Chichester Marina, Guided Birdwatching September 2023

Chichester Marina is a fantastic place for a walk in the autumn months, with a mixture of beautiful scenery, diverse habitats and a wide range of bird species to be seen.

Water rails squealed from the large reed bed at the beginning of the walk, and the tree line was busy with a flock of chiffchaffs, long-tailed tits and blue tits busily moving through. Down at the harbour the rising tide encouraged a large flock of black-tailed godwits to busily feed, and make the most of the food-rich mudflats before they became inaccessible.

After walking through the ancient woodland an osprey appeared over the water. We enjoyed amazing views of the osprey as it flew up and down the channel searching for fish. After a while of looking for fish unsuccessfully it decided to rest up in a distant tree on the opposite bank of the harbour.

Spot the Osprey!

Walking towards Dell Quay the farmland was alive with finches, particularly a flighty flock of over 150 linnets to-ing and fro-ing from the stubble to the trees that separate the harbour from the farmed fields. The tide was in at Dell Quay, a kingfisher whizzed through and landed on a low stump. Nearby a muddy margin was providing ample roosting space for greenshanks, redshanks, grey plover and lapwing. Gulls were abundant due to a field being plowed, but standing by the water with the wading birds was an adult yellow-legged gull. Turning back and walking south a wheatear appeared on the gravel shore, a regular sight in September. 

The osprey took off once more, flew back and forth, before heading down the channel towards Birdham. On Birdham Pool an unusually tight group of little grebes, 20 strong, moved around as a unit and dived together searching for small fish and aquatic invertebrates.

Little Grebes

After watching the little grebes, lunch by the entrance to the marina was a nice way to end the morning's walk.

If you are interested in attending a guided birdwatching session such as this one, the upcoming events can be seen on the ‘Events’ page of this website. Or to stand the best chance of a space being available, you can get the information emailed to you prior to its publication online by joining my mailing list. To do so simply email me at baggaleyhugh@gmail.com

- Hugh Baggaley