It is with regret that I have to inform you of the passing of Eric Standing, who died on thursday morning. A personal friend, great birder with a wealth of knowledge of the local area he will be sadly missed by all.

Quiet offshore this morning so a quick romp around the fields which was equally quiet.

Red-throated Diver - 7e

Diver sp - 1e

Wigeon - 1e

Great-crested Grebe - 5 os

Red-breasted Merganser - 3e 2 os

Oystercatcher - 1w

Sanderling - 30w

Turnstone - 25w

Lapwing - 2

Med Gull - 3e

Little Egret - 1

Reed Bunting - 7

Yellowhammer - 5+

Skylark - 40+

Meadow Pipit - 11

Pied Wagtail - 5

Bullfinch - 2

Stonechat - 1

Goldfinch - 17

Linnet - c.100

Buzzard - 1

Linnets north of Ferry Rd

Skylark setaside

River Arun from Tortington

Marsh Harrier - 2

Great-crested Grebe - 1

Lapwing - c150+

Mute Swan - 46

Black Swan - 1

Lapwing - c150+

Egyptian Geese - 2

Shelduck - 2

Linnet - c100+

Stonechat -3

Great-crested Grebe

Marsh Harrier

 

Elmer Rocks: The cold weather had obviously prompted a bit of an influx and there were a lot of birds on the sea today. There were at least 12 Red-throated Divers on the water – some quite close behind the rock islands – whilst a further 27 flew west, though the highlight was the two Velvet Scoters which took off from the sea and flew east a short way, before dropping down again off Poole Place. My log for the morning (0830-1100hrs) was as follows. (OM)

Red-throated Diver – 1E, 27W, 12 o/s 

Great Crested Grebe – 60 o/s 

Gannet – 7E 

Brent Goose – 8E, settled o/s 

Common Scoter – 3 o/s 

Velvet Scoter – 2 o/s 

Red-breasted Merganser – 45 o/s 

Wigeon – 4W 

Curlew – 1E 

Oystercatcher – 9 o/b 

Grey Plover – 5 

Ringed Plover – 25 

Sanderling – 8 

Dunlin - 1 

Turnstone – 12 

Razorbill – 3E, 1W 

Auk sp – 6E, 1W

Nearby, 28 Curlews were feeding in the back fields behind the Poole Place area.

Hour & half sea watch at Climping Beach this morning found several Reds-throated Diver offshore.

Red-throated Diver 15e 5w 3 os

Razorbill - 1w

Brent Geese - 19e

Med Gull - 14w

Red-breasted Merganser - 8 os 2w

Great-crested Grebe - 14 os

Grey Plover 4e 6w

Turnstone - 15 

 

 

Elmer Rocks: The highlight of a fairly slow morning was a Great White Egret passing leisurely east offshore at 0910hrs, although quite a way out. Scope views were ok but attempts at a photo however were predictably less successful! Offshore there were 20+ R/b Mergansers, 15 Great Crested Grebes, singles of Razorbill and Guillemot and a Red-throated Diver, with several of the latter going E & W. A flock of 33 Brent eventually settled on the sea before heading back W and a Curlew went E, but waders were few, with just eight Oystercatchers and six Ringed Plovers. A Kestrel was again hunting over hotspot set-aside, but I couldn’t find anything of interest there. (OM)

Not the spectacle of yesterday but 3 Velvet Scooter flew in from the west and landed on the sea off the car park, and at least 3 Great-northern Diver west with probably a few more.

Velvet Scooter - 3

Great-northern Diver - 3w

Red-throated Diver - 4w

Diver sp - 18w 1e 

Brent Geese - 4w

Auk sp - 1e

Shelduck - 3w

Med Gull - 5w 2e

Red-breasted Merganser - 12w 9e 7os

Great-crested Grebe - 1 os

Late on parade this morning with other duties, a call from OM at 08:35 about a flock of c90 Barnacle Geese west at Elmer,at 08:35 had me scurring down the patch, and fortunaetly further flocks continued on the move with a total of 333 seen moving through the area.

Barnacle Geese - 233w

Red-throated Diver - 3w

Teal - 2w

Kittiwake - 3w

Med Gull - 45w 10e

Great-crested Grebe - 2w

Ringed Plover - 1w

Grey Plover - 43

Turnstone - 15w

Stonechat - 1

Yellowhammer - 5

Song Thrush - 5

Reed Bunting - 1

Buzzard - 1

Kestrel - 1

Linnet - 9

Skylark - 30

Barnacle west at Climping this morning

Med Gull west

River Arun fromTortington

Marsh Harrier - 2

Shelduck - 6

Eygptian Geese - 2

Greylag Goose - 1

Teal - 1

Lapwing - c160+

Snipe - 2

Linnet - c150-+

Common Sandpiper - 1

Redshank - 1

Mute Swan - 37

Grey Heron - 2

Marsh Harrier Tortington

Wigeon & usual wildfowl Marsh Farm

A very grey day covering west beach, seaside, long wood and  the back of the golf course.

Peregrine - 2

Kestrel - 1

Yellowhammer 6+

Reed Bunting - 4

Skylark - 40+

Meadow Pipit - 20

Song Thrush - 3

Chiffchaff - 2

Brent Geese - 2e

Med Gull - 12w 7e 5 os

Grey Partridge - 4

Redshank - 1 river

Oystercatcher - 4

Stock Dove - 18 

Arun/Tortington - A change of scenery this morning. Along the river were a Common Sandpiper, a Redshank and an Oystercatcher, whilst the fields held a herd of 30 Mute Swans in the regular area. In the marshy fields and bushes on the east bank were a Little Egret, two Stonechats, six Yellowhammers, two Reed Buntings, c.150 Linnets and eight Song Thrushes (with six of the latter in a single bush – most seemed rather dark, perhaps continental birds?) Also hundreds of corvids...surely 500+ Jackdaws.(OM) 

Records for Friday 10/12/21 

Elmer Rocks - There was next to nothing on the sea, with the local Great Crested Grebes and R/b Mergansers having largely gone, presumably due to the recent storm. A single Red-throated Diver going W and a couple of Med Gulls were all I could muster, whilst along the shore were 20+ Ringed Plovers, two Grey Plovers and a handful of Turnstones and Sanderling. Also, a flock of 35 Linnets flew W along the beach, 10 Meadow Pipits were in the field adjoining Poole Place and a total of 47 Curlews were feeding in the back fields there.(OM)

Good passage offshore this morning with the highlight being 2 Black -throated Divers found by the rampion surveyor's off West Beach.

Black-throated Diver - 2 os

Red-throated Diver - 7w 4 os

Eider - 3w

Slavionian Grebe - 1 os

Great-crested Grebe - c30

Red-throated Merganser - 40w 20 os

Razorbill - 4w

Guillemot - 2w 

Auk sp - c100+ w

Teal - 6w

Shelduck - 4w

Kittiwake - 17w

Gannet - 62w 39e

Med Gull - 1

Brent Geese - 10w c150e 

Curlew - 1

Sanderling - 21

Grey Plover - 5

Oystercatcher - 1

Ringed Plover - 2w

Brent Geese

Gannet

Around Marsh Farm this morning checking on the pools, not really  cold enough but an increase in wildfowl numbers nevertheless.

Mallard - 45

Wigeon - 15

Teal - 11

Pochard - 9

Tufted Duck - 7

Gadwall - 6

Mute Swan- 3

Cormorant - 6

Little Grebe - 1

Goldrest -2

Chiffchaff - 1

Grey Wagtail - 1

Pied Wagtail - 5

Yellowhammer - 3

Redwing - c40

Fieldfare - 7

Song Thrush - 3

Water Rail - 1 heard

Goldfinch - 33

Linnet - c50

Buzzard - 3

Sparrowhawk - 1

Kestrel - 2

Raven - 3w 

Jay - 1

Stock Dove - 3

Grey Heron - 1

Linnets

Redwing

Fieldfare

Climping this morning from RG, probable Black-throated Diver offshore, Razorbill, Peregrine and 40 Curlew in the fields north of Poole Place. 

Cold bright morning with a brisk north west breeze found several Kittiwake moving west offshore although mainly distant.

Kittiwake - c50+

Med Gull 9w

Auk sp - 100+w

Guillemot - 1

Red-throated Diver - 3w 3os

Great-crested Grebe - 7 os

Red-breasted Merganser - nc

Common Scooter - 6e

Little Egret - 2

Grey Heron - 1

Dunlin - 6w

Grey Plover - 32

Turnstone - nc

Yellowhammer - 10+

Reed Bunting - 6

Linnet - 15

Skylark - 30+

Meadow Pipit - 12

Stonechat - 2

Buzzard - 1

Kestrel - 1

Sparrowhawk - 1