Local Exploring- Bremere Rife Wet Grasslands

Ian introduced me to the Bremere rife wet grassland areas at the end of last year so I decided to go back today to explore the area more fully. I first parked at Sidlesham Church and checked out the area north of Marsh Farm HERE and then drove round to Halseys and explored the area south of Marsh Farm to the Harbour HERE. There were plenty of singing birds in the fine weather (a welcomed interlude in the rain this week). 

Highlights included 3 first-winter White-fronted Geese (the same birds that have been around after the main flock left), 36 Cattle Egrets, 2 Marsh Harriers, good numbers of Common, Black-headed and Med Gulls, Curlews and Shelducks on the grasslands and there was a Firecrest and a female Blackcap in the Churchyard. 

A few more year ticks puts me on about 109 for the Peninsula and 113 for the county HERE and my world year list edges closer to 500 with 486 now. 

Russian White-fronted Geese (above and below) 

Cattle Egrets (above) and Gulls (above and below)

Upper Bremere Rife (above) and the lower part near the harbour (below). Looks like the rife flows into the Breach Pool which is also fed by Pagham Rife which comes in past Honer Reservoir. In many ways the lower parts of these Rifes are ecologically part of Pagham Harbour with the Brents, Lapwings, Cattle Egrets and Marsh Harriers etc regularly using these wet grasslands right up to the Golfcourse with regards to Bremere Rife and well past Honer Reservoir for Pagham rife. It was interesting that the rarest birds I saw today (the White-fronts) were hiding out away from the maddening crowds of the harbour. 

The official RSPB map of Pagham Harbour does actually include all the grasslands (all the pasture to the north of the harbour on this map) along the rife within the reserve boundary too so I'll extend that to my recording area too. The Ebird hotspot I record on is the Pagham Harbour RSPB and LNR- Pagham Harbour area HERE.