17/12/2017 Birding in the Chichester Area

Sunday 17 December 2017
Dell Quay then West Dean Woods
Chichester

Today, I made an early, 06.45, start to meet up with Paul and the group for a day out in the Chichester area.  We started at Dell Quay, south of Chichester, and spent a fabulous couple of hours watching the birds as they moved up Fishbourne Creek with the rising tide.  Just before lunch, we relocated to West Dean Woods on the north side of Chichester looking for woodland birds and Hawfinch in particular.  As forecast, the rain duly arrived in the afternoon, and we finished early but not before we had seen our fair share of interesting birds including the Hawfinch.

Dell Quay

• A Kingfisher greeted us the start.  It flew onto a moored boat where it perched for a while, allowing us to get cracking views.  This was the first of 4 sightings I was able to get of this lovely creature.

• Almost immediately, Paul drew our attention to a group of 3-4 Goldeneye, including a magnificent drake, in the channel just beyond the Kingfisher.  What a start!

As we moved north along the creek, it was hard to concentrate on the birds because the scenery was quite majestic  The ambiance was so tranquil in the quiet of the early morning sunshine.  With barely a breath of wind, the sea that was as flat as a pancake. 

Pick of the rest of the sightings are listed below:-

• A spotted Redshank was another early sighting.
• Several Pintails were seen, including a couple of stunning males.
• We saw 4 Greenshank very clearly and we think there were at least 6 around.
• It would not be Fishbourne Creek if we did not see Rock Pipit and Grey Wagtail and this time was no different.
• Of the rest, the Brent Geese, Black-tailed Godwits and the Grey Plovers stood out.

A superb 3 hours in perfect weather!

West Dean Woods

 
We then drove to West Dean Woods as the distant clouds started to form and head our way.

• Within seconds of arriving there were Hawfinches to be seen high over the tall trees near to us  Over the next 2 hours we must have had about 10 sightings, most of them quite distant but nevertheless offering good views.
• On the way to West Dean Woods,  I had super views of a low flying Red Kite and later we saw several others.
• At least one Brambling was moving around with the many Chaffinches.
• We had a really good view of some Yellowhammers perched in the high trees.
• Winter Thrushes were present in good numbers as you would expect in this superb habitat.

By mid-afternoon, the rain started and soon after we called it a day, happy in the knowledge that we had seen the target bird and also several bonus birds.

A very happy group of 9 birders!

Alan's comprehensive species list is shown below:-

What ?	Seen ?		What ?	Seen ?		What ?	Seen ?
Little Grebe			Dunlin	Yes		Whinchat
Great Crested Grebe	Yes		Purple Sandpiper			Blackbird	Yes
Fulmar			Ruff			Fieldfare	Yes
Gannet			Black-Tailed Godwit	Yes		Mistle Thrush	Yes
Cormorant	Yes		Bar-Tailed Godwit			Redwing	Yes
Shag			Curlew	Yes		Song Thrush	Yes
Bittern			Whimbrel			Cetti's Warbler
Little Egret	Yes		Snipe	Yes		Sedge Warbler
Grey Heron	Yes		Greenshank	Yes		Reed Warbler
Mute Swan	Yes		Marsh Sandpiper			Blackcap
Bewick's Swan			Redshank	Yes		Chiffchaff
Whooper Swan			Spotted Redshank	Yes		Whitethroat
Greylag Goose			Common Sandpiper			Lesser Whitethroat
White-fronted Goose			Green Sandpiper			Willow Warbler
Pink-footed Goose			Turnstone	Yes		Goldcrest	Yes
Barnacle Goose			Black-headed Gull	Yes		Firecrest
Brent Goose	Yes		Common Gull	Yes		Bearded Tit
Canada Goose			Mediterranean Gull			Marsh Tit	Yes
Egyptian Goose			Herring Gull	Yes		Willow Tit
Snow Goose			Lesser Black-backed Gull			Blue Tit	Yes
Shelduck			Great Black-backed Gull			Coal Tit	Yes
Gadwall	Yes		Kittiwake			Great Tit	Yes
Mallard	Yes		Sandwich Tern			Long-tailed Tit	Yes
Teal	Yes		Common Tern			Nuthatch	Yes
Widgeon	Yes		Arctic Tern			Tree Creeper	Yes
Garganey			Little Tern			Jackdaw	Yes
Pintail	Yes		Black Guillemot			Jay	Yes
Pochard			Guillemot			Magpie
Shoveler			Razorbill			Carrion Crow	Yes
Tufted Duck			Puffin			Raven
Goldeneye	Yes		Collared Dove	Yes		Rook
Goosander			Feral Pigeon	Yes		Starling	Yes
Red-breasted Merganser			Woodpigeon	Yes		House Sparrow	Yes
Ruddy Duck			Stock Dove			Tree Sparrow
Smew			Barn Owl			Brambling	Yes
Common Scoter			Tawny Owl			Chaffinch	Yes
Buzzard	Yes		Short-eared Owl			Goldfinch	Yes
Red Kite	Yes		Little Owl			Greenfinch	Yes
Marsh Harrier			Cuckoo			Siskin
Sparrowhawk			Ring-necked Parakeet			Linnet
Hobby			Kingfisher	Yes		Twite
Kestrel	Yes		Green Woodpecker			Lesser Redpoll
Merlin			Great Spotted Woodpecker	Yes		Bullfinch
Peregrine			Lesser spotted Woodpecker			Common Crossbill
Osprey			Skylark			Corn Bunting
Black Grouse			Swift			Reed Bunting	Yes
Red Grouse			Swallow
Pheasant	Yes		Sand Martin			Hawfinch	Yes
Red-legged Partridge	Yes		House Martin			Yellowhammer	Yes
Grey Partridge			Meadow Pipit
Coot	Yes		Rock Pipit	Yes		Jack Snipe	No
Water Rail			Pied Wagtail	???
Moorhen	Yes		Grey Wagtail	Yes
Avocet			Yellow Wagtail
Oystercatcher	Yes		Dipper
Little Ringed Plover			Dunnock	Yes
Ringed Plover	Yes		Wren	Yes
Golden Plover			Robin	Yes
Grey Plover	Yes		Nightingale
Lapwing	Yes		Redstart
Knot	Yes		Wheatear
Sanderling			Stonechat	Yes		Total	71