16th - 17th October 2024

Thursday, 17th October: A dry and pleasant day, very mild for the time of year, with a good deal of sunshine throughout and lighter winds, W/SW 2-3.

Climping Gap: Another visit but there was no sign of the Pallas's Warbler after yesterday's excitement.  I spent time checking out various  areas of the site, where there was a good bit of visible migration going on, with plenty of Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and finches going over, including Siskins and Goldfinch, although I didn't attempt a count this time. I also logged four Stonechats, eight Blackcaps, several Chiffchaffs and a couple of Goldcrests and then a Kingfisher unexpectedly flew across a damp field of set-aside, settling for a while near a small flood, before moving on.

A cropped image of the fairly distant Kingfisher in the set-aside field at Climping.

I casually made a slow circuit back down the fields towards the beach, but as I got nearer I suddenly remembered I'd parked my car at the bottom of Climping Street and that it was nearing high tide. My pace quickened, and very quickly I realised as I reached the beach that a very big high tide had effectively cut me off, with a river now running north along Bread Lane! A bit of a panic...I had to cross it despite some risk; needless to say I didn't make it safely, fell face down, got completely soaked and optics all submerged in sea-water...oh joy! The car was OK, but it was a bruised and very wet Elmer Birder that got into it and set off home....birding over today!

Wednesday, 16th October: A dull and grey start with some threatening cloud early on in a fresh SE breeze, but remaining dry and gradually brightening to give some warm sunshine by late morning. Clouding over again by mid-afternoon and becoming grey, with the forecast of rain by evening....

Elmer Rocks area: Mid-October, with east in the wind and heavy cloud all added up to the chance of something decent turning up, and possibly a rarity about. I started my circuit with a short sea-watch, seeing 1E, 4W Gannets, 15W Brent Geese, 6W Common Scoter, 3E Sanderling, 7E Turnstones and 25E Mediterranean Gulls. A bit of 'vis.mig' consisted of six Swallows, a few Meadow Pipits, two Skylarks, 25 Goldfinches and eight Siskins heading east.

A good look around the fields and hedgerows produced a Kestrel hunting the beach area again, a single Stonechat in the set-aside and just a few more Meadow Pipits. A total of nine Little Egrets were feeding together in the fields today, amongst various gulls, before some of the egrets decided to roost in tree-tops at Poole Place.

Time then to check the sheltered spots, woods and hedgerows, but my best efforts produced nothing more than six Chiffchaffs and a couple of Goldcrests.

At Elmer this morning: (above) Stonechat in the set-aside (with Goldfinch), (below) Kestrel watching a potential meal and (bottom) six of the nine Little Egrets in the field.

I felt that there surely had to be a Yellow-browed Warbler or at least a Ring Ouzel about, given the number being reported elsewhere - but no, not a sniff of one today. Then, just when I was feeling a bit despondent, I got a message and it was time to go.....

Climping - Atherington: Shortly after noon, local birder Bola put out the news that he'd found a Pallas's Warbler* in the small wood behind Bailiffscourt Hotel, (*for those non-birders of you reading this, it is a tiny little warbler that is rare here and comes from Siberia, usually at this time of year, has lots of wing bars and head stripes and is always highly prized by UK birders). No time to waste, so I made my way there as fast as I could.

On arrival, I met up with Bola who pointed out the area of trees where the bird was showing, but it had since moved higher into the canopy and had gone out of view. It was however calling, quite frequently, so we had some idea of its location. It was, as ever, very elusive, eventually giving a number of calls before seeming to drift higher and to the left, thereafter becoming silent. In short, it remained elusive, but then apparently joined a roving flock of Long-tailed and other tits, giving only a couple of very brief glimpses (but was later reported to be calling again). 

Other birds seen were a couple of Firecrests and Goldcrests, several Chiffchaffs and a Swallow.

13th - 15th October 2024

Tuesday, 15th October: A bit murky at first but remaining dry, with grey cloud and a few glimpses of brightness later, with a light to moderate SSE wind force 3-4, increasing force 5 by late afternoon.

Lidsey WTW area: After a morning watching at Selsey Bill, I returned to the local area by early afternoon, stopping off here for a quick check. The WTW area held a Grey Wagtail, 3 Pied Wagtails and seven Mallard, with at least six Chiffchaffs and several Long-tailed Tits in the surrounding hedgerows. On the small reservoir were 34 Gadwall, 14 Shoveler and just two Little Grebes.

Bilsham farm: The access track to and from the reservoir is now a sea of mud, frequently churned up by heavy farm machinery. On the reservoir Coots were the main feature, with a high count of 165 present today. There were also 26 Canada Geese, five Tufted Ducks and six Little Grebes, plus two Chiffchaffs in the hedgerows.

Coots on Bilsham reservoir, where there was a high count of 165 today, whilst below, the access track to the area is now a sea of mud and hard to negotiate on foot...this is actually a public footpath!

Monday, 14th October: After some heavy overnight rain, a morning of almost incessant heavy drizzle with a gloomy grey sky and a light SSW breeze, the precipitation finally easing by early afternoon.

Sorry, no report for yesterday which was a complete write-off for me, for having caught the virus that is doing the rounds, I was in bed most of the day, feeling completely washed out. This morning, after a very slow start, I felt the need for some fresh air, so decided on visiting Climping for a while, to ease myself back in, so to speak. The irritating drizzle certainly didn't help my cause and I got quite wet whilst doing a good bit of bush-bashing, but in the end nothing exciting could be found and another blank for a YbW.

The highlight was two Firecrests and two Goldcrests (Kents farm area); also a total of 14 Chiffchaffs and five Blackcaps were logged plus a few other regular species. Hopefully I will be more active again in coming days.....

10th - 12th October 2024

Saturday, 12th October: A grey, cool and gloomy start with heavy grey cloud and a fresh SSE wind force 4-5: just about remaining dry to 08:00hrs before heavy and frequent showers commenced. Gradually drying up by late morning, but with further showers forecast in the afternoon.

Elmer Rocks: Another morning when sea-watching was the only realistic option, and I managed an hour before my battered umbrella was called into use again, although the wind direction made shelter difficult and visibility offshore was sometimes dire or impossible as the rain swept in.

There appeared to be very little going on in the way of visible migration, but the sea was more productive than of late. Most of the birds were heading east today, as was a Red-throated Diver, my first of the autumn, whilst Gannets totalled 19E and 5W and 36 Common Scoter passed in small flocks. A number of auk flocks were just faintly visible along the horizon (at times!) but two Razorbills were much closer, again heading east before dropping onto the sea. Several Meadow Pipits and Skylarks and two Pied Wagtails on the move could just about be heard above the noise of the wind and sea, but that was about it.

In the fields behind the beach, four Little Egrets were feeding amongst gulls, a Kestrel was active and at least 12 Buzzards were again all up at once, soaring above the trees; presumably at least two family groups involved here. Chiffchaffs were in very short supply this morning after the good numbers of recent days, my count being just three - and one Goldcrest.

Fairly dire visibility at times this morning; (above) Gannets and (below) Common Scoters passing in the rain!

Buzzards over the back fields at Elmer: cropped shots of part of the group of 12

Friday, 11th October: A cold, bright and clear start with a light to moderate N/NE breeze, though no frost, the sun soon raising the temperature to give a fine autumn day.

Climping - Atherington: Conditions looked promising for migrants and given the number of interesting species such as Yellow-browed Warbler around the country, including Sussex, it had to be worth a good search around with some decent bush-bashing. As it turned out, local birder Bola had the same idea and was working the patch too, but despite our best efforts we both drew a blank for such highlights.

There were compensations though with a good bit of migration going on, whilst Chiffchaffs seemed to be everywhere. My personal log was as follows;-

Great Crested Grebe - 2 o/s 

Little Egret - 6

Mediterranean Gull - 50

Kestrel - 2

Skylark - 12N, 15 fields

Stonechat - 8

Pied Wagtail - 15

Grey Wagtail - 1E

Meadow Pipit - 50

Rock Pipit - 1

Goldcrest - 1

Chiffchaff - c.45

Blackcap - 10

Goldfinch - 120E, 25 fields

Siskin - 12E

Linnet - 25E, c.100 set-aside

(above) Linnet and (below) Stonechat at Climping

Elmer Rocks: An early afternoon visit for about an hour and a half found it quiet at sea, but a single Common Scoter and then a single Brent Goose both flew east, whilst a dozen Med Gulls were moving west. There were plenty of Chiffchaffs here too and I saw at least a dozen on my short circuit. Up to six Little Egrets were again feeding in the fields, before some took a break to rest in nearby trees. Overhead, a flock of 20 Goldfinches went east and a couple of Skylarks went north, with a few Meadow Pipits also buzzing about the fields with a couple of Pied Wagtails. A female Kestrel was seen to take a young Blackbird and at least 12 Buzzards were seen soaring together over the back fields.

A single Brent Goose going east in front of an array of windmills and (below) a couple of Little Egrets roosing in the trees at Poole Place

Thursday, 10th October: A grey and fairly miserable start, with prolonged showers and heavy cloud, whilst also cooler than of late with the wind having gone round to a moderate northerly. Becoming drier and brighter by afternoon with the odd glimpse of the sun and the wind easing a tad to force 3. 

Elmer Rocks: I made a visit during a brief lull in the showers, but it wasn't long before I was watching from under my umbrella once more. A large flock of gulls was out near the horizon again, with about six Gannets amongst them, then some while later several small groups of auk species were noted (6E and 15W), somewhat closer, but still too far out for specific identification (though some were considered probably Razorbills). A small number of Mediterranean Gulls were also back and forth amongst other regular gull species, whilst along the beach were 52 Ringed Plovers, 10 Turnstones and several Oystercatchers.

There was also some vis.mig going on, the majority of which was Swallows heading east and a proper count this morning logged a total of 124. Also noted were Pied Wagtail - 8E, Meadow Pipit - 35N, Skylark - 2N, Linnet - 6E, Goldfinch - 20E and Siskin - at least one heard. Chiffchaffs were also still in evidence with eight counted.

Bilsham farm: An early afternoon visit to the reservoir, where there were lots of birds present, but after patiently sifting through them for quite a while, I could find nothing unusual amongst them - except perhaps for the group of 24 Canada Geese, notably more than the odd one or two which occasionally appear. There were also 142 Coots, eight Tufted Ducks, six Mallard and six Little Grebes, plus a gathering of c.250 mixed gull species, including 20 Mediterranean Gulls. Along the hedgerows five Chiffchaffs were also present.

Canada Geese on Bilsham reservoir - a count of 24 was well above the norm, but you know it's not a great day when this species is the highlight!

7th - 9th October 2024

Wednesday, 9th October: Heavy rain overnight that extended into the morning, though still mild, before clearing up to give brighter spells with some cloud, as the brisk W/SW wind eased down then backed to the N.

Climping Gap - Atherington area: Once the rain had eased it was actually quite mild, as the wind dropped away, so it looked promising for passerine migrants. I spent most of the time 'bush-bashing' this morning, but could only locate the commoner species once again. There was a fair bit of 'vis mig' going on overhead too and my log for the morning was as follows:

Little Egret - 4

Swallow - 30, mainly E

Skylark - 20

Meadow Pipit - plenty in the fields and some overhead, no count

Rock Pipit - 1

Pied Wagtail - 15

Song Thrush - 2

Blackcap - 5

Chiffchaff - 15

Goldcrest - 4

Linnet - 20

Greenfinch - 2

Reed Bunting - 1

(above) Meadow Pipit at Climping - there were quite a few in the fields this morning, and (below) Chiffchaff nearby....this one dropped to the ground to feed near my feet!

Tuesday, 8th October: A changeable but mainly bright and breezy day, with low pressure dominating. After overnight rain and early showers, a mild and almost warm morning of sunshine and white cloud, but with a strong SW wind 5-6, gusting to force 7 at times, then going downhill by afternoon as heavy showers wet in.

Elmer Rocks: After a bit of a late start (08:45) I tried a sea-watch again, but it was similar to yesterday with very little happening offshore. Five Gannets drifted west along the horizon and several Mediterranean Gulls went east among commoner gulls, whilst a dozen Swallows were heading SW out to sea - presumably starting out on their very long return journey 'home'.

The strong wind was battering the bushes and hedgerows and consequently there were very few small birds to see; finding the sheltered spots produced no more than four Chiffchaffs and a couple of Song Thrushes amongst commoner species. Three Skylarks and a couple of Meadow Pipits were noted heading north, but there was little else of note. In the fields behind the beach there were six Little Egrets feeding and a large gathering of gulls was also present - mainly Black-headed and a few Herring Gulls, but also c.40 Med Gulls.

The recently ploughed field behind the beach at Elmer Rocks has been receiving plenty of avian attention recently; here Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls (mostly) are making the best of things.

Monday, 7th October: Rain overnight, followed by some beefy showers into the morning, then giving way to sunny periods with white cloud and a fresh S/SW wind force 4, although still feeling quite mild.

Elmer Rocks: I ventured out once the rain had passed, thinking that a sea-watch would be the best option, but was disappointed to discover that again very little was happening offshore. A distant gathering of feeding gulls on the horizon held just three or four Gannets and several Mediterranean Gulls passed through, but there was nothing else of any note.

It was low tide and no waders were present, bar a handful of Ringed Plovers heading west. Swallows were still moving, but in very small numbers today, whilst there was just a little 'vis.mig' which included a few Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. A check of the hedgerows and bushes showed that Chiffchaff numbers were very much reduced and I only logged five birds. In the agricultural fields behind the beach the only slightly unusual thing was a total of eight Little Egrets feeding amongst gulls, whilst a couple of Buzzards, a Kestrel, and a few Goldfinches and Linnets made up the meagre totals. A quiet birding day!

Little Egrets feeding amongst gulls and other species on agricultural fields behind Elmer beach

4th - 6th October 2024

Sunday, 6th October: A cool, mainly grey and overcast day, with a brisk SSE wind force 4-5 and just about remaining dry through the daylight hours, with the risk of light rain later.

Elmer Rocks and area: There was a large but distant flock of gulls feeding out on the horizon this morning, with at least 30 Gannets amongst them, whilst three Brent Geese went west, but otherwise no seabirds were moving.

Swallows were still steadily trickling through, though in reduced numbers compared to recent days, with just the odd House Martin amongst them, and there was also some visible migration, with a few Pied Wagtails, Meadow Pipits and Skylarks going over. Around the recently cultivated fields were more Meadow Pipits and 20+ Pied Wagtails, with a single Yellow Wagtail amongst them, and six Little Egrets. Six Buzzards were occasionally up together soaring and also in the fields, presumably feeding on worms.

Two Stonechats were in the set-aside - quite probably yesterday's birds - but in the hedgerows Chiffchaff numbers seemed to be much reduced today and I logged no more than ten. A few Linnets and Goldfinches were also present, whilst a Kestrel was still hunting around the beach, but again, nothing out of the ordinary was found.

(above) Goldfinch on Elmer beach, (centre) Pied Wagtail in the cultivated fields and (below) the two Stonechats in the set-aside. 

Saturday, 5th October: Cool early on, but soon becoming reasonably warm with sunshine most of the day and some light cloud, but also a fresh SSE wind force 4.

Elmer Rocks and area: Firstly, I was very pleased to receive a message from a local lady who regularly follows this blog, concerning a Tawny Owl that was heard hooting for at least five minutes early yesterday morning (at 06:10hrs) in the wooded area behind Sea Way/The Hard. This is presumably the same bird I heard a few days previously, so clearly it seems it is trying to claim a territory for the winter. This is important as Tawny Owls generally breed early in the year; furthermore, it is now an amber-listed species of conservation concern, so all such records are of value.

The sea seemed very quiet, except for regular gull species back and forth, and today I concentrated on the fields, woods and hedgerows behind the beach. Two Stonechats in the set-aside ('hotspot corner') were new in, there was a steady flow of Swallows and House Martins again, plus some vis.mig, whilst much of my time involved searching the area for scarce warblers, alas without success.

My log was as follows:-

Little Egret - 3 (in newly ploughed field)

Stock Dove - 45

Skylark - c.10E

Kestrel - 1 hunting along the beach

Buzzard - 6 soaring together

Mediterranean Gull - c.50 in newly ploughed field

Meadow Pipit - c.30 (most going E)

Swallow - c.300

House Martin - 100+

Stonechat - 2

Pied Wagtail - 8E

Grey Wagtail - 1E 

Chiffchaff - 20+

Blackcap - 3

Goldcrest - 4

Linnet - 10

Greenfinch - 2

Siskin - 2

Stonechats (top two) and Chiffchaff (bottom) at Elmer this morning

Bilsham farm: A short visit this afternoon, where birds on the reservoir where much the same as my last visit, producing 130+ Coots, six Tufted Ducks and seven Little Grebes, plus c.30 Swallows overhead. The main difference was the massive number of gulls and Jackdaws present, all attracted to adjacent fields, where a maize crop had recently been harvested. The fields were alive with activity and likewise the reservoir, where birds were coming and going to wash....there were at least 1000 Herring Gulls, 50 Mediterranean Gulls and 400 Jackdaws amongst the throng, amazing!

Friday, 4th October: Quite chilly at first with a clear sky overnight, but soon warming with some pleasant sunshine and a light to moderate E/SE breeze through the morning, then some light cloud by afternoon.

Elmer Rocks: Just a short visit of an hour this morning, which found virtually nothing of interest over the sea, other than Swallows and a few House Martins moving through. There was a bit of vis.mig going on overhead, the best being a couple of Siskins moving east and calling, whilst also logged were half a dozen Skylarks, c.15 Meadow Pipits, a Pied Wagtail and a Grey Wagtail. Chiffchaffs were also still present in reasonable numbers, with at least ten recorded in one fairly small area.

Climping - Atherington: The main focus today was to check out the trees and vegetation for migrants (yes, more bush-bashing!) concentrating on this section of the Climping gap. In the end, none of the hoped-for scarce species were found, but there were a few highlights, including a Firecrest and even a Kingfisher flying south above the tree-tops! There are still lots of Chiffchaffs around; my own circuit just around Atherington produced a count of 25, but to put this into context, I met a couple of local birders who had been watching elsewhere at other Climping sites and our joint total was 80, plus four Firecrests, which is more realistic. The was some overhead movement too, and the below list is just my personal effort this morning:-

Kestrel - 3 (lots of calling, probably a family party)

Sparrowhawk - 1

Buzzard - 3

Kingfisher - 1 (going south, above tree-tops at Bailiffscourt)

Swallow - no count, steady stream east)

House Martin - no count, perhaps fewer than Swallow)

Skylark - 20+ (some moving E)

Meadow Pipit - c.40

Pied Wagtail - 3

Yellow Wagtail - 1

Grey Wagtail - 2E

Song Thrush - 3

Goldcrest - 2

Firecrest - 1

Chiffchaff - 25

Siskin - 2E, also several heard

Linnet - 20E

Greenfinch - 2

(above) Goldcrest and (below) noisy Kestrel at Atherington (Climping)

1st - 3rd October 2024

Thursday, 3rd October: A rather cool, dry and cloudy start, but soon improving to become pleasant and mainly sunny, though with a fresh E/SE breeze 3-4.

Ancton & Elmer: More bush-bashing was on my agenda this morning, so I started with a visit to the local woods and paddocks at Lane End. There were at least six Chiffchaffs and two Pied Wagtails, plus a few birds flying over eastwards on vis.mig, including two Skylarks, several Meadow Pipits and two Siskins.

I tried a couple of other promising spots, finding nothing more than a couple of Chiffchaffs, then moved onto the woodland around the edge of Barnham Brooks and Felpham GC, finding c.10 Chiffchaffs, three Blackcaps, 20 Goldfinch, two Song Thrushes, five Meadow Pipits and three Skylarks flying over. 

Lidsey and WTW area: Chiffchaffs again featured (eight) plus a singing Cetti's Warbler and a Grey Wagtail in the filter pans. Nearby, the small reservoir held six Little Grebes, 34 Gadwall and another Grey Wagtail.

Grey Wagtail and Gadwalls at Lidsey

Bilsham farm: On the reservoir were 140 Coots, seven Little Grebes, six Tufted Ducks, a single Shoveler and three Teal, plus c.50 Swallows and a few House Martins feeding over  the water and passing through. Several Skylarks and c.25 Meadow Pipits also passed over heading mainly east, whilst in the hedgerows another half a dozen Chiffchaffs were present; however, nothing more unusual could be found.

Wednesday, 2nd October: A fairly mild and sunny morning at first, with a light breeze N 2, but heavy cloud soon developing, with a risk of showers though remaining dry, as the wind veered gradually NE, increasing to a force 4.

Elmer Rocks - Climping: Plans to start elsewhere this morning were soon abandoned when I found the A259 even more gridlocked than usual, so I decided on a slow walk locally instead. My plan was to go 'bush-bashing' (=searching the hedges and bushes thoroughly for migrants) as a number of the scarcer warblers (such as Yellow-browed Warbler) have recently appeared elsewhere in the South.

A quick look at the sea from time to time produced very little beyond a Curlew and a couple of Brent Geese west, whilst a number of the regular waders were along the beach including 24 Oystercatchers and 15 Ringed Plovers. Along the beach and fields behind, at least 150 Mediterranean Gulls were amongst other gulls.

A single Wheatear was on the shore and there was also a fair bit of 'vis.mig' going on, though once again a good deal of it was heard rather than seen. Some hundreds of Swallows and House Martins were again on the move, mainly eastwards, plus c.15 Skylarks, 25 Meadow Pipits, 20 Linnets, 2 Pied Wagtails and a Grey Wagtail. A total of about 30 Chiffchaffs were logged on my bush-bash, along with a couple of Goldcrests and Blackcaps, but alas nothing scarcer could be located despite my best efforts. Better luck another time, I hope!

Wheatear at Climping, but nothing scarcer could be found

Tuesday, 1st October: A cool dry start to a fairly bright and breezy morning, with sunny periods and a fresh NW breeze force 3-4, then clouding over by afternoon with the odd drizzly shower.

Elmer Rocks - Atherington: A pleasant morning after yesterday's stormy weather. There wasn't a great deal moving offshore, but five Gannets and two Brent Geese went west whilst a single Curlew went east. Hirundines were again the most numerous birds, with a steady stream heading west, erratically at times, along the shore and sea; initially it was all Swallows, then eventually House Martins seemed to dominate and there must have been into the hundreds of both.

There are more Common Gulls around now and I logged at least seven, whilst Mediterranean Gulls also featured, with perhaps 70 amongst a large gull flock in the fields, which consisted mainly of Black-headed, but also about a dozen Great Black-backed Gulls. On the high tide, 38 Ringed Plovers were roosting on the rock islands with 10 Turnstones, whilst a little further east, along the beach at Atherington, there were 29 Oystercatchers.

Along the bushes were two Song Thrushes, two Blackcaps and at least eight Chiffchaffs, whilst two Wheatears were also found, in the general area of Poole Place rocks. There was also a bit of 'vis.mig' again, with at least three Skylarks going over, two Pied Wagtails, a few Meadow Pipits (uncounted) and a few Goldfinches and Linnets.

At Elmer this morning, a variety of gulls included Great Black-backed Gulls (above) and Common Gulls (below), whilst (bottom) this Wheatear was one of two seen.