28/09/19 Thorney Island with Alan P and the Sussex Ornithological Society (SOS) - 2 Ospreys

Saturday 28 September 2019
Thorney Island, West Sussex
Sussex Ornithological Society Outing

Alan P and I joined up with the SOS at Thornham Lane for our annual outing to Thorney Island, hoping to see ospreys on their return journey to Africa. 

Sadly only 6 members made the trip, probably down to the recent inclement weather and the lack of shelter on this 7 mile route.  There was no rain today and it was quite warm despite the blustery conditions. At the start it was almost high tide.



• We got off to a good start with a noisy cetti's warbler, a chiffchaff and a jay while a flock of 10+ teal flew overhead.  On the pools we saw a good selection of ducks with the usual coots and moorhens.

• There was little to see by the sea apart from a few redshanks, several dunlin and the 4 turnstones that flew in as we were walking along the sea wall.  The blustery wind (WSW) mitigated against our spotting much as we made our way south along the Emsworth Channel.

• The highlight of the morning session came when we saw some yellow wagtails among the cattle in the fields just ahead of us.  On closer examination we found there were 20+ of these beauties, sometimes on the ground but frequently taking to the skies in the windy conditions.

Pilsey Island was completely covered by water with no exposed mud/sand so there was no chance to add to our wader count.  As we turned at Longmere Point and headed down the sheltered eastern edges of the island things changed dramatically and our decision to make the trip was vindicated.

• In the middle of the entrance to the Thorney Channel we saw our first osprey of the day, perched on a pole a few metres from the edge of  the largest shingle outcrop, facing into the prevailing wind.  Despite the attempts of a Mediterranean gull, it held its position and we were able to enjoy great views of this magnificent bird.  
• A little to the right of the osprey there was a peregrine falcon, hunkered down in the vegetation on the shingle island, sheltering in these difficult conditions.

After close to 30 minutes of prime viewing time we decided to move on. 

•  There were 2 sandwich terns flying up and down the channel in front of us as well the usual ducks and waders on the newly exposed sand.

The real excitement came at the Great Deep just before the MOD security gates.

•  On a pole in the distance I could see another osprey, this time perched on a fence pole just away to the left of the canal.  It soon flew to the ground and stayed there for some considerable time, enabling us to get our telescopes zoomed in on to it.

• While we were observing the osprey we were distracted by the sight of several cattle egrets with the nearby herd of cows.  Eventually, we counted 7 of these lovely birds as they were feeding.

• Meanwhile, back with the osprey things changed again as the bird took to the air and flew close by us and out into the Thorney Channel. It spent a good 15 minutes or so over the water but, amazingly, it didn't try to catch a fish and eventually returned to its original position.

After almost 45 minutes we decided to draw a close on events and headed back to the car, fully satisfied with our day out. 

For a long time it looked as if we may have chosen the wrong venue and perhaps should have spent the day at Church Norton or Medmerry where the ospreys sightings were being reported earlier.  I should have known better, Thorney Island rarely disappoints and it certainly didn't today - eventually.  The cattle egrets and the yellow wagtails were a bonus, compensating for not seeing any whinchats or rare waders although we did see 3 greenshanks right at the close as we were watching the star birds.



A great day out with Alan and the others, admirably led by "Mr Thorney Island" himself - Richard Senior.