23rd - 25th October 2017

Wednesday, 25th October: Another mild but gloomy start, with heavy cloud and drizzle, before the westerly breeze dropped and a bit of sunshine appeared between the clouds....

Selsey Bill: Once again, almost nothing moving offshore, but there was a bit of visible migration, including 30 Siskins and a few Swallows. Full log below. (AH)
Gannet - 1W
Brent Goose - 14W
Red-breasted Merganser - 3W
Turnstone - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 5W, 4os
Swallow - 4W, 12p
Meadow Pipit - 60W
Pied Wagtail - 16W
Siskin - 30W
Linnet - 65W
Goldfinch - c100p

Brent Geese (above) & Meadow Pipit at the Bill (AH)

East Beach: There were at least two Siskins were among the Goldfinch flock feeding on Alder seeds around the pond this morning, and there were also a flock of 11 Long-tailed Tits, five Goldcrests and two or three Chiffchaffs with them, whilst 10+ Blackbirds were feasting on berries and a Grey Heron was also present.
Along the beach there were 60+ Turnstones, 7 Pied Wagtails W, 3 Swallows W, c20 Goldfinch W, a Brent Goose W and a Sandwich Tern E, and there were also Red Admiral butterflies about. (SR)

Pagham Lagoon: There were five Bearded Tits (at least one male) in the reeds from the boardwalk at the eastern end this morning. They were very restless, calling frequently and all taking flight as one flock, typically 'high-flying' in the manner of a dispersing migratory party....they seemed finally to drop in somewhere near the back of the reedbed. On the Lagoon itself there was rather little to report..... a dozen Tufted Duck, a single drake Pochard, a Little Egret and 10+ Little Grebes. Most of the activity was from the surrounding damp hedgerows, with 2 Firecrests, 6 Goldcrests, 4 Chiffchaffs, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 8 Siskins and a squealing Water Rail. (OM)
 

 Bearded Tits (they are, honest!) at Pagham Lagoon reedbed (OM)

Heavily cropped enlargement of above pic at least gives the idea (yes, I know, but the best I could do in the conditions Andy!) (OM)
 

Pagham churchyard: Notably a Coal Tit was present this morning - most unusual in this locality - and although it was active and frequently calling, it remained infuriatingly difficult to get a decent view of. It looked a bit dark-mantled but was obviously damp in the drizzle; in the end I was fairly sure it wasn't a 'Continental' bird but in truth couldn't be totally certain before I lost it! Also 2 Chiffchaffs, several Goldcrests, a Green Woodpecker and 2 Siskins over heading west. (OM)

Ferry Pool: There was just one Green Sandpiper and five Snipe in the concealed pool, with four Black-tailed Godwits, c60 Lapwing, c40 Wigeon and c80 Teal on the main pool. (AH)
Also, three Bearded Tits were reported along the Long Pool, 15-20 Siskins in the Alders by the car-park and a Ruff on the Ferry (per Pagham Hbr VC board)

Green Sandpiper (above), Snipe & Wigeon on the Ferry (AH)

Runcton: A look down the lane this afternoon in the lovely warm sunshine produced a very late Hobby, a Peregrine and a close obliging singing Cetti's Warbler, and on the way home a Firecrest and a Goldcrest, (CRJ)

Church Norton: There was still a Wheatear on the path to the spit, along with c50 Meadow Pipits, c150 Linnets and a handful of Skylarks, there was a pair of Stonechats on the first Several and four Swallows were feeding overhead.

Five Lesser Redpoll flew out of the trees at the bottom of the path to the harbour, with another probable among a dozen Siskins and c50 Goldfinches feeding in the tops of the Alders. There were also one, possibly two, Blackcaps, half a dozen Chiffchaffs and double that of Goldcrests in the adjacent bushes.

The harbour held the usual waders at low tide, plus a few Brent Geese and Wigeon, a Kingfisher flew over, heading for the Severals and a Little Grebe decided to take a short-cut over the mud and ended up sitting on it! (AH/AW et al)

Siskin (above), Wheatear, Wheatear and Meadow Pipit, Blackcap & Little Grebe at Church Norton (AH)

This afternoon there was a male Eider way out in the middle of the harbour at 2.30pm, near the mouth, and there were three Wheatears along the beach and five or so Stonechats along the Severals. There were also several flocks of Linnets and Goldfinches going over, with a few Siskins among them, and and a  few Greenfinches were also about. (AW)

Wheatear (above) & Stonechat at Church Norton (AW)

Medmerry: Toe End - There was still a Wheatear about today, plus three Stonechats and a Grey Wagtail, whilst 11 Brent Geese went west offshore. (SH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Marsh Barn - It was very quiet late this afternoon, with just five Stonechats of note. (S&SaH)

North Wall: Nothing of note along the Wall or on Breech Pool, with what limited interest there was at White's Creek..... a Spotted Redshank, 40 Golden Plover, 2 Bar-tailed and 30 Black-tailed Godwits, 100+ Wigeon and 15 Pintail. (OM)

 Wigeon, Pintails and Spotted Redshank in White's Creek (OM)

Tuesday, 24th October: A little better than yesterday, but another very mild, murky day, with a moderate westerly and very heavy cloud, though mostly dry....

Selsey Bill: With visibility reduced to a couple of hundred yards offshore there was predictably little, though a couple of Swallows and a few Meadow Pipits and Linnets moved overhead. Full log below. (AH/DF/DS)
(0740-0840hrs)
Gannet - 1W
Common Scoter - 3W
Mediterranean Gull - 4os
Swallow - 2W
Meadow Pipit - 60W
Pied Wagtail - 4W
Linnet - 125W
Goldfinch 35W 

Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Medmerry: Toe End - There were two Wheatears on the rough ground this morning, along with three Stonechats, whilst a Lesser Redpoll and 50+ Meadow Pipits went over west and 15 Brent Geese went west offshore. (SH)

Ferry Pool: There were three Green Sandpipers and at least five Snipe on the concealed pool, with four Black-tailed Godwits, 12 Lapwing, c30 Teal, 20 Wigeon and three Shoveler on the main pool. (AH)

Green Sandpiper (above), Snipe & Shoveler on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: A Wheatear was on path to the spit this morning, and there were also 50+ Linnets, 30+ Greenfinches, a few Meadow Pipits and a Skylark in the vicinity, with a dozen Long-tailed Tits and five Chiffchaffs along the path to the beach, whilst two Kingfishers together flew over and towards the first Several and a Green Woodpecker was by the concrete wall.
Three Mistle Thrushes flew out of the churchyard, but there was little else beyond a few calling Goldcrests and a couple of Jays, whilst the harbour held a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits and a few Grey Plovers and Brent Geese, but little else of note. (AH)

Wheatear (above), Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover & Green Woodpecker at Church Norton (AH)

Monday, 23rd October: A thoroughly grey and miserable morning, with a fresh south-westerly breeze driving on persistent heavy drizzle and the odd heavy shower.....

Selsey Bill: Not much was moving offshore, though 50 Brent Geese and three Sandwich Terns went west, and there was a modest westerly movement of gulls, including a few Common and Mediterranean and, most notably for the Bill (if nowhere else!), at least 44 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, with 15 amongst them dropping in offshore before moving on. There was also a bit of Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail and Linnet movement, too. Full log below.......

0740-1040hrs:  (AH/OM)
Gannet - 4W
Brent Goose - 52W
Red-breasted Merganser - 1W
Common Scoter - 3E
Bar-tailed Godwit - 1W, over Oval field, circled and departed back E
Sandwich Tern - 3W
Mediterranean Gull - 1E, 7W, 2os
Common Gull - 5W
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 44W
Meadow Pipit - 210W
Pied/alba Wagtail - 21W
Linnet - 80W

Lesser Black-backed Gulls (above), Mediterranean Gull & Brent Geese past the Bill (AH)

North Wall: A Cattle Egret - presumably the ever-elusive long-stayer that has been in the area - popped up today in the North Fields, near Chalder Farm. (BO'D)

Selsey village: At least one Redwing was heard over the garden at 6am this morning. (SH)

Medmerry: Toe end - There was a Wheatear on the rough ground this morning. (SH)

Ferry Pool: There were still half a dozen Snipe present, along with c30 Wigeon, c40 Teal and a dozen Lapwings. (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: There were two Grey Wagtails, two Pied Wagtails, a Stonechat and a Green Woodpecker around the fields this evening. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: There were quite a few Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits along the sheltered hedges, and among them were a Firecrest, a Blackcap and several Chiffchaffs. There was not much of note in the harbour, though at least one Greenshank was present, plus a few Grey Plovers and Curlews, and there were at least 50 Brent Geese out in the middle. (AH)

Firecrest (above), Goldcrest, Chiffchaff & Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

Itchenor: At 1300hrs there were at least 10 Goldcrests and 2 Chiffchaffs in the hedgerows just west of Itchenor, plus a Redpoll over, whilst a Song Thrush was singing briefly and hundreds of noisy Brents Geese were moving around in the harbour. (PH)