Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve

Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve

Pagham Harbour is an RSPB nature reserve on the West Sussex coast, south of Chichester and between Selsey and Bognor Regis. The harbour is a shallow tidal inlet that drains to mudflat at low tide, providing feeding grounds for internationally important numbers of wading birds and wildfowl.

The reserve covers over 600 hectares of harbour, saltmarsh, shingle, farmland, and the promontory of Church Norton at the harbour entrance. Church Norton was the site of the original Selsey cathedral, and the chapel of St Wilfrid stands at the end of the promontory, one of the most atmospheric spots on the Sussex coast.

Birdwatching at Pagham Harbour is excellent throughout the year. Winter brings brent geese, wigeon, teal, pintail, and large flocks of dunlin and grey plover. Spring and autumn migration brings warblers, terns, and passage waders. Summer sees breeding little terns, ringed plover, and reed warblers in the reedbeds. The harbour is also noted for Mediterranean gulls, which can be seen year-round.

The RSPB visitor centre on the Selsey Road provides information, maps, and a viewing area. Several hides around the harbour shore offer sheltered birdwatching. The harbour can be walked around on a circular route of about seven miles, though the paths can be muddy in places.

For birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts from across the Solent News area, Pagham Harbour is one of the finest coastal reserves in southern England and complements the birding opportunities at Chichester Harbour, Titchfield Haven, and Langstone Harbour.