26th - 27th August 2026

Thursday, 27th August: The forecast heavy overnight rain largely failed to materialise, though it was very grey and muggy early on in a moderate south-easterly breeze, brightening up later as the breeze picked up........

Selsey Bill: There was some quite noticeable activity this morning, including a Great White Egret east early on, and then a continuous eastward passage of gulls, including an impressive 826 Mediterranean Gulls, along with an adult Little Gull, a Black Tern and 164 Common Terns. Full log below. (SH/AH)  

(0615-0900hrs) (SE, F3-4)

Gannet - 21E, 41W, 8os

Great White Egret - 1E

Little Egret - 1E

Wigeon - 2E

Common Scoter - 1E

Sanderling - 1W

Dunlin - 10E

Turnstone - 1

Mediterranean Gull - 826E

Little Gull - 1E

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1W, 1os

Great Black-backed Gull - 2W, 2os

Kittiwake - 1W

Sandwich Tern - 4E, 2W

Common Tern - 164E, 3W

Black Tern - 1E

Swallow - 23E

Sand Martin - 8E

House Martin - 2E

Yellow Wagtail - 3E

Pied Wagtail - 1E

(1600-1700hrs) (SH)

Gannet - 4E, 2W

Mediterranean Gull - 44W

Great Black-backed Gull - 3os

Sandwich Tern - 7W

Common Tern - 17W

House Martin - 3

Common Tern (above), Sandwich Tern & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There was nothing on the pool this morning, whilst in the channel opposite there were a pair of Gadwall, a juvenile Ringed Plover, two Curlews and half a dozen Redshanks, plus a fly-through Kingfisher. (AH)

Ringed Plover (above) & Gadwall at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: A couple of Spotted Flycatchers were behind the hide this morning and a Wheatear was on the concrete blocks, but the hedges were very quiet, with just the odd skulking Blackcap and Whitethroat seen, though c40 Swallows, c20 Sand Martins and a handful of House Martins, plus a Yellow Wagtail and a Raven, went over the harbour, going east.

There were 100+ Dunlin and 50+ Ringed Plovers in the harbour on the rising tide, but never near enough to see if there was anything else among them, though a Greenshank and a couple of Whimbrel were about, whilst also of note, 22 Common Terns - mainly juveniles, flew through the harbour and off over the spit, and there were also a dozen Wigeon and a Pintail flying about. (AH/KT et al)

This evening a Black Tern and a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull were off the beach, the Little Stint was again in the harbour, three Spotted Flycatchers were around the hide and there were also four Wheatears and c50 Yellow Wagtails about. (PA/I Jones)

Spotted Flycatcher (above), Blackcap, Raven, Swallow, Greenshank, Common Terns & Wigeon and Pintail at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There were dozens of Mediterranean Gulls heading east offshore this morning, with 18 Sandwich Terns and six Common Terns among them, but the Stilt Pool just held a Greenshank of note, with two more and two Pintail near the poplars.
A good count of c50 Yellow Wagtails were around the fields, along with five Meadow Pipits, whilst along the banks there were two Whinchats, 11 Stonechats, a Dartford Warbler, three Willow Warblers, eight Whitethroats and five Yellowhammers, whilst c100 Swallows, c50 Sand Martins, a Buzzard and three Kestrels went over. (SH)

Wednesday, 26th August: A very warm and muggy morning under mainly grey skies and in just a light north-easterly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: A pretty quiet morning, with the big gull flock having mostly moved off east, though a few Common and Sandwich Terns, a Kittiwake and a few hirundines were about. Full log below. (AH)

(0650-0805hrs) (NE, F2-3)

Gannet - 3E, 1W

Mediterranean Gull - 250os

Kittiwake - 1E

Sandwich Tern - 4E, 2W

Common Tern - 1E, 6W

Swallow - 8E

Sand Martin - 7E

House Martin - 11E

Common Tern at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: The juvenile Ruff was on the remnants of the pool early this morning, along with a Redshank and a juvenile Shelduck, whilst in the channel opposite there were a Common Sandpiper, three Curlews, c60 Redshanks and eight Teal, plus a Kingfisher. (AH)

Ruff at the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: This evening there were three Whinchats, four Wheatears, 15 Yellow Wagtails, a Spotted Flycatcher and three Willow Warblers seen from the path, p-lus c100 Sand Martins and c150 Swallows over.

Also, a Greenshank, two Spotted Redshanks, two Common sandpipers, a snipe, two Lapwings and three Teal were along Ferry Channel. (PA)

Mill Pond Marsh: There was a good selection of warblers along Mill Lane this morning, including four Lesser Whitethroats, a Sedge Warbler, a Cetti's Warbler, two Willow Warblers and half a dozen Whitethroats and Blackcaps. (AH)

Cetti's Warbler (above), Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat & Blackcap at Mill Pond Marsh (AH)

Church Norton: A juvenile Osprey was hunting the harbour at high tide this morning, whilst an incredible 138 Yellow Wagtail with 118 counted on the deck, along with a a Golden Plover, in the fields along Rectory Lane at dawn, and four Wheatears, three Spotted Flycatchers, a Garden Warbler, 15 Blackcaps, 12 Whitethroats, three Willow Warblers were around the Severals area later on.

Also, a Green Sandpiper flew over Greenlease Farm, whilst out on the mud there was the autumn's first juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, the juvenile Little Stint again, 12 Knot, and three Greenshanks, a Bar-tailed Godwit, the first pair of returning Wigeon, three Pintail and six Teal were in the harbour. (PA/AJW)

Osprey (AJW top two, PA lower)  (above), Golden Plover, Yellow Wagtail & Pintails (PA) at Church Norton

This afternoon the Osprey came up the harbour from the Ferry, hovered a few times, and flew mostly over the east side towards Pagham Beach, whilst the Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint were still out on the mudflats along with a Sanderling, 60+ Dunlin, six Pintail and ten Wigeon.

Also, on Tern Island there were at least 20 Yellow Wagtails, at least three Wheatears and a flock of 80 Linnets. (CRJ/KT/AT/ARK et al)

Little Stint at Church Norton (KT)

North Wall: The Osprey was seen over the harbour from the wall, too, whilst the bushes held a mix of migrants, including a dozen Whitethroats, three or four Lesser Whitethroats, Reed, Sedge and Willow Warblers, along with two Wheatears in the Owl Point field and c50 Swallows over.

There were also a couple of Kingfishers about, a Snipe and a Lapwing in Bremere Rife, along with half a dozen Cattle Egrets, and 16 Little Egrets and ten Grey Herons were in the harbour. (LP/CT/MJa/AH/KU et al)

Osprey (above), Wheatear, Swallow, Snipe, Cattle Egrets & Little Egrets at the North Wall (AH)

Sidlesham: The Osprey re-appeared over Cow Lane this afternoon, heading for the harbour, with a Swift, a big juvenile female Sparrowhawk and a few Yellow wagtails and hirundines.going over, too, (PA)

Pagham Beach: It was also seen over here, having visited the harbour in-between. (TG-P)

23rd - 25th August 2026

Tuesday, 25th August:  The easterly breeze had eased slightly, if remaining fresh and blustery, though it was quite warm in the extended sunny spells........

Selsey Bill: There were 14 Yellow Wagtails, a Grey Wagtails and a few hirundines going over this morning, plus a Swift over the houses, whilst  the first four Wigeon of the autumn going east and ten Grey Herons, including a flock of nine, heading off out towards the Isle of Wight were the highlights offshore. Full log below. (SH/PB/AH/IP)

(0600-0830hrs) (ESE, F4-5)
Great Crested Grebe - 3E

Gannet - 82E, 15W

Grey Heron - 10S (inc a flock of 9)

Wigeon - 4W

Common Scoter - 1E

Sparrowhawk - 1

Oystercatcher - 1E, 1os

Turnstone - 17

Mediterranean Gull - 750os

Great Black-backed Gull - 92W, 2os

Sandwich Tern - 3E, 2W, 3os

Common Tern - 3E, 3W

Swift - 1

Green Woodpecker - 1

Swallow - 51E

Sand Martin - 23E

House Martin - 12E

Yellow Wagtail - 14E

Grey Wagtail - 1E

Gannets (above), Mediterranean Gull & Sparrowhawk at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There was nothing on the pool this morning, though a Spotted Redshank, four Common Sandpipers, a Black-tailed Godwit and a few Redshank were in the channel opposite. (A Swetman et al)

East Side: A White Stork was circling over the harbour before heading off east this morning, and there were lots of waders out on the mud, before they were all moved on by the rising tide, including c150 Dunlin, c120 Ringed Plover, 48 Grey Plover, 12 Knot, two Turnstone, four Whimbrel, a Spotted Redshank, a Bar-tailed Godwit, a Black-tailed Godwit, eight Curlews, six Greenshanks and the usual Oystercatchers, Redshanks and Lapwings.

Also, a Sandwich tern was in the harbour and two Yellow Wagtails flew over and there were c200 Swallows and Sand Martins over the water. (LP/TRH/SP/MJa/DHo)

White Stork (LP top two, DHo lower), Spotted Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Ringed Plover (DHo), Grey Plovers and Knot (DHo top, LP lower two) & Turnstone (LP along the East side

North Wall: It was busy around the paddock with a Green Woodpecker, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, several Whitethroats, a Reed Bunting, three Sedge Warblers and numerous Goldfinches and Greenfinches all present, whilst further back, two Buzzards were in the trees and there was a steady movement of Swallows and Sand Martins overhead.

A Pintail was along White’s Creek, along with eleven Teal and two Great Crested Grebes, a Kingfisher was at the far end, and a Greenshank was along the banks with c120 Redshanks and 15 Lapwing.

A Peregrine flew over the Breech Pool, where a Little Ringed Plover was on the dried mud, and along the wall a Wheatear was on the rocks, and two Yellowhammers and a few Whitethroats were in the bushes and a few Swallows and House Martins went over. (LP/TRH/SP/EB)

This evening there were a Common sandpiper, two Cattle Egrets and three Kingfishers about, with a Red Kite, a Buzzard, two Sparrowhawks, a Kestrel,  11 Yellow Wagtails and eight Swallows going over. (S&SaH)

Wheatear (above), Greenshank, Pintail, Lapwing, Ringed Plover (LP), Sand Martins, Kingfisher, Little Grebe & Great Spotted Woodpecker (DHo) at the North Wall

Church Norton: The White Stork was viewable from here, too, and there were also a Great White Egret and 30+ Little Egrets in the harbour, along with the Little Stint again, two Greenshanks, five Knot, five Whimbrel, a dozen Curlews, c30 Grey Plovers, c150 Ringed Plovers, and c200 Dunlin, plus a dozen Teal, with another flock of c30 of the latter flying around offshore, where there were also a handful of distant Gannets.

A Whinchat and a Wheatear were around the horse field, with a Yellowhammer, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Whitethroat, two Willow Warblers and five Blackcaps in the hedges and a Peregrine, 61 Yellow Wagtails, c100 Swallows and c50 Sand Martins went over. 

Also, there was a huge flock of c2000 Sand Martins and c500 Swallows, with c30 Yellow Wagtails among them, sitting on and feeding over the bare fields along Rectory Lane, until they were all dispersed by a juvenile Hobby.. (AH/TS/JDa//RS/PA/A Swetman et al)

White Stork (above), Whimbrel, Grey Plovers and Knot, Whinchat, Hobby, Yellow Wagtails, Sand Martins & Sand Martins, Swallows and Yellow Wagtails at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A Common Sandpiper and two Greenshanks were near the poplars this morning, with another of the latter the only thing of note on the Stilt Pool, whilst c15 Gannets were offshore and two Kestrels, three Buzzards, c20 Sand Martins and c100 swallows went over.

The banks were fairly quiet in the wind, with a Whinchat, eight Stonechats, three Yellow Wagtails, a Dartford Warbler, three Whitethroats, four Willow Warblers and eight Yellowhammers the highlights. (SH)

Monday, 24th August:  A bright, but  cooler morning in a near gale-force easterly wind....

Selsey Bill: There was a big feeding gull flock offshore this morning, with at least 75 Gannets, 55 Common Terns and 30 Sandwich Terns among them, whilst half a dozen Yellow Wagtails and a few hirundines went over east. Full log below. (IP/AH/P&LH)

(0700-0830hrs) (ESE, F6-7)

Gannet - 75os

Turnstone - 6

Mediterranean Gull - 500os

Great Black-backed Gull - 9os

Sandwich Tern - 30os

Common Tern - 55os

Swallow - 31E

Sand Martin - 2E

House Martin - 5E

Yellow Wagtail - 6E

Common Terns (above), Mediterranean Gull & Gannets at the Bill (AH)

(1230-1330hrs) (P&LH)

Gannet - 25os

Turnstone - 16

Mediterranean Gull - 250os

Common Gull - 1E

Great Black-backed Gull - 8E

Sandwich Tern - 15os

Swift - 1

House Martin - 1

Gannets (above)< Mediterranean Gull & Turnstones at the Bill (LH)

Ferry Pool: There were just four Lapwings on the dried up again pool, though a Common Sandpiper and c50 Redshanks were in the channel opposite, all upset by a passing Peregrine. (AH/TG-P/MaJ et al)

Peregrine (above), Common Sandpiper & Lapwings at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There was a huge flock of Swallows on the stubble fields along Rectory Lane early this morning, with good numbers of Yellow Wagtails among them, too, though they all dispersed fairly quickly. (G Charles)

Later, a Whinchat was in the Severals (R Hatcher), whilst out in the harbour on the rising tide, there were two Little Stints, the juvenile Ruff, a Knot, a couple of Whimbrel, 20+ Ringed Plovers and 50+ Dunlin, and an Osprey and seven Swallows went over. (P&LH/AH et al)

Osprey (above), Ruff (LH), Little Stint and Ringed Plover & Knot and Dunlin (AH) at Church Norton

East side: There was a good selection of waders along the side of the harbour this morning, including three Spotted Redshanks, eight Greenshanks, a Little Ringed Plover, 11 Knot, five Turnstones, two  three Whimbrel, c50 Grey Plovers, c100 Ringed Plovers, c200 Dunlin, c60 Redshanks and c25 Curlews, along with c800 Mediterranean Gulls, four Lesser Black-backed Gulls, two Common Gulls, two Common Terns and ten Sandwich Terns.

Also of note, c400 Sand Martins were coming off the mudflats early on, and chasing off a passing Great Spotted Woodpecker, too, with c20 Swallows, a Tree Pipit, a few Yellow Wagtails and a hunting juvenile Peregrine also seen. (PB/PA)

North Wall: A Whinchat and a Wheatear were on the fence-line at Owl Point this morning. whilst off of Owl Point itself there were at least 15 Little Egrets, 15-20 Grey Plovers, several Knot, a good number of Whimbrel and several Curlews, along with many Redshanks and a small flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plovers.

Also, a Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard and two Kestrels went over, but there was very little in the way of small passerines, presumably because of the wind. (KT)

Whinchat (above), Wheatear, Green Woodpecker & Whimbrel at the North Wall (KT)

Sunday, 23rd August: Winds were from the south-east today, staying dry with occasional light cloud cover....

Selsey Bill: There was some more vizmig this morning with another pulse of Yellow Wagtails through, two juveniles and an adult Great Spotted Woodpecker were present and an early returning Red-necked Grebe flew west. Full log below. (SH/IP/BI)

(0600-0830hrs) (SE F2-3)

Red-necked Grebe - 1W

Gannet - 6E, 21W

Teal - 6E 16W

Sparrowhawk - 1

Peregrine - 1E

Oystercatcher - 2E

Turnstone - 14

Mediterranean Gull - 2E, 11W

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1os

Great Black-backed Gull - 1W

Sandwich Tern - 11E, 5W

Common Tern - 1E 1W

Swift - 2W

Great Spotted Woodpecker - 3

Sand Martin - 14E

Swallow - 4E

House Martin - 14

Tree Pipit - 3N

Pied Wagtail - 1E

Yellow Wagtail - 50E

Grey Wagtail - 1E

Bottle-nosed Dolphin - c8E

Turnstone (above) & Oystercatcher at the Bill (BI)

Ferry Pool/Long Pool: A Whinchat was in the field opposite the Long Pool and the Ruff seen earlier at Church Norton (see below) was on the Ferry Pool as were c.30 Lapwings. (PA)

North Wall:  A Whinchat and two Wheatears were at Halsey’s Farm, a Kingfisher was along the rife, and three Water Rail’s were in the reeds, a Marsh Harrier and a Sparrowhawk were high overhead, and three Yellow Wagtails flew over the fields.

A few Cattle Egrets and Little Egrets were about and four Lesser Whitethroat, two Willow Warblers, six Whitethroats and four Sedge Warblers were along the bushes and reeds.

A Pied Wagtail was on the Breech Pool and a Grey Wagtail was by the sluice, whilst out in the harbour a Pintail was on the water and a Lesser Black-backed Gull was out on the mud. A Spotted Redshank was also noted. (LP/HB/LT/MJa/PB/EB/SBr/KU)

Lapwing, above, Blackcap, Greenfinch with Whitethroat, Kingfisher, Grey Heron and Pied Wagtail at the North Wall (EB)

Church Norton: A Tree-creeper was again in the conservation by the concrete wall this morning as were a Coal Tit & two Firecrests. Up to two Spotted Flycatchers were noted, two Tree Pipits flew over, 66 Yellow Wagtails moved west, two Peregrines and a Raven were also seen. In the harbour were nine Knot, a juvenile male Ruff, a drake eclipse Pintail and a single Snipe. (IP/PA)

Mill Lane:  Around the mill pond this morning were three Sedge Warblers, six Reed Warblers, eight Willow Warblers, two Whitethroats, several Blackcaps and singles of Cetti's Warbler and Coal Tit. A Kingfisher was also seen here. (ML)

Pagham Beach: Two Clouded Yellows and three Painted Lady butterflies were again present this morning. (BI)

Painted Lady (above) & Clouded Yellow at Pagham Beachfront (BI)

Pagham Harbour, East Side: There was a good selection of waders along the East Side at high tide including c80 Ringed Plovers, c60 Dunlin, 26 Grey Plovers, eight Sanderling, three Greenshank, a Spotted Redshank, c140 Redshanks, 18 Oystercatchers, four Whimbrel, ten Curlews and 12 Lapwing. (LP)

Ringed Plover (above), Ringed Plover, Sanderling & Dunlin; Curlew & Whimbrel; Greenshank and Grey Plover on the east side (LP) 

Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool: Eight Buzzards were drifting overhead today and other raptors included a Peregrine, a Kestrel, a Marsh Harrier and a Sparrowhawk. 

At least a hundred each of Swallows and Sand Martins were over the reserve and two Yellow Wagtails flew over too. Along the banks were eight Stonechats, two Wheatears, a Whinchat, a Reed Bunting, a Willow Warbler and five Yellowhammers. The only bird of note to be seen on the Stilt Pool was a Greenshank. (SH/SaH)