Tuesday, 30th January: A dry, fairly cool and mostly
overcast morning in a fresh NW breeze 3-4, with a few hints of brightness
later.
Elmer Rocks (0910-1040hrs): Red-throated Divers were on the move again, with one flock of 20W, whilst a few waders were moving too. Totals were:-
Sunday, 28th January: A dry, fairly mild and sunny day
with a fairly light SE breeze 2-3/4
Elmer Rocks: Red-throated Divers on the move were the main feature, my short watch producing 30 E, 15 W and perhaps 6 offshore. A dozen or so R/b Mergansers were also moving back and forth, but apart from a few Oystercatchers and Mediterranean Gulls on the beach there was little of note, whilst the hotspot corner was almost devoid of birdlife today.
Elmer & Ancton: I checked out the paddocks, where 2 showy Green Woodpeckers, a Grey Wagtail and 2 Pied Wagtails were present and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming in the woods behind. I thought the Black Redstart must have gone as I couldn’t find it for ages, but eventually it popped up for a short while. The partly-flooded arable field behind the wood held 20 feeding Brent Geese and about 10 Meadow Pipits.
Friday, 19th January: Another very cold and frosty start, giving way to a
fine, bright and sunny winter’s day with a light breeze NW2.
Elmer
Rocks: Another cold, crisp morning
with a calm sea, allowing a count of 40 Red-breasted Mergansers offshore, some clearly
displaying. The regular waders were present in average numbers; perhaps 30
Turnstones, 12 Sanderling and a few each of Grey Plover and Oystercatcher, but
also 2 Redshank and a single Dunlin. The 2 Stonechats were also still present,
on the hotspot set-aside just behind the beach and a Goldcrest was in the
woods.
Ancton & Elmer fields: A check of the horse paddocks found the long-staying Black Redstart was still there, but the maize stubble fields behind were frozen and empty of birdlife. However, the arable fields on the east side of the wood were a different story as they had thawed slightly, producing 120 Lapwings, 10 Snipe, 150 Brent Geese and a few Fieldfares. In the wood a Great Spotted Woodpecker (or possibly two) had started drumming. A Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk were the best of the rest.
Thursday, 18th January: Very cold and clear overnight with icy conditions, but mainly sunny all day again with a chilly wind, N/NW 3-4.
I started a bit later than usual to avoid the coldest conditions, in the hope that my wheezy chest and cough would stand up to it – and it almost worked, although the cold eventually got to me. I started off at Bilsham farm where the water was completely unfrozen, unlike many of the flooded fields around. The reservoir held 5 Shoveler, 16 Tufted Ducks and a few Coots, then as I was about to leave a Green Sandpiper put in a brief appearance, but after slipping around on the icy banks it soon disappeared. Other species recorded included a Stonechat, a Chiffchaff, c.30 Fieldfares, 20 Linnets and c.30 Skylarks, so clearly a bit of hard-weather movement had occurred.
Lidsey WTW & reservoir: First stop was the (unfrozen) reservoir, which produced 90 Gadwall, 10 Shoveler, 4 Wigeon, 6 Tufted Ducks and 2 Little Grebes, then 5 Snipe dropped in. The flooded fields behind the WTW were largely frozen, and, apart from a few gulls, there was little of note bar a single Black-tailed Godwit. Fieldfares and a couple of Redwings were around the hedgerows, as were half a dozen Chiffchaffs, but passerines were few overall. The best though was saved until last; as I was walking back towards my car on the footpath beside the WTW, a Spotted Redshank suddenly flushed close by from the works, calling loudly and repeatedly as it gained height and headed north, being lost to view almost immediately. I decided to head back to the reservoir in case it had dropped in there; almost as I arrived I could hear the bird calling again, as it flew back over the reservoir, then I saw it as it dropped down and headed back into the WTW where it was tick!lost from view. A very nice little patch tick!
Tuesday, 16th January: Another severe frost leading to a bright, clear, sunny and cold day, with a light Northerly breeze becoming variable later.
Climping area: I went in order to try for owls at dusk, around a private area with permission. At about 17:00hrs a Tawny Owl began hooting repeatedly, somewhere nearby, whilst a Kestrel flew across presumably going to roost. Then at 17:20hrs a Barn Owl appeared and flew straight off to the NW towards the A259.
Saturday, 13th January: Dry but cloudy all day, frost-free but still cold, wind light N/NW 2.
Elmer Rocks: A bit of movement this morning included Gannet 25E, Red-throated Diver 4E
& 3 o/s, auk sp – 15E & 30W and Razorbill – 2E then o/s, whilst at
least 20 R/b Mergansers and 8 Great Crested Grebes were offshore. Four Ringed
Plovers were on the rocks (with 20 more, a single Dunlin and a few Sanderling just east of
Poole Place). The 2 Stonechats were still in the set-aside.
Bilsham farm: Just 13 Coots and 3 Tufted Ducks on the water today.
A check of the brooks from the reservoir embankment found a herd of 55 Mute
Swans now present.
Great Crested Grebe – 3 o/s
Gannet – 1E
Brent Goose – 15E
Shelduck – 5W
Common Scoter – 1E, 3W, 1o/s
Red-breasted Merganser – 12+ o/s
Wigeon – 4E, 9W
Turnstone – 4-W then E
Sanderling - 2
Guillemot – 1E settled o/s
auk sp – 20W
Bilsham farm: Rubbish today…just 15 Coots on the
water and a couple of Fieldfares and a Song Thrush in the trees. The herd of 29
Mute Swans was distantly viewable over the Barnham Brooks but there was nothing
else of interest.
Friday, 5th January 2024: At last, a dry day! Cooler than of late, but some hazy sunshine with cloud and a moderate WNW wind were a welcome change, with the promise of more to come as high pressure builds.
Elmer Rocks – Atherington: The clear highlight was finding a Purple Sandpiper amongst a flock of 200+ Turnstones on the rocky beach about 200 yds E of Poole Place. One had been reported several days ago near the mouth of the R. Arun at Littlehampton, but had not been seen since, so I was delighted to re-locate it. However, very soon after it was disturbed by walkers on the beach and the whole flock of birds flew W past Poole Place into the Elmer area, before returning later.
Ancton paddocks: With time marching on I then headed to the local paddocks. Two Green Woodpeckers were showing well but there was little else of note. A check of the partly-flooded maize stubble field behind produced a Buzzard and the wintering Curlew flock, plus a couple of Song Thrushes, but with the weather closing in, I began retracing my steps when the bird of the morning appeared - a Black Redstart. it favoured one of the dung-heaps, but didn’t stay in view too long and became quite elusive.
Elmer Rocks: In a word, disappointing! There was little on offer with just half a dozen R/b Mergansers showing on the rough sea and 10+ Mediterranean Gulls. Waders were few, just 6 Oystercatchers, 15 Turnstones and a single Sanderling being noted, whilst 16 Brent Geese and a Sparrowhawk hunting behind the beach were both new species for the year. A couple of hefty showers then caught me and so it was time to abandon birding for a while.
Next up was Lidsey WTW area (sewage works)
where a flock of 8 Egyptian Geese in an arable field were a surprise,
then a Water Rail was heard and briefly seen, plus 15 Chiffchaffs, a Mistle
Thrush and Fieldfares.
Lastly Barnham Brooks,
which didn’t add much beyond Cetti’s Warbler and a couple of Lapwing,
plus a couple more calling Water Rails, before the rain set in and it was
time to go, having notched up a mediocre total of 55 species to start the Year List.
