Saturday, 27th June: Another very warm morning, and increasingly muggy, too, in the hazy cloud and just a light westerly breeze...........
Selsey Bill: Unsurprisingly, a quiet morning, with the highlight being a pod of at least seven Bottle-nosed Dolphins slowly making their way east.. Full log below. (AH/IP)
(0640-0810hrs) (W, F2-3)
Gannet - 7W
Great Black-backed Gull - 1W
Sandwich Tern - 80os
Little Tern - 4os
Swift - 6
Swallow - 3
House Martin - 16
Bottle-nosed Dolphin - 7E
Little Tern (above), Sandwich Tern, Gannets, House Martin & Bottle-nosed Dolphin at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: The Little Ringed Plover pair and three small chicks resurfaced this morning, and the Shelduck family were still present, too, though the Oystercatchers only appeared to have two chicks, whilst there were still at least 30 young and 20 adult Avocets about, with the last nests seemingly now hatched. (AH)
Little Ringed Plover family (above), Oystercatcher family & Avocets at the Ferry (AH)
North Wall: A Spotted Redshank and a Snipe were along White’s Creek early this morning, and on the Breech Pool, a Wood Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper were at the far end of the channel, and on the main pool there were three Avocets and 12 Black-tailed Godwits, with a Kingfisher, a Common Tern, nine sand Martins and four Swallows also about, with a few more of the latter around the stables.
At Halsey’s Farm 20 Little Egrets, four Cattle Egrets and six Grey Herons were along the rife and a Little Tern and two Kingfishers were about, too, whilst there were still a few Reed Warblers and Sedge Warblers in the reeds, and a Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Chaffinch along the bushes. (MJa/Sa&SH/PB/LP)
Wood Sandpiper and Green Sandpiper (above), Swallows, Avocets, Whitethroat and Chaffinch & Little Egrets at the North Wall (LP)
Church Norton: There were still numerous young Sandwich Terns and Black-headed Gulls about, with parents constantly bringing in food, and half a dozen Little Terns were present, too, but the only waders seen were a dozen Black-tailed Godwits and four Curlews.
A visiting birder reported a Grey Wagtail, but otherwise there were just the odd Linnet and Whitethroat seen. (AH)
Sandwich Tern (above), Black-tailed Godwit & Linnet at Church Norton (AH)
Friday, 26th June: A little cooler this morning, with the breeze switching to the south-west and bringing some light cloud with it.......
Selsey Bill: A Great Crested Grebe and eight Common Scoters east were the only things beyond the regular species this morning. Full log below. (AH/IP)
(0645-0800hrs) (SW, F4)
Great Crested Grebe - 1E
Common Scoter - 8E
Kestrel - 1
Sandwich Tern - 80os
Common Tern - 2os
Swift - 2
House Martin - 15
Sandwich Terns (above), Common Tern & House Martin at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: It was basically a nursery on the pool this morning, with the only birds present being the Oystercatcher family, the Shelduck family and c30 young and c20 adult Avocets. (AH)
Oystercatchers (above), Avocet & Shelducks and Avocets on the Ferry (AH)
Mill Pond Marsh: There were five Teal on the flooded field this morning, along with a mother Tufted Duck and three ducklings, five Gadwall, c40 Mallards and couple of families of Coots and Moorhens. (AH)
Tufted Ducks (above) & Teal at Mill Pond Marsh (AH)
Church Norton: There was still a constant flow of Sandwich Terns in and out of the harbour, with one or two Little Terns among them, whilst lots of young Sandwich Terns were on the southern edge of the island and barely fledged Black-headed Gulls were everywhere, but half a dozen Black-tailed Godwits and a couple of Curlews were the only waders about on the near high-tide.
The bushes were quiet beyond the odd snippet of Whitethroat and Blackcap song, and the front just held a couple of Skylarks and a few Linnets. (AH)
Little Tern (above), Sandwich Tern & Black-headed Gull at Church Norton (AH)
This evening there were at least 50 young Sandwich Terns sat out on the mud and the perimeter of the island, with double that of young Black-headed Gulls, with a Common Tern and a handful of Little Terns seen, too.
Also, waders on the low tide included a Greenshank, three Ringed Plovers, four Black-tailed Godwits and half a dozen or so Curlews Redshanks and Oystercatchers. (AH)
Greenshank (above), Little Tern, Black-headed Gull & Sandwich Terns at Church Norton (AH)
Pagham Spit: Six Little Tern chicks could be seen on their island this morning, with plenty of adults coming and going, too, and there were nine Common Seals hauled out in the harbour. (PB/JBo)
North Wall: The two Spotted Redshanks dropped in on White's Creek near high tide, before flying off across the harbour, whilst three Avocets and c40 Black-tailed Godwits were on the Breech Pool, along with a Cattle Egret, with one or two more of the latter in the fields, a family of Mute Swans were in the harbour and one or two Mediterranean Gulls went over..
There was also a Kingfisher in the rife at Halsey's Farm, and a couple of Sand Martins and Stock Doves were around, and there were also plenty of Marbled Whites, Gatekeepers and Small Skippers on the wing.(PB/JBo/EB et al)
Cattle Egrets (above), Avocets, Mediterranean Gull, Mute Swans, Gatekeeper, Marbled White & Small Skipper at the North Wall (EB)
Thursday, 25th June: Another blisteringly hot, sunny day, though the breeze picked up again from the east to ameliorate the heat slightly....
Selsey Bill: Another quiet morning, with just the usual mix present. Full log below. (AH/IP)
(0635-0750hrs) (E, F4)
Gannet - 1E
Mediterranean Gull - 1W
Great Black-backed Gull - 1os
Sandwich Tern - 60os
Common Tern - 1os
Little Tern - 2os
Swift - 13
Swallow - 1
House Martin - 15
Sandwich Tern (above), Little Tern & House Martin at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: An adult and a juvenile Little Ringed Plover were on the pool this morning, along with the Oystercatcher family, the shelduck family and at least 20 adult and 30 young Avocets. (AH)
Little Ringed Plover (above), Shelduck family & Avocets at the Ferry (AH)
Later in the morning, a Ruddy Shelduck dropped in briefly on the pool before being chased off by one of the Shelduck parents. (A Ha)
Ruddy Shelduck and Shelduck at the Ferry (AHa)
North Wall: Early this morning, the Wood Sandpiper, two Spotted Redshanks, a Snipe, two Redshanks, five Avocets and c30 Black-tailed Godwits, plus a fishing Little Tern were on the Breech Pool, with a Kingfisher, a Kestrel and six Swifts also seen.
Also, along the wall there were a Lesser Whitethroat, two Cetti's Warblers, six Blackcaps and at least ten Whitethroats, Reed and Sedge Warblers. (S&SaH)
Later, the Wood Sandpiper was still on the Breech Pool, along with a Redshank, two Lapwings, five Avocets including two fledged juveniles, and 76 Black-tailed Godwits, plus two drake Teal, a pair of Tufted Ducks and a Roe Deer, whilst another ten Black-tailed Godwits were in the harbour, along with the lone Brent Goose, a pair of Mute Swans with six cygnets, six Curlews, eight Shelducks and a large feeding flock of Sandwich Terns and Black-headed Gulls.
A Common Tern, a couple of Swifts and a few Mediterranean Gulls went over the wall, a Buzzard was sat out at Halsey's Farm, with another drake Teal in the rife there, and there were a few Grey Herons, Cattle and Little Egrets about, but just the odd singing Whitethroat, Reed and Sedge Warbler was about it along the wall, whilst there was also a Chiffchaff at Halsey's Farm and 41 Sand Martins and a few families of Swallows on the wires along Mill Lane. (AH/JC)
Wood Sandpiper and Lapwing (above), Reed Warbler, Cattle Egret, Buzzard & Swallows at the North Wall (AH)
Runcton: South of the village this morning were two pairs of Mute Swans, one pair with three cygnets, the other pair with seven cygnets, a female Mallard with four ducklings, 11 Tufted Duck, a pair of Little Grebes with two young, two Grey Herons, two Buzzards, ten Coots, seven Black-headed Gull and three young, two Swift drinking from the reservoir surface, two Green Woodpeckers, five Swallows over, a Whitethroat and two Goldfinches. (CRJ)
