Dog-walking this morning along the N side of Southwick Canal, there was a Shag, at first swimming, then washing, then hauled out onto a platform, just as one used to do last winter. This spot is where Landbuild is doing just that, E of the massive oil containers, just W of the 57 concrete steps that drop down from the A259.

Some dreadful weather on the clifftop today! A couple of hours seawatching when it wasn't raining produced ca.75 Gannets, almost all adults, W, then apparently back E again, 8 auks, 4 Common Scoters and two each of Mediterranean Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull E.

Highlights from our WeBS counts on Saturday:
Pilsey Island: Adult male Long-tailed Duck flew on to Pilsey lagoon being pursued by a juvenile female Peregrine, 2 Ospreys both eating their fish on the landing lights adjacent to Pilsey Sands and another one on the southern end of Pilsey island. Little Egret 21, Dark-bellied Brent Goose 443, Shelduck 34, Curlew 330.
Thorney Deeps: White-tailed Eagle only seen in the morning, during the afternoon 1 Osprey (probably one of those from Pilsey), 3 Marsh Harriers. Waders of note included Black-tailed Godwit 530, Golden Plover 800, Curlew 512, Greenshank 36. There were also 3 Great White Egrets, and large good numbers of Wigeon and Teal etc.

Three of us watched from the shelter between 09:00 - 12:30. Totals recorded were 3 Great Skuas E, 1 Arctic Skua E, 2 distant unidentified shearwaters W, 3 Sandwich Terns E, 1 Kittiwake E, 1 Black-headed Gull E, 80+ Gannets mostly E, 30+ Great Black-backed Gulls E, 9 Common Scoter E and 27 auks E.

A very wet morning, after this a sunny 90 minute seawatch in the afternoon produced just 32 Gannets and a lone Common Scoter.

Delighted to hear then see two Bearded Tits in the reedbed at the head of Fishbourne Creek, Chichester Harbour, whilst on our BTO WeBS today. Not many wintering wildfowl yet, 75 Curlew and over 100 Wigeon but only five Brent Geese and one Black-tailed Godwit.

The roof of All Saints Church Patcham was very productive late afternoon. There were 2 Black Redstarts on the spire along with 1 Grey Wagtail and 6 Pied Wagtails. The Grey Wagtail and one of the Black Redstarts made occasional forays to our garden pond - much to the annoyance of the local Robin which persisted in chasing them off.

Walk at the Airstrip early afternoon, noted were 4 Hawfinch which flew over heading west at 13:00, these being my first sighting on the Forest.

Late morning a Great White Egret flew over high heading east.

Early afternoon, I returned to the scarp under Truleigh Hill, part of what the National Trust calls the Fulking Escarpment. On the walk up I flushed a male Ring Ouzel from precisely the same spot where two had been yesterday. It flew off downhill “chakking” loudly as it went.