I continued with my orientation exploring today. I started off checking out 'The Breach' at Medmerry and then walked up to the Medmerry Trail, so have now completed a full circuit of Medmerry. I had no luck with either the Purple Sandpiper that has been seen a few times at The Breach or Corn Bunting which were on the trail earlier on in the year. 61 species of nearly 1500 indiviudals HERE with highlights including a single Egyptian Goose, 15 Red-breasted Mergansers offshore, 1 Greenshank, Dartford Warbler and a few Stonechats and Yellowhammers.
Before meeting Holly and Isaac for lunch I checked out Hillfield Road Car Park where the highlights included 8 Sandwich Tern, about 20 Common Scoters and 8 Red-throated Divers.
In the afternoon I had a look around Pagham beach and Pagham lagoon trying to locate different areas I haven't checked out before. Not too much to report apart from a lot of parking restrictions.
Feel like I've got a good idea now of all the little hot spots round here - there are a lot of them! In terms of a Spring migration focus, seems no better plan than the cliche which is to focus on Church Norton, the Spit and Severals area for passerines and the Bill for seabird and visible migration. However on good passerine fall days seems like East Head, the east side bushes and Pagham shingle scrub, the discovery centre area, the Mill Pond and the area around Ham and the Medmerry Trail would be good to check too which would also be good to focus on in late Spring/Summer too for passerine vagrants.
For waders in addition to Ferry Pool, Church Norton, North Wall and East Side, Snowshill Marsh also looks really good for migrant waders and off course Stilt Pool at Medmerry.
Chichester Pits could be worth checking when Little Gulls and Terns are moving inland.
Still can't find a decent gulling spot round here. East side and Pagham spit is about as good as it gets but not great although I did notice a good roost last time I was at North Wall but the birds seem to come in pretty late. Might give that a go later in the week as its getting on for peak gull vagrant time now.
I've not even mentioned Chichester Harbour- an enormous complex- I think my best way to keep an eye on that is to do some family walks and Sunday pub lunches. Plenty of habitat for a rare waterbird anywhere between East Head and Dell Quay. I have been keeping an eye on Birdham Pool if I get a few spare minutes when dropping or picking the kids up.
Basically there are a lot of places to check (and the garden birding and Keynor estate of course!) . Looking forward to the Spring (will be our first one here) and shift between the different hotspots depending on the weather and bird movements. Seems like will be a full time job.
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