Seven little grebes and a guillemot on Southwick Canal. Kingfisher in the marina by the Schooner Inn and a peregrine on the power station chimney.

The PADDYFIELD WARBLER again on the North Wall at Pagham Harbour early morning today. (Jake Everitt). No reports of it yesterday.

SOS Outing West Dean Woods - Sunday 5th February. We have decided to cancel the above outing this Sunday due to the very poor weather forecast with snow showers on high ground and minus temperatures during the day. Many of the minor roads in this area will remain untreated and access may be difficult. We will endeavour to reschedule the outing for another date. (Bernie Forbes & Dave Smith).

In answer to Mike Collins question about short-eared owls on Bersted brooks, I saw one there a few times just before Christmas, but not since then.

A third hand report via an Essex birder of a "strange blackbird" that had been in the garden of a cousin near Chichester for a few days prior to 1 Feb - photos showing a cracking Ring Ouzel.

Good to see so many wildfowl resting here as with the demise of The Crumbles this area is now so important as a cold winter refuge. Wigeon in numbers, males displaying, and some Shovelers anticipating spring too. Eight Pintails plus some diving duck. A Black-necked Grebe feeding close to frozen bank. Three Little Grebes attempted concealment by submerging save their heads in a small ice-free patch in a ditch as I walked by. Snipe widespread.

A visit at dusk today produced two Short-eared Owls and a female Merlin which gave good views perched on telephone wires, no doubt attracted by the presence of at least 100 very mobile Reed Buntings in loose flocks. Two Peregrines on a pylon, a Water Rail squealing by the sluice, and further upriver at the Glynde Reach confluence a Green Sandpiper, a Kingfisher and unusually four Dunlin.

A non-birding work friend has said he has been seeing one sometimes two short-eared owls at Bersted brooks (near Bognor) on and off since before Christmas. I'm not familiar with the area and I wonder weather any local birders can confirm this?

Single WAXWING flying across the Surrey/Sussex border towards Crawley at roundabout for Gatwick Moathouse Hotel. Also reported on @WaxwingsUK (Twitter).

The two Whooper Swans were still in fields N of Honer farm this afternoon, with Mutes and a large flock of ca. 1500 Brent Geese. The latter flock also contained a BLACK BRANT and the odd-looking and aberrant-plumaged Dark-bellied Brent.

SOS Outing West Dean Woods - Sunday 5th February. We have decided to cancel the above outing this Sunday due to the very poor weather forecast with snow showers on high ground and minus temperatures during the day. Many of the minor roads in this area will remain untreated and access may be difficult. We will endeavour to reschedule the outing for another date. (Bernie Forbes & Dave Smith).

At Petworth Park 20+ bramblings with a large flock of chaffinches, ca. 10 siskins and ca. 100 redwings W of the main NT car park at grid ref SU 963237. Also great spotted and green woodpeckers, nuthatch and treecreeper. No sign of the goosander on the lower pond or any Egyptian geese on the upper pond though a count of 37 shoveler on the latter was unusual. At Pulborough Brooks the tame water rail from the Visitor Centre, firecrest in the pines at the bottom of the 'zig-zag' path, ca. 10 white-fronted geese with Canadas from Westmead hide and a raven high overhead flying N. Several crossbills and siskins on Wiggonholt Common and three short-eared owls hunting over Waltham Brooks at 14.20.

A pair of mittens was found on the North Wall, Pagham Harbour LNR on the morning of 3rd Feb. Please contact the visitor centre on 01243 641508.

Having had a Merlin around all winter near home in between West Wittering and Itchenor, and another I saw over near Earnley, my wife saw yet another one this morning up near Eartham - gliding straight down the road in front of her a foot off the ground before landing in a tree a few feet from the car and staring at her! Are we just very lucky or are there more than usual around this winter?

Just to let you know that the management of the core area of Pagham Harbour transferred from West Sussex County Council to the RSPB at mignight on Thursday (2nd Feb). The aim of the transfer is to secure a sustainable future for the site. WSCC will continue to help support the site financially, and RSPB has taken on the existing team so you'll see all the familiar faces. Our first tasks are to help the team settle in to RSPB ways of working, get them kitted out, and ensure that the day-to-day service continues. Over the next year, we will develop and consult on the new Management Plan that is required. And over time, we will seek ways to invest in the site, but all the while keeping it the place that everyone loves already. Any questions at this early stage, feel free to drop me an email while the team settles in.

To see more photos of the Pagham paddyfield warbler click here

Adult WHOOPER SWAN with 2 Mutes (pic attached) 200 metres north of Northiam K&ES railway station this afternoon.

Further to Jon Curson's earlier sighting today: I arrived at 11.30, with the bitter north wind it was definitely a morning for birding from the car! One Sanderling, one Black-tailed Godwit on the sand and one Razorbill in the harbour were the highlights until about 2.00 when a fishing boat returned to port accompanied by several hundred gulls. The Iceland Gull was among them. It stayed a few minutes on the water just inside the harbour beside the eastern arm, then flew further into the harbour.

A photograph from Jan Jupp of a blue tit roosting in a nest box. Probably the best place to be in this weather!

What a freezing morning with the wind chill making birding uncomfortable to say the least although with plenty of low sun it was a delight to be out and about. Although we arrived on Pagham North Wall around 08.45 it was too late for the paddy warbler so the assembled group of birders were exchanging ailments and missed birds! We did find a skulking Cetti’s Warbler, squealing Water Rail and a dashing male Merlin that put up loads of birds from the fields to the north. Four Corn Buntings dropped into one of the thick hedgerows towards Honer Farm. West of Bowley Farm in a large grazing flock of Brent Geese we found a BLACK BRANT and the two Whooper Swans with the Mute flock. Also noted here was the aberrant Brent Goose with cream coloured wings and a dark head.

At Blackdown we spent some time searching through several flocks of Crossbills when at 14.10 - 14.20 we located the putative female PARROT CROSSBILL in silver birches near the frozen pond at map reference SU 916303. It was in the company of several pairs of Common Crossbills, many of them singing, with one male in full display flight. Not much else recorded other than a few calling Siskins. (Bernie Forbes & Dave Smith).