Tuesday, 12th May: After another cold start, a warm and mostly sunny morning in a moderate to fresh south-westerly breeze.......
Selsey Bill: There was nothing moving again this morning, bar a Yellow Wagtail over, whilst House Martins were busy gathering mud in Grafton Road. Full log below. (IP/AH)
(0630-0815hrs) (SW, F4)
Gannet - 4W
Oystercatcher - 2E, 5W
Mediterranean Gull - 1W
Great Black-backed Gull - 1os
Kittiwake - 2W
Sandwich Tern - 50os
Common Tern - 6os
Little Tern - 3os
Razorbill - 1E
Swallow - 2
House Martin - 7
Yellow Wagtail -1N
Linnet - 1
Kittiwake (above), Common Tern, Sandwich Tern & House Martins at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: There were two Common Sandpipers on the pool this morning, along with 32 Avocets, four Redshank and 63 Black-tailed Godwits, with another 11 of the latter, a Greenshank and four Whimbrel in the channel opposite, whilst wildfowl comprised just four Gadwall, 11 Shelducks and c20 Mallards. (AH)
Common Sandpiper (above), Greenshank, Whimbrel & Black-tailed Godwit at the Ferry (AH)
Church Norton: An Osprey put everything up on the islands before drifting off east and out to sea over Pagham Spit this morning, being mobbed by two Buzzards among the gulls, though the harbour was quiet, with just a Bar-tailed Godwit, two Whimbrel and four Curlews noted, and the area around the islands was generally calmer - hopefully an indication that birds are finally settling down to nest.
There wasn't too much to report from the land, though a likely migrant Reed Warbler was singing from the bushes near the hide and a Lesser Whitethroat was between the Severals, with the odd Blackcap and Chiffchaff at both locations, with plenty of Whitethroats and Linnets and a few Reed Warblers, plus a family of Long-tailed Tits, along the front. Also, half a dozen Swifts and similar of Swallows were over the fields beyond the Severals. (AH)
Osprey and Buzzards (above), Sandwich and Little Terns, Whitethroats, Long-tailed Tit & Tern Island at Church Norton (AH)
This evening the only waders in the harbour were three Dunlin, three Ringed Plovers, a Sanderling, a Bar-tailed Godwit, eight Whimbrel, four Curlews and c25 Oystercatchers, whilst the areas around the islands were relatively quiet again. (AH)
Bar-tailed Godwit (above), Whimbrel, Ringed Plover & Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Sanderling at Church Norton (AH)
Monday, 11th May: A surprisingly cool morning, mostly hazily grey in the moderate north-westerly breeze.......
Selsey Bill: There was a big, distant feeding flock offshore this morning, but absolutely nothing on the move. Full log below. (AH/IP)
(0645-0830hrs) (NW, F4)
Gannet - 20os
Common Scoter - 1E
Mediterranean Gull - 1E, 2W
Common Gull - 2W
Great Black-backed Gull - 4os
Kittiwake - 1W
Sandwich Tern - 100os
Common Tern - 30os
Little Tern - 1W
auk sp - 2E
Swift - 1
Skylark - 1W
House Martin - 2
Sandwich Tern (above) & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: A Little Ringed Plover, a Common Sandpiper and a Greenshank were on the ferry, with c60 Black-tailed Godwits and c30 Avocets commuting between the pool and the channel, where there were also another Greenshank, a Whimbrel and a pair of Gadwall, whilst other wildfowl just consisted of four more Gadwall, eight Shelducks and c20 Mallard.
Also, c20 Swifts were distantly viewable over the sewage works, three Buzzards were airborne and one or two Whitethroats, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps called from the hedges. (PA/AH/BFF/SL)
Greenshank (above), Greenshank and Avocet, Whimbrel, Gadwall & Whitethroat at the ferry (AH)
East side: There were good numbers of waders along the east side this morning, including 13 Sanderling, 12 Knot, five Turnstones, 104 Dunlin, 63 Grey Plovers and 83 Ringed Plovers, with a handful of Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwits and over 30 Shelducks about, too. (PA)
North Wall: A Grey Wagtail and a White Wagtail, seen carrying nesting material, were in the paddock this morning, and a Cuckoo, a Red Kite, four Marsh Harriers, three Swallows and four Swifts were also around. Six Tufted Ducks were on the Breech Pool and there were a few Sedge Warblers, Whitethroats, Reed Buntings and Long-tailed Tits along the hedges.
At Halsey’s Farm, another Cuckoo in the bushes, a Gadwall was along the rife, and on the harbour side, a Great Crested Grebe was in the channel and a Curlew was on the mud, but otherwise out in the harbour there were just a few distant Dunlin, Ringed Plovers and a couple of Whimbrels. (LP/MJa/KU)
Also, a Barn Owl was seen at dawn at Halsey's Farm. (MJa)
White Wagtail (above), Sedge Warbler, Grey Wagtail, Cuckoo, Reed Bunting & Curlew at the North Wall (LP),
Church Norton: A total of 22 Bar-tailed Godwits and six Whimbrel, plus a single Knot, flew in this morning, whilst three Avocets, a dozen Grey Plovers and c20 Oystercatchers were out on the mud, but there were no small waders about at all.
There were still three Common Terns and c20 Little Terns among the mass of Sandwich Terns, Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls, but nothing in the hedges beyond a couple of Whitethroats and Blackcaps. (AH)
Bar-tailed Godwits (above), Bar-tailed Godwits and Knot, Whimbrel & Little Tern at Church Norton (AH)
Runcton: South of the village this morning were a pair of Mute Swan, 11 Shelducks, 11 Mallard, two Gadwall, a pair of Pochard, two pairs of Tufted Ducks, four Little Grebes, two Grey Herons, a flyover Cattle Egret, three Common Buzzards, a Green Woodpecker, three Cetti’s Warblers, five Reed Warblers, four Blackcaps, three Whitethroats, two Chiffchaffs and a Willow Warbler. (CRJ)
Medmerry: Chainbridge to Ham - Two Cuckoos, four swifts and two Swallows were about this evening, with a good selection along the banks including five corn Buntings, half a dozen Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers, a Stonechat, ten Whitethroats, 12 Reed Warblers, three Sedge Warblers and five Cetti's Warblers. (S&aH)
Chichester GPs: This morning the odd Red-crested Pochard family were still on New Lake - two drakes, a female and four ducklings. There were also at least twenty Swifts hawking over Ivy Lake, with a similar number of Swallows and two Sand Martins. (AW)
.JPG)
Red-crested Pochard family (above), Sand Martin & Swift at Chichester GPs (AW)
Sunday, 10th May: A pretty dismal morning's weather, with a strong and cold north-easterly pushing through frequent squalls of drizzly rain.......
Selsey Bill: There was a good-sized feeding flock of terns and Gannets offshore, but 39 Common Terns were about the only things going east, whilst there also a Manx Shearwater west and a Yellow Wagtail in off the sea. Full log below. (JA/SH/AH/IP)
(0500-0900hrs) (NE, F5-6)
Great Northern Diver - 1W, 1os
Manx Shearwater - 1W
Gannet - 24E, 27W, 21os
Mallard - 2W
Common Scoter - 5E, 4W
Oystercatcher - 3E
Whimbrel - 3E
Mediterranean Gull - 2E
Great Black-backed Gull - 10E, 1W, 5os
Kittiwake - 1E, 1W
Sandwich Tern - 51os
Common Tern - 39E, 14os
Commic' Tern - 1E
Little Tern - 2os
Razorbill - 2W
auk sp - 2W
Swift - 1N
House Martin - 2
Yellow Wagtail - 1N
Also, between 0900hrs and 1045hrs, another Manx Shearwater and a Fulmar went west. (KB)
Common Tern (above), Sandwich Tern & Gannet at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: There were still a Little Ringed Plover, c60 Black-tailed Godwits and 24 Avocets spread between the pool and channel, with two Greenshanks and a Whimbrel also in the channel, whilst wildfowl on the pool comprised a pair of Shoveler, five Gadwall, 14 Shelducks and c20 Mallard.
There was also a Lesser Whitethroat in the hedges.(AH/KB/PA)
Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwit (above), Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwits & Gadwall, Shovelers and Shelducks at the Ferry (AH)
Church Norton: There was no sign of the Roseate Tern this morning, though c40 Little Terns, a couple of Common Terns and c200 Sandwich Terns were about, with the few waders present comprising one Whimbrel, one Bar-tailed Godwit, two Black-tailed Godwits, a Grey Plover, five Ringed Plovers, two Curlews and a dozen Oystercatchers. (AH/BI/PA/MWh et al)
Little Terns and Sandwich Terns (above), Common Tern and Sandwich Terns, Bar-tailed Godwit & Ringed Plovers at Church Norton (AH)
North Wall: It was predictably quiet along the wall in the persistent rain with just a Great Crested Grebe and a Little Egret along White’s Creek and 11 Shelduck, two Tufted Ducks and a few Mallards on the Breech Pool, whilst Sedge and Reed Warblers were in the reeds, a Cuckoo was calling, and a Whitethroat and a Chiffchaff were by the stables. (LP)
Great Crested Grebe at the North Wall (LP)
East Side: There was a nice selection of waders along the East side, including 14 Sanderlings, 78 Ringed Plovers, 45 Dunlin, 22 Whimbrels, 26 Grey Plovers, 12 Knot, two Curlews, a Redshank, a Bar-tailed Godwit and 5 Oystercatchers, with a Little Tern fishing along the channel, and 60 Great Black-backed Gulls further out on the mud. (LP/MJa)
Bar-tailed Godwit (above), Ringed Plovers, Whimbrel, Grey Plover, Knot & Sanderlings along the East side (LP)
Medmerry: Stilt Pool - The Spoonbill was back on the stilt Pool this morning. (ML)
