1st - 31st January 2024

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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.

Ancton: A Coal Tit was singing and showing in a private garden this morning. Whilst this may be a relatively common species in other parts of Sussex, it is decidedly uncommon in this coastal corner of the county.

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:-

Red-throated Diver – 12E, 34W, 2o/s

Gannet – 4o/s, drifted W

Brent Goose – 1W

Red-breasted Merganser – 12 o/s

Turnstone – c.100

Sanderling – 40

Dunlin – 2

Grey Plover – 34W

auk sp – 1W

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.                                  

 

Stonechat in the 'hotspot' set-aside, behind the beach at Elmer    

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.

Sanderling (front) and Dunlin on Elmer beach

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.

Friday, 12th January: Continuing dry, but generally cloudy and cold, though slightly less windy and chilly than the last few days, with a light to moderate NE 2-3.

Lidsey WTW and area: The reservoir held just 2 Little Grebes and 4 Gadwall, with a Grey Wagtail around the edges, whilst the nearby trees produced a Mistle Thrush and 2 Redwing. The meadow behind the WTW remains well flooded and hundreds of wildfowl were present, including c.500 Teal, 80+ Gadwall, perhaps 30 Shoveler, 50 Wigeon, a pair of Pintail and a decent flock of 54 Black-tailed Godwits. Four noisy Egyptian Geese also flew in and settled briefly, before flying off, as did c.250 Lapwing. Surprisingly, there seemed to be very few Chiffchaffs around the WTW this morning and I found only 3 or 4, but there were 30 Pied Wagtails around the filter pans.

Tuesday, 9th January: A dry but very cold day, cloudy at first, then sunny by mid-morning, but with the windchill from the brisk ENE wind 4-5 keeping the temperature way down.

Elmer Rocks: A rather disappointing morning compared to yesterday, with much less happening offshore. A few divers were moving (probable Red-throated divers: 6E & 4W) plus several auk sp and a single Teal E, whilst about 15 R/b Mergansers were moving back and forth – the majority of stuff being quite distant. Waders consisted of 90+ Turnstones, 10 Sanderling and 9 Grey Plover. The set-aside corner produced 2 Stonechats and my first Kestrel and Stock Dove of the year!

Monday, 8th January: A very cold and mainly overcast day, with a fresh E/NE wind force 4 and a few wintry showers, snow flurries giving a light dusting by midday.

Elmer Rocks: (0910-1100hrs): A real change to proper winter weather prompted a fair bit of movement offshore this morning, although sadly a good deal of it was just too distant for me to do much with. Even so there was a good bit if interest and I logged the following:-

Red-throated Diver – 7E

Diver sp – 25E, 7W (most, if not all, probably Red-throated)
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, 5^th 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.

I didn't manage a photo of the Purple Sandpiper (!) so I'm grateful for this image (back of the camera shot by Mike Booker) when the bird settled on Elmer Rocks.

Also logged this morning were:-

Brent Goose -  400+ E close in, most turned in N to feed, but a small flock kept going. Another 100 on sea may have been part of this lot.

Great Crested Grebe – 4 o/s

Red-throated Diver – 2W

Diver sp – 1E

R/b Merganser – c.35 o/s

Mediterranean Gull – 30

Turnstone – c.200

Grey Plover – 6

Stonechat – 2  

Thursday, 4^th January: A dry, fair and pleasant start with a moderate WSW breeze, but by late morning cloud developed quickly as a front moved in, to give rain by noon. Thereafter another very wet and miserable afternoon, with gloomy skies. 

Elmer Rocks: A window of opportunity for birding this morning before the weather deteriorated, however the sea was remarkably quiet with nothing moving bar a few gulls. Offshore there were 20 R/b Mergansers, whilst on the shore around the rock islands were 45 Turnstones, a few Oystercatchers and 15 Mediterranean Gulls. Two Mute Swans flew W along the back of the beach whilst a pair of Mallard were chasing each other about, but it was a struggle to find anything of interest. Scoping Cudlow’s field from the Poole Place rocks produced a feeding flock of 60 Brent Geese amid plenty of the commoner gulls, including some Mediterraneans, but no sign of anything unusual.

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. 

Black Redstart at Ancton horse paddocks

Wednesday, 3^rd January: After a rainy night, with the passing of Storm Henk, a bit of brightness to start, but interspersed with some heavy and torrential showers and dark clouds until mid-afternoon, then a drier and brighter spell before evening. Wind blustery W 5, before easing later.

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.

Monday, 1^st January 2024: Continuing unsettled. A fair morning, with early sunshine for a couple of hours and a fresh breeze W5, gradually becoming cloudy and dull by midday, to give showers then heavy and prolonged rain later, with the wind strengthening considerably.

I decided to stay local as the weather prospects were not great and really only offered the morning. From Home, my first venue was Climping where the highlights were the two long-staying Little Gulls in the field west of the Mill, then 2 Grey Partridge plus 3 Jack Snipe at close range in the set-aside. 

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.

Close views of the Jack Snipe in the set-aside at Climping (with thanks to M&DB/HR for their help with thermal imagery!)