Birders

The first consolidated birding observations on the Manhood Peninsula  started in 1959, when a regular group of observers began a programme of almost complete coverage. Operating from a rickety wooden hut, they instituted a  bird-ringing operation, maintained detailed records and introduced the first Selsey Bill Bird Reports.

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Sites include Selsey Bill,  Pagham Harbour and Medmerry nature reserves. Visitors to the Peninsula can expect sightings of lapwing, redshank, snipe, kingfisher, and bewick swans.

Curlews can be spotted at Pagham Harbour during the winter months, outside the breeding season, feeding on worms, shellfish and shrimps. During the summer, curlews head inland to breed among moorland and rough grassland. The intertidal mudflats and saltmarshes at Pagham Harbour are ideal for the curlew in winter.

Kingfishers dive for stickleback and minnow fish and take them to nearby perches to feast on. They will also snack on aquatic insects, freshwater shrimps and tadpoles.  Pagham Harbour, and Medmerry Nature Reserve are good places to try.  House Sparrows are currently a Red Listed species, but are relatively common on the Manhood Peninsula, often seen in arable fields and woodland. House sparrow pairs will stay together and often remain faithful to their nest site for life. They like to nest in holes and crevices on buildings and will readily use nestboxes. They will sometimes create free-standing nests in hedgerows or conifers. House sparrows are not territorial, so you can often get several pairs nesting in close proximity.

​Flocks of brent geese end up on the Peninsula’s shores every winter, sometimes in numbers of up to 10,000! There are two distinct populations of brent geese. Dark-bellied brent geese are the type we see here, they spend their winters in southern and eastern England after breeding in Siberia, northern Russia. Arriving in October, they usually migrate in large family units, flocking together in wavering lines and small groups, seldom in a V-formation. During their migration, they will stop off to rest and forage in coastal grassland, farmland, and salt marshes, sometimes for up to a week. They are a small, dark goose, with a white neck collar and white beneath the tail. They like to feed on seaweed, eelgrass, and in midwinter when other food is scarce they will forage in nearby fields for cereal crops. You may see these birds at Dell Quay, Itchenor, Pagham Harbour and Medmerry among other places.

Buzzards are the most frequently seen bird of prey they circle over fields hunting for smaller birds, mice, voles, and carrion. They will also eat earthworms when prey is scarce. In spring, male buzzards perform a ‘roller coaster’ flight. They soar high and then swoop down repeating the same dance to attract a mate. Once he has succeeded, a pair of buzzards will construct a nest in large trees, usually near a woodland but with grazing land nearby.