Chichester Harbour

On Sunday I had a blipmeet with my brother, thespotlightkid in Chichester. Despite a number of heavy showers we each managed to have a wander round the cathedral area before meeting up for a picnic lunch in Bishop's Palace Gardens.

I was keen to see the Chichester Ship Canal and we were able to see both where it terminates in Southgate basin and where it meets Chichester Harbour at Salterns Lock in Birdham. Along the way we stopped off at Dell Quay and had a look at the small boats beside the splendid looking Crown And Anchor.

A recurring motif throughout the day was the swan. We saw swans at Southgate basin; beside the towpath at Birdham; in the Marina and at Pagham Harbour (a terrible picture I include only as illustrative evidence!), where we also saw redshanks, mallard, lapwings and a little egret. I very nearly blipped the swan picture linked to below, but I thought this dreamy scene of a child looking at the boats in Chichester Channel would be the hardest to recapture.

We called at Sidlesham Ferry and Pagham Harbour on our way back from Selsea Bill, our final destination of the day, where I had realised my ambition to see and smell the sea proper. There we saw turnstones, black headed and herring gulls, a Mediterranean gull and a cormorant. thespotlightkid also spotted a passing gannet in the distance, and we managed a brief stroll along the groynes.

A very full and enjoyable day all round. I took 136 pictures on my two cameras, and include a link to the full set (48 processed at the time of writing, more to follow).

L.
20.9.2011

Blip #521
Consecutive Blip #000
Day #542

Alternatives:
Chichester Ship Canal At Southgate
Swan And Cygnet At Birdham
Moorhen On The Canal Beside Salterns Lock
Black Headed Gull At Selsea Bill

A Day In The Chichester Area, 18 September 2011 (Flickr set)

Lens: Sigma 70-300mm, Pentax 18-55mm

Now completed:
Marwell Wildlife, 2 September 2011 (Flickr set)

1 year ago: Lioness (at Cotswold Wildlife Park)