PAGHAM HARBOUR - a Statutory Local Nature Reserve, administered by the West Sussex County Council

A GENERAL OVERVIEW
Looking across the Harbour from Pagham Beach, it is easy to appreciate that this landscape is one of wide skies and subtle colours, aspects which in themselves make this a place worth visiting. At low tide, however, and at first sight, the flats appear to be uninteresting, even boring.This impression is deceptive: world wide, mud flats are one of the richest media on earth for invertebrates, and those of Pagham Harbour are no exception. During the course of a year, many thousands of ducks, geese, gulls and waders pass through on their long migrations, some staying for lengthy periods, others moving on to their next destinations quite quickly. They all come here for one thing, the abundant invertebrate life and plant food, themselves nourished by the ebb and flow of the twice daily tides. And with them comes the occasional raptor, perhaps a Peregrine or a harrier. It is an ever-changing picture throughout the year.

The Reserve proper covers some 600 acres of tidal mudflats and saltings, viewable from paths along the raised seawalls around the area. Additional areas around the Harbour are administered under management agreements with local landowners. Well-marked public rights of way help easy exploration, and it is essential that visitors should adhere to these routes. Livestock graze some of these areas, so dogs must be kept on leads. The bird-life and natural history of these peripheral areas is no less interesting than that of the Harbour itself. A diverse variety of habitats includes set-aside fields, fresh-water pools and reedbeds, shingle beaches, scattered copses, straggling hedgerows, winding and slow-flowing rifes, and Gorse thickets, to select those which are most obvious to the visitor.

VISITOR CENTRE
Facilities at the Visitor Centre (Tel: 01243 641508), accessible from the B2145, just south of Sidlesham, include a display area for goods sold at the Centre, parking for both cars and coaches, public toilets, and a classroom where occasional lectures are held and which is used by many schools and other organisations for educational purposes. The Centre may be closed to the public during the week, but is normally open at week-ends, staff- and volunteer-availability permitting.

Anyone can visit Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve at any time, but if you are coming with a group, then it is desirable that you 'phone the Centre in advance so that a member of staff or a volunteer may be on hand when you arrive. Entry into the Reserve is free, but donations towards the upkeep of the Centre are much appreciated.

In common with all other Nature Reserves which are administered by Local Authorities, the Harbour is subject to bye-laws. None are at all irksome and are largely based upon common sense. Dogs must be on leads, and collecting of any sort is forbidden. Copies of the bye-laws may be had on application.

The Centre has a small stock of books dealing with natural history subjects, some local to the area, also detailed maps of the Harbour and a number of other products - colour prints, T-shirts, mugs decorated with the Reserve's Little Egret logo, watercolour paintings, photographs etc. Stock items vary throughout the year. Kindly note that the Visitor Centre does not offer a mail-order service.

ACCESS
Apart from access into the Reserve from the Visitor Centre at Sidlesham and on Pagham Spit (although the latter is currently closed indefinitely), where there is ample parking at both localities, there are three other sites where parking is permitted, albeit on a very limited scale: Sidlesham Quay, Little Welbourne and at Church Norton. In practise, only the parking facilities at the Visitor Centre and, usually, on Pagham Spit are reliable, especially during the spring, summer and autumn months when visitor' numbers can be high. Car-parking charges apply at Pagham Spit during some periods of the year. If you come by car, please ensure that you do not inconvenience local residents and other visitors when parking. If you bring a dog with with you, please observe the Byelaws as displayed on various sign-boards at entrances to the Harbour and respect the rights of other visitors. Dogs are permitted on public rights of way, and when around the Reserve must not be permitted to range freely on to the Reserve.

Unfortunately, the best and most detailed map for Pagham Harbour, Ordnance Survey, Pathfinder 1323 (Selsey Bill), is no longer published, although some bookshops and the like may have old stock which is still available for sale. Fortunately, however, a very useful map which covers the Harbour and the immediate environs only is published by the Local Authority and is available at the Visitor Centre. Ordnance Survey Explorer Sheet 120, entitled Chichester, South Harting and Selsey shows public rights of way and the usual features on a scale of 1:25 000. This, too, is available at the Visitor Centre, as are Tide Tables, a very necessary source of information.

HISTORY and ARCHEOLOGY
At this stage (February 2002), this section is being constructed with a view to listing the main items of historical and archaeological interest around the Harbour. Features will include The Mound at Church Norton; St Wilfrid's Chapel; the old Tramway and Ferry House; Mill Hamlet, Sidlesham; Little Welbourne, and the church at Pagham etc.

The CHAPEL of ST WILFRID (13th Century) at Church Norton, as we see it today, is the original chancel after the removal to Selsey of the main part of the church (Saint Peter's) in 1864. Points of interest include the beautiful canopy tomb of John Lews who was Lord of the Manor in 1561. The tomb, carved of Caen stone, shows both him and his wife, Agas, facing each other and kneeling. Above the tomb, high up on the wall, is a fragment of wall painting which may have covered much of the wall in the Middle Ages when the interiors of many churches were frequently vivid picture books of painted plaster and a source of immediate access to and inspiration for people who were largely illiterate. Modern concept has it that "a picture is worth a thousand words" and so it was, long before the advent of universal education.

A modern and beautiful window, known as the Nature Window, was created by M.C.Farrar Bell and dedicated to Reginald Chaplin in 1982. The window illustrates some of the wildlife which can be encountered around the Harbour. Mammals shown include the Fox, Stoat and Mole. As one might expect, birds take precedence. Species illustrated include the Avocet, a bird now wintering in the Harbour annually, in small numbers.

Exterior features of the Chapel include a sundial. Clocks became a feature of some churches in the 1300s. Before then, time was measured by means of mass-dials, carved into the stonework and found on the south wall of a church, usually close to a door. Earlier Saxon dials were superseded by mediaeval scratch dials, the radial lines carved at intervals of 15 degrees. The function of these dials was to ensure that the church bell would be rung at the correct time to mark the canonical hours. The dial on the wall of the Chapel is barely visible now, having suffered the ravages of time and weather for so many years.

Just beyond the wall of the churchyard is situated The Mound. It is an earthwork, with a visible ditch below the eastern slope. No doubt the ditch surrounded the whole of the site at one time. Exploration and investigation has shown evidence of occupation and activity during the Iron Age, also during Roman and Saxon times. Until comparatively recently, The Mound was covered in bushes, trees and other vegetation. As a Scheduled Ancient Monument, cared for by the West Sussex County Council, however, much of the covering has been removed recently so that the general contours of the site can be appreciated. There is no direct public access on to The Mound itself, but it can be appreciated admirably from the path which leads from the car-park down to the foreshore.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of St Wilfrid's Chapel and its surroundings is the peace which pervades everything, situated as it is far away from main roads and traffic, overlooking the tidal flats of the Harbour with its wide skies. Recently I met a lady who had just laid her mother to rest here. Discussing the qualities of the place, she remarked that it did not seem to be such a sad business as it might have been, leaving a loved-one in such a lovely place.

A booklet which describes not only the features of St Wilfrid's Chapel but also those of the Parish Church of Saint Peter's, in Selsey, is available in the Chapel, currently priced at £1.00. The first edition was published in 1920, and it has been up-dated regularly since 1950. The current edition was revised and reprinted in 1997. The booklet provides far better detail than I can give here.

Please do not leave public rights of way around and through the Reserve: all habitats can be enjoyed without doing so.

To give you a better impression of what this outstanding area has to offer, we include a number of Diary entries below:

SPRING
2000 - 06 April:
Mid-afternoon, I drove round to the Centre, and after a brief chat, I went for a walk, following the usual routing. Water levels at the Ferry Pond seem to be falling at last, so there was some mud visible. A LITTLE RINGED PLOVER was close to the road, giving me good views through the 'scope. Two AVOCETS were on show, also two GREEN SANDPIPERS. Seven BLACK-TAILED GODWITS were feeding along the right-hand shoreline.

Making my way down the Wall, I saw a PEACOCK butterfly, then a queen RED-TAILED BUMBLEBEE, flying around the flowering BLACKTHORN. A second PEACOCK was seen. The tide was very high, so there were few places for waders to roost. However, I did see a few CURLEWS, REDSHANK, DUNLIN and GREY PLOVER. As I pushed on, a SNIPE rose from the SEA PURSLANE and flew high out over the Harbour. It did not make a sound. Two pairs of WIGEON came flying across, followed shortly by a third pair. A LITTLE EGRET was fishing along the Serpentine Ditch. A couple of SKYLARKS were singing, and LAPWINGS were displaying and song-flighting over the set-aside fields. Something put up all the waders, revealing a WHIMBREL which called nicely. Two distant BLACK-TAILED GODWITS, out on the flats, were showing advanced breeding dress. Another seven were on the set-aside field: no doubt the ground is very wet and good for feeding.

Behind Reedy Marsh a LITTLE OWL was calling. Near 'my' OAK there were some LONG-TAILED TITS in the GORSE. Looking along the shoreline of Tern Island, I counted no fewer than 34 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, six of them drakes. Another five MERGANSERS were out on the water, two of them drakes. There were 20 SHELDUCKS roosting on Tern Island, plus 11 more on a spit close by.

Making my way back up West Wall, I disturbed a PEACOCK butterfly from among the GORSE bushes. Scanning from the Wall, I counted 26 more SHELDUCKS, way over near Little Welbourne. A female SPARROWHAWK came from my left, flying across the Wall and so out over the open waters towards Sidlesham. She put up some waders, but she did not bother with them, disappearing in the distance. The tide was falling quickly. Two more SHELDUCKS were added to my census. At least five LINNETS were around the GORSE bushes as I came up the Long Pool.

Back at the Ferry Pool, I found two more SHELDUCKS. The AVOCETS were good to see again, especially as they appeared to be displaying, the female crouching low over the water, inviting the male to mount her: unfortunately he did not do so. A party of 11 BLACK-TAILED GODWITS were feeding in the shallow water below the railings.

During my walk, the wind had gone round from the north to the south-east, freshening quite a bit. Indeed, there were little white horses on the waves out in the Harbour.

SUMMER
2001 - 06 June:
Thick grey cloud to begin with, but then clearing. Nice blue sky. Temperature at 6.30 a.m. 58 Fahrenheit, having been down to 54 overnight.

Round to the Centre by 9 o'clock. South-west wind, Force 3. A CUCKOO was calling over on Ferry Field somewhere. Grey cloud was building up, unfortunately. A DUNNOCK was singing at the Centre, also a COMMON WHITETHROAT. I headed to the New Pond, initially, and was delighted to find six exuviae of the BROAD-BODIED CHASER. They were clinging to leaves of the YELLOW FLAG. There were no signs of any flying adults, but it was perhaps too dull for them and anyway I presumed that the teneral insects had moved away from the Pond to mature. Hopefully, they will be back during the next week or so! Also at the New Pond, a pair of BLUE-TAILED DAMSELFLIES were flying. A CINNABAR Moth fluttered by.

On to the Hide, to look at the Ferry Pool. The LAPWINGS had at least two young along the shoreline and I found three broods of SHELDUCKLINGS. They seem to be doing better this year. My first TURTLE DOVE of the year hurtled across the Pool, heading away from me. The HOARY CRESS is currently making a good showing near the Hide. Along the old Tramway, a SONG THRUSH was in full flow. He has been singing there before.

Down by the Small Pool it was warm and sheltered from the wind. I stood around for some time, not seeing anything in particularly until a movement on one of the old stone blocks drew my attention to a lovely COMMON LIZARD which was up on the top, making the most of what sun there was. A COMMON BLUE DAMSELFLY was flying amongst the grasses, my first for the year. A cock REED BUNTING flew across the Pool and I saw a BLUE-TAILED DAMSELFLY.

And so up on to the Small Bund. Nothing was immediately visible, so I began my walk along the West Wall. A family party ahead turned out to be GREAT TITS, and there were REED WARBLERS singing in the reeds. I saw at least one youngster flew across into the GORSE. Quite a few pairs of LINNETS were in evidence; one super male with carmine chest patches was good to see as he perched up for me. The GREAT CRESTED GREBES were still on the Long Pool. There were no signs of breeding. A SEDGE WARBLER was singing ahead of me. A CUCKOO which flew out of the BLACKTHORNS appeared to be very brown. It was pursued by two MEADOW PIPITS. I could hear at least three SKYLARKS which were singing over the set-aside fields. At the end of the Long Pool a single SWIFT flew over, moving south-west.

A RED ADMIRAL rose from the path ahead, just short of Reedy Marsh. I dropped off the Wall at this point, to explore the lower level along by Reedy Marsh. REED WARBLERS were in song, and a CHIFFCHAFF was singing in the OAKS. At the end, where one has to drop on to the beach, a YELLOW HORNED POPPY was coming into flower.

Scanning from the Low Cliff, I found eight distant GREY PLOVERS in non-breeding dress. There were also a few OYSTERCATCHERS. Up into the churchyard where I found a few LINNETS again, but otherwise there was little to look at. A GREY SQUIRREL was seen. So down the lane and along to the beach. A BLACKCAP was singing in the Norton Prior woods. A SANDWICH TERN was calling out on the Harbour. No HORNED POPPIES on the beach this year.

Walking back, I stopped to chat to a couple of friends. They had had a ROSEATE TERN, but it did not appear for me! A BAR-TAILED GODWIT was good to see, even if it was in non-breeding dress. Behind us, a GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER was calling. At the back of Reedy Marsh I noted a LARGE WHITE flying. In the usual area, I found a SMALL COPPER, but not after seeing it, then losing it, before finding it again! A THICK-LEGGED FLOWER BEETLE, on SEA CAMPION, was nice to see. No doubt there will be others later on.

Coming up the Wall, I stopped to look at Water Vole Ditch. As I did so, a HAIRY DRAGONFLY disappeared round the bend! It did not reappear. A LITTLE GREBE called as I made my way along the Long Pool. The sun was out by now, although the wind was freshening. BLUE-TAILED DAMSELFLIES were on the wing. Around the Small Pool, apart from the occasional BLUE-TAILED DAMSEL, nothing else was flying.

By the Hide, I saw the most amazing PAINTED LADY I have ever seen. It was almost totally bleached out and unbelievably torn. It was still managing to fly, however! It was scarcely identifiable. Quite a few SWIFTS were over the Hide.

AUTUMN
2001 - 21 September:
A quiet morning, with a light north-westerly wind and temperatures pushing up from 52 Fahrenheit first thing (50 degrees overnight) into the upper 60s - comfortable pottering weather! Round to the Information Centre by 9.15, for a walk along to the Ferry Hide and so down the Long Pool, using the path between the Pool and the Main Channel.

The Ferry Pool had three LITTLE STINTS on view, plus a dozen or so DUNLINS and five BLACK-TAILED GODWITS. TEAL were there in good numbers: there were around 200 of them. Small parties of SWALLOWS and HOUSE MARTINS were drifting through, mostly heading south-west. As I stood by the Hide, a SISKIN went over. It was the call which I heard, but the bird was too high for visible contact. Several YELLOW WAGTAILS went through as well. As a matter of interest, the SISKIN was heading north-west, while the WAGTAILS were moving in a south-westerly direction.

Walking down the Main Channel, I was delighted to find two superb BAR-TAILED GODWITS which gave me close-up views through the 'scope. One was much larger than the other. As they searched for food in the mud, I saw one of them produce an invertebrate of some sort and take it down to the water's edge to wash it. Farther along, with a party of a dozen DUNLIN, were two smart CURLEW SANDPIPERS. Although I tried to avoid disturbing them, something spooked them and they were up and away. As they did so, it was nice to hear the chirrup calls, something not heard all that often.

Farther down the Main Channel were lots of REDSHANKS, several CURLEWS, and a great many TEAL. Farther still, in an area I call the Wildfowl Pool, there was a mass of TEAL, several hundreds strong. As I sat on the seat, a good spot from which to scan the Harbour, a SPOTTED REDSHANK came flying up the channel, to veer away and so fly out over the saltings. It called nicely - choowit, choowit. It was not in winter plumage, but appeared to be quite dark. Quite a number of MEADOW PIPITS around this morning, just wandering across the landscape. The calls of SNIPE drew my attention to two which were high in the sky. A largish wader turned out to be another BAR-TAILED GODWIT: it came along the Channel towards me and then turned off, to fly out over the saltings. The calls of SISKINS came from on high, but I could not seem them (or it) as the sky was so bright and the birds so high. It or they appeared to be moving north-west.

With the footpath being shut, I returned along the Main Channel to Ferry House, (seeing and hearing two more SISKINS as they flew over north-west and running into a party of some 15 LONG-TAILED TITS), thence to the Visitor Centre. As I approached the Centre, yet two more SISKINS went over, also moving north-west. Rob was just leaving the Visitor Centre and while we were talking, another SISKIN went over, a lone bird flying north-west.

Driving round to Church Norton took but a few minutes. The flats produced a whole lot of waders: DUNLIN, CURLEW, REDSHANK, innumerable TURNSTONES, two more BAR-TAILED GODWITS, lots of RINGED PLOVER and a scattering of GREY PLOVERS, many still showing traces of summer plumage. Also on view were at least six LITTLE EGRETS. SISKINS were going over in ones and twos, coming in off the sea and all heading steadily north-west. A YELLOW WAGTAIL came over, apparently moving eastwards.

Along the Main Channel I found some 60 WIGEON, many of them drakes, and roughly as many PINTAIL, all of them apparently ducks. Some BRENT GEESE (26 of them) had been seen yesterday, but I could not find them. Beyond the wildfowl was a lone AVOCET, my first for the autumn and winter. Two GREAT CRESTED GREBES were in the Main Channel. More YELLOW WAGTAILS were moving west, among them a group of no less than 20 or so. Yet more SISKINS went over. A GREEN WOODPECKER called behind the Marsh.

Insects this morning included several MIGRANT HAWKERS and a scattering of COMMON DARTERS. Butterfly numbers are well down, now. I saw but a handful of SMALL WHITES and a couple of RED ADMIRALS.

WINTER
2002 - 21 January:
Another grey morning, with a south-westerly, around Force 5. Out first thing to check the temperatures. The thermometer was standing at 50 Fahrenheit, having been down to 48 degrees overnight.

Round to the Visitor Centre at Sidlesham at 13.30. The usual walk from there to the Ferry and so down the West Wall as far as Church Norton and back. The Ferry Pool had some 50 BRENT GEESE in situ, also quite a few TEAL and a small party of WIGEON. Two more parties of WIGEON were out on the Field itself where there was a concentration of LAPWINGS. SHOVELER' numbers were standing at 18, today, with the usual preponderance of drakes. Eleven CURLEW were out on the Field, giving excellent views through the 'scope.

Apart from a single MOORHEN, the Small Pool had nothing to show. I walked up on to the Small Bund and looked along the Main Channel. There were a few REDSHANKS scattered along the stretches of mud which I could scan, but nothing else. Up along the West Wall, I stopped to hear a DUNNOCK which was calling in alarm. Its calls indicated anxiety and so I waited for a couple of minutes. At length, a WEASEL shot across the path and vanished back into the scrub. I waited a little longer, hoping that it would come out again, but my wait was in vain. It had probably caught my scent.

The Long Pool had a few COOT, also the usual MALLARD, plus at least four more SHOVELERS. A dozen or more CURLEWS lifted off from the set-aside field and drifted out over the Harbour. I stood for some time by Harold's Seat, looking down the Main Channel to the Wildfowl Pool. Although the tide was only just on the make, it was noticeable how few wildfowl there were in the Pool, relatively speaking. Only a fortnight or so ago it would have been crowded: today, there were only a few ducks in residence, 20 or so PINTAIL and a few WIGEON and TEAL.

Pressing on, I scanned as I walked along towards the Rough Area and Reedy Marsh. Five PINTAIL were indulging in a kind of display flight, sweeping to and fro in unison over the saltings and mud. The tide was on the make, flowing up Main Channel. A SPOTTED REDSHANK was feeding along the edge of the Main Drainage Ditch, wading so deeply that it was on the point of swimming. Looking again along the Main Channel, I could see a group of AVOCETS on the far shore. At that distance, 14 seemed a likely number, but they are notoriously difficult to count when packed so closely together. A second SPOTTED REDSHANK came off the Harbour, calling beautifully as it flew by. I noted many LAPWINGS both along the Main Channel and a little farther away, out on the mud-flats. Beyond them were many GOLDEN PLOVERS. It was unusual to see them both in such numbers on this side of the Harbour and I could only hazard that they had been disturbed from their usual roosting areas along White's Creek.

Another look at the AVOCETS, from a closer range and broadside on, produced a figure of 17. They looked beautiful in the direct sunshine. Close to them, a party of four PINTAILS were displaying out on the open water. A single CANADA GOOSE was half hidden in the SPARTINA.

Along the Low Cliff, I had a look at Tern Island. Areas of mud and shingle not yet covered by the tide were hosting lots of KNOT, GREY PLOVERS and DUNLIN. There were two RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS and a very badly-oiled GUILLEMOT. Farther away, well beyond the Island, four duck GOLDENEYE were diving, taking advantage, no doubt, of the flowing tide.

I met a couple of friends and together we chatted for some time, before they moved off back towards their car in the car-park at Church Norton, and I began to retrace my steps back along the Wall. Having a last look out along the various channels, I noted a second pair of RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS. One of the CORMORANTS on view this afternoon was showing characteristics of the sinensis race.

The top of the Wall is very bad in places just now, having been reduced to a mud bath for some stretches. Even so, I remained on top of the Wall, making use of the elevation which it gives. Coming up towards the Long Pool, a SPARROWHAWK swept across in front of me and went away across the set-aside fields. My one and only LITTLE EGRET of the afternoon was in a side gulley, close to the sea wall.

Back at the Centre, as I was putting my gear into the car, some 40 CURLEWS came off one of the fields beyond the Causeway Road. They flighted out over the Harbour.

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