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.....