January 2023

1st Jan 2023, Hiorne Tower Track: A late morning walk up the Hiorne Tower track from London Road produced 27 species. Highlights included a single Hawfinch near the Training Gallops, 10 Yellowhammers, two Firecrests, single Raven & Red Kite. 

2nd Jan 2023, Pagham Harbour (east side): The first half of the day was spent on the east side of Pagham Harbour with Mum & Dad which produced 56 species. Highlights included a single Pale-bellied Brent Goose with 250 Dark-bellied Brent Geese in White's Creek, drake Pochard on Pagham Lagoon, two Red-breasted Mergansers, single Slavonian Grebe in the harbour, 55 Grey Plover, 50 Golden Plover, single Bar-tailed Godwit, 750 Black-tailed Godwit, single Mediterranean Gull, two Peregrines hunting over Pagham Spit, single Rock Pipit, the long-staying Snow Bunting on Pagham Spit and four Yellowhammers near the caravan park. The second half of the day was spent dipping the LITTLE SWIFT at Sovereign Harbour found by Dave Thorns. 

Slavonian Grebe at Pagham Harbour - 2nd January 2023

6th Jan 2023, Isle of Wight: Working on the east side of the Isle of Wight produced a ringtail Hen Harrier and a Water Pipit. 

7th Jan 2023, Goring Gap, Arundel (Mill Road Watermeadows, Offham Viewpoint, Arundel WWT & Peppering Triangle) & Patching Pond: A quick stop at Goring Gap in the morning before heading onto Arundel later in the day produced 11 Turnstone, 24 Sanderling, a Dunlin, 500 Common Gull, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, 21 Great Black-backed Gull and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. The rest of the day was spent birding around Arundel, highlights included: single Cattle Egret at Mill Road, two adult Bewick's Swans from Offham Viewpoint, Water Rail at Arundel WWT and a ringtail Hen Harrier & White-tailed Eagle from Peppering Triangle. On the way home, quick stop at Patching Pond produced a Great Crested Grebe and two Coot. 

8th Jan 2023, Goring Gap, Arundel (Mill Road Watermeadows & Swanbourne Lake) & Littlehampton & Rustington Beach: A quick stop at Goring Gap before heading onto Arundel produced seven Brent Geese moving east, 18 Turnstone, 86 Sanderling, a Dunlin, three Mediterranean Gulls, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, seven Great Black-backed Gull and 11 Skylarks. It was quiet around Arundel however I did find 62 Gadwall, a Shoveler and two Firecrests at Swanbourne Lake. On the way home, I visited Littlehampton Gas Tower where the Black Redstart was still present and a quick stop at Rustington Beach produced 43 Oystercatchers, two Mediterranean Gulls and a Red-throated Diver offshore. 

9th Jan 2023, Arundel (Swanbourne Lake, Burpham & The Burgh): Swanbourne Lake produced a drake Mandarin, 53 Gadwall, 44 Tufted Duck, two Little Grebes, four Goldcrests, two Firecrests, two Treecreepers and a Mistle Thrush. Moving onto Burpham, the two adult Bewick's Swans were still present on the water meadows and a circular walk around The Burgh produced the ringtail Hen Harrier, 48 Red Kites, two Barn Owls, a Short-eared Owl and 19 Yellowhammers. 

15th Jan 2023, Binstead Woods & Barnham Brooks: A circular walk around Binstead Woods and Torrington Common produced eight Stock Doves, a male Sparrowhawk, a Raven, eight Coal Tits, six Marsh Tits, four Goldcrests, four Firecrests, four Treecreepers, three Redwings, a Nuthatch and a flock of 40 Skylarks in an arable field on the edge of Binstead Woods. Afterwards, I went and explored a very wet and flooded Barnham Brooks where I recorded 44 species, highlights at this site included: 100 Lapwing, a Snipe, single Mediterranean Gull, two Marsh Harriers, two Chiffchaffs, two Grey Wagtails and a flock of 100 Chaffinches. 

16th Jan 2023, Black Rabbit (Arundel): A visit to the Black Rabbit after work produced six Marsh Harriers, a Barn Owl, a Tawny Owl, a Cetti's Warbler and 43 Pied Wagtails. 

20th Jan 2023, Goring Gap: A quick look at Goring Gap yielded a single Red-breasted Merganser, three Great Crested Grebes, 16 Grey Plover, five Mediterranean Gulls, two Red-throated Divers and a Grey Heron on the beach. 

21st Jan 2023, Southmoor Nature Reserve, Hampshire: A day off patch to go and enjoy the long-staying adult Sabine's Gull in Hampshire which was my fourth in the UK. Other notable birds recorded at this site included nine Goldeneye, two Black-necked Grebes, single Long-tailed Duck and two Greenshank. 

Adult Sabine's Gull at Southmoor Nature Reserve in Hampshire - 21st January 2023

22nd Jan 2023, Pagham Harbour (east side), Westdean Woods, Burton & Chingford Ponds and Waltham Brooks: I went out for the day with Dad and one of his work colleagues. We started the day on patch on the east side of Pagham Harbour where highlights included four Goldeneye, single Slavonian Grebe, 16 Mediterranean Gulls and the long-staying Snow Bunting still present on Pagham Spit. Afterwards, we moved out of the Arun District and onto Westdean Woods which produced reasonable views of six Hawfinches at Stapleash Corner. At Burton & Chingford Ponds we saw a Little Owl and a Great White Egret. Final stop of the day was Waltham Brooks where we found a Cetti's Warbler and 40 Linnets. 

Snow Bunting at Pagham Spit - 22nd January 2023

24th Jan 2023, Ferring Rife: A pre-work walk along Ferring Rife produced 27 species including a Kingfisher, a Reed Bunting, a Little Egret and a Grey Heron. A quick scan off the Bluebird Cafe at the southern end of the rife produced seven Red-breasted Mergansers on the sea. 

25th Jan 2023, Highdown Hill: A pre-work walk around Highdown Hill produced two Great Spotted Woodpeckers, three Buzzards, three Goldcrests, two Firecrests, a Bullfinch and 15 Linnets. 

26th Jan 2023, Ferring Rife & The Burgh: A pre-work walk around Ferring Rife produced two Little Grebes, a Snipe, a Grey Heron, two Redwing, a Grey Wagtail and a Reed Bunting. After work, I headed to The Burgh with Sophie where we saw 20 Red Kites, a Barn Owl, a Short-eared Owl and 12 Grey Partridge. 

28th Jan 2023, Climping and Pagham Harbour (east side): I started the morning at Climping where I found a Great Northern Diver, 2 Red-throated Divers, 13 Red-breasted Mergansers, 32 Sanderling, 38 Turnstone, 13 Grey Plover and 102 Mediterranean Gulls. Afterwards, I moved onto the east side of Pagham Harbour and it was alive with birds including 800 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 103 Shelduck, 650 Wigeon, 185 Pintail, 260 Teal, 10 Shoveler, two Gadwall, three Goldeneye, five Red-breasted Mergansers, 10 Oystercatcher, 135 Grey Plover, 150 Golden Plover, 750 Lapwing, 30 Ringed Plover, 90 Curlew, 6 Bar-tailed Godwit, 750 Black-tailed Godwit, 20 Turnstone, 100 Knot, 250 Dunlin, 60 Snipe, Kingfisher and 40 Redshank. Offshore from Pagham Spit on a flat calm sea were two Long-tailed Ducks, two Eider, a Slavonian Grebe, four Great Northern Diver plus one east, 35 Common Scoter, two Sandwich Terns and two Red-breasted Mergansers. Other sightings at Pagham included the long-staying Snow Bunting, three Marsh Harriers and three Rock Pipits.

29th Jan 2023, Falmer Village Pond: A day off patch to watch Brighton v Liverpool in the FA Cup at the Amex which saw Brighton dispatch Liverpool through a spectacular last-minute winner from Karou Mitoma. Before the game, a quick visit to Falmer Village Pond produced the drake Red-crested Pochard along with three Greylag Geese and two Canada Geese.

I finished January seeing 117 species in the Arun District with highlights for the month including Hawfinch, Slavonian Grebe, Snow Bunting, Cattle Egret, Bewick's Swan, Hen Harrier, Black Redstart, Mandarin, Barn Owl, Short-eared Owl, Tawny Owl, Goldeneye, Great Northern Diver, Eider, Long-tailed Duck & Sandwich Tern. Additional taxa not included in my totals for the month included White-tailed Eagle and Greylag x Canada Goose hybrid.

2023 - the year of birding the Arun District

The year of 2022 was a moderately successful year for me in terms of birding. I finished the year on 240 species seen across the country. Highlights throughout the year included American Robin at Eastbourne, Hume's Warbler at Eastbourne Promenade, Shorelark at Pevensey Bay, Green-winged Teals at Rye Harbour & Dungeness, Desert Wheatear at Goring Gap, Purple Heron at Charleston Reedbed, Iberian Chiffchaff at Otterbourne, Eleonora's Falcon at Worth Marsh, Red-footed Falcon at Worth Marsh, self-found Black Kite at RSPB Brading Marshes, Bee-eaters at Trimingham Quarry, Great Reed Warbler at Snettisham Coastal Park, White-rumped Sandpiper at Sidlesham Ferry, Squacco Heron at Pagham Harbour, Cirl Buntings at RSPB Labrador Bay, self-found Wryneck at Beachy Head, Pectoral Sandpiper at Dungeness, Red-necked Phalarope at Spurn, Citrine Wagtails at Spurn, Pallid Harrier at Spurn, Long-tailed Skua at Spurn, Temminck's Stint at Spurn, Grey Phalarope at Spurn, Red-backed Shrike at RSPB Medmerry, Buff-breasted Sandpiper at RSPB Medmerry, Barred Warbler at Climping, Sabine's Gull at Dungeness, Radde's Warbler at Beachy Head & the Penduline Tits at West Rise Marsh. 

In 2022, I started the year with every intention of doing a local year list around Worthing however my enthusiasm soon dwindled and I had given up by late April. At the turn of 2023, I really wanted to have another go at doing something local so I studied local maps and come up with the idea of doing an Arun District year list. This area covers some good birding areas and whilst it's extent is large for a patch, I'm hoping it will hold my interest for the year. The extent of the Arun District can be seen in the map below, it's western most extent being the east side of Pagham Harbour up to Owl Copse whilst the eastern most extent is Highdown Gardens & Goring Gap. The northern boundary takes in Houghton Forest to the north-west of Arundel and then follows a zigzagged line all the way over to Steyning. The best sites in the patch would be the east side of Pagham Harbour, around Arundel & Climping. 

Map of Arun District 

Rather than doing individual write ups every time I go out, I have decided to post monthly blog posts about highlights throughout the month.