20th December 2024

Friday, 20th December: A chilly start with a touch of overnight frost, bright and sunny at first in a moderate NW breeze force 4, but gradually clouding over as the day progressed and the wind freshened. Rainy by late afternoon.

Lidsey WTW and area: A flock of 20 Gadwall was flushed from the WTW by workmen and there were several Pied Wagtails on the filter pans but little else. Nearby were just 10 Shoveler, a single Teal, two Tufted Ducks and a Little Grebe. However, in the trees and hedgerows around the perimeter of the works there were a good number of Chiffchaffs feeding on swarms of insects; I estimated at least 20 birds, although I couldn't find any paler ones amongst them today.

(above) female Shoveler and (below) Chiffchaff feeding around the WTW...note the swarm of insect food!

Moving on to another nearby area away from the WTW things picked up with a nice little bit of variety. A splendid male Marsh Harrier flew over a reedy area, whilst nearby were a Snipe, 40 Linnets, six Song Thrushes, a Chiffchaff, two Stonechats and then a surprise Dartford Warbler. The biggest surprise for me however came when I was leaving and making my way along a footpath and back to my car, when suddenly a flock of five Bullfinches - three males and two females - flew into some low trees ahead of me. As I watched whilst fumbling to get my camera from its case they soon decided to fly off in typical fashion, just before I was ready! Bullfinch is becoming increasingly uncommon in our little corner of the world and is never easy to see on the patch; I can't remember when I last saw five  together anywhere!

Marsh Harrier over a reedy area at Lidsey and (bottom) Stonechat nearby

17th - 19th December 2024

Thursday, 19th December: A cool but bright, dry and breezy day with plenty of sunny breaks through the cloud and a blustery NW wind force 5-6/7, easing a bit later.

Elmer Rocks: Although generally quiet there was a little more than expected this morning, the best being a Great Northern Diver flying west offshore. Other seabirds logged included Red-throated Diver - 3E, Gannet - 3W, Red-breasted Merganser - 3E & 1o/s, Brent Goose - 1W and Mediterranean Gull - 4 on the beach.

The tamarisk hedges between the Kiosk and the Boat compound held two Chiffchaffs, whilst a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker could again be heard at some distance in the woodland.

Bilsham farm: Tufted Duck numbers had increased to 19, but these apart, there was a notable decrease in the other species present, with just a single pair of Shoveler, five or six Little Grebes and 80 Coots. Gulls were fewer too, with 54 Common Gulls well down on last week's totals of 200+. Things were not helped when a Buzzard appeared and began hovering for a while low over the reservoir, in hunting mode, scattering most of the birds present!

Buzzard hunting over Bilsham reservoir; hovering over the water (above) and then moving away, having scattered everything!

Tuesday, 17th December: A dry, mild, though fairly grey and cloudy day, with a fresh SSW wind force 4-5.

Elmer Rocks: A predictably quiet morning as I walked my usual circuit, stopping occasionally to check the sea. A large flock of gulls - perhaps up to a couple of thousand - was distantly offshore apparently on a feeding frenzy and I could just make up several Gannets amongst them, whilst two further Gannets also passed east later, considerably closer. A Great Crested Grebe and two Brent Geese also flew east offshore, whilst 12 Turnstones went west close in and a couple of Oystercatchers were feeding along the beach. Six Mediterranean Gulls were also along the beach amongst other gulls.

Away from the beach it was also very quiet, the best being a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming repeatedly, making an early start to proclaim a territory, and a single Chiffchaff in the tamarisk hedge by the Kiosk.

Gannets flying east offshore past Elmer Rocks

Mediterranean Gull (adult) along the beach at Elmer Rocks. I'm often asked by interested local non-birders about different types of 'seagulls' and I try to explain about just how attractive this species is, with its distinctive call and pristine wings with no black on the wing-tips. Hopefully these images give some idea of what I mean,

13th - 16th December 2024

Monday, 16th December: A dry, bright and breezy start, slowly giving way to increasing cloud, being pushed in by the fresh W/SW4 -5, but fairly mild.

Bilsham farm: Much of the morning was spent birding on the Selsey Peninsula, before I returned to the patch by early afternoon.  On the reservoir there were 37 Canada Geese, 15 Tufted Ducks, 15 Shoveler, six Little Grebes and 94 Coots. Once again a decent flock of Common Gulls was also present, with a count of 208 birds. A single Chiffchaff was in the adjacent hedgerow.

Lidsey WTW area: The reservoir was fairly quiet, with just seven Shoveler, four Gadwall, two Wigeon and a single Little Grebe. There were about 10 Pied Wagtails on the WTW filter pans, whilst in the surrounding hedgerows were 12+ Chiffchaffs. However, one of the latter appeared a good deal paler than the others; the jury is still out, but on balance I think it is likely just a Common Chiffchaff.

Common Chiffchaffs in the hedgerow surrounding the sewage works (WTW)

Two images of a paler bird - compare with the two images above. I am not certain of this birds identity and initially considered the 'tristis (Siberian Chiffchaff) form. However, the jury is out on this one...the light may be playing a part here though no tone adjustment has been made. The supercilium looks a bit weak, the legs and bill don't appear strikingly dark and no warm buff ear covert patch stands out. In short, I think it is likely a Common Chiffchaff - but any thoughts or comments from others would be welcome.

Saturday, 14th December: A cool, grey and cloudy start, in a light NW breeze, with even a few very light showers, but gradually becoming brighter and breezier with some sunny interludes by afternoon.

Well, with few excitements on the birding front these last couple of weeks, I must admit to being lured away to see a magnificent steam locomotive this morning as it passed along the main line locally. I decided on Ford station hoping it would be fairly quiet, and it was....until loads of people all suddenly turned up with the same idea! No matter, it was the highlight of my morning!

Ford station: A fine sight, but my carefully chosen viewpoint was soon mobbed! No matter...time to go birding!

Climping - Atherington: A late start after getting all 'steamed up' but on arrival, the calm sea seemed almost devoid of birdlife apart from a large gathering of gulls way out. Along the shoreline were a few waders; 30+ Turnstones, six Oystercatchers and about the same of Sanderlings, so I decided to concentrate of the set-aside areas, which produced a lot of Skylarks which I estimated as at least 70 in total. There were a few Linnets around also, plus eight Reed Buntings which were to and fro the nearby hedgerows, A decent search of the area failed to find any other birds of note, so I made a check of the Bailiffscourt site, which produced a flock of 15 Long-tailed Tits, a couple of Goldcrests and other regular species including Kestrel, Buzzard, Jay, Green Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Turnstones and Sanderling on Climping beach

Reed Buntings in the hedgerows

Friday, 13th December: A cold, grey but dry day, with a chilly feel in a light to moderate E/NE breeze force 3-4.

Elmer Rocks: Another fairly uninspiring day, with little of note seen on a day when more might have been expected. A couple of hours spent checking the sea and beach, plus the field margins and gardens, produced just the following:-  Red-throated Diver - 1W & 1E, Red-breasted Merganser - 1o/s, Brent Goose - 9W & 6E , Mediterranean Gull - 8E, Common Gull - 4, Oystercatcher - 3, Ringed Plover - 2, Pied Wagtail - 3 and Chiffchaff - 1.

Bilsham farm: There was nothing out of the ordinary again, although numbers of some of the common species had increased, with 53 Canada Geese and 14 Tufted Ducks now present, together with 270 Common Gulls, my highest total of the species here to date. There was little else of note, just four Shoveler, six Little Grebes and a couple of Pied Wagtails.

A scan over the distant fields of Barnham Brooks found the herd of 52 Mute Swans still in situ.

Common Gulls on Bilsham reservoir - part of the flock of 270

Canada Geese numbers had increased to 53, whilst (below) these Tufted Ducks were part of the total of 14 

  

8th - 11th December 2024

Wednesday, 11th December: A cold, gloomy and grey day, heavily overcast with persistent drizzly dampness and a moderate NE wind force 3-4.

Bilsham farm: A week strewn with a good few pre-Christmas commitments for yours truly, so I was keen to get out birding today, though disappointingly it proved to be rather quiet again. There were none of the hoped-for scarcer wildfowl here this morning and my log was as follows: Canada Goose - 12, Tufted Duck - 12, Shoveler - 8, Teal - 2, Coot - 105 and Little Grebe - 8.

Only common species were present at the reservoir today on a gloomy morning; (above) Tufted Ducks (foreground) with Coots and (below)  pair of Shoveler.

Climping Gap - (West Beach, Littlehampton): A short visit to make a check of the area around the rivermouth didn't produce much of interest, bar a few of the commoner gulls and waders. There was nothing of note on the river itself, but on the beach were 65 Ringed Plovers, 35 Grey Plover, 30 Sanderlings, six Turnstones and about the same of Oystercatchers. The sea however was completely dead.

West Beach on a bleak, grey morning: (above) Grey Plovers and (below) Sanderlings

Sunday, 8th December: The effects of Storm Darragh were still very evident, with the gale force Northerly wind persisting, although it was mainly dry, with just a few spots of rain occasionally, some heavy cloud and briefly also a few brighter periods.

Elmer Rocks: A fairly dire couple of hours this morning, with much of the time spent sea-watching and very little indeed of interest noted, not helped by the strong and unfavourable wind and low tide. Although there were lots of the commoner gulls around - along the beach and on/over the sea - I could find nothing unusual amongst them, the best being half a dozen Common Gulls and 24 Mediterranean Gulls. These apart, the only other birds noted over the sea were a single Red-breasted Merganser going east and two Shelduck flying west, whilst several bedraggled Oystercatchers on the rockpools were about it!

A quick look around the set-aside corner and field edges was unproductive, with most of the smaller birds presumably lying low. A morning to forget really.

Barnham Brooks: I made a visit to check the wintering herd of Mute Swans that is now present - currently standing at 53 birds - in the hope of finding a 'wild' swan amongst them (Bewick's or Whooper), but alas, no luck as yet. Two Buzzards were also present nearby, plus a Great Spotted Woodpecker, whilst distantly on the other side of the brooks, a small flock of thrushes looked suspiciously like Fieldfares, though it was difficult to be certain in the prevailing conditions.

Mute Swans on Barnham Brooks

5th - 7th December 2024

Saturday, 7th December: Storm Darragh: Very strong W/NW winds gusting at times to severe gale force 9, leaden skies and frequent rain, often heavy.

Sorry, but given the conditions and the unfavourable wind direction, I wasn't tempted to go out birding today, opting to catch up on overdue admin jobs and domestic duties!

I did however manage a bit of time to sit in front of my pc, so it seemed like an opportune moment to review the situation with this little blog. As we close in on the end of the year, I realise that it is almost a full 12 months since I started this venture and time that has flown by, to me anyway. So, has it been worth the effort and has it achieved what I had hoped? I'm pleased to say the answer on both counts is yes. 

I've been happy to note the support from a good many local folks, many taking the trouble to speak, raise an identification query or even notify me of an interesting sighting. One of my objectives has always been to try and get local people interested in the lovely area and wildlife that surrounds them, so well done to all of you, whether you just read to the blog to keep up with local bird news, or perhaps have become more deeply involved. I'm also pleased to say that some birding friends and others also visit the site, and whilst our local patch cannot usually compete with larger and more frequently watched sites, it does have its moments. 

I should explain here that I do try to put out my sightings reports on the blog as promptly as possible, usually on the day involved. I am out birding most days, but not always on the 5-Km patch, so there will of course inevitably be days when no reports appear here for a day or two, or even for a short period, but even so, the blog should give a general indication of what's around locally. So, all being well, it will be onwards and upwards into 2025...

                                                 Definition of a Birder......!

                                                                                                            

Thursday, 5th December: A grey, damp and overcast day, with occasional very light drizzle and a fresh to strong breeze, W 5-6, with heavier rain due later.

Elmer Rocks: The first week of December and a generally dreary morning which was very quiet for birds, not helped by fairly poor visibility offshore at times. A total of 24 Brent Geese went west in several small flocks, whist four distant Red-breasted Mergansers went east and at least 12 Mediterranean Gulls were back and forth, but that was about the sum of the activity! Along the beach were just a few of the regular waders - Oystercatchers, Turnstones and Ringed Plovers - whilst in and around the field margins were just four Pied Wagtails, a few Goldfinches and two or three Song Thrushes. A short visit was enough today before it was time to move on.

Brent Geese and Mediterranean Gull passing Elmer Rocks - the murky conditions and poor light not helping on a dreary morning.

Bilsham farm: Decided to make another of my regular checks here, but overall there was not too much change. Forty Canada Geese were present this time, together with just six Shoveler, nine Tufted Ducks, a single Teal, six Little Grebes and 100 Coots; also, amongst the gull flock, were 45 Common Gulls and 20 Mediterranean Gulls.

1st - 3rd December 2024

Tuesday, 3rd December: A dry and fairly cool day, with some hazy sunshine and broken cloud in a light NE breeze force 2-3.

Climping Gap: A slow morning, which started with virtually nothing moving about on the sea, bar the local gulls, but which eventually produced a nice bit of variety. I met up with local birder Bola and we watched together for some while, the unexpected highlight being a Marsh Harrier flying west over the sea, before it eventually soared higher and drifted off still going west. There were a good number of gulls around, including c.40 Mediterranean Gulls, whilst along the beach there were a number of Turnstones and Oystercatchers and further along a flock of up to 45 Grey Plovers.

Bola and I then spent some while searching the marshy areas for Jack Snipe, finding none despite our best efforts and just a single Snipe as compensation! Other species located during the search included Stonechat (1), Skylark (at least 60), Reed Bunting (5), Yellowhammer (2) and Meadow Pipit (several). 

We then went our separate ways and I decided to cover the Atherington - Bailiffscourt area, where I was pleased to locate a Little Owl, then two Firecrests, two Goldcrests, a Chiffchaff, two Greenfinch and a flock of a dozen Long-tailed Tits.

Firecrests at Bailiffscourt, Climping

Monday, 2nd December: Bright, fairly mild and mainly sunny early on, with a moderate breeze W 4-5, but becoming cooler with cloud increasing later.

Elmer Rocks: A pleasant enough morning but little happening on the birding front. There was little moving offshore other than gulls, the best being half a dozen Mediterranean Gulls going east and a few Turnstones and Oystercatchers back and forth on the rising tide, before other waders had arrived to roost. A look around the set-aside corner and fields behind the beach didn't produce too much either; the regular Kestrel was present, a couple of Pied Wagtails and a Grey Wagtail were on the flooded area and a single Chiffchaff was in the copse by the rife.

Pied Wagtail in the flooded arable field behind the beach

Bilsham farm: There was an unusually large count of 240 Common Gulls on the reservoir today, but otherwise it was a familiar mix of the species recently reported, with a tally of 26 Canada Geese, eight Shoveler, seven Tufted Ducks, a single Wigeon, six Little Grebes and 120 Coots. Around the area were two Stonechats, three Song Thrushes, a Cetti's Warbler, a small flock of Long-tailed Tits and a Chiffchaff.

A scan of the distant fields of the Brooks revealed the herd of c.50 Mute Swans and a single Curlew.

Common Gulls (mostly) on Bilsham reservoir this morning; this is never a numerous species locally so 240 is a good total.

Stonechat at Bilsham farm fields

Sunday, 1st December: A grey, dreary and fairly miserable start to the winter, with frequent and increasingly heavy showers through the morning, driven on by a gusty SW wind force 5-6.

Ancton paddocks: A low-key effort from me this morning, making two separate sorties to the local area when the showers briefly eased, only to soon be calling on my tatty umbrella and twice getting fairly wet!  There was nothing really of any merit to report, a Chiffchaff was the best and just common species were noted....a Pied Wagtail, a Green Woodpecker, a large noisy flock of Jackdaws and so on. One of those mornings when the rain went on far longer than was forecast.

Chiffchaff at Ancton paddocks - bird of the morning!