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)
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)
