Wednesday, 9th September: A bright, but quite cool morning, in a moderate to fresh westerly breeze...........
Selsey Bill: A Little Gull was offshore early on, and over 600 Mediterranean Gulls and a few terns went west, as did nine Yellow Wagtails. Full log below. (SH/PB/AT/AH et al)
(0615-0830hrs) (W, F5)
Gannet - 52W, 4os
Oystercatcher - 1
Turnstone - 8
Little Gull - 1os
Mediterranean Gull - 639W
Sandwich Tern - 13E, 20W, 6os
Common Tern - 25W, 5os
auk sp - 2E
Swallow - 8
Yellow Wagtail - 9W
Wheatear - 1
Bottle-nosed Dolphin - 3W
Wheatear (above), Sandwich Tern, Mediterranean Gull & Gannet at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: A juvenile Ringed Plover, and adult and a juvenile Avocet, a Redshank, three Teal, a Shelduck and c75 roosting Lapwings were on the pool this morning. (AH)
Ringed Plover (above) & Avocet at the Ferry (AH)
Honer Reservoir: A Greenshank and a Common Sandpiper were on the reservoir this morning. (CS)
Pagham Spit: There were five Wheatears and three Yellow Wagtails on the spit this morning, plus two Sandwich Terns in the harbour. (DHo)
Yellow Wagtail (above), Wheatear & Sandwich Tern at Pagham Spit (DHo)
East Side: Along the East side on the rising tide there were five spotted Redshanks together, two Greenshanks, c100 Redshanks, c80 Ringed Plover, c50 Dunlin, 22 Grey Plovers, a Turnstone and 11 Knot out on the mud, and four Great Crested Grebes, 16 Pintail, 28 Wigeon. C100 Teal and the Shelduck family along the channel, whilst further out there were 13 Common Seals hauled out in the sunshine. (LP/TRH/SP/MJa/MRi/DHo)
Spotted Redshanks (above), Turnstone, Dunlin and Ringed Plover (DHo), Greenshanks and Redshanks & Grey Plovers (LP) at the East side
North Wall: There was a bit more water on the Breech Pool and three Redshanks, a Little Egret and a Kingfisher were present, with a Bar-tailed Godwit and six Black-tailed Godwits in Whites Creek.
A Wheatear was along the rocks, and three Grey Wagtails flew over, but there wasn’t much activity along the bushes with just a Willow Warbler, a Sedge Warbler and three Cetti’s Warblers about, whilst Owl Copse held a Whitethroat, a Reed Warbler, a Sedge Warbler, a Chiffchaff and a pair of Reed Buntings.
A Whinchat and a pair of Blackcaps were in the Owl Point field, but It was quiet at Halsey’s Farm, with just a Lapwing along the rife, and two Blackcaps, 10 Chiffchaffs and a few Blue Tits and Great Tits in the trees, although c100 House Martins and a few Swallows passed through and a Marsh Harrier was overhead. (LP/EB/DHo)
Wheatear (above), Kingfisher (LP), Whinchat, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Reed Bunting, Lapwing & Buzzard (DHo) at the North Wall
Church Norton: The two White Storks seen at Medmerry took a tour around the harbour this morning before drifting back off west, whilst at least one Little Stint was still on the mud before high tide, along with half a dozen Knot, c30 Grey Plovers, c50 Ringed Plovers and c200 Dunlin, plus a Whimbrel and a few Curlews.
An Osprey went over late morning, whilst a Marsh Harrier, a Sparrowhawk and a couple of Buzzards were present, too with a dozen Pintail and Wigeon, c30 Teal and c20 Sandwich Terns around the harbour, too. ..
There were also a few migrants about, including two Whinchats on Tern Island, up to ten Wheatears between there and the concrete blocks, a Redstart, half a dozen Spotted Flycatchers, four Willow Warblers and up to ten Blackcaps in the churchyard/hide area and three Sand Martins and c20 Swallows over. (AH/PB/CRJ et al)
White Storks (above), Little Stint, Knot and Grey Plovers, Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Warbler & Blackcap at Church Norton (AH)
Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - The two White Storks were still present early this morning. (HR/DMe)
Later, there were at least six Wheatears, a Redstart, two Whinchats, six Stonechats, two Dartford Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Whitethroat, three Willow Warblers, four Yellowhammers, a Meadow Pipit, seven Yellow Wagtails and 16 Linnets along the banks today, plus four Swallows over.
Also a Little Stint was in the channel opposite the Stilt Pool, a Ringed Plover, three Cattle Egrets and c60 Canada Geese were on the reserve and seven Buzzards and a Kestrel went over. (S&SaH/.GHi)
Wheatear (above), Stonechat & Linnets at Medmerry (GHi)
Tuesday, 8th September: A very wet morning, with almost constant heavy rain from before dawn in a moderate westerly breeze, though brightening up later on...........
Selsey Bill: A Razorbill west was the modest highlight of a predictably slow morning. Full log below. (AH)
(0700-0800hrs) (W, F4)
Gannet - 4W
Oystercatcher - 1E, 1W
Turnstone - 18
Mediterranean Gull - 4W
Great Black-backed Gull - 5W
Sandwich Tern - 1W
Razorbill - 1W
Sandwich Tern at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: A bit of water back in the pool produced a few birds this morning, including a Ruff, an adult and a juvenile Avocet, two Dunlin, two Ringed Plovers, three Oystercatchers, half a dozen Lapwings, five young Shelducks and a Teal. (AH)
This afternoon, the Ruff was joined by a Little Stint on the pool, before both departed. (AWi)
Ruff (above), Avocets & Ringed Plover at the Ferry (AH)
Church Norton: There were c30 Common Terns and c20 Sandwich Terns in the harbour approaching high tide, with waders including a Common Sandpiper, two Whimbrel, half a dozen Grey Plovers, c50 Redshanks, c30 Ringed Plovers and c100 Dunlin, and there were also 18 Pintail, c40 Wigeon, c75 Teal and six Shelducks present.
Also, a Kingfisher flew through, two Swallows went over and there were still at least six Spotted Flycatchers and a couple of Blackcaps behind the hide. (AH)
Common Terns and Black-headed Gulls (above), Common Sandpiper, Pintail & Spotted Flycatcher at Church Norton (AH)
Late this afternoon there were three Little Stints on the mud together, seen from the steps, with 200+ Dunlin and c50 Ringed Plovers further out, whilst there were also two Greenshanks and two Bar-tailed Godwits, plus a handful of Sandwich Terns, present and a juvenile Peregrine shot through low over the harbour.
Also, a Redstart and half a dozen Spotted Flycatchers were behind the hide and then in the churchyard. (AWi/EB/AH et al)
Little Stints (AWi top, AH lower), Greenshank (AH) , Redstart (EB top two, AH lower) & Spotted Flycatcher (AH) at Church Norton
Runcton: A Redstart was showing well in our garden this morning. (CRJ)
Redstart at Runcton (CRJ)
Medmerry: Toe End - An Osprey went over the breach at lunchtime today, with a Marsh Harrier, two Buzards and a Sanderling also seen. (SH)
Medmerry: Easton Lane to Marsh Barn - Two White Storks - presumably the same two seen flying around yesterday - were on the reserve late this morning. (AS).
This evening they were viewable from the poplars, with two Marsh Harriers, a Peregrine, five Wigeon, two Egyptian Geese, c100 Canada Geese seen in the vicinity, too.
Also, c50 Yellow Wagtails were in the fields, four swallows went over and a Chiffchaff, four Willow Warblers, four Cetti's Warblers and four Stonechats were along the banks. (AT/IP/S&SaH)
White Storks at Medmerry (SaH)
Monday, 7th September: The morning started grey and blustery in a fresh south-westerly, with some squally rain followed by warm sunshine and white cloud......
Selsey Bill: A juvenile Arctic Skua and 56 Gannets went west and two Shags went east this morning, with a few Sandwich Terns going both ways, but the only indication of visible migration was five Yellow Wagtails east and 32 Swallows going west over the sea. Full log below. (SH/AH/IP)
(0615-0830hrs) (SW, F5)
Gannet - 4E, 56W, 15os
Shag - 2E
Grey Heron - 1S
Common Scoter - 2E, 1os
Arctic Skua - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 215os
Great Black-backed Gull - 2W
Sandwich Tern - 35E, 23W
Common Tern - 2W
Swallow - 32W
Yellow Wagtail - 5E
Pied Wagtail - 2W
Another Arctic Skua and 15 Kittiwakes went west this afternoon. Full log below. (SH)
(1345-1500hrs)
Gannet - 3E, 8W, 8os
Oystercatcher - 3W
Redshank - 1W
Turnstone 1
Arctic Skua - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 19W
Great Black-backed Gull - 2W, 1os
Kittiwake - 15W
Sandwich Tern - 3W
Common Tern - 1W
Swallow - 7W
Arctic Skua (above), Gannet & Sandwich Tern at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: A Little Ringed Plover was on the pool early on, but later there were just 14 Lapwings, with a Kingfisher the only thing of note in the channel opposite, though there were still up to half a dozen Whinchats being active in Ferry Field. (PA/AH)
Lapwing (above) & Whinchat at the Ferry (AH)
Park Farm, Selsey: An Osprey went over high, heading south, this morning, with a Buzzard, a Kestrel, two Sand Martins, c40 House Martins and c50 Swallows going over, too, whilst a Wheatear, a Grey Wagtail, 11 Yellow Wagtails, three Pied Wagtails and three Meadow Pipits were on the fields. (SH)
Long Pool: There were four Spotted Redshanks on the pool itself this morning, with another in Ferry Channel. (PA)
Church Norton: There were at least ten Spotted Flycatchers spread around the churchyard/hide area this morning, with a redstart, a couple of Lesser Whitethroats and up to ten Blackcaps around.
Also, a couple of Wheatears were on Tern Island, three Yellow Wagtails, another Lesser Whitethroat, two Whitethroats and five Willow Warblers were along the Severals, whilst c50 Swallows went over the harbour, with similar over Rectory Lane and the Severals.
A Little Tern was again in the harbour, along with a dozen or so Sandwich Terns, plus another 23 of the latter offshore,, whilst waders present included a juvenile Little Stint, c100 Dunlin, a handful of Knot and Grey Plovers and a couple of Whimbrel. (PA/AH/SH)
Spotted Flycatchers (above), Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap and Lesser Whitethroat, Little Tern & Sandwich Tern at Church Norton (AH)
This evening there were two Little Stints on the mud together, with a Greenshank, two Bar-tailed Godwits, a Black-tailed Godwit, most of the waders from this morning, four Sandwich Terns, a Pintail, four Wigeon and ten Teal also in the harbour, and at least half a dozen Spotted Flycatchers were behind the hide. (AWi/AH/NM et al)
Little Stints (above), Greenshank & Spotted Flycatchers at Church Norton (AH)
Medmerry: Ham Farm to Golf Links Lane - Two White Storks were circling over the solar panels late this morning, before drifting off north-west. (AW)
Sidlesham: A Hobby (PA) and four Greylag Geese (AH) went over Cow Lane early this morning.
