Waxwings !!

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After several abortive attempts to see the reported Waxwings in Goring by Sea I I finally managed to catch up with them during the week and although the light was poor I managed to get a few shots...
Here on Pagham Beach the Brent Geese are getting restless and with the improved weather today I think they are considering returning to their homeland in the far north! A Starling was heard mimicing a Wigeon to perfection today and it seemed strange to hear the call coming from the top of a telegraph pole!
Several resident birds are now singing regularly and the thought that Spring is not far away is very welcoming.

The past week

Late afernoon sun over the Harbour

As I took a walk out to see the water levels in the fields bordering the North Wall I realised I hadn't updated my blog for a week or more. Well, last Monday we awoke to a sprinkling of snow and having then turned on the news, realised we had been more fortunate than most. Deep snow had fallen in the the south east and was causing traffic chaos! Since then we have had a mixture of cold,cloudy weather but last night heavy rain had left many places under water...again living virtually on the shingle beach we are fortunate in that the rain drains away quite quickly. As far as the birds this past week 5 Avocets have been present, 2 of them still hobling on one leg. An oiled dead Gannet has been washed up on the beach and this afternoon I came across a flightless Brent Goose in the harbour. It was able to run across the marsh evading capture but was unable to fly although it didn't seem to dragging a broken wing.
From the North Wall all the fields are under deep water but on a few remaining 'islands' there were huge concentrations of birds including c1000 Black Tailed Godwits, 750 Golden Plover, 500 Lapwings besides flocks of Wigeon and many Pintail, Shoveler and Shelduck. A couple of large flocks of Brent geese were wheeling over the flooded fields and must have totalled 1500/2000+....a fantastic sight.
On my return along Slipe Field I heard my first songs of both a Chaffinch and a Greenfinch so I guess Spring is not too far away....nice thought.

Perishing Pagham!

It is very windy and miserably cold today so the need for extra layers was essential when I made my way to the harbour spit hide. However I was rewarded by the vast numbers of birds now present... 145 Mediterranean gulls on the Lagoon, at least 400 Black Tailed Godwits wheeling over the harbour plus hundreds of Knot, Dunlin,Grey and Golden Plover and all the 'usuals'. 3 Avocets are still feeding in the main channel and a Peregrine made several unsuccesful stoops on various waders.
Pintail, Wigeon, Teal and Shelduck are the most numerous of the ducks but there are smaller numbers of Red Breasted Mergansers and Goldeneye throughout the harbour. With a forecast of snow on Sunday and Monday it will be interesting to see the effect this will have on the birdlife. ..but for now I'm battening down the hatches and staying in the warm!

The Big Garden Birdwatch Weekend

Yesterday was the big day for the start of the RSPB's 'biggest garden party' when we were all requested to count all the birds that visited our gardens in the space of one hour. I duly started in late morning and after 20minutes I had one Blackbird and one Dunnock. Having given up I decided that the next day would be a better day to take part in the census so wandered up to the harbour mouth in late afternoon with my camera in the hope there might be a good sunset...it looked hopeful. After enjoying the various waders in the middle of the harbour feeding on the mudflats I wandered along the beach when I noticed a drake Red Breasted Merganser on the shingle, preening. Not that unusual, but in the failing light he didn't seem to notice me and allowed a reasonably close approach. The light was poor so I changed my camera settings to 800ASA and managed to get a few reasonable shots.
So today it was back to the counting business in the garden. In the pouring rain during the early part of the morning the birds were feeding and after an hour I had managed 1 Magpie, 4 Dunnocks, 2 Blackbirds and 15 House Sparrows...a pathetic count compared to what I have seen in the garden on other days but the rules state we have to record the maximum number of birds of the various species seen during the selected hour.
If only I could have included birds seen from the window but not in the garden I would have a VERY good list including Knot (150) Great Crested Grebe (6) Mediterranen Gulls(35) Slavonian Grebe (3) and many more....but that wouldn't be permitted (or very useful for the purpose of the R.S.P.B.'s Garden Birdwatch).

Sick Seal, Poorly Avocets.

As I wandered along the beach towards the harbour entrance I met a birdwatching group from Berkshire who pointed out a young seal hauled up on the shingle bank opposite, not looking at all well. I tried unsuccessfullyto contact the local reserve and left a message on a mobile answerphone. An hour and a half later the seal was still there and as it happened, when I passed by again, a person was strolling along the shingle so I called out to him across the water and alerted him to the sick seal. As he approached, the the seal managed to get into the water and swam slowly towards the harbour exit. I am not at all certain whether the creature will survive but it is worth keeping an eye out for it and reporting it if it seems in trouble.
Next stop was the hide and the 5 Avocets were still in the middle of the harbour, asleep. However after about 10 minutes they were disturbed by something and flew a short distance. It was then I noticed that 2 of them had difficulty in landing and each appeared to have only 1 leg. They hopped along the mud before settling down and going back to sleep. All 5 remained on one leg and this is quite normal for waders when roosting, but it was only after their flight I realised there was a problem with 2 of them when landing.

Avocet treat.

Following a few days of being confined to the house as a result of a nasty 'bug' which seems to be doing the rounds I ventured out and walked to the hide. Besides the usual Goldeneye,Wigeon, Shelduck and waders I was treated to 5 Avocets.....4 were sleeping but one was preening and it was really good to be able to enjoy them from the relative warmth of the hide. There is still a keen wind albeit a southerly and the temperature is only just nudging 5c.
Back in the bungalow I have been watching an almost total albino Oystercatcher (well about 90% )...there has been one about most winters for the past 15/20years and whether it is the same one it is difficult to know. This one seems somewhat more white than previous ones I've seen but who knows?
During the past few days a couple of Razorbills and a single Guillemot have been residing off shore and Great Crested Grebes have been accompanied by Slavonian Grebes.

I shall be pleased when the weather improves...I'm getting a bit fed up with this continual ' grey'!

A walk to the shops!

Having decided it was necessary to buy a few bits at the local shops I decided to walk along the beach the half mile or so instead of getting the car out! It was a superb, warm(ish), sunny morning and I was really glad I did. The usual Turnstones and Redshanks were feeding along the shoreline when I noticed a very pale almost white small wader....a Sanderling. This is unusual for Pagham beach as they usually show a preference for sand rather than pebbles and although common along the coast at Elmer and Clymping I haven't seen one here for several years. Having got the shopping I walked back along another route skirting the Lagoon and was rewarded with 5 Red Breasted Mergansers, a pair of Goldeneye, a Shoveler, a Kingfisher and 20 Mediterranean Gulls. I returned home and, looking out over the beach, noticed that a wheeling flock of Knot were just landing on their high tide roost on the off-shore shingle bank.
This is really not a bad place to live despite the threat of being washed away at some time in the not too distant future. Once again we have been reminded of this fact as we have lost another 2 metres of beach during the high spring tide and southerly wind earlier in the week!
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