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.

Brent Geese passing Elmer Rocks; c.55 birds above and 39 in the lower image

Male Kestrel hovering and hunting over the set-aside area, and (below) dropping down onto prey

4th - 6th March 2025

Thursday, 6th March: A misty, hazy start and not as chilly as the last few days, the sun breaking through to give a lovely early spring day, with blue skies, high wispy cloud and a fairly light SSE breeze 2-3.

Elmer Rocks: After the foggy white-out of yesterday it was a joy to be out in the sunshine, which felt pleasantly warm in sheltered spots. Species numbers recorded were low today, but it was all about Brent Geese this morning, with the first obvious migration underway and a proper easterly movement, albeit some were difficult to see at distance against the misty horizon. I logged a total of 264E, but doubtless missed some whilst looking around the patch. 

Amongst one of the goose flocks moving were c.15 Pintail mixed in, but the glaring sun and background murkiness made an exact count - or photo - impossible. These apart, there was nothing else moving through that I could discern, but three Great Crested Grebes, two Red-breasted Mergansers and a Grey Seal were offshore behind the rock islands. The tide was well out and several small flocks of Turnstone and Sanderling were back and forth, but no count made today. The only passerines of any note were a Chiffchaff, a Song Thrush and a couple of Skylarks.

Brent Goose migration underway, a fine sight in early spring. (above) Note the misty horizon, whilst (lower two) conditions have cleared a bit, with the birds now a little closer. 

Tuesday, 4th March: Yet another cold and frosty start, followed by a lovely sunny day, with just a light SW breeze.

Barnham Brooks - Lidsey: A couple of hours spent this morning on the Brooks, concentrating mainly on the Lidsey side, where a flooded field still remains to draw in some wildfowl. There were 130 Teal, 12 Wigeon, 20 Pintail, a few Mallard, a courting pair of Mute Swans, a Little Egret and 16 Lapwings on or around the flood, whilst in the surrounding area were two Stonechats (a pair), a singing Reed Bunting, two Cetti's Warblers, two Chiffchaffs (one singing), 40 Goldfinch and two Kestrels.  A couple of Mediterranean Gulls also flew over, giving their distinctive call.

Courting Mute Swans and (below) Teal on the floods

(above) Pintail (foreground) with Wigeon, and Stonechat (below)

1st - 3rd March 2025

Monday, 3rd March: Another sharp frost this morning, leading into a crisp, bright and sunny day, with blue skies and just a light NE breeze.

Elmer Rocks: There was virtually nothing moving through on passage this morning, although on the calm sea at low tide there were 24 Red-breasted Mergansers, dotted about, in twos and threes and at varying ranges, with most of the males now attempting some display, whilst three Great Crested Grebes were far more sedate. Waders were again the most numerous feature; 45 Oystercatchers dropped in to rest on the rock islands awhile, a large mixed flock of Turnstones and Sanderlings also appeared - consisting of about 40 of each - to be joined later by other stragglers (one hopping about on just one leg), and four Ringed Plovers were also feeding on the beach.

In the set-aside adjoining the beach, a single Chiffchaff was present and singing occasionally; this was probably an early migrant as none have been present here for some weeks now, two rival Song Thrushes were again duetting, and several Linnets were flying around, but otherwise there was nothing of note.

Oystercatchers dropped onto the rocks to rest for a while this morning

Sanderlings at Elmer Rocks; the above 'normal' bird was feeding on the beach, whilst the two images below show an unfortunate one-legged bird that had to rapidly hop (as immediately below) to keep up with its congeners that were running, before eventually resting (bottom image).

Sunday, 2nd March: A hard frost to start, giving way to a mainly sunny day again, with a fairly light but chilly E/SE breeze.

Shripney area: In the fields, a count of the wintering herd of Mute Swans produced a total of 52 birds, though doubtless these numbers will soon decline as adults move to their breeding sites. On the small reservoirs nearby were seven Tufted Ducks, six Mallard, two Shelduck and a Little Grebe. Along the hedgerows there were 10 Linnets, a couple of Greenfinches and two Chiffchaffs, whilst a small flock of c.30 Starlings fooled me for a while with a parakeet impression!

Starling at Shripney; I thought I heard the screech of a parakeet until I realised it was Starlings mimicking....but what attractive birds they are with their iridescent plumage reflecting the sunlight.

Bilsham farm: There were c.20 Mute Swans distantly viewable from the reservoir this afternoon, whilst on the water were just seven Tufted Ducks, two Gadwall, three Mallard, two Little Grebes and 34 Coots.

Duck numbers continue to fall and there were just seven Tufted Ducks left on the reservoir this morning, whilst below, a sure sign that spring is just around the corner with this bank of primroses now out.

Saturday, 1st March: Another cold and frosty start, leading to a bright and sunny day, with some scattered cloud and just a light to moderate NE breeze force 3.

Lidsey WTW area: Quite spring-like conditions for the first day of meteorological spring, so before leaving to go birding off the patch, I made a short visit here this morning, where I was pleased to find my first Green Sandpiper of the year at the small reservoir. Also present were five Tufted Ducks, six Shoveler, 15 Teal, six Gadwall and two Little Grebes. The hedgerows all around the WTW and the footpath seemed to be alive with Chiffchaffs feeding on insects in the morning sunshine; I counted at least 30 but doubtless there were others unseen and several were singing, whilst c.20 Pied Wagtails and a Grey Wagtail were also present.

(above) Green Sandpiper at the small reservoir this morning and (below) a drake Gadwall (bottom left) and two pairs of Shoveler.

Chiffchaff and Robin feeding on the ground near the WTW