23rd - 25th December 2019

Christmas Day, Wednesday, 25th December: A glorious winter's day, with lots of sunshine and just a light breeze.....

We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas. (Eds)

Selsey Bill: Five Slavonian Grebes and a Sandwich Tern went west among the regular species. Full log below. (SH/SR/IP)
(0740-0900hrs) (SW, F2)
Red-throated Diver - 1E, 2W
Great Crested Grebe - 1E, 1os
Slavonian Grebe - 5W
Gannet - 3E
Brent Goose - 17E, 5W
Common Scoter - 3W
Red-breasted Merganser - 13E, 5W
Dunlin - 300W (in one flock)
Mediterranean Gull - 4os
Sandwich Tern - 1W
auk sp - 2E

Ferry Pool: There were four Gadwall, 28 Shovelers, 12 Shelducks and c80 Teal on the pool, with c50 Wigeon and c200 Lapwings on the pools in the fields and a Kingfisher in the channel opposite. (AH/AW)

Kingfisher (above) & Shelducks, Gadwall and Teal at the Ferry (AH)

Kingfisher at the Ferry (AW)

Fishbourne Creek: The Long-tailed Duck and five Greenshank were present this morning. (SR)

Chichester Marina: There were two Egyptian Geese in the fields by the reed-beds this morning. (SR).

Church Norton: There were at least 100 Grey Plovers and 500 Dunlin in the harbour towards high tide, along with the Whimbrel, c40 Knot and eight Bar-tailed Godwits, whilst  50 GFolden Plovers and several hundred Lapwings came up from the far end. 

The floods by the horse field held half a dozen Snipe and c30 Teal and Wigeon, along with a Stonechat and a couple of Reed Buntings, whilst a Chiffhaff was at Greenlease Farm, half a dozen Linnets went over and a couple of Water Rails and a Cetti's Warbler called from the first Several.

A lone Red-breasted Merganser was offshore, along with 20+ Common and Mediterranean Gulls, whilst the harbour held around 60 Pintail among the Wigeon and Teal and the Peregrine was on its island. (AH/IP)

Peregrine (above), Whimbrel, Snipe, Little Grebe and Grey Plovers & Dunlin and Grey Plovers at Church Norton (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: A Stonechat was in the ditches this morning. (IP)

Marsh Farm, Sidlesham: Six Cattle Egrets were near the dairy buildings and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming nearby today. (SR)

East Head: There were c.30 Eider offshore near the harbour mouth this morning, before the flock flew off low to the west, whilst also offshore were a single Red-breasted Merganser &  five Great Crested Grebes. 
Two Sandwich Terns were feeding in Snowhill Creek and there were a further four Red-breasted Mergansers here as well as a few Redshank on the sand bar. The dunes were fairly quiet but there were still a couple of Stonechats, six Skylarks and a Pied Wagtail around. On the green sward were c.1000 Brent Geese. (BI/DB)

Stonechat at East Head (BI)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Marsh Barn - Late this afternoon two Ravens went over westwards and there were also a Stonechat about, two Snipe dropped into the reserve and 100+ Lapwings were flying about. (AH)

Raven at Medmerry (AH)

Tuesday, 24th December: It was cloudier than yesterday, and with a fresher westerly breeze...but still some sunny spells in the morning though showers by afternoon.

Selsey Bill: Two Slavonian Grebes and 11 Eider went west, with a few Great Northern and Red-throated Divers moving too on the full tide. Full log below.....
0740-1000hrs:  (wind SW4-5) (SH/SR/IP/BI/AH/MO-W)
Red-throated Diver - 2E, 2W
Great Northern Diver - 1E, 2os
Slavonian Grebe - 2W, 1os
Great Crested Grebe - 5W
Gannet - 3E, 5W
Brent Goose - 1W
Grey Goose sp - 2E
Eider - 11W
Common Scoter - 3W
Red-breasted Merganser - 14E, 9W, 9os
Teal - 3E
Guillemot - 1W
auk sp - 1E
Sandwich Tern - 1E, 2W
Mediterranean Gull - 2os
Common Gull - 1E, 2W
Meadow Pipit - 1N

Great Northern Diver at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were just a pair of Shovelers and 14 Shelducks around the pool, though up to 300 Golden Plover and 200 Lapwing flew over and back from the south-west. (AH)

Golden Plovers at the Ferry (AH)

Fishbourne Creek: On the high tide there were five Greenshank roosting off Dell Quay where there was also two Little Grebes and a Red-breasted Merganser, with two Kestrels over. 
Higher up the channel there were six Rock Pipits, flushed by a hunting Kestrel from the little exposed salt marsh, and on the water there were hundreds of Brent Geese and Wigeon. Earlier a Peregrine flew down the channel. (RW)

Chichester Marina: Seven Egyptian Geese were in the fields alongside the access road this morning. (BI)

Egyptian Geese at the marina (BI)

Church Norton: There were a few waders about on the high tide, including the Whimbrel, half a dozen Bar-tailed Godwits, plenty of Dunlin, Knot, Grey Plovers and Turnstones and eight Snipe that flew out from the harbour and into the floods by the horse field.
Also, seven Linnets flew across the harbour and a dozen or so Mediterranean and Common Gulls were in the harbour and close offshore. (AH/IP)

Snipe (above), Whimbrel, Grey Plover, Common Gull, Wigeon & Redshank at Church Norton (AH)

Chi GPs - Drayton House pits: Rather disappointing this morning, apart from good numbers of Shoveler and Pochard, which showed a notable increase, joint totals for both pits being 170 and 152 respectively. Other regular species in average numbers were also present, but passerines were few indeed, a single Chiffchaff being about the best! (OM/CRJ)


Selsey, Park Farm: This morning there were 28 Oystercatchers, 100+ Curlew and a Stonechat present, whilst on and around the small reservoir were 4 Tufted Ducks, 4 Shoveler, 2 Gadwall and a Grey Wagtail. (S&SaH)

Monday, 23rd December: A bright and breezy morning, with lots of sunshine, but not especially warm in the brisk westerly...

Selsey Bill: Five Slavonian Grebes went east and there were several Great Northern and Red-throated Divers about. Full log below. (BI/AH)
(0740-0930hrs) (W, F4-5)

Red-throated Diver - 3E, 3w, 1os

Great Northern Diver - 1E, 2W

Slavonian Grebe - 5E

Great Crested Grebe - 8W

Gannet - 1E, 2W

Brent Goose - 12W

Pintail - 8W

Common Scoter - 3W

Red-breasted Merganser - 14E, 9W, 5os

Turnstone - 5E

Common Gull - 3W

Mediterranean Gull - 5W

Kittiwake - 1W
Razorbill - 1W

auk sp. - 10E

Red-throated Diver (above), Red-breasted Mergansers, Mediterranean Gull & Brent Geese at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: The birds seem to have largely abandoned the pool at the moment, with just a pair of Shoveler, four Shelducks and a dozen Teal present, though a few Wigeon, Teal and Shoveler were spread around the flooded parts of the field. (AH)

Shovelers on the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Surveying today produced no less than five Jack Snipe and 114 Snipe on the reserve and there were also two Ravens and 40 Fieldfares present. (HB)

North Wall: The Kestrel was present at the horse paddocks again this morning and the heavily flooded fields were attended by Wigeon, Shoveler, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Redshank and many Lapwing. Brent Geese were spread around the harbour, a Cetti's Warbler called and 3 Snipe flew over. (IH)

Surveying the Brent Geese has been tricky to say the least today, with large groups moving around the flooded fields, from Bramber Farm, Marsh farm and the Honer fields, but the likely total is in excess of 2000 birds. 

Geese apart, there were 28 Lapwings, 27 Curlew, 9 Black-tailed Godwits in Honer 2 and, much to my surprise 5 Pintail in Honer 1. Needless to say all the Honer fields are well flooded - but at least it was not raining! (JDW)

Park Farm, Selsey: There were 12 Shovelers and eight Tufted Ducks on the small farm reservoir today. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: The female Goldeneye was in the harbour again at high tide, along with a few Brent Geese and a couple of Little Grebes, but there were few waders about beyond the regular Whimbrel, six Bar-tailed Godwits and a few Grey Plovers and Turnstones.

At least ten Snipe were on the floods by the horse field, along with lots of Teal, Wigeon and Mallard, plus a couple of Meadow Pipits, whilst the 20 or so Greenfinches were along the spit and similar of Common and Mediterranean Gulls were split between the harbour and offshore. (AH)
Later, a Water Pipit was reported on Tern Island. (per Birdguides)

Goldeneye (above), Snipe, Whimbrel, Common Gull & Grey Plover and Turnstones at Church Norton (AH)

20th - 22nd December 2019

Sunday, 22nd December: A welcome dry and sunny start after all the rain, with a moderate to fresh westerly wind, but with cloud increasing through the day.

Selsey Bill: Four Slavonian Grebes and several Red-throated and Great Northern Divers were logged this morning, but otherwise it was routine fare. Full log below....

(0740-0930hrs) (wind W5)  (SH/PB/SR/AH/MO-W et al)

Red-throated Diver - 2E, 2W, 1os

Great Northern Diver - 2E, 1os

Slavonian Grebe - 4os

Great Crested Grebe - 1os

Gannet - 3E, 24W

Shelduck - 1W

Common Scoter - 1W, 3os

Red-breasted Merganser - 27E, 6W, 8os

Razorbill - 1E, 2W

Guillemot - 1W

auk sp - 21E, 5W

Mediterranean Gull - 1W

Common Gull - 2E

Kittiwake - 1E, 4W

Common Scoter (above) & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Selsey, Park Farm: There were 27 Oystercatchers, 100+ Curlews and a Stonechat this morning, whilst on the reservoir from the compost heap were 53 Shoveler and 6 Tufted Ducks. (S&SaH)

Ferry Pool: There were six Shelducks, c20 Shovelers and c80 Teal on the pool this morning. (AH)

Wilf's Copse, Hunston: Two Nuthatches were present in the copse this morning, plus a Treecreeper, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Jay and 20 Long-tailed Tits. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: A brief half-hour (pre-shopping!) visit mid-morning produced a redhead Goosander in the harbour, plus six Bar-tailed Godwits, c.200 Grey Plovers, c.200 Dunlin, c.100 Lapwings and a Little Grebe, whilst two Green Woodpeckers were in the car-park. (PB)

Chi GPs - New Lake: A Treecreeper was again present in the lakeside trees. (BI) 

North Wall: A Kestrel was hunting again from the fence posts at the horse paddocks this afternoon and a Marsh Harrier was hunting behind the Breech Pool. The fields are extensively flooded and Wigeon, Pintail, Black-tailed Godwit, Mallard, Curlew and Canada Geese were all in the field behind the Pool. 
About 500 Brent Geese were feeding In Honer 3 field and in excess of a further 1,500 were swirling in the Marsh/Honer Farms area. Near Halsey's Farm a few  Redwing and Fieldfare were present and a Raven chased a Sparrowhawk, the difference in size being marked. A little later there was a Barn Owl hunting over the reed beds. (IH/DH)

East Head: A Greenshank and 20 Redshank were the only waders on a very full Snowhill Creek this morning, though there were at least 100 Teal and a few Wigeon present, whilst at least 800 Brent Geese were on the field beyond, with more arriving all the time.

East Head itself was very busy for people and dogs, but not birds, with nothing really showing itself, and on the water there were just half a dozen Red-breasted Mergansres and a couple of Great Crested Grebes, all far from shore. (AH)

Greenshank (above), Greenshank and Redshank & Brent Geese at East Head (AH)

Saturday, 21st December: A very mixed morning, with a blustery south-westerly driving through few heavy showers interspersed with spells of warm sunshine....

Selsey Bill: It was fairly quiet again, though a Fulmar, a few Red-throated Divers and two Sandwich Terns were about. Full log below. (SH/JA/SR/IP/AH)
(0740-1000hrs) (SSW, F5-6)
Red-throated Diver - 5E, 3W, 1os
Great Crested Grebe - 2W, 1os
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 1E
Brent Goose - 1E
Red-breasted Merganser - 16E, 2W, 3os
Common Gull - 7E
Mediterranean Gull - 1W
Kittiwake - 2E
Sandwich Tern - 2E
auk sp - 3E

Ferry Pool: There was not a single bird on the pool late this morning, though the Kingfisher and a few Teal were in the channel opposite and a dozen Shoveler and Teal and c50 Wigeon were in the flooded area of the field opposite the Visitor centre. (AH)

Kingfisher at the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There wasn't much of note on the Stilt Pool, though along the banks there were five Stonechats, two Reed Buntings, three Yellowhammers, 20+ Skylarks and 50+ Meadow Pipits and out on the reserve there were eight Brent Geese, 20+ Golden Plovers and 200+ Lapwings. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: The female Goldeneye was in the harbour again, along with a Little Grebe, a Peregrine and plenty of Knot, Dunlin and Grey Plover, whilst two Sandwich Terns and half a dozen Mediterranean Gulls were offshore.
Also, up to six Snipe and similar of Meadow Pipits were in the flooded area by the horse field, along a Little Grebe, 20 or so Wigeon and 30 or so Teal. (AH/IP)

Sandwich Terns (above), Mediterranean Gull, Snipe, Goldeneye, Little Grebe & Wigeon at Church Norton (AH)

Chichester Marina: I paid a brief visit to the reedbed this afternoon and found a Black Swan toward the back, c300 Brent Geese along the banks, c50 Teal (many of them displaying), 2 Gadwall, 2 Shoveler, 5 Shelduck, 1 Little Grebe, c75 Lapwing, 1 Buzzard and a party of Long-tailed Tits. 

 From the harbour wall I had scope views of the Long-tailed Duck, 3 Goldeneye, 7 Red-breasted Mergansers, 5 Little Grebes and 2 Great Crested whilst just outside the canal lock-gates was a pair of Greenshank. (SR)

Greenshank (above) & Brent Geese at Chichester Marina (SR)

Friday, 20th December: A morning that started grey and drizzly, but after a few heavy showers it brightened up as the wind freshened from the west....followed by heavy showers yet again!

Selsey Bill: It was very quiet this morning. (AH)
(0815-0915hrs) (W, F4)
Red-throated Diver - 1E, 2W
Great Crested Grebe - 2os
Brent Goose - 2E, 14W
Common Scoter - 1W
Red-breasted Merganser - 8E, 6os
Turnstone - 3E
Common Gull - 6os
Mediterranean Gull - 2os

Red-throated Diver at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were nine Redshanks, 20 Shovelers and c100 Teal on the pool, with up to 500 Lapwing on/over the fields this morning.
A Kingfisher was in the channel opposite, whilst from the Tramway up to eight Avocet and 20 Shelduck could be seen out in the harbour. (AH)

Kingfisher (above), Avocets and Shelducks & Shovelers around the Ferry (AH)

Chichester Marina: A Ring-necked Parakeet flew along the canal and up into a tree by the bridge over the  old lock-gates between the marina and Birdham Pool  this morning. (HR)

Church Norton: A female Goldeneye and a female Red-breasted Merganser were in the harbour, with a couple more of the latter offshore, and there were also c40 Brent Geese and a few Little and Great Crested Grebes present.
The two Peregrines were active, chasing each other about and calling, upsetting the waders - mostly Knot, Grey Plovers and Dunlin - as they did so. Also, about 20 Greenfinches were along the spit, but otherwise it was quiet. (AH)

Goldeneye (above), Red-breasted Merganser, Little Grebe, Brent Geese, Greenfinches & Peregrines at Church Norton (AH)