25th - 27th July 2014

Sunday, 27th July: Still warm and quite humid, with cloud and a light NW wind.

Selsey Bill (06.55- 08.30hrs): NW2-3 cloudy, humid  (Obs:SH/JA)

Gannet - 6E, 1W

Shelduck  12W (all juv's)

Common Scoter - 150 os

Dunlin - 1E

Turnstone - 4W

Green Woodpecker - 1 gardens
Common Tern - 76 os
Sandwich Tern - 5os
Med Gull - 3os
Swallow - 36W
Sand Martin - 9W

Swift - 20 p

 

Medmerry: Breach (05.45hrs  SH)
Quiet; just 60 Dunlin, 40 Grey Plover and 2 Common Terns

 

Earnley side - Best bird this morning was a Wood Sandpiper present on the Stilt Pool. There were plenty of other waders on the reserve, including at least 3 of the Black-winged Stilts though they were keeping low out in the middle, 2 Green Sandpipers on the first pool, a total of 6 Common Sandpipers, mostly near the breach, 4 Little Ringed Plovers, 6 Avocets, a flock of 15 Sanderlings on the beach, 10 Black-tailed Godwits, 4 Curlews and the big flock of Dunlin and Grey Plover still at the breach.

There were still a few Little, Common and Sandwich Terns around the breach area, plus a couple of juvenile Mediterranean Gulls.

There were at least 5 Wheatears this morning, along with several Yellowhammers, 20+ Skylarks, 50+ Meadow Pipits and at least 500 (and probably double that number!) of Linnets, with many of them young birds and present absolutely everywhere. Also, (per RJS/A&YF), a Hobby and 2 Clouded Yellows this morning, and at least 40 Pied Wagtails in the bean-field next to the car-park. (AH)

  

Wood Sandpiper (above), Sanderlings, juvenile Common Tern, Yellowhammer with a large cricket & juvenile Linnet at Madmerry (AH)

 

 

 

 

Ferry Pool: (06.40hrs  SH)
Black-tailed Godwit - 8
Avocet - 1
Redshank - 1

 

Black-tailed Godwits on the Ferry (AH)

 

Church Norton: The Terns were the star attraction, very noisy with good numbers of juveniles.  Parents flying around with fish in their bills presumably trying to encourage the youngsters to catch their own....c.80 to 100+ of Sandwich and Common, with the majority assembled out on the mudflats. Also:

Great Crested Grebe - 1 os

Mediterranean Gull - 3

Whimbrel - 2
Dunlin - 60+

Curlew - 5

Turnstone - 1

Redshank - c30

Wheatear - 1 fem (on the broken concrete)

Willow Warbler - 12+
Blackcap - 3
Also several Long-tailed Tits in mixed tit flock. 
The Severals were generally very quiet, but still occasional bursts or Reed and Sedge Warbler song. Also a Cetti's Warbler, a Chiffchaff, 7 Linnets, a Little Grebe  (juvenile) and a Buzzard. (SR/S&SaH).

Still masses of Sandwich Terns in the harbour this evening, with a couple of Little Terns and a few Common Terns. Also 2 Sanderling in with 100+ Dunlin, and 4 Whimbrel and 20 Redshank. (AH)

 Sandwich Terns (above) & Whimbrel at Church Norton (AH)

 

Greenlease Farm:  (SR).

Green Woodpecker - 2 (1 juvenile, 1 adult)

Kestrel - 1

Red-legged Partridge - 3 (juveniles)

Swallow - 23

House Martin - 19

North Wall: Great to see the water level has dropped on the Breach Pool with immediate results - this morning there were in excess of 50 Black-Tailed Godwits, plus a Green Sandpiper and a Common Sandpiper with rings on its legs - red top and yellow bottom on left leg and yellow on right leg. (PC)

 

Saturday, 26th July: Still fine and warm with a light N wind, but with the prospect of the recent high temperatures gradually slipping away to give fresher weather after the weekend. I received an email late yesterday from Bill regular Chris Northwood, explaining he had been absent from the patch as he had been in hospital since June, but was now well and truly on the mend and going back to work next week - he even apologised for missing out on the Stilt-watch! I'm sure we all wish him the speediest of recoveries and hope to see him back at the Bill very soon (OM).

 

Selsey Bill (0650 to 0730hrs): Sunny, dry, wind N/NE3 (Obs: SH).
Gannet - 9E, 2W
Common Scoter - the flock of c.150 still os
Turnstone - 9W
Sandwich Tern - 17 os
Common Tern - 16 os

 

Medmerry: Breach - West Sands (0545hrs: SH)
Grey Plover - 20
Dunlin - 30
Little Tern - 6
Common Tern - 4
Arctic Tern - 1
Sandwich Tern - 1

 

At Medmerry this morning there was a noticeable dearth of small birds - just a few Linnets. At Earnley Pools a pair of Avocet rigorously protecting 4 biggish chicks, even chasing off Little Ringed Plovers. Also a single Clouded Yellow butterfly. (CRJ)

 

Medmerry (Earnley side) 17.00 to 19.00
112 Canada Geese on the stilt pool
2 Greylag Geese
3 Mediterranean Gull
5 Sanderling
23 Dunlin
1 Common Sandpiper
5 Little Ringed Plover
1 Whimbrel
4 Black-winged Stilts 2ad 2 juv
12 Avocet - the parents of the last brood intent on crossing path
3 Buzzards
1 Wheatear
2 Clouded Yellow

Ferry Pool: (0630: SH)
Little Ringed Plover - 1
Spotted Redshank - 1
Redshank - 2
Avocet - 7
Black-tailed Godwit - 4
Buzzard - 1

 

All change at 9.30 - 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 10 Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Avocets and 30 Lapwing, but no Redshank of either type. (AH)

 

Common Sandpipers & Black-tailed Godwit on the Ferry (AH)

  

Church Norton:  (0830hrs: S&SaH)

Sandwich Terns - 100+ (82 roosting on mud bank),

Common Tern  100+ (76 roosting)

Little Tern - 4

Peregrine - 1

Willow Warbler - 6

Swallow and Sand Martin  - mixed flock 50+

Large mixed tit flock second Severals inc. 20 Long-tailed Tits

 

Later this morning an attempt to count the huge numbers of terns present gave conservative figures of 150 Sandwich Terns, 50 Common Terns and at least 4 Little Terns. At least 6 Whimbrel were present, along with 2 Common Sandpipers, a dozen Curlew, around 30 each of Dunlin, Turnstone and Redshank and half a dozen Mediterranean Gulls. (AH).

 

Sandwich Terns at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: a quick visit this morning produced just 6 Redshank and 12 Dunlin in White's Creek, and on the Breach Pool 10 Black-tailed Godwits and a Mediterranean Gull with the Black-headed Gulls (BI).

 

Friday, 25th July: The hot weather continues; fine, sunny and dry with a welcome fresh NE breeze along the coast, and just the possibility of the odd thundery shower later... which sure enough appeared late afternoon! 

 

Ferry Pool: Still pretty quiet - single Little Ringed Plover and Common Sandpiper, 3 Avocet, 3  Redshank, 15 Black-tailed Godwits, a single Dunlin and 30 Lapwing being the only waders present. Also 2 Med Gulls (AH/BI)

 

Little Ringed Plover (above) & Shelduck on Ferry (AH)

 

Church Norton: By far the noisiest and most conspicuous birds present this morning were the Sandwich Terns - at least 100 birds in several big flocks, intermittently taking to the air and shrieking the whole time! Also in the harbour were a few Common Terns, 4 Whimbrel, 40 Curlew, 30 Redshank and 150 Dunlin. A single Wheatear was on the beach and a few Sedge Warblers, Reed Buntings, Linnets and Whitethroats were along the Severals. (AH).

 

Wheatear (above), Sedge Warbler & Sandwich Terns at Church Norton (AH)

 

 

Medmerry (Ham): Highlights were all 5 Black-winged Stilts, along with 8 Avocets including 1 very small chick dashing about, 1 Greenshank in the pool close to the gate, 7 Common Terns, 6 Sandwich Terns, 4 Corn Buntings including 2 young, one still being fed by its parent, 1 Reed Bunting, 2 Kestrels and c200 Swallows and House Martins including many juveniles fly-catching over the barley field. 
Looking across to the Breach there were c40 Grey Plover, and what looked like 2 Golden Plover but they were quite distant, along with c30 Dunlin and 4 Black-tailed Godwits. (SR)
Additional records included a flighty Green Sandpiper. 2 Yellow-legged Gulls dozing on the marshland, and many Clouded Yellow butterflies, especially at the Easton viewpoint.

West beach/Coastguards: The Common Scoter flock was still present offshore numbering at least 150 birds (BI).