28th-30th September 2014

Tuesday, 30th September: The month ends with another pleasant day, after a gloomy start, with even a drop or two of rain....

North Wall: The Cattle Egret was still present at 6.30pm yesterday evening, behind the Breach Pool, along with a calling Tawny Owl in Owl Copse, but was not there early this morning. (JW)
Early pm, on the flow tide six Spotted Redshank, four of which were on the Breach Pool awhile, two Curlew sandpipers, two Greenshank, 34 pintail and all four resident raptor species. In the gull roost ca. 40 Mediterranean Gulls, several adults of which were colour-ringed, green predominating. Also 6 Brent Geese in the harbour and 50+ little Grebes on the Lagoon (ARK per SOS)

 

Ferry Pool: Quite a bit of activity this morning, the highlight being a very obliging Water Rail in the reeds by the road. A Common Sandpiper was nearby, and the Little Stint was back in residence. Also there were 4 Green Sandpipers, 5 Dunlin, 5 Avocets, 12 Black-taiiled Godwits and 75 Lapwings present, with similar of the latter on the nearby ploughed field, and 3 or 4 Jays along the hedges. (AH)

 

Water Rail (above), Common Sandpiper & Green Sandpiper with Black-headed Gull on Ferry (AH)

 

Long Pool/West Side: There were still a few migrants this morning, including 4 Wheatears, 5+ Stonechats, 8+ Blackcaps, 5+ Chiffchaffs and 2 Swallows over. There were also about 10 Reed Buntings present, half a dozen Goldcrests in the big mixed flock, 50+ Meadow Pipits and 8 Skylarks in the fields, a Grey Wagtail flew over, a Buzzard and a Sparrowhawk seen, and a Grey Plover, a Black-tailed Godwit, 40 Redshank and 100+ Teal in Ferry Channel. (AH)

Stonechat & Reed Bunting along the west side of the harbour (AH)

Monday, 29th September: A very grey, gloomy start with some heavy drizzle, before brightening up a little.... And there was another Turtle Dove!

Park Farm, Selsey: Amazingly, after waiting all summer for a Turtle Dove on the peninsula, another juvenile appeared this evening, on wires at Park Farm. (S&SaH)

Juvenile Turtle Dove at Park Farm, Selsey (SH)

Medmerry: Ham Farm area - the Turtle Dove was reported  this morning near Greenwood Farm, but had not been relocated by late morning. 
Sadly there was no sign of the Turtle Dove at Ham this afternoon.. A party of 4 Stonechats was the highlight, also seen were 5 Yellowhammers, c40 Swallows, 2 Kestrels, 27 Stock Doves, 17 Med Gulls. (SR)

West Sands/breach area - There were 3 Wheatears this morning, plus 50 Meadow Pipits and several hundred Linnets, in the pools there were a single Knot with 80 Dunlin and 30 Ringed Plover, and on the beach about 80 Mediterranean Gulls. (AH)

Wheatear (above) & Meadow Pipit at Medmerry (AH)

Warner Lane Horse Paddocks: Just a pair of Stonechats of note this morning. (AH)

Church Norton: Quiet in the drizzle, with about 5 Blackcaps, 10 Chiffchaffs, 5 Meadow Pipits, 5 Jays and a Great Spotted Woodpecker being the only birds noted. (AH)

This evening there were a Peregrine, a Sparrowhawk, a Wheatear, a Blackcap, 10+ Chiffchaffs, 20 Swallows and around 60 Magpies (possibly inward migrants?) (S&SaH)

Chiffchaff at Church Norton (AH)

Ferry Pool: No Little Stint or any Avocets this morning, though there were still 2 Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, 2 Snipe, 4 Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Dunlin and 30 Lapwing present, along with 22 Teal and a Grey Heron.
This evening 4 Avocets were back on the pool and 2 Kingfishers were in Ferry Channel. (AH)

Grey Heron on the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: The SOS site has had reports of a  Cattle Egret in the fields north of the North Wall with cattle over the last couple of days, but no reports as yet from our regular observers.... (AH)
After the rain there were lots of birds about, but no newcomers. Not a single wader on White's Creek. On the Breach Pool were 12 Common Snipe, 109 Black Tailed Godwits and 2 Spotted Redshanks. A Little Egret there was feeding on the carcass of a Black-headed Gull. Very few migrants - just a handful of Chiffchaffs and a single Sedge Warbler, whilst several Cetti's Warblers were in good voice. A few Swallows were still moving through eastwards, in the back fields there were 300 Rooks and close to a hundred Jackdaws, and there were 5 Jays about. (JW)

 

Little Egret feeding on a dead gull & Grey Heron from the North Wall (JW)

Sunday, 28th September: The Indian summer continues, but new birds are at a premium, though a Turtle Dove turned up late in the day.
Selsey Bill (0650-0930hrs) SH/PM/JA/SR  
Diver sp - 1E
Gannet - 7W, 2E
Little Egret - 1 ob
Brent Goose - 5W
Wigeon - 3E
Common Scoter -  26E
Sparrowhawk - 1 in gardens
Kestrel - 1 present
Mediterranean Gull - 42E, 7W
Sandwich Tern  - 13E
Guillemot - 1E
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1 in gardens
Skylark - 28E
Pied Wagtail - 48E
Grey Wagtail - 1E
Meadow Pipit - 382E
Swallow - 618E
House Martin - 192E
Wheatear - 1ob
Chiffchaff - 6 in gardens

Jay 1 in gardens
Linnet - 63E
Chaffinch - 20E
Clouded Yellow - 1 present

 

Medmerry: Ham Farm - A big surprise this evening in the form of my first (and sadly, probably my only) Turtle Dove on the peninsula this year. Initially it was skulking in the hedgerow very near the farm buildings, but then sat out on the wires with a few Linnets and Chaffinches. It appeared to be a juvenile.
Not much else to report - a single Whitethroat in the bushes, and 3 Sandwich Terns and 30 Dunlin seen distantly at the breach. (AH)

 

Juvenile Turtle Dove at Ham Farm (AH)

A walk along from the Earnley Concourse car-park produced a hunting female Marsh Harrier, a Little Stint on the Stilt pool, a Whinchat, 6 Wheatears and a couple of Stonechats. (A&YF/RJS)

Ferry Pool: The Little Stint was still present with 5 Dunlins, and there were also still 2 Green Sandpipers, 1 Snipe, 6 Avocets, 4 Black-tailed Godwits and 45 Lapwing. A group of 3 Shoveler were new in, and several of the Teal are coming out of eclipse plumage. (AH)

Little Stint (above) & with Dunlin, Shovelers & Teal on the Ferry (AH)

Horse Paddocks, Warner Lane: 1 Whinchat, 2 Stonechats, 2 Chiffchaffs, 1 Kestrel, 19 Meadow Pipits, c40 Swallows, and 1 Clouded Yellow. 
Chainbridge Field: 3 Stonechats,1 Kestrel, 3 Red-legged Partridges, 1 Fox, and 1 Clouded Yellow. 
Northcommon Farm: 1 Kestrel, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 8 Chiffchaffs, and 1 Brimstone along with the usual Speckled Woods. (SR)

Church Norton: Very quiet on the migrant front - just a Whitethroat and two or three Blackcaps in the bushes to be found. There was a steady movement of Meadow Pipits (200+) east, along with c20 Pied Wagtails and c30 Linnets, a Yellow Wagtail headed south-west, and there were 4 Sand Martins amongst 100+ Swallows and 20+ House Martins overhead, plus a couple of Sparrowhawks. In the harbour there were a pair of Brent Geese and the Whimbrel, along with single Knot and Black-tailed Godwit and 30+ Grey Plovers. (AH/IP)

Brent Geese (above) & Grey Plover from Church Norton (AH)

  

25th - 27th September 2014

Saturday, 27th September: Another dull and grey start with low cloud, remaining dry with light winds but with a risk of fog patches.

Selsey Bill (0650 - 0930hrs): Cloudy, dull, light S/SW.  (Obs: SH/GH/JA/StH)
Gannet - 6E, 3W
Little Egret - 1W, 1ob
Brent Goose - 9W
Eider - 1 os
Common Scoter 25E, 14W, 5 os
Arctic Skua - 1W
Common Tern - 1E
Sandwich Tern - 8E
Med Gull - 67E, 20os
Skylark - 8E
Wheatear - 4 ob
Meadow Pipit - 300E
Pied Wagtail - 107E
Grey Wagtail - 1 p
House Martin - 2756E
Swallow - 2524E
Linnet - 58 p
Chiffchaff - 3 gardens
East Beach area: - 10+ Chiffchaffs, 2 Stonechats and Meadow Pipits, Swallows and House Martins still moving E (SH).

Church Norton:  A midday walk (from Selsey) produced a Kingfisher, 20+ Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap (SH).

Medmerry: Easton Lane (1600hrs) (SH)... 3 Kestrels, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard, 100+ Med Gulls, 100+ Meadow Pipits and 500+ Linnets.

Ferry Pool: Early this morning the Little Stint was still present, along with 2 Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, 3 Dunlin, 6 Avocets, 8 Black-tailed Godwits and 40 Lapwing. Also a Kingfisher dropped in briefly and a Grey Wagtail went over. (AH)

Friday, 26th September: A mild, but grey and damp autumn morning with squally bursts of light drizzle and low cloud. Becoming drier and a bit brighter during the day, with a light WSW breeze 2-3.

Selsey Bill (0700-0845hrs): WSW 4 - Cloudy and very grey! (Obs: PM)
Gannet - 68W 
Brent Goose - 2W
Eider - 3 os
Sandwich Tern -  8W
Kittiwake - 1W
Med Gull - 12 os
Skua sp - 1W (very distant 08.20 - probably an Arctic)
House Martin -  2W
Swallow - 138W
Meadow Pipit - 11 W
Pied Wagtail - 2W

Selsey area: Coastguard Field: 1 Whinchat, 3 Meadow Pipits, 34 Swallows,  1 Little Egret, 1 Grey Wagtail, 4 Pied Wagtails, c50 Linnets.  Chainbridge Field: 1 Male Stonechat, 1 Wheatear, 3 Chiffchaffs, 2 Pied Wagtails, 1 Green Woodpecker, mixed flock of c50 Greenfinches & c20 Linnets, 5 House Martins, 9 Swallows.  Horse Paddock, Warner Lane: Pair of Stonechats as yesterday.  (SR).

North Mundham: A Nuthatch in my garden this morning. (CRJ)
 

Ferry Pool: The Little Stint was in the company of 3 Dunlin at the back of the pool this morning, and there were also 2 Snipe, 2 Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, 7 Avocet, 6 Black-tailed Godwit and 30 Lapwing present. (AH)

 

Snipe (above) & Snipe and Teal on the Ferry (AH)

 

Long Pool/Ferry Channel: Considering the conditions, there was a surprising amount of activity around the vicinity of the Long Pool this morning, including at least a dozen Whitethroats and Blackcaps, a Reed Warbler, a couple of Chiffchaffs and 20+ Reed Buntings moving about the hedgerows, 6 Skylarks over and 2 Stonechats in the uncropped field. At least 300 Teal and 200 Wigeon flew into the harbour from the west and along Ferry Channel there were a Greenshank, a Spotted Redshank, 8 Dunlin and 40 Redshank. (AH)

 

Whitethroat (above) & Reed Bunting along the Long Pool (AH)

 

North Wall: On arrival this morning there seemed to be nobody about and comparatively few birds; I began to wonder if everyone knew something I didn't but decided to persist anyway. The Breach Pool held 79 Black-tailed Godwits and 3 Snipe, plus 2 Water Rails (one seen and another heard) but little else except a few Teal and Mallard. The bushes held 6 Reed Buntings, 8+ Chiffchaffs and 2 calling Cetti's Warblers, whilst a couple of hundred Swallows passed through, but overall there was little of note. I checked White's Creek from the sluice and found that very quiet too; it was low tide so the waders were spread out, but all there seemed to be were Redshanks, Lapwings and Wigeon with none of the more interesting things from recent days. A walk down the Creek and the east side was a good deal more productive and eventually I came across a group of 6 Spotted Redshanks with a seventh calling from the harbour. Four Greenshanks were also logged but there was no sign of any Curlew Sands today; indeed there were also very few Dunlin and rather few Grey Plover on the mudflats. Another 20 Black-tailed Godwits and 2 Bar-tailed were also present; one of the latter was missing a right foot and hopping while feeding but seemed otherwise okay... I presume this might be the bird previously reported with a badly broken leg? Other sightings included 60 Great Black-backed and 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 1 adult Yellow-legged Gull and 2 Kingfishers, another Cetti's Warbler and 6 more Chiffchaffs (OM).

Following my visit, I was soon upstaged a bit by PM ......... 4 Curlew Sandpipers in the Creek for c5 minutes only on rising tide, 3 Greenshank, 9 Spotted Reds on Breach pool roost + 1 in harbour and 50+ Golden Plover. Kingfisher on Breach pool, 3 Stonechats on fence behind, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel over fields (PM).

 

 
Lesser Black-backed Gull (right) with a Great Black-backed on the mudflats east side (OM).

Spotted Redshanks on the Breach Pool (below with Black-tailed Godwit preening) (PM) 

 

Church Norton:  1 Whitethroat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, c10 Blackcaps and a Peregrine on the island (PM).
 

Thursday, 25th September: Another fine autumn day, still early on before the westerly breeze picked up....

 

Ferry Pool: The Little Stint still present this morning, along with 3 Green Sandpipers, the Snipe, 8 Avocets, 6 Black-tailed Godwits and 40 Lapwing, and the Common Sandpiper in Ferry channel (AH)

 

Little Stint on the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: Plenty of wader activity along White's Creek - 4 Curlew Sandpipers, 4 Spotted Redshanks, 3 Dunlin, 20+ Black-tailed Godwits and 70+ Redshank. A Yellow-legged Gull was close by. On the Breach Pool 67 Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Common Snipe, 3 Spotted Redshank and a Greenshank. A few migrants along the Wall - Whinchat, Blackcap and Chiffchaffs (JDW)

 

Whinchat on the North Wall (JDW)

Medmerry: West Sands to the Breach - At least 10 Wheatears this morning around the rough ground and beach, along with 3 Reed Buntings, 2 Pied Wagtails, 100+ Meadow Pipits and 500+ Linnets. At least 100 House Martins and double that of Swallows were about overhead, a Sandwich Tern went west, and on the mud towards the breach there were a Mediterranean Gull, 3 Bar-tailed Godwits, 6 Curlew, 40 Dunlin and 75 Ringed Plovers. (AH)

Linnets & Mediterranean Gull (above) & Wheatear at Medmerry (AH)

 

Church Norton: Pretty quiet this morning, particularly for migrants in the bushes. A Stonechat was along Rectory Lane, as were another flock of 20 or so 'released' juvenile Grey Partridges, but all I could find around the hide/churchyard area (not helped by the multiple power tools in operation) was a couple of Blackcaps.

A Greenshank was in the harbour, along with a Whimbrel and 2 Bar-tailed and 20 Black-tailed Godwits, and a walk along the spit produced a Green Woodpecker, a Wheatear, a Skylark and 20 or so Meadow Pipits. (AH)

Greenshank (above) & Green Woodpecker at Church Norton (AH)

 

Horse Paddocks, Warner Lane: Late this afternoon there were a pair of Stonechats, 3 Pied Wagtails, 5 Linnets, 3 Meadow Pipits, 1 Chiffchaff and 8 Swallows over. (SR)

 

22nd - 24th September 2014

Wednesday, 24th September: A little rain overnight giving way to a bright but cool morning with cloud and hazy sunshine and a light W/NW breeze. As we birders approach the eagerly anticipated month of October, now it the time for a bit of advance notice. Some of us (me included) will very soon feel the urge to visit places afar in search of rarities, thus there will be fewer regulars on the patch, but more importantly the daily collation of information for the blog will also be under strain, with much of the burden (as ever) falling on AH's shoulders. Trying to output news on a daily basis is a demanding task and both of us have commitments, so it may be that some  reports will need to be abbreviated for a while..... we haven't yet missed a daily report and will do our best to avoid it, but it's bound to happen sometime. If this should occur please be understanding and things should return to normal once the silly (Scilly?) season is over! (OM)

 

Ferry Pool: The Little Stint present again this morning, along with 2 Green Sandpipers, the Snipe, 7 Avocets, 6 Black-tailed Godwits and 30 Lapwing. (AH)

Little Stint and Green Sandpipers on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: Still a few migrants about, though mostly keeping low in the wind. There was a Spotted Flycatcher by the concrete wall, and between there and the along the west side at least 20 Blackcaps, a dozen Chiffchaffs and 2-3 Whitethroats.

Also A&YF reported a Merlin over the churchyard and a Redstart by the horse's field.

Other less obvious, but likely, migrants included up to 5 Jays, a couple Song Thrushes and 10+ Blackcaps around the hide/churchyard area. Five Brent Geese flew into the harbour from offshore and there was still a Whimbrel, plus a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits in the harbour, and a couple of hundred each of House Martin and Swallow constantly overhead.

There were also 2 Clouded Yellow butterflies on the beach by the first Several. (AH)

 

Jays (above), Spotted Flycatcher, Brent Geese & Clouded Yellow at Church Norton (AH)

 

 

This evening there was 1 Wheatear, 2 Stonechat on the Severals  (and 1 on waste ground by the Ocean Air factory in Selsey), 20+ Chiffchaff, 10+ Yellow Wagtail going into roost on the roosting first Several, 30+ Meadow Pipit, 300+ Swallow, 300+ House Martin plus many more hirundines too high up to identify, and 30+ Mediterranean Gulls offshore. (S&SaH) 

Tuesday, 23rd September: Another fairly still day, a bit misty and murky at times but mainly sunny and pleasant after a cold start. Virtually no wind at first, gradually picking up to gentle breeze W/SW 2-3 by early afternoon - the first from that direction in quite some while.

Ferry Pool: A bit of variety this morning, including a Little Stint, a Common Sandpiper and a total of 9 Avocets, plus the usual Snipe and Green Sandpiper and 10 Black-tailed Godwits (AH).

Little Stint (above) & Avocets on Ferry (AH)

 

Robin-fest at the North Fields (JDW)

North Wall area: Sadly no sign of the Wryneck up to late morning along the North Wall, despite plenty of lookers. There were, though, quite a few migrants, including 2 Whinchats, a Wheatear, several Reed Warblers and Chiffchaffs and a dozen or more Blackcaps, plus a steady flow of Swallows and the odd Meadow Pipit over. On the Breach Pool there were a pair of Knot in with the 30+ Black-tailed Godwit, and at least 3 Snipe in the edges of the reeds (AH). Around the fields I encountered another 7 Blackcaps and 3 Common Whitethroat. Robins are everywhere; 3 were sitting on the same gate together which showed an uncommon tolerance for this species (JDW).

 

Wheatear (above) & Knot with Black-tailed Godwits from the North Wall (AH)

 

Along White's Creek and into the harbour there were plenty of waders on the rising tide, including 7 Curlew Sandpipers, a juvenile Sanderling, 5 Greenshank, 2 Spotted Redshank, 30 or so Golden Plovers and 50+ Lapwing. Also there were a couple of Kingfishers, 5 Yellow-legged Gulls, 18 Brent Geese and 100+ Wigeon about. (AH/JW/BFF/DIS/TG et al)
 

Greenshank (above), Spotted Redshank, Yellow-legged Gull & Lapwings along White's Creek (AH)

Selsey Bill (0810-0950hrs): Bright and sunny with some high cloud. Calm. (Obs: OM/GH)

I arrived to a flat calm sea and sunny morning at the Bill, where GH was already in place dutifully counting the overhead viz mig* (*someone is bound to ask = visible migration). It was obviously not going to be a sea-watching day although just a few Brent and Sandwich Terns appeared, so it was a matter of checking the gardens and area for migrants. The most obvious birds were Chiffchaffs, plus the first Stonechat of the autumn here. My log...

Brent Goose - 1E, 8W

Common Scoter - 5E, settled os

Sandwich Tern - 6E, 2W

Grey Wagtail - 2E

Stonechat - 1 Gardens

Wheatear - 1 ob

Chiffchaff - 17 gardens

(Meadow Pipits/Skylarks/hirundines also moving E though no count from me! OM)

 

Selsey area: A check of the  Northcommon Farm / Warner Lane areas was not overly productive, combined totals being 2 Skylarks E, 20+ Meadow Pipits, 5 Blackcaps, 2 Whitethroats, 12 Chiffchaffs, 4 Goldcrests and 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers (OM).

 

Brent Geese moving west, and Stonechat in the gardens at the Bill (OM)

 

Medmerry: Breach - Viewpoint: A midday visit at high tide, with the waders roosting. Totals were 1 Little Stint, 14 Dunlin, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 8 Ringed Plovers and 1 Common Sandpiper. At least 20 Med Gulls and 6 Sandwich Terns were loafing on the islands, a flock of 5 Brent Geese flew W and a Kingfisher appeared, perching up for a short while (OM/BFF/DIS et al).

Sandwich Terns (four central birds) Medmerry (OM)

Monday, 22nd September: A bright and lovely early autumn morning.... but decidedly chilly at first after a clear night, with a subtle shift in the wind to N or NNW.

North Wall area: A Wryneck along the lower path (just north of Breach Pool) was the highlight (JDW). UPDATE: Still present mid-afternoon, showing well on and off.
White's Creek was alive with waders again this morning after seemingly being devoid of them a few days ago... including at least 4 Curlew Sandpipers, 6+ Spotted Redshanks, 10 Greenshank, 24 Golden Plover, 20 Grey Plover and 50 Black-tailed Godwits amongst the many Redshanks and Wigeon and 6 Brent  Geese. Additionally there were 2 Kingfishers, 2 Grey Wagtails, 64 Great Black-backed Gulls, 1 Lesser Black-backed and 1 Yellow-legged Gull, 18 Chiffchaffs, 3 Blackcaps, 2 Cetti's Warblers and a steady stream of hirundines, mostly Swallows, moving east (OM).
On the Breach Pool a Water Rail showed and a second bird called; also 67 Black-tailed Godwits and 6 Common Snipe there. In the field at the back of Owl Copse were around 80 Meadow Pipits with 3 Yellow Wagtails amongst them. Macracarpa Copse, true to form, was quiet with 3 Chiffchaffs together with 2 Buzzards and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. At 1130 there were some 300 Swallows over the Harbour. (JDW/OM)

 

Wryneck (above) & Spotted Redshanks from North Wall (JDW)

 

 (above) Spotted Redshanks on the Breach Pool and (below) Curlew Sandpipers on White's Creek (OM)

 

 

(Below) Further images of the Wryneck, and the Kingfisher at White's Creek (TG).

 

East Beach Pond, Selsey: Habitat-wise it was looking very good (see pic), but the only migrants I could turn up were Chiffchaffs, at least 9 of them amongst the willows. Nearby on the green were 3 Wheatears, 26 Swallows heading east, and 37 Turnstones on the beach. (SR)

 

East Beach Pond (SR)

 

Selsey area: Warner Lane Paddocks...1 Blackcap; Chainbridge Fields... 1 Sparrowhawk..2 Spotted Flycatcher..2 Chiffchaff..1 Reed Bunting (CRJ)

 

Medmerry: Over the Medmerry Bank (from Chainbridge) ... 100 Mediterranean Gulls (CRJ).

Ferry Pool: Same as usual - a Green Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper, a Snipe, 4 Avocets and a few Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwings and Teal. (AH/CRJ)
 
Ferry Channel/Long Pool: Along Ferry Channel there were 1 Kingfisher..14 Dunlin..1 Little Stint..1 Whimbrel (CRJ).
Around the Long Pool there were 2 Cettis Warbler.. 1 Reed Warbler.. 1 Whitethroat.. 10 Blackcap.. 20 Chiffchaff.. 10 Meadow Pipit.. 3 Stonechat.. 8 Reed Bunting.. 2 Yellowhammer.. 5 Greenfinch.. 2 Chaffinch.. 2 Buzzard.. 4 Grey Partridge with a further 8 Avocets in the Harbour (CRJ).
This evening a Spotted Redshank was in Ferry Channel, and along the Long Pool approximately 20 Blackcaps, 10 Chiffchaffs and 10 Reed Warblers amongst a big roving mixed flock looking to go to roost in the reeds or bushes. (AH)

Reed Warbler in Long Pool (AH)

Church Norton: A few birds around, including a couple of Wheatears on the beach, a Spotted Flycatcher, a dozen Blackcaps and a few Chiffchaffs in the churchyard area, 200+ Swallows with 4 Sand Martins, 20+ Meadow Pipits, 2 Grey Wagtails and 6 Pied Wagtails all going east, a couple of Whitethroats on the Severals and a Whimbrel and 8 Brent Geese in the harbour. (AH/CRJ)
Highlights this evening included 5 Wheatears at Park Farm, 3 Stonechats in the horse field, a Water Rail flying low over the first Several before dropping into the reed beds, a Greenshank and 10 Mediterranean gulls. (S&SaH)