The Elmer Birder: 7th - 8th March 2025

Saturday, 8th March: Quite hazy at times with sunshine and cloud, but remaining dry, with a moderate to fresh E/SE breeze 4-5.

Lidsey area: I was otherwise engaged for much of the morning on a monthly wildfowl count at Chichester gravel pits, but later made a couple of fairly brief visits to a couple of sites on the local patch. Bird of the morning was present just as I arrived - a male Marsh Harrier - but it quickly disappeared almost immediately and did not return. The flooded area held 12 Mute Swans, c.80 Teal, four Pintail, eight Wigeon and a dozen Shoveler, plus three Little Egrets, three Grey Herons and 20 Lapwings. As I scanned the reedy area a single Common Snipe could be seen, fairly close but partly obscured by vegetation and relying on its camouflaged plumage, whilst a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk were also seen.

The only waders present of the flooded area were 20 Lapwings on the water's edge with a Grey Heron (above) and a single Snipe (below) hidden in a reedy area.

Bilsham farm: Disappointingly quiet today, with most of the wildfowl now gone, and all I could find were three Tufted Ducks, two Mallard and 32 Coots, plus a Yellowhammer in the hedgerows.

Friday, 7th March: Hazy brightness with cloud and sunny spells through the morning, though feeling quite cool in a fresh SE breeze, force 4. Cloud increasing by afternoon, with the odd shower at times, though staying mainly dry.

Elmer Rocks: Conditions looked promising for migration this morning and I was hoping for some early inbound migrants, but in the event it was decidedly slow, with flocks of Brent Geese again being the only highlight. There were several flocks at various ranges, but as I was getting ready to leave at about 10:45hrs two very distant flocks were just about visible, joining up to make one long. wavering line along the horizon....spectacular, but it was not possible to accurately count, so my rough estimate of c.200 may well be an underestimate. I reckon therefore I logged at least 320 between 08:30-11:00hrs. There must also have been other movements just too far out to sea to see!!

Apart from the above, I could find only a single Great Crested Grebe and four Red-breasted Mergansers offshore. The tide was low and the rockpools held 60+ Turnstones and 15 Sanderlings, whilst four Mallard flew over The only other bird of any note was a male Kestrel hunting over the set-aside area behind the beach; it showed well, frequently hovering, hunting and dropping down until eventually successful.