Geese, a Red-breasted Merganser and a Great Crested Grebe. (PH)

Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - 

A Dartford Warbler was singing to itself - or possibly another bird present - in gorse on the seawall near Easton viewpoint and two Red-breasted Mergansers were on the reserve. (PH)

Later on the Common Sandpiper was on the Stilt Pool, there were 20 Wigeon and three Gadwall on the tidal areas, and a dozen Yellowhammer and the odd Skylark and Meadow Pipit along the banks. (AH)

Skylark (above) & Yellowhammers at Medmerry (AH)

Saturday, 23rd January: Foggy and rather cool at first, with cloud and a light SW breeze...followed by a bit of brightness as the fog lifted....

Selsey Bill  (0730-1000hrs):  (Obs: JA/PB/SH/IP/C&ME)
Red-throated Diver - 2E, 3W, 1os
Great Northern Diver - 2W, 3os
Slavonian Grebe - 12W
Great Crested Grebe - 1os
Gannet - 5W
Brent Goose - 46W
Shelduck - 1E
Red-breasted Merganser - 7E, 14W
Mediterranean Gull - 1E, 2W 

12.00-13.00hrs:  (BI)
Red-breasted Merganser 7E, 5 W
Great Northern Diver - 2 os
Red-throated Diver - 2E
Gannet - 7 os
   

Pagham Lagoon and Spit:  On the Lagoon, four Red-breasted Mergansers, three Goldeneye, 20 Common Gulls and four Mediterranean Gulls were the best. From the Spit, a Spoonbill was with the  Great Black-backed Gull flock and plenty of the usual wildfowl in the harbour. (BI)

 Spoonbill and Great Black-backed Gull, Pagham Spit (BI)

 Mediterranean Gull and Red-breasted Mergansers, Pagham Lagoon (BI)

Church Norton: A Slavonian Grebe and two Red-breasted Mergansers were offshore in a quick look early on. (AH) A midday walk produced a Chiffchaff on the northern edge of Selsey, a Water Rail on the first Severals and a single Peregrine on its island (S&SaH)
In the arable fields between the B2145 and Rectory Lane there were 1050 Brent Geese and a Black Brant among them. (IL)

Ferry Pool: A pair of Shoveler - not so regular since the drop in water - were on the pool, along with c30 Teal, c30 Redshank and at least 500 Lapwings. (AH/BI)

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

Medmerry: Breach area - The Black Redstart and a Rock Pipit were on the waste-ground beyond the caravans this morning, plus a few Meadow Pipits and a Kestrel. (BI/IL)

Kestrel near West Beach viewpoint, Medmerry (IL)

Black Redstart at Medmerry (BI)

Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - The Common Sandpiper was on the Stilt Pool, with a Kingfisher in the channel opposite and 2 Spoonbills were out by the old hut. (S&SaH)
Also a total of 9 Stonechats and a Green Sandpiper were logged in the area. (IL) 

Runcton: around the area early afternoon, on the flooded fields a Green Sandpiper and five Pied Wagtails, and nearby two Chiffchaffs together. (CRJ)

Birdham: Further to reports of Coal Tits in West Wittering, there are also daily sightings in my garden in Birdham. (GT)
(It seems that both Coal Tit and Nuthatch may be more regular on the west of the peninsula than was previously thought - a bit more investigation is clearly needed! (Eds)

20th - 22nd January 2016

Friday, 22nd January: A return to milder but wetter weather.... a miserable grey and cloudy morning with rain and a fresh to strong S/SSW wind...becoming drier by early afternoon.

West Wittering: There have been a pair of Nuthatches, a Treecreeper and a Coal Tit in my garden (on the northern edge of the village) in recent days. (GM) (All three species scarce indeed on the Peninsula - Eds).

Nuthatch (above) & Treecreeper in a West Wittering garden (GM)

Selsey Bill (0825-0935hrs):  Rain, S6, (Obs: JA) A determined solo effort by our Log-keeper was not rewarded with anything out of the ordinary.   Log below....
Red-throated Diver - 1os
Great Northern Diver - 2os
Great Crested Grebe - 1W
Common Scoter - 3W
Red-breasted Merganser - 2W, 4os
Razorbill - 1W
Guillemot - 2E
Kittiwake - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 2os

Half an hour at the Bill between 11:30 and noon produced only six Gannets feeding fairly close in, but nothing else. (BI)

Church Norton: There were four Red-breasted Mergansers, two Little Grebes and about 500 Brent Geese in the harbour, plus plenty of roosting Dunlin, Curlew, Redshank and Grey Plover on the high tide. (AH)

Little Grebe (above) & Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall area: The Brent Geese flock were still off the track to the west of Pagham village but flew towards the fields at the end of Summer Lane before I could go through them for the Black Brant. (BI)

Ferry Pool: There were 40 Redshank, 20 Teal and 300 Lapwing on the pool this morning. (AH)

Redshank on the Ferry (AH)

Thursday, 21st January: Cold, cloudy and  fairly grey, with a chilly but light SSE wind and the possibility of some rain by evening.....

From the Archives... I was searching through some old photo's, looking for material for a future presentation, when I came across this advert for Bill House, which dates from 1990/91, some 25 years ago now (note my small witticism of the time!) We used to be allowed by the owners at this time to carry out observations from inside the tower - not always easy if there were several observers, due to the window arrangements, but very cosy on a cold day!

This landmark is of course still going strong, though it has since changed owners more than once and it is currently used as a residential home for dementia patients. Although we can't use the lookout tower any more (it was originally a Coastguard lookout), on the plus side the garden has probably never been better for birds with a thick tamarisk hedge and garden vegetation proving attractive to migrants (OM).

A pristine Bill House from an advert flyer c.1990-91 (OM)

Selsey Bill: Almost nothing moving between 8.20 and 9am - just three Divers, probably Red-throated, east and a single Red-breasted Merganser west. Also two Gannets just after 9am. (AH/PC)
Not a lot better from 1150-1305hrs.........log below (OM):
Red-throated Diver - 2E
Great Northern Diver - 2os
Diver sp - 1E
Red-breasted Merganser - 1E
Kittiwake - 1E
Common Gull - 3E
Mediterranean Gull - 2E

Selsey (West): Warners Lane/Crablands: Not much to report other than 19 Snipe on the flooded fields (OM).

Ferry Pool: There were 30 Redshank, 400 Lapwing and 60 Teal present this morning. (AH)

Fishbourne Creek: Quite a good selection of birds this morning, though the numbers of wildfowl in the harbour has dropped significantly. Off the Sailing Club quay there were four Goldeneye (an immature drake and three redheads) with another pair further up, plus a dozen Little Grebes, but surprisingly no Red-breasted Mergansers. 

At least three Greenshank and probably two Spotted Redshank were roosting on the opposite bank and the Whimbrel was again along the east side. A single Jack Snipe and Common Snipe were also along the side, as were 40 Turnstone and plenty of Redshank, and several hundred Dunlin and 50+ Grey Plovers were roosting at the northern end.

At least 300 Black-tailed Godwits, 50 Curlew and 100+ Wigeon and Teal were in the flooded field by the reed-bed, and along the path at least a dozen Rock Pipits, half a dozen Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings, plus a pair of Stonechats and a few Goldcrests were present. Also a Kingfisher was around the outflow/reed-bed area, whilst at least 20 Yellowhammers were around the riding school. (AH)

Goldeneye (above), Whimbrel, Kingfisher, Rock Pipit, Goldcrest, Black-tailed Godwits & Turnstones in Fishbourne Creek (AH)

Chichester GP's: Drayton Pits -  With over half of the main lakes frozen over, wildfowl were concentrated on the remaining open water, and numbers had obviously increased recently following the cold weather. Even so, there was nothing out of the ordinary, except perhaps for a count of 120+ Gadwall, with 45 Shoveler and 50 Teal being fairly average for the time of year. A large gathering of gulls on the ice proved mainly to be Black-headed, with just a few Herring and Common Gulls thrown in and nothing unusual, whilst just one Snipe and a Cetti's Warbler were a poor reward for my efforts. (OM)

Part of the flock of Black-headed Gulls (with just a few Common and Herring Gulls amongst them) on the ice at Drayton pits (OM)

Wednesday, 20th January: A glorious cold, crisp and sunny winter's day, following a heavy overnight frost, with a light E/NE breeze...

As promised, an update editorial this morning, concerning the editors' review of the blog and any proposed changes.....

With the blog approaching its third birthday in early March and a page-hit score now of well over one-third of a million, we felt the time was right for such a review, to see if any adjustments could improve things, and to prevent stagnation. We also took on board the comments made by those of you that responded, for which we are grateful.

In coming to our conclusions, we felt that basically we had a winning formula that needed only minor adjustments, given our available time and level of expertise (ha!) and of course the somewhat temperamental Blogger system we use. Somehow we have managed to put out a report every day since we started - doubtless we'll miss a few in the future - but the demands of domestic life, holidays and commitments don't always make for an easy time, so we plan to keep things simple and not get over-ambitious. That way we feel the status quo will continue....and judging by the favourable comments we receive from observers in the field and elsewhere, that's the way you want it to continue too! So without going into detail, please note:

1. Colour scheme: We use a scheme which colour-codes areas of the peninsula, e.g. green for Pagham harbour, blue for Selsey, red for Medmerry and so on, against a dark background. After various trials this will continue - although the colours themselves will be toned down to become less garish (there may be a bit of tinkering yet before the final choice).

2. Daily blogs: You may have noticed we use three days to each individual blog (so ten blogs to the month). This will continue for administrative reasons and ease of research.

3. Photos: We always try to add photos to the reports each day... whatever the weather and prevailing light conditions. Whilst we always want the best possible photos, the reality is that many of the pics are just record shots - or sometimes worse! Even so, they have value as the blog is effectively a daily record of events, and a photo helps provide the reality of the situation. Some sites pride themselves on only using best quality photos - fine until the conditions don't allow such a luxury - but we will continue to do our best in all conditions (thanks here to AH!). Please note we are always pleased to receive photos, but bear in mind our need for them promptly to meet our daily deadlines.

4. Adverts: We have considered this, and also the possibility of sponsorship, but at present we won't be taking this route.

Finally, thanks as ever to all of you for your support, which makes all the effort worthwhile (OM/AH)

North Wall: A crisp, bright morning along the Wall but not many birds around; lots of ice and frost around first thing. Two Spotted Redshanks on White's Creek and another at Owl Water and 30 Lapwing in the field behind the Breech Pool. The Pool was frozen over and there were just 20 Mallard, 4 Teal and 4 Canada Geese sitting on the banks. Nearby 40 Curlew in Honer 3 field and 300+  Wigeon in the field due east of Owl Copse. The main Brent Goose flock was again behind the Village Hall in Pagham Road. (JDW)
To add to the above, there were 25 Mallard around the Breech Pool, c200 Lapwing and 100 Curlew in the North Wall area, two Cettis Warblers heard, three Buzzards seen and 84 Shelduck in the harbour (CRJ)

Ice and frost along the North Wall and flock of Wigeon (JDW)

Pagham village: In my garden Great Tits are nest prospecting and Blue Tits are already nest  building. (JDW)
In the fields between the village and the North Wall there were 2500 Brent Geese in the fields next to the road. (CRJ)
A Black Brant was later found among this big flock. (ARK per SOS)

Prospecting Great Tit in a Pagham garden (JDW)

Ferry Pool: There were just two hundred Lapwings and not much else this morning. (AH)

Lapwing on the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: Around ten Snipe were flying about on the big tide and similar of Avocet were at the end of the channel, with large numbers of the commoner waders and wildfowl, all disturbed by firstly the two Peregrines and then a Sparrowhawk. There were about a dozen Reed Buntings along the hedges, but not many other small birds were about, though a Cetti's Warbler and two Water Rails called from the reeds. (AH)

Snipe (above), Sparrowhawk, Reed Bunting and Wigeon from the Long Pool (AH)

Church Norton: There were two Spoonbills roosting in the harbour at high tide, plus four Red-breasted Mergansers on the water. Offshore the 'Selsey' Eider dropped in from the west, as did two Red-throated Divers, and there were two Great Crested Grebes, six Red-breasted Mergansers and 15 Mediterranean Gulls on the sea, and a Great Northern Diver flew over the Severals heading west. (AH)

Spoonbills (above), Great Northern Diver & Eider at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A visit to the western side gave us all the expected birds with good numbers of Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Yellowhammers. The highlights of the day were 2 Spoonbills near the breach, a Common Sandpiper on the "Stilt" pool, a Black Redstart on the buildings due north of the pool along with a stunning male Sparrowhawk and a single Snipe in one of ditches. We also had good views of a Peregrine at different locations so there could have been two. (D&J Killick per SOS)