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Pagham Birder: The Blog

A regular account of the birds seen mainly on and around Pagham Spit, the Lagoon and the North Wall plus other birding exploits from time to time.
Any news of interest regarding the ongoing erosion problems on Pagham Beach will, from now on, be shown on my other blog together with general beach photos.. Click on the link... Pagham Beach Blog on this page.

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

One very obliging Dartford Warbler on Pagham Spit this morning!

 A cracker of a bird viewed from the hard standing of the old Spit hide in gorse just 20' away.

One of those moments you just cant stop taking photos.















Wow!

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

What a bird!

Had the good fortune to be on Pagham Spit this morning and was admiring the huge flocks of Brent Geese which were preparing for their flight to their breeding grounds when this White Tailed eagle took off from a mud bank which was just out of sight from me.  Wow, what a bird! It leisurely made off towards the eastern side of the harbour just as the huge flock of Brent took off from just in front of me and I lost it in the distance.



 




A pair of Ringed Plovers were engaged in display flights and the Brents were chatting to each other in a large group obviously discussing which flight path to take. On two occasions they headed out to sea only to return to the relative peace and calm of Pagham Harbour.



A lone Rock Pipit was feeding along the tideline...


Thursday, January 11, 2024

A rare sighting! A bird of a different kind.

  As I was stalking Fieldfares along the North Wall this afternoon this Grumman HU-16B  Albatross  Seaplane flew over the Honer farm.....apparently on a return flight from Southampton after touring the West Sussex countryside  and returning along the south coast of the Isle of Wight..A life tick for me!


My success with Fieldfares was very limited and this was the only one !...



Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Curlew Sandpipers!

Whats app alert at 8.46      '13 Curlew Sandpipers close in by sluice north wall'

'now 13'......'14'

Time to get down there....................here are a few of my shots!


















....and they're away

What a treat.....superb birds!

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Cornwall (non birding ) holiday

 In past years we normally have an Autumn week in North Cornwall but this year, due to a number of circumstances, it was agreed to have a 10 day holiday in June.

This proved to be a beach holiday in Porthcothan, a small bay west of Padstow . The weather was amazing with almost unbroken sunshine; very different to the type of weather we usually experience in October!

Birding was not in the plan so it was a matter of enjoying the sand,sea and sunshine and a good dose of Cornish Pasties and Cream teas!

A walk to Park Head  which is on the coast path to Bedruthan Steps produced a few species and I did 'happen' to have my camera with me!

First up was this Rock Pipit on a grassy cliff top.







Stonechats were common  and a couple of youngsters posed beautifully.


Sea birds were few and far between but this Oystercatcher had a nest on an inaccessible islet and appeared to have a single chick with very little between it a a 100' cliff!



The only other bird seen was this feral Rock Dove (type)
It did make a pretty picture in that setting!



On one evening we headed to Constantine Bay a little further east from Porthcothan and to my surprise there was a flock of about 80 waders feeding along the rocky tideline viewed from a  well used high level pathway. Of course, no camera not even binoculars! I could make out Dunlin but there were other species with them.

Next evening armed with suitable equipment we returned and fortunately the birds were there too.

Unfortunately a dog was there also but with patience I was able to make my way to the rocks and the dog eventually disappeared and I was able to get a few shots of this very confiding flock consisting mainly of Dunlin and Sanderlings. both species in varying summer/winter plumage.



















This was the highlight of the holiday (birdwise)!


This was a Jackdaw on Treyarnon Bay waiting for holiday maker titbits.



A walk along the Camel estuary at Padstow was very disappointing  with only this Grey Heron and a few distant Little Egrets....Oh yes, I did hear a Curlew! 


....but we did enjoy the long sunny days, the Cornish Pasties and the Cream Teas!!