This story really starts a few months back when my older brother was waiting for his bus to college. And waited, and waited, and waited. No bus would come, but the app had not said that this was the case. Thankfully, he managed to get to college with a friend, but 'twas a mystery about the bus. Well, we rang up and found that it had been cancelled, and this obviously hadn't been mentioned on the app, and the guy we rang offered a Gold Day Ticket as compensation- basically travel on all buses in a certain area. Before long, I had laid my claim on the ticket and was eying up a Selsey Big Day at some point in December.
After a full day of planning yesterday, I felt completely unready for today for no reason... I guess it was the huge day that was planned, all the connections, long walking distances, etc. Last night I fell awkwardly on my left ankle playing table tennis as well, so I was worried about whether it would hold up or not... it was hurting quite badly.
I didn't have a specific target number of species; I was just going into it seeing what I could do. There was next to no possibility of any new species for the year, so I was purely focusing on the day total and seeing as many species as possible in the Selsey Recording Area.
The day started off at 4:40 when I woke up to get my bag fully packed and make breakfast. My train left Petersfield at 5:45, and I arrived in Chichester at 6:37, before getting on the 7:00 bus to Seal Road for an early morning seawatch to start the day off.
Before long, we had passed into the Peninsula recording area, and I immediately started scanning for species. The sun had still not risen, so everywhere was pitch dark. A few corvids flying over were unidentifiable because of the poor light, and it was only when I was nearly in Selsey that the sun had risen enough to be able to identify species. A Carrion Crow kicked the day off, followed by some Herring Gulls. The final two species seen on the journey were some flyover Jackdaws and Feral Pigeons at the Lifeboat Station.
I was trying to get as many of the common species as I could quickly; I figured it would give me more time later looking for some good species.
After disembarking from the bus, I walked quickly down to the beachfront and started along towards the green where the other birders would be. A few Black-headed Gulls flying through were accompanied by a Great Black-backed Gull- a decent species to get so quickly.
I was quite pleased to have been able to actually start birding before the sun had risen- a great feeling to be able to get species under the belt so early on in the day.
A Cormorant that flew through became my 7th species.
After making it to the other birders, things started to pick up. Very, very quickly. The first truly decent species of the day came in the form of a Slavonian Grebe that was flying east before dropping onto the sea. Before long, it was joined by another pretty close in... the lighting was still so bad though.
I had planned to be at the bill for only about an hour, picking up the common sea species I wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. The Slavonian Grebes were definitely not one of those "common sea" species I had been expecting. A brilliant species to get still before the sun was properly up.
Up next, a Great Northern Diver appeared offshore, a species I was hoping for but not guaranteed.
A group of 4 Brent Geese flew through, and then, distantly, another species I wasn't guaranteed flew through- Common Scoter. Some Gannets then zoomed past, followed by a gratefully received Sandwich Tern and some Shelduck. All the species I had been hoping for were turning up, and more...
Just as I was thinking about how good it was going, the shout "Long-tailed Duck" went up. It was distant, and I didn't get my camera on it in the end because of the lighting, but another brilliant species to get. I was buzzing and hadn't even been birding an hour.
A Shag then went through, followed by some Oystercatchers. Some waders that flew up and then inland proved to be Grey Plovers, and some Turnstone appeared on the rocks. I managed to pick up a Great Crested Grebe offshore, putting my total on 20 already.
Then another good species went through- Red-throated Diver. I was so pleased with the day's happenings when all of a sudden another diver flew through, this one a Black-throated Diver! All three diver species were not expected this morning. All brilliant birds and huge boosts to the list.
Another Red-throated Diver went through, and I tried to get a photo.
The lighting had improved now, and the Slavonian Grebes were still present offshore.
Some Starlings were flying around, and a Woodpigeon was on a rooftop. I haven't been so pleased to see both these species since Jan 1st this year...
The time was around 8:50, and I was planning on taking a 9:02 bus, so I thanked the other birders for the company and for helping me get on the species that had gone through, and headed towards the bus stop, picking up Pied Wagtail, Magpie, Robin, and Blackbird on the way.
While waiting for the bus, I went down a street in search of the Sparrows I heard calling, and picked those up too. My total was now at 29.
Up next on the trip were the Ferry Pools and opposite harbour, where I was hoping to spend a good amount of time picking up waders, ducks and finches. I had a total of 1hr 53 mins from the bus arriving to my bus going out.
I was very happy to pick up Collared Dove on the way- a species I was expecting to get but was hoping to do so at Selsey Bill, so I was slightly worried when none were visible.
I made it to the ferry pools about 9:20, and was pleased to see it was packed. Shovelers, Lapwings, Canada Geese, Wigeons, Mallards, and Teals were plentiful. The lighting was still awful, so I couldn't manage many photos.
After properly scanning the ferry pools, I checked the channel behind them over the road, where Moorhen, Little Egrets, Little Grebes and Redshank were all visible. I walked the small distance to the Ferry Hide, which was still shut, but I sat to watch the bird feeders and scan across the pools again from a different angle.
I soon picked up Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Wren, and Dunnock.
I started along the path around the harbour, and some Goldfinch flew over. A Curlew was also on the marsh, and a huge flock of waders that flew up and then landed were Golden Plover- another decent species.
Very distantly, a Red Kite circling added another species, along with a Grey Heron that was in a channel with a Little Egret, and some Coots were out in the harbour.
More Brent Geese flew through, another Collared Dove was around, and the bird feeders held plenty of Sparrows and Tits. A Pheasant in a field distantly was welcome, and a calling Firecrest was good around the visitor centre near the hide.
A while spent before my bus at the ferry hide produced a Common Buzzard.
The bus stop turned out to be a treasure trove, with a flyover Raven, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, and a Green Woodpecker proving valuable.
Those three really capped off the time at Pagham Harbour, with my total somewhere around 60- very good for just 11:15.
I was bracing myself for the next stint of the journey. This is where the real slog started... and where we really found out whether my ankle was ok or not. The bus dropped me 2 minutes up the road to Manhood Lane, where I then planned to walk all the way to the Medmerry Easton Lane Car Park, from there down to the Stilt Pools, then all the way across the beach into East Wittering and my next bus from there. 8 Miles on a dodgy ankle, having already done a few. Nice.
The walk to the car park for the actual nature reserve went well, with Jay and Kestrel being added along the way.
I was hoping to pick up quite a few species at Medmerry, but it was pretty dead as I started walking. Finally, some water appeared, where the only new bird for the day were some Gadwall, and another Buzzard was perched. There were plenty of other duck species also out on the water. A ringed Curlew was also out in the harbour.
I continued walking, and without many birds to look at to take my mind off it, my ankle started hurting quite a bit. Luckily, before long, a Yellowhammer perched up.
Another beautiful species easily overlooked because of its lack of scarcity.
A mile or two later, things finally started to pick up as I approached the Stilt Pools, with a Skylark, Meadow Pipits and two Stonechats adding to the tally.
As I made it to the Slilt Pools, some Tufted Ducks appeared, and waders on an island proved to be Dunlin and Ringed Plover. Wigeons, a Cormorant, Teal, Shoveler and Mallards were also all present.
As timings worked out, I ended up needing to just walk straight through without any proper breaks to sit and watch, and as the clock ticked on past 12:45, I started on my walk along the beach towards the bus stop in East Sussex. This was where my ankle started to be a bit of a problem- the awfully uneven surface of rocks, and having been on it for so long, it wasn't good, but just about manageable. Luckily, as I had planned, up next was an hour's journey on the buses, relaxing, before... more walking. My total as I left Medmerry was around 75.
I made it to the bus stop in time for the 13:39 up to Chichester... why did I want to go there? Well, I didn't, but it turns out to be the only route to get to the Pagham Lagoon and Harbour North Wall. I was constantly searching for birds the whole time on the buses, as I had been all morning, but as soon as we passed over the road marking the peninsula boundary, I properly relaxed, not having to worry about missing a Common Gull in a field or anything of the sort.
After making my connection in Chichester and crossing over the boundary, I was straight to the birding again, literally- the bus goes right past the Ivy Lake complex, and I hadn't picked up Mute Swan yet. Bingo. Through some bushes on a small pond was a juvenile Mute Swan.
My plan to finish the day off was as follows. Get off at the Church Farm Caravan Park bus stop and walk from there to Pagham Lagoon, hoping to pick up two specific species there. Then walk the rest of the way down the lagoon, and all the way up the path to the salthouse at Little Welbourne, and then onto the north wall and bird there for an hour or so. My bus back was at about 16:30, so I was hoping I might get lucky and see some owls to finish the day off.
The rest of the journey was uneventful, and I arrived at the caravan park at about 14:45 before walking to Pagham Lagoon. The hope here was for one more duck species I hadn't seen yet, and a much scarcer bird that had been here a while- a Black-necked Grebe.
I walked onto the boardwalk and was immediately taken aback by the number of Coots around. There were plenty of Black-headed Gulls and a few Tufted Ducks also. I scanned the corner where my main target species had been reported, but only Little Grebes were present. Even though it was only 15:00, the light had already started disappearing rapidly, so photos were difficult. My main worry was that I would get to the North Wall before it was difficult to actually see anything – there were quite a few species I was hoping to pick up there.
I've genuinely never seen Coots this tame before. A guy was feeding them, and they were just standing around on the path right by his feet, waiting for food. When I ended up going down the path, they repeated the trick with me, hoping I had food for them, and I had to walk through the crowds to actually get to the end of the path!
I was just starting to worry about the lack of any new species yet, when two ducks on the other side of the lake formed into some Common Pochards.
Almost immediately afterwards, another scan of the north side of the lagoon produced the two Little Grebes again, but also the target Black-necked Grebe- a really great species to see as always, and a good one for the list, pushing my total up to 77.
It was on the other side of the lagoon, and I could've walked around to see it closer, but with the light going fast, I didn't have time, and I've gotten decent photos of this species at Staines before.
I decided to start walking around the lagoon towards the harbour itself, and stopped once more to try and get more photos of the Black-necked grebe, and was joined by the Coots again.
The light, as I'm sure you can tell by the above photo, was getting very poor, so I rushed around the rest of the lagoon and got onto the walk along the harbour up to the North Wall.
A scan over the harbour produced 4 more Mute Swans, hundreds of Teal, Lapwings and other waders. Best of all was a single Pintail that put my list up to 78.
The walk up to the wall had the harbour in view for little of it. When all the birds flew up, I managed to pick out a few Black-tailed Godwits- another new one for the day. After they had landed, a long scan produced some Knots, which were number 80 for the day. I was extremely pleased to finally pick up a Lesser Black-backed Gull flying through, genuinely a really cool gull species, one of my favourites.
By now, the path had gone out of view of the harbour, so I was racing along it as fast as possible. The miles and miles of walking had really taken their toll, and I was struggling not to trip head over heels as I bundled along the extremely muddy track. I stopped for a minute to watch a new species for the day-a Chiffchaff- through the binos before it flew off. There was already not enough light for photographs, and I still had over half a mile to go before I even made it to the North Wall. I knew that as soon as I made it to the North Wall, I would have roughly 30 minutes more birding and walking before being able to rest on the journey home, so I motored on.
The light seemed to be beating me in the race. When I'd made it to the wall, it was already difficult to ID stuff. I was at a very good 82 species, but knew there were plenty more to get. I started walking along the path, hoping for anything. I hadn't picked up Med or Common Gulls yet, but the gulls were too far out in this lighting to be able to ID any of them for certain.
The light continued dropping, as did the temperature, and it was beginning to look as though I had walked all the way up to the North Wall for nothing. I heard a Water Rail squealing in the reeds, and briefly thought about trying to see if I could see it before common sense kicked in, and I continued walking along the track. Long, hard scans of the reeds didn't produce any Snipe, but some Marsh Harriers hunting provided entertainment as my fingers froze and the last of my energy disappeared. As previously mentioned, I was hoping for owls, and they should have been out by now if I was going to see them.
Then, I heard a call that got my hopes up I followed the sound as it flew hardly meters in front of me, but excruciatingly couldn't lay eyes on it in the awful light. Then, I caught a glimpse of it on the rocks- it had landed. A Rock Pipit. Number 83. I gave a photograph a go- see if you can figure out where/what the bird is.
After walking a while up the path and back down to no avail, I sat down on a bench to wait out the remaining time of my trip. I could hear a few Curlews calling in the darkness, and a Magpie that was perched gave me what was surely to be a last photo of the day. Through the power of editing, the light looks a lot, lot better than it was.
I took some photos of the harbour and reeds behind me to give an idea of how dark it was getting.
It was darker than the photos suggest, but you could still just about see shapes moving through the air. I was really hoping to finish the day with owls. It would just be perfect. Watching the owls hunt as the final few rays of light slipped away. But still, no owls. I still had about 25 minutes left, and was hoping that it would get darker so the owls might come out. I was freezing by this point. I had been prepared for the slog, but this was slightly harder than I had expected. Time kept on racing by at an alarming rate, and I was worrying that I might not get any more species.
The ducks, gulls and waders were still out in the harbour, and an interesting shape on the water caught my eye. As I was getting my camera onto it, another shape flying over the reeds caught my eye, but I continued looking at the bird on the water. All of a sudden, thinking about the other bird I had seen, "Wait, what actually was that?" My heart started pounding. I swivelled round on the bench and was met by a deathly bird of prey gliding through the air. Immediately, I saw it my freezing hands clutched at my binoculars. But I didn't need them for ID. I knew exactly what this was. And it was so thrilling. A look through the binoculars only increased my heart rate, as I got brilliant views of a slim, long-tailed bird of prey with a bright, white ring around its tail shining out in the darkness. That's right, as the night closed in, a stunning, sleek and deathly Hen Harrier had come out to hunt.
I genuinely couldn't believe what I was seeing. This species had caused me quite a bit of trouble not too long ago at The Burgh, not a million miles away from here. The bird was really quite close, allowing incredible views through binoculars. Silently scything through the air, spelling death for anything that took its fancy, this ringtail was the epitome of a bird of prey. I myself was almost shaking in my boots as it flew around- this bird, in this light, was a terrifying sight.
It flew out over the harbour, and I tried to get a few shots, but even with insane amounts of editing, they don't come out well. But I couldn't care less. The bird in this shot is just below the bench. It's worth noting as well that while it may look distant in all the photos I got, I was probably only at about 1/4th of my camera's zoom, but there was no chance of focusing if I went all the way.
Quite often, I lost sight of the bird as it silently slid through the air, disappearing into the darkness. It went missing again, and when it didn't appear again, I thought that the sighting was finished. I stood there, absolutely gobsmacked, only able to think, "What on earth just happened?" Not only was the harrier an absolutely incredible, unexpected and perfect end to a hard, tiring, but enjoyable day, it was also a year tick and lifer. I had gone into the day not expecting any new birds at all, as none had been seen on the peninsula in recent times that I was able to get.
I sat back down, elated, thrilled, and exhausted. All of a sudden, it appeared over the reeds again, having flown all the way from the harbour to behind me without me having seen any sign of it, even closer this time. It was truly hunting, diving in and out of the reeds, gliding silently, spelling death for anything it laid its eyes on. A master of flight. I finally managed to get a photo that you can really see what it was in. The bird is flying away, but that bright white ringed tail is clear.
The tail seemed to glow in the darkness, an incredible sight. I got a video of it, which shows the bird slightly better. You can view the video here-
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