I went to RSPB Pagham Harbour, a place I have visited many times before, by train and bus on the afternoon of Saturday 24.09.22 and the morning of Monday 26.09.22. I took the train from Brighton to Chichester (55 minutes, two trains an hour), and then picked up the 51 bus at Chichester bus station (next to the rail station) to RSPB Pagham Harbour - stops outside (25 minutes, three buses an hour in winter) 51 Bus Route & Timetable: Chichester - Selsey | Stagecoach (stagecoachbus.com)
On Saturday when I arrived I heard that a Bea-eater had just been seen on the Ferry Channel, so I immediately walked to where it half been seen; but it had gone, I then walked on with two RSPB Rangers to the Severals - the pools beyond Church Norton (south side of the reserve) - where a Wryneck had been seen. I didn't see the Wryneck. However, on my return to the Ferry Pool I did see a Glossy Ibis and a Spotted Flycatcher. I only had time to visit the south of the harbour.
On Monday afternoon I returned to RSPB Pagham Harbour to visit the north side, specifically to visit the North Wall, where I had seen Cattle Egrets on my last visit a week ago. The were no Cattle Egrets, and the tide was very high, so there were few waders around, except in the non-tidal pools (Breach Pool)north of the North Wall and the Ferry Pool. I saw a king fisher catching fish from a pool, and lots of dragonflies, Black-Tailed Godwits and Lapwings.
Birds seen:
Saturday 24.09.22:
Curlew, Dunlin, Redshanks, Oystercatchers, Little Egrets, Grey Herons, Mallards, Black-Tailed Godwits, Glossy Ibis, Spotted Flycatcher, House Sparrows, Rooks, Magpies, Wood Pigeons, Black-Headed Gulls
Tuesday 26.09.22
Greenfinch, Lapwings, Brent Goose, Curlew, Kestrel, Redshanks,, Little Egrets, Grey Herons, Cormorants, Mallards, Shelducks, Black-Tailed Godwits, Lapwings, Sedge Warbler, House Sparrows, Rooks, Magpies, Wood Pigeons, Black-Headed Gulls
Map from: pagham-map.pdf (rspb.org.uk)
Saturday 24.09.22
Church Norton
Beefsteak Fungus
Common Toadflax
Beach at Church Norton
Curlew
Curlew and Dunlin
Redshank
Redshank and Oystercatcher
Little Egrets and Oystercatcher
Sea Thrift
Grey Heron
Sidelsham Quay
Sea Aster
Common Carder Bumblebee on Saa Aster
Mallards
Redshank
Redshank and Little Egret
Ferry Pool
Black-Tailed Godwits
Glossy Ibis
Spotted Flycatcher
Monday 26October 2022
Speckled Wood
Greenfinch
Small White
Ferry Pool - Lapwing
Brent Goose; this Goose has apparently been in the Ferry Pool all year and did not return to Siberia for the winter
Curlews
Redshanks
Curlew
Common Darter Dragonfly
Emperor Dragonfly
Towards Sidelsham Quay
Kestrel
Grey Heron, Little Egret and Cormorant - Owl Copse
Grey Heron
From the North Wall
Cormorants
Grey Heron
Cormorant
Black-Tailed Godwits - beach pool, north of the North Wall; the tide was so high there were few wader in the main part of the Harbour; the breach pool is non-tidal, so the water levels were lower
Lapwings
Grey Heron
Black-Tailed Godwits and Lapwings
Lapwings
Sedge Warbler
Little Grebe
Coots
Shelduck and Two Cormorants
Grey Heron
Little Egret
A Kingfisher; it hovered in the air and plunged into the pool for fish
Looking toward the North Wall
Little Egrets
Ferry Pool - Shelduck, Lapwings and Brent Goose
Shelducks and Lapwings
