7th - 9th November 2015

Monday, 9th November: A brighter start than of late, but with a strong and blustery south-westerly wind picking up through the day...

Selsey Bill (0730-0930hrs): Cloudy, WSW 5, increasing 6-7. Predictably, there was little moving, bar a few Gannets and a couple of Kittiwakes, but a Merlin that appeared around the wall, before retreating east was a nice surprise. Also, a Great Northern was on the sea again, and there was a steady trickle of Linnets and Wood Pigeons heading west. (AH/OM)   Full log below... 

Great Northern Diver - 1 os

Gannet - 15W
Oystercatcher - 9W
Grey Plover - 1W
Merlin - 1, area
Kittiwake - 2W
Mediterranean Gull - 2W
Common Gull - 2W
Woodpigeon - 110W
Auk sp - 7E, 1W
Linnet - 80W

East Beach pond: In the sheltered spots there were 3 Chiffchaffs and 8 Goldcrests present (OM)

Selsey: Northcommon Farm - predictably quiet with the trees taking a buffeting from the strong wind, but there were several Goldcrests there plus a dozen Curlew feeding in the fields (OM)

    Curlews at Northcommon Farm (OM)

Ferry Pool: The Little Stint and two Green Sandpipers were lurking at the very back this morning and a dozen Golden Plovers went over but didn't settle, whilst five Avocets and 30 Black-tailed Godwits were roosting through high tide with 300+ Lapwings. There were also c30 Shoveler and Wigeon present and double that of Teal, plus a single Gadwall flew into the channel. (AH)

Golden Plovers over (above) & Shoveler on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: The Whimbrel was in with 50+ Grey Plover and Redshank, plus a few Curlew and Dunlin at high tide, and there were 50-+ Wigeon, Teal and  Brent Geese in the sheltered corner of the harbour. A Chiffchaff and a few Goldcrests were in the sheltered hedges, and a Sparrowhawk went low over the water. (AH)

Sparrowhawk (above), Chiffchaff, Grey Plovers & Curlew at Church Norton (AH)

Pagham beach area: The strong wind made things difficult, but there were a few sheltered spots worth checking, which produced a single Chiffchaff and c.10 Goldcrests with a flock of 10 Long-tailed Tits (OM).

Sunday, 8th November: Cloudy and dull though mainly dry, with some dampness and light drizzle and a moderate wind SSW 4....

Selsey Bill (0645-0900hrs):  (Obs: JA/PB/SH/IP/SR/AH et al)
Great Northern Diver - 2 os
Shag - 1E
Gannet - 5E, 13W
Little Egret - 1W
Brent Goose - 6W
Red-breasted Merganser - 3E, 4W, 1os
Pintail - 7E
Peregrine - 1 area
Woodpigeon - 507E
Stock Dove - 4E
Golden Plover - 1E
Great Skua - 1W
Sandwich Tern - 1E
Mediterranean Gull - 7 os
Guillemot - 4W
Auk sp - 3E, 3W
Pied Wagtail - 2 p
Chaffinch - 26E
Greenfinch - 114 SE
Goldfinch - 80p, 200 SE
Linnet - 51 SE

(1200-1330) (B&MC)
Great Northern Diver - 2 o/s
Red-throated Diver - 1E (at 1325)
Gannet - 93W
Common Scoter - 3W (at 1305)
Mediterranean Gull - 1W (first winter)
Kittiwake - 4W
auk sp - 1W
Red-legged Partridge - 1p (in the gardens)

On the northern edge of Selsey a flock of 20+ Long-tailed Tits contained several Goldcrests and a Chiffchaff.  (S&SaH)

East beach pond: This afternoon there were 3 Chiffchaffs, 6+ Goldcrests and a Sparrowhawk (SH).

Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Church Norton:  mid morning the Dartford Warbler showed well but briefly several times at the first Severals along with 5 Stonechats.  At least 10 Gannets moved west offshore and a Red-breasted Merganser was on the sea.(S&SaH/PB/IP)

Also, a Firecrest was in the churchyard this morning. (BI)

Ferry Pool: The Little Stint was at the back again this morning, only on the opposite side, and there were also three Green Sandpipers, two Snipe, three Avocets and a handful of Black-tailed Godwits along with the usual Teal, Shoveler, Wigeon and Lapwing flocks. (AH/BI/KF/JL)

Little Stint with Lapwings and Shoveler on the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Porthole Farm to the breach - There were a dozen Yellowhammers and a couple of Reed Buntings around Porthole Farm, but there were just a few Pied Wagtails and plenty of Starlings on the settling tanks.

A Merlin was seen a couple of times between Ham and Chainbridge, a Short-eared Owl came off the bank and dropped in the adjacent grass field, whilst Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk were also seen. There were several big flocks of Linnets and Goldfinches, numbering several hundred birds, plus a few Meadow Pipits and Skylarks, but very little was on the pools, save 100+ Lapwings and a few Redshank and Teal. 

There were more Meadow Pipits and Linnets around the rubble piles near the breach, but not much else of note there. (AH/RJS/BI/GW)

Yellowhammer (above) Reed Bunting & Linnets at Medmerry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - Generally quiet, but the White-fronted Goose was in residence with c150 Canada Geese and two Greylags, whilst there were two Spotted Redshanks present - one on the Stilt Pool and one in the creek opposite. There were no other waders about, save 50 odd Lapwing on the pool, and there were at least 200 Teal in the area, but not any other ducks except plenty of Mallards. Along the banks there were a dozen or more Yellowhammers and similar of Meadow Pipits, plus a pair of Stonechats, but that was about it. (AH)

Spotted Redshank eating a fish (above), White-fronted Goose & Meadow Pipit at Medmerry (AH)

Saturday, 7th November: Another gloomy morning; overcast with heavy rain and a strong SSW wind, with the prospect of it being slow to clear....

Selsey Bill: Plenty of Gannets were going west after a slow start, but very little else, save a Red-throated Diver and the odd Kittiwake and auk was moving, though a Great Northern Diver and a Slavonian Grebe were offshore. Full log below...

0700-0945hrs:(JA/SH/IP/AH/SR)
Great Northern Diver - 1os
Red-throated Diver - 1E
Slavonian Grebe - 1os
Great Crested Grebe - 2W, 1os
Gannet - 234W, 5E, 30os
Shag - 1os
Brent Goose - 1W
Common Scoter - 1W
Red-breasted Merganser - 1E, 4W
Kestrel 1p
Oystercatcher - 1E
Mediterranean Gull 2W, 1os
Kittiwake - 6W
auk spp - 18W, 1E
(1100-1200) (SH)
Gannet - 165W
Kittiwake - 3W
Guillemot - 3W
auk spp - 3W
(1500-1610) (SH/SR)
Great Crested Grebe - 1W
Gannet - 8W
Sandwich Tern - 2W

Gannets (above) & Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls at the Bill (AH)

Medmerry: Windmill to the breach - A Black Redstart, attempting to devour a huge caterpillar by the grey chalet opposite the Oasis, was the only bird of any note. Otherwise, there was a Rock Pipit by the breach, and a couple of Meadow Pipits and 50+ Linnets about the waste ground, whilst on the pools there were just a pair of Brent Geese, 30 or so Teal and four Wigeon, and about 200 Canada Geese tucked into the field behind. (AH)

Black Redstart (above) & Rock Pipit at Medmerry (AH)

Ferry Pool: Still a good selection in the back corner early on, including the Little Stint, a Greenshank, two Green Sandpipers and two Snipe, whilst there also half a dozen Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit, over 30 Shoveler and 200+ Lapwing on the pool. Also a Water Rail showed briefly along the front before disappearing into the bank. (AH)

Greenshank, Little Stint and Green Sandpiper on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were two Red-breasted Mergansers offshore this morning, and also two Fieldfares were in Park Lane. (IP) 
Otherwise it was more or less birdless in the dismal conditions, with just a few Redshank and Brent Geese visible, plus a few calling Goldcrests in the hedges. (AH)

Pagham Lagoon/Spit: There was a Kingfisher, four Common Pochards, a dozen Tufted Ducks, a few Little Grebes on the lagoon this morning, and along the spit there were ten Meadow Pipits and a small flock of Greenfinches. (BI)

North Wall: Very quiet as the weather worsened! Twenty Wood Pigeons in the horse paddocks, four Wigeon near the sluice at high tide and eight Mallards on the Breech Pool was about the sum. (BI)