1st-3rd October 2014

 

Friday, 3rd October: In fact, one more nice day, after a foggy start, with the breeze and cloud picking up as the day progresses....

 

Ferry Pool: The Little Stint was still in residence, along with 4 Green Sandpipers, 2 Snipe, 3 Dunlin, 6 Black-tailed Godwit and 50 Lapwing, and a Grey Wagtail and 30+ Swallows flew over.

There were at least 6 Song Thrushes and 20 Blackbirds around the 'Discovery area,' suggesting some inward migration, plus one or two Chiffchaffs and Wrens. (AH/CRJ)

Also, later on, the Water Rail was again in the reeds by the sluice in the south-east corner next to the road. (BI)

 

Little Stint (above), Song Thrush & Wren on/around the Ferry (AH)

 

Church Norton: Along the Long Pool and vicinity there were 25 Meadow Pipit, 6 Reed Bunting,1 Blackcap, 5 Chiffchaff, 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 2 Water Rail, 1 Buzzard, and 70 Goldfinch.
Around Norton there were 12 Jay, 10 Chiffchaff, 1 Mistle Thrush, 3 Stonechat, 1 Buzzard, 5 Meadow Pipit and in hte harbour there were 5 Brent Geese ,33 Pintail, 1 Peregrine, 1 Sparrowhawk and  25 Great Black-backed Gull.(CRJ)

Medmerry: - West Sands The area around the rubble piles held a couple of Yellow Wagtails, many Meadow Pipits and Linnets and at least 18 Wheatears. (BI)

At Ham Farm this evening there were a couple of Stonechats and a few Swallows and Meadow Pipits. (AH)

Wheatear at Medmerry (BI)
 

Fishbourne Creek: Pretty quiet this morning - the only waders of note were a Spotted Redshank and a Common Sandpiper, though there were at least a hundred Redshank, 40 Curlews and 30 Black-tailed Godwits about. Also present were a single Lesser Black-backed Gull and 30 Common Gulls, 4 Grey Herons, 100+ Wigeon and a few Meadow Pipits. (AH)

 

Spotted Redshank, with Black-tailed Godwit and Curlew (above), Grey Heron & Wigeon in Fishbourne Creek (AH)

 

 

Horses Paddock, Warner Lane: Late afternoon there were at least 4 Stonechats, 2 Pied Wagtails, 5 Meadow Pipits, 4 Linnets, 1 Grey Heron, and a Clouded Yellow. (SR/BI)

 

Stonechat at Warner Lane (BI)

 

Ivy Lake: A quick look produced a Hobby over and 40 Great Crested Grebes on Ivy Lake, and 2 Kingfishers and 12 Gadwall on Nunnery Lake. (AH)

 

North Wall: This morning there were two calling Cetti's Warblers, four Snipe in the reeds, two Whinchat and three Stonechat along the fence line and a few Reed Buntings near the sluice. (BI)

 

Thursday, 2nd October: One last, glorious Indian summer day......

Ferry Pool: Still just what has become the 'regular' selection of late - the Little Stint, a couple of Green Sandpipers, the Common Sandpiper, 6 Avocets, a dozen Black-tailed Godwits and 40 or so Lapwings. (AH)
 

North Wall area: Nothing new or rare, but plenty of birds about in the sun.

Along the Breach Pool there were still 2-3 Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers in the reeds, plus several Cetti's Warblers, 10+ Chiffchaffs and a couple of Blackcaps. There were also a couple of Stonechats present, with another couple and a Whinchat on the fencing behind, and about a dozen Reed Buntings and Meadow Pipits were in the area. At least 3 Water Rails were calling and 6+ Snipe, 20+ Black-tailed Godwit and 30+ Teal were on the pools.

 

Sedge Warbler (above), Cetti's Warbler & Reed Warbler from the North Wall (AH)

 

 

The showy Kingfisher was along White's Creek, as were 7 Spotted Redshank, 3 Greenshank, a single Curlew Sandpiper, 55 Golden Plovers, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 15 Pintail and plenty of the commoner wildfowl and waders. Also present were single Lesser Black-backed and Yellow-legged Gulls, plus 30 Mediterranean Gulls. (AH/TG et al)

 

Kingfisher (above), Golden Plovers & Lesser-Black-backed and Yellow-legged Gulls from White's Creek (AH)

 

Church Norton:
Evening walk from Selsey -
20+ Brent Geese
3 Sandwich Tern
3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, together over first severals
3 Stonechat on first Severals
3 Wheatears
2 Grey Wagtails (at Park Farm)
2 Buzzards
1 Chiffchaff seen, plus lots heard (S&SaH)

The Long Pool and west side - At least 8 Stonechats this evening, plus 30+ Long-tailed Tits and 10 Chiffchaffs in the big mixed flock. Also there were 10+ Reed Buntings and 20 Meadow Pipits flying about, a Kingfisher dropped into the reeds, 15 Brent Geese went over south-west and 3 Buzzards were in the fields. (AH)

Brent Geese over the Long Pool (above) & a flat calm on Ferry Channel at dusk (AH)

Wednesday, 1st October: The new month starts as the old one ended - warm and pleasant (after a wet start!), but with new birds in short supply....

 

North Wall area: On White's Creek were 90 Wigeon and 42 Redshank. A very obliging Water Rail was on the Breach Pool along with 13 Common Snipe, 37 Black Tailed Godwits and 53 Teal. Signs of an overnight movement along the Wall included 2 pairs of Stonechat, 4 Reed Warblers, 1 Sedge Warbler and 9 Chiffchaffs. Reed Buntings are beginning to group up now, and I counted 16 along the Wall this morning. Still a few Swallows drifting through.(JW)

 

Church Norton: A bit of activity when the sun came out, but nothing very unusual to report. There were at least 5 Stonechats along the first Several, along with 2-3 Blackcaps and 20+ Chiffchaffs and Long-tailed Tits, with more of the latter three species around the concrete wall area. Half a dozen Reed Buntings were scattered about, along with 20+ Meadow Pipts, and a Grey Wagtail and 40+ Swallows went over.

At least 6 Jays were going back and forth over the churchyard, whilst the harbour was quiet, and on the sea there was just a big flock of gulls feeding, including at least 100 Mediterranean Gulls. (AH)

Chiffchaff (above), Blackcap, Stonechat & Long-tailed Tit at Church Norton (AH)

 

Selsey Bill: Not much to report in a brief stop during the rain - 6 Brent Geese west and a few Gannets offshore, a few Meadow Pipits, 10+ Swallows and c100 House Martins over being about it. (AH/GH)

This evening a flock of 27 Pied Wagtails flew west over our garden in the north of the town, and 8 went west over East Beach park (S&SaH)

 

Horse Paddocks, Warner Lane: 3 Stonechats, 4 Pied Wagtails, 1 Red-legged Partridge, half a dozen Swallows, and a Clouded Yellow butterfly.

Northcommon Farm: Just 2 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Kestrels (one being hounded by 2 Jackdaws), 2 Buzzards, and half a dozen Chiffchaffs.

 

Ferry Pool: The Little Stint was still present, but quieter than yesterday, with just one Green Sandpiper, 3 Dunlin, 4 Avocets, 60 Lapwing, 35 Teal and a single, rather battered-looking Wigeon otherwise present. (AH)

Wigeon on the Ferry (AH)