INTRODUCTION

Introduction: Welcome to this local blog, reporting on the birdlife seen in and around the parish of Middleton-on-Sea, which includes Elmer and Ancton, but also beyond the parish to include the surrounding area that is within a distance of 5 Km (approximately 3 miles) radius from my home. This is my Local Area patch, and in general terms, to the east it includes Climping Gap and Littlehampton river mouth, whilst to the north it covers Bilsham, Yapton, Ford and Barnham, and to the west Felpham, Lidsey and Shripney. Basically, imagine a circle, with my home in the centre and a 5 Km radius extending in all directions; the top semi-circle covers the land area described above, whilst most of the the lower part covers the sea, thereby enabling a number of valuable sea-bird species to be added to the bird list.

Ringed Plover with chick, Elmer beach

 

So why have I decided to start this blog? A good question, but to answer it I should perhaps first just explain a little bit about myself....

I'm a 'birder' (of which more below), born and bred in West Sussex, and I have been birding for over 50 years, with a keen interest in Sussex birds. I have of course bird-watched in many other places over those years (including abroad) and have also spent an inordinate amount of time on the Selsey Peninsula, especially at Selsey Bill and Pagham Harbour. I've lived in West Sussex all my life, bar a few years in more youthful times when I resided in Brighton in the early 1970's, moving to this general area in 1975 and then finally to this local parish in 2002. Whilst I continued birding at my old haunts, I began to make sporadic visits to Elmer on occasions, and also more regularly at the Climping Gap, which had an array of different habitats and birding potential.

If you are still with me, dear reader, now fast forward to the year 2020. This proved to be a major turning point in my personal and birding life. It was of course the year the Covid-19 pandemic struck, accompanied by lockdowns and all those restrictions, but it was also the time I reached 70yrs, as my birthday non-celebrations slipped quietly by. As a birder, the restrictions were a nightmare but at least I could take my daily exercise by walking to the local beach and birding very locally. However, it also gave me time to re-assess - I wasn't getting any younger and I realised that some good birding was to be had locally without the need to travel very far; time then to concentrate much more on my local patch, whilst easing back a little on the other sites I regularly visit.....the Elmer Birder was born!

One of the things that struck me almost immediately was that, as far as I could tell, no other birder worked the patch at Elmer, or at least not regularly, although Climping was covered by other birding friends, so it was uncharted territory which would require some effort to discover the best places to watch - all very exciting! And so it began; the beach area in particular got plenty of my attention, whilst i researched the previous birding records to establish what had - or hadn't - been previously recorded, and it has developed from there.

Some of you may have by now encountered me along the beach at Elmer - and indeed some of you may well have given me a wide berth - but those that have got to know me will realise that I'm usually quite harmless, despite my often shabby attire and array of optical equipment! A number of the more curious or interested folks stop to talk to me and ask about the birdlife of the area when I'm out and about - and indeed even occasionally report 'odd' birds in their garden - but most are surprised when I tell them just how many individual birds and species occur here. It is somewhat strange not to see other birders when I'm out locally, but when birding I'm often 'in the zone' which requires concentration and/or counting or identifying - so please excuse me if I ignore you.... I'm probably unaware of you at that moment!

And basically, those of you taking an interest in your local area was one of the driving factors that prompted me to develop this local blog site. I did flirt with adding sightings to a Facebook account for a short while, but frequent reports to the uninterested masses was uninspiring, thus I have settled on this blog format, which is effectively selected entries of a birding diary to highlight what species occur here. If you've bothered to look at the blog then you're already showing interest in the local birdlife.

So, whether you be a non-birder with just a passing interest in the birdlife of the area, a garden bird-watcher, a casual visitor or a hardened birder like me, I hope you find these reports useful. You will recall I earlier described myself as a birder: this is basically a bird-watcher, but in my world the term 'birder' indicates someone who is deeply committed to the hobby, not just a casual bird-watcher. There is certainly no slur intended here, it's just that there is a difference, though both have value and any individual can watch birdlife in whatever manner suits them best. The other well-known title of 'twitcher' (often widely and wrongly used by the media to describe any bird-watcher) is somewhat different, a twitcher being prepared to drop everything at short notice and travel as soon as possible, and often long distances, to see a newly discovered rare bird. Before you ask, yes I was and yes I still am to a degree, but only very occasionally now, and if it's convenient, for willingly driving through the night is a thing of the past now I'm older! And if you are a hardened birder reading this, I trust you will make allowance for my position here as i need to get the balance right. 

                                                                                   Yours truly  at Elmer in 2021 during a rare fall of snow here!

This little area right on the South coast is at the forefront of receiving incoming and outgoing migrant birds from the continent, whilst offshore, up-Channel and down-Channel movements also occur. It is therefore a good place to see a wide variety of species in any given year. We are very lucky, for the coastal strip between Middleton and Climping Gap is still largely undeveloped and provides good habitat and shelter for tired and hungry migrant birds. There is no room whatever for complacency though; just look at the massive over-development which is already underway in all the adjacent villages. Nature needs a bit of space to thrive, but the greedy eyes of developers and their cosy arrangements with planning authorities are a constant threat. Lobbying of MPs 'over lunch' certainly isn't to discuss habitat preservation!   

I don't wish to turn this into a political debate, but would just say, look around you. A hedgerow removed here, a scrubby corner paved over there, a few trees cut down to make way for a bit of road or to squeeze in a building and suddenly it's gone forever. The pressure on greenery and open habitat is immense. We rightly complain about other countries chopping down rain forest, yet in our own way the authorities brazenly permit us in Britain to do much the same.

So, good people of the parish, please do continue to take an interest in the wildlife of your local area. I submit all sightings to a County and national database, which in due course can assist with providing evidenced objections to some planning applications. It is heartening when local people, perhaps with a faint interest in nature, begin to take notice. That's really why this blog began and I hope to keep your interest alive and growing - and if you find an odd bird I'd like to know! 

                                                           

My Local Area 5 Km patch

In order to keep things simple I have opted to use the widely used common species names for all birds - without the scientific names unless this is specifically required for clarity - and similarly the different sites within the area are included for interest. Note that the term 'Elmer Rocks' covers all the (currently eight) rock island sea-defence groynes to Poole Place, plus the adjoining beach to the building line or hedgerow behind. It may not be widely known, but this area is in fact a Local Wildlife Site (LWS) designated by Arun District Council (under ref: Ar18). The area beyond that, which covers the arable fields/farmland and woodland etc I usually call Elmer & Ancton. However, if further clarity on sites mentioned is needed I can be contacted via the email address shown in the title page (birderowen@hotmail.com)

Also, the current sightings reports will appear with the most recent date first, so that scrolling through will reveal earlier sightings. The blog stores and archives information monthly; this can be accessed from the side-bar on the main display. I aim to use two or three individual blogs to cover a monthly period, but this can be adjusted later if necessary.

These reports are generally in a diary form (extracted from my own notes) and I will try to include here only those reports where I consider something of interest is included, though I am aware, from comments made to me during my birding visits,  that locally-interested people are interested to learn about even the most regular of species, so I'll try to cater for all. This is, after all, a local area blog, covering a fairly small area, and whilst it cannot compare with larger and more productive areas - for example, Pagham Harbour and Medmerry RSPB reserves - it does have its moments, occasionally producing some quality birds and scarce species.

Finally, where possible, I will include photo's to illustrate the entries - but I should warn all that I am no keen photographer and I'm unlikely to improve; my shots are mainly 'point and shoot' with a bridge camera and in the case of scarcer species they just help to prove the species' identity to any ornithological rarities committee (i.e. record shots)....but I'm unlikely to win any competitions! I trust therefore that readers will make allowance for my lack of photographic skill - though it's good enough for me! (Note: any photos not credited are my own, whilst others will be credited and the copyright remains with the photographer unless otherwise notified).