Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 10th

Monday, 12th October: It looks like the weather is settled at the moment, with a chilly start giving way to another fine, bright day.....with cloud once again developing by afternoon.

Ferry Pool: No sign of the Curlew Sandpiper this morning, though the half dozen Dunlin remain, as did three Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, just two Avocets, c30 Black-tailed Godwits and c150 Lapwing. The Grey Wagtail was again briefly present and there were six Wigeon, eight Shoveler, five Shelduck and c80 Teal about, as well. (AH)
A ring-tail Hen Harrier headed northwards over the Visitor Centre around lunch today. (IL)

Green Sandpiper (above), with Snipe and Lapwing, Shovelers, Teal and Lapwing & Wigeon and Teal on the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: Several surprising birds along the pool this morning, including a Ring Ouzel, seen twice in flight only, a very late Reed Warbler and two Redwings that paused briefly on the willows before departing.

More usual fare included at least ten Chiffchaffs, half a dozen Reed Buntings, two Stonechats, and a few Meadow Pipits and Skylarks in the fields, where there were about 25 - presumably 'released' - Grey Partridges. Around 30 Swallows went over, and in the channel there was a Green Sandpiper, a Greenshank, half a dozen Grey Plover, c30 Redshank and at least 100 Teal, which flew out into the harbour. (AH)

Reed Warbler (above), Chiffchaff, Teal & Grey Partridges from the Long Pool (AH)

Church Norton: The Whimbrel and a distant calling Greenshank were in the harbour, and in hte hedges around the churchyard/hide area there were at least 40 Goldcrests along with around a dozen each of Blackcap and Chiffchaff, though no other migrants were evident.

Along the Severals there were a pair of Stonechats, several Jays and a few Swallows, though visible migration was restricted to c80 Goldfinches, c 40 Linnets, 15 Pied Wagtails, 8 Meadow Pipits going east, and three small flocks (totalling 28) Brent Geese went west. (AH)

Goldcrest (above), Blackcap, Jay & Whimbrel at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: A lovely clear morning but colder in a northerly breeze. Early on there was an easterly passage of Swallows with a few House and Sand Martins amongst them. The Breech Pool was full of birds exploiting the low water levels, including 72 Black-tailed Godwits, 11 Lapwing and 12 Common Snipe, 80 Mallard and 40 Teal, whilst there were also three Cormorants, two Little Egrets and a Grey Heron.

Along the Wall there were two Wheatears, four Stonechats and seven Linnets, whilst there were 36 Teal, nine Redshanks, two Grey Plover and a Curlew at Owl Water, though no migrants recorded around the fields. (JDW)

Wheatear (above) & Snipe along North Wall (JDW)

Medmerry: Eastons - Stilt pool - The White-fronted Goose was still on the Stilt pool with a Greylag and 200 Canada Geese, whilst the only wader was a Common Sandpiper. A Peregrine was sat on a post in the middle of the reserve; something kept putting the pigeons up and it turned out to be a model aeroplane buzzing over...!! On the way down to the pools, ten plus Stonechats, six Wheatears and numerous Meadow Pipits & Linnets. (BI)

This evening there was still a good selection of birds, including a Barn Owl near Marsh Barn, a Merlin buzzing the Lapwings, a Whinchat still in the same area it has been for the last few days, a Wheatear and five Stonechats. Also, the Green Sandpiper and the Kingfisher were still near the poplars, a Corn Bunting was among the Yellowhammers, and the White-fronted Goose flew out onto the reserve with the Canada Geese. (S&SaH)

Whinchat (above) & Wheatear at Medmerry (SH)

Sunday, 11th October: Another chilly start, and a nagging east to north-easterly breeze, but more sun than was forecast....resulting in a pleasant afternoon.

Selsey Bill (0700-0900hrs): Cloud with sun, ENE4. (Obs: SH/AH) Over 300 Brent Geese went west this morning - the first big movement this autumn - and the first four Red-breasted Mergansers did likewise. There was also a steady stream of Linnets, Goldfinches, Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails going east overhead, with a solitary Redpoll recorded amongst them.... Full log below...
Gannet - 4E, 1W
Shag - 3E
Brent Goose - 1E, 334W
Teal - 1W
Wigeon - 12W
Mallard - 3W
Pintail - 1E
Red-breasted Merganser - 4W
Sparrowhawk - 1 present
Sandwich Tern - 3os
Mediterranean Gull - 1W, 3os
Skylark - 7N
Meadow Pipit - 41E
Pied Wagtail - 65E
Swallow - 1E
Siskin - 12E
Redpoll - 1E
Goldfinch - 54E
Linnet - 69E
Chaffinch - 2E
(Also 100+ finches east which had to remain unidentified!)

Additional (1030-1200hrs): (Obs: OM)
Gannet - 1E, 1W
Brent Goose - 84W
Common Scoter - 1E
Oystercatcher - 13E (one flock)
Turnstone - 30 ob
Sandwich Tern - 1E
Mediterranean Gull - 1W
Meadow Pipit - 5E
Pied Wagtail - 5E
Swallow - 4E
Siskin - 10E
Chiffchaff - 5 gardens

Shag (above) & Sandwich Tern past the Bill (AH)

...flock of six, heading east, well inside the triangle.... not a sight you see everyday at the Bill OM)

Selsey: East beach pond - quite busy for a while with small birds in the sheltered corners, though nothing unusual.... there were 10 Chiffchaffs, at least 6 Goldcrests and a Grey Wagtail, plus 5 Pied Wagtails and several small Siskin and Goldfinch flocks heading east.

Northcommon Farm and Warner Lane areas were not very productive and did not merit much time being spent today, being far too busy on a sunny Sunday with various cyclists, dog-walkers and holidaymakers....however at the former there were 32 Curlew feeding in the fields, 20 Med Gulls, a Grey Wagtail, about 5 Goldcrests and just a handful of Chiffchaffs, whilst the latter had a Stonechat, a couple of Chiffs and just a small number of Meadow Pipits (OM).

Later, 80+ Brent Geese flew W and 5 Skylarks N over the north of the village, and nearby in the Park farm area were 2 Goldcrests, a Stonechat, 80+ Pied Wagtails in the fields with 50 Meadow Pipits, and a Wheatear on the new building site (S&SaH)

part of the Curlew flock, out in the murk and feeding on the fields at Northcommon Fm (OM)

Ferry Pool: The Curlew Sandpiper was still present, as was a Common Sandpiper and three Green Sandpipers, whilst there were still 16 Avocets, eight Dunlin, six Redshank, c40 Black-tailed Godwits, c120 Lapwing, 50 Teal and half a dozen Shoveler and Shelduck. Also a flock of 22 Brent Geese went over high, clearly 'cutting the corner,' as they went west. (AH)

Green Sandpipers (above), Curlew Sandpiper with Dunlin & Brent Geese at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were two Wheatears and a pair of Grey Partridge along Rectory Lane, plus a few Goldcrests near the car-park. Along the Severals there was a bit of visible migration, including two Siskins, a Grey Wagtail, c40 Pied Wagtails, c60 Goldfinches, c120 Swallows and just a handful of Meadow Pipits, but few other birds were on show in the strong breeze bar a brief Kingfisher near the horse field and a couple of Stonechats.

Also, a flock of 26 Brent Geese came from across the harbour and went west over Park Farm, again 'cutting the corner.' There were quite a few butterflies on the wing, including several Speckled Woods and Red Admirals, and a smart Comma.(AH)

Later, around Norton beach, there were 70 Brent Geese W and some easterly visible migration with 200+ Swallows, 200+ Meadow Pipits, 50+ Pied Wagtails and 10 Skylarks moving through. A Wheatear was on the concrete spit, a Kingfisher was in front of the hide, and 4 Stonechats and 10+ Chiffchaffs were also noted (S&SaH)

Wheatear (above), Grey Partridge, Stonechat, Brent Geese and Comma at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall area: Another lovely morning! There were three Brent Geese in White's Creek and two Wheatears along the Wall, whilst on the Breech Pool there were 51 Black-tailed Godwits, 11 Lapwing and three Common Snipe, with 16 Curlew in the field behind and Swallows and a few House Martins were moving eastwards the whole time.

On Honer Reservoir there were 14 Coot, six Little Grebes, two Tufted Ducks and a Mute Swan. Everywhere else seemed very quiet, with no migrants recorded. Starlings are starting to flock up and there was one murmuration of around 300 birds, and Robins were everywhere. (JDW)

Starling from North Wall (JDW)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Marsh Barn - A Spotted Redshank and a Green Sandpiper were in the tidal area opposite the barn, as was a Kingfisher, whilst a Greenshank was flying about and calling over the reserve, and a Merlin shot through. There were two Wheatears near the first viewpoint, and three or four Corn Buntings were with 20+ Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings sitting out along the hedges, and eight Gadwall were in the first pool. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above), Green Sandpiper, Wheatear & Reed Bunting at Medmerry (AH)

Saturday, 10th October: A chilly but dry day with hazy sunshine, high cloud and a fresh NE breeze 3-4...and following on from a clear night likely to result in a bit of a clear-out of migrants....!

Selsey Bill (0700 - 0900hrs): Dry, cool, NE3-4 (Obs:SH/SdeH)
Shag - 1E
Brent Goose - 1E, 12W
Common Scoter - 2W
Sandwich Tern - 2os
Common Gull - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 7os
Kestrel - 1 p
Meadow Pipit - 44E
Pied Wagtail - 79E
Skylark - 2N
Swallow - 60E
House Martin - 35E
Wheatear - 1ob
Chiffchaff - 1 gardens
Siskin - 20E
Goldfinch 34e 12p
Chaffinch - 14E
Greenfinch - 17E

Church Norton: A juvenile Ring Ouzel was in the bushes near the bench at the start of the beach before flying off along the beach towards the path between the two Severals. There was also a Yellow Wagtail, 50+ Pied Wagtails and 50+ Swallows over east, and a Blackcap and a Chiffchaff in the Severals. (S&SaH/IP)

A Hobby flew over the trees behind the first Several, eight Siskins went over, a Goldcrest was in the Bluebell wood and three Sandwich Terns were offshore. A Whimbrel was in the harbour and there was a noticeable increase in Wigeon and Brent Goose numbers. (IP)

There was a bit of visible migration between 7.30 and 8.30am, all heading east thus - Grey Wagtail 2, Pied Wagtail 60, Meadow Pipit - 25, Swallow - 2, Chaffinch - 6, Siskin - 42, Linnet. 160, Goldfinch - c600, Reed Bunting - 1. Also five Sandwich Terns went east offshore. (AH)

Ring Ouzel (above) (SH) & Goldfinches (AH) at Church Norton

Ferry Pool: A good selection this morning on the rising tide included a male Ruff, briefly, two Spotted Redshank, the Curlew Sandpiper, three Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, two Snipe, 12 Dunlin, one Redshank, 15 Avocet, c30 Black-tailed Godwit and c60 Lapwing, with around fifty Swallows and a couple of House Martins over the fields at the back. The Grey Wagtail and Kingfisher both put in fleeting visits early on. (AH)

Ruff with Lapwing (above), Spotted Redshank, Snipe & Common Sandpiper on the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There was an adult Ring Ouzel near the first viewpoint, before flying off towards the poplars, and a Yellow Wagtail was with Meadow Pipits nearby. Also a Merlin caused havoc among the finches in the field there, and was joined by a second bird as it sped off westwards. There was a Whinchat along the banks further down, along with a total of three Wheatears, up to half a dozen Stonechats, a couple of Corn Buntings and numerous Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings, Skylarks, Linnets, Goldfinches and Meadow Pipits.

The White-fronted Goose, and the two Bar-headed Geese were still on the Stilt Pool with the Canadas and plenty of Teal and Wigeon, but the only wader present was a Common Sandpiper. Also, a Green Sandpiper and a pair of Gadwall were in the small pool opposite the poplars. (AH)