23rd - 25th July 2016

Monday, 25th July: A pleasant, typically English summer's day, with sunshine and cloud blown along by a blustery westerly breeze....

Selsey Bill: (0700-0800hrs) (SR)
Fulmar - 1W 

Gannet - 9E, 22W, 5os

Little Tern - 2W 

Common Tern - 2E, 15W, 9os

Sandwich Tern - 1E, 5W 

House Martin - 3p 

Ferry Pool/Ferry Channel: This morning there was a Greenshank with 28 Redshanks, two Common Sandpipers, a Little Ringed Plover, a Black-tailed Godwit, three Avocets, 17 Shelduck (mostly juveniles) and nine Teal on the pool, with a Whitethroat and a Reed Warbler by the pumping station. 

There were just two Common Sandpipers and a dozen Redshank in the channel this morning, plus a single Sand Martin over. (AH)

Greenshank (above), Common Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit & Redshanks on the Fery (AH)

Church Norton: Not quite a repeat of yesterday's numbers of terns, and there was no repeat of the feeding frenzy offshore, with most birds in the harbour or along the beach. Approximate numbers were - Sandwich Tern 100+, Common Tern 200+, Little Tern 30+ and Mediterranean Gull c500, mostly out on the shingle beyond the end of the reserve until dispersed by walkers.

There was not much else of note, though there were c30 Ringed Plovers and c50 Curlew on the beach, a Grey Plover, four Whimbrel and a dozen Redshank in the harbour, and not much more than the odd Linnet and Whitethroat on the landside. (AH)

Sandwich Terns (above), Mediterranean Gulls, Common Terns, mixed terns, Linnet and a very low tide at Church Norton (AH)

This evening numbers of terns had built back up to yesterday's totals - c500 Common Terns, c200 Sandwich Terns and c50 Little Terns, with at least 50 Gannets joining the feeding flocks offshore, and five juveniles flying right over the Severals and along the spit before heading back out to sea. There were also a couple of Yellow-legged Gulls along the beach and at least 500 Mediterranean Gulls in the harbour and offshore. There was not much else of note, though there were 50+ House Martins over Park Farm, Selsey. (AH/S&SaH)

Yellow-legged Gull (above), Gannet & Sandwich Tern at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: On White's Creek there were a single Greenshank and Common Sandpiper, three Curlews, 11 Lapwing and 15 Mute Swans, whilst the Breech Pool held 40 plus Mallard, 17 Black-tailed Godwits, 12 Lapwing and a single Spotted Redshank, with a small but steady westward passage of Sand Martins overhead.

There were families of Swallows and Yellowhammers being fed at various locations, on Honer reservoir there were 12 Black-headed Gulls with five young and a Common Sandpiper, and on Pagham Rife the pair of Mute Swans still have their five cygnets. 

It was a good morning for butterflies, too, with- Peacock, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Comma and Red Admiral al seen. (JDW)

Spotted Redshank (above), juvenile Swallows, juvenile Black-headed Gull, Mute Swan family, Gatekeeper & Peacock around North Wall (JDW)

Sunday, 24th July: Mainly cloudy with sunny periods and a moderate SW wind; still quite warm overall but feeling notably fresher.....

Selsey Bill: A Black Tern among the Common Terns feeding well offshore was the highlight, though generally it was fairly quiet. (PB/SR/SH)

(0600-0845hrs)

Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 5E, 2W
Common Scoter - 18E, 8W
Whimbrel - 1E
Mediterranean Gull - 2W, 8os
Sandwich Tern - 10E, 6os
Common Tern - 29os
Black Tern 1os (0815hrs)
Swift - 2os

Swallow - 2os
House Martin - 4 collecting mud

Also, there were 23 Mediterranean Gulls on the beach this morning at the Hillfield Road end and another 30+ out on the spit, and three Swifts over. (SR)

Ferry Pool: The water has been refilled from the harbour, making it look - at least temporarily - like its old self, but the birds were pretty similar to recent days, including six Little Ringed Plovers, four Common Sandpipers, three Avocets, 12 Redshank, including three young juveniles, six Teal and ten juvenile Shelducks. (AH/PB)

Common Sandpiper (above) & juvenile Redshank on the Ferry & a replenished pool (AH)

Ferry Channel: There was a Greenshank, four Common Sandpipers, c30 Redshank and three juvenile Gadwall present this morning. (AH/PB)

Gadwalls in Ferry Channel (AH)

Church Norton: A morning dominated by some impressive counts of terns and Mediterranean Gulls, though a female Marsh Harrier over the Severals a number of times before heading off high south after being shooed off by a Sparrowhawk, and a Barn Owl hunting over the horse field were noteworthy, too.

Very conservative estimates of the terns (including good numbers of juveniles of all three species) - between the harbour, the beach and offshore - were: Little Tern - 50, Sandwich Tern 150-200, Common Tern - 500+,  and there were also a minimum of 850 Mediterranean Gulls, though quite probably over 1000 present, with 400 in fields near Park Farm, Selsey later on that presumably were part of the earlier count.

There was not too much else to report, though a Common Gull, a Grey Plover and half a dozen Ringed Plover and Whimbrel were in the harbour and c60 Curlews were on the beach, a Green Woodpecker and a few Linnets were by the horse field, a Blackcap was by the concrete wall, and six Swifts went over, whilst c100 House Martins, c50 Sand Martins and c50 Swallows were over Park Farm, Selsey. 
Also, a Painted Lady butterfly - one of very few of this species this summer - was by the bench on the spit in the harbour. (AH/IP/S&SaH/P&JW)

Sandwich, Common and Little Terns (above), Mediterranean Gulls, Barn Owl, Marsh Harrier and Sparrowhawk, Common Gull, Green Woodpecker, Grey Heron with eel & Painted Lady at Church Norton (AH)

This evening there were still masses of terns and Mediterranean Gulls about, but not too much else of note, though there were half a dozen Turnstones on the beach and a dozen Dunlin in the harbour. (AH)

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull (above) &Turnstones at Church Norton (AH)

Saturday, 23rd July: A fine summery day with prolonged sunshine and a light to moderate westerly breeze, though with spells of rolling sea-mist....

Selsey Bill (0630-0800hrs): (Obs: SH/SR)

Gannet - 2E, 3W

Common Scoter - 19E

Ringed Plover - 18E (one flock)

Little Tern - 2W

Common Tern - 20os

Sandwich Tern - 2E, 6W, 5os

Mediterranean Gull - 2W

Swift  - 15p, 1W

Ferry Pool: On the Ferry early this morning (0615) there were three Common Sandpipers, four Little Ringed Plovers, two Avocets and two Redshanks. (SH) 

Later on there were just two Common Sandpipers, but five Little Ringed Plovers, plus a Lapwing, an adult and ten juvenile Shelduck and six Teal, plus what appeared to be a rather ragged White Wagtail (AH)

Little Ringed Plovers (above), Common Sandpiper, probable White Wagtail & Teal and Shelduck on the Ferry (AH)

Ferry Channel: The Spotted Redshank was present again briefly, early on, and there were about five Common Sandpipers and c60 Redshank also present. (AH)

Spotted Redshank in Ferry Channel (AH)

Church Norton: There were 100 + terns roosting in the harbour this morning; mostly Common and Sandwich, but with a few Littles also mixed in. Additionally a flock of 21 Common and six Little Terns flew west offshore, whilst four Sand Martins were over the Severals and 50+ Mediterranean Gulls were along the beach. 

Nearby there were five juvenile Pied Wagtails at Park Farm. (S&SaH)

North Wall: There was a moulting Spotted Redshank with 45 Redshanks and 15 Black-tailed Godwits on the Breech Pool mid-morning, plus a couple of Teal, a single Shoveler amongst the Mallards and 50+ Lapwing in the fields. In White's creek an additional 20+ Redshanks were present, together with a Common Sandpiper, two Whimbrel, 20+ Curlew and at least eight Yellow-legged Gulls - the latter all adults though a juvenile bird roosting nearby was also a good bet but just couldn't be clinched. Small birds were few but c.20 Swallows were around the stables - presumably family parties - whilst five Sand Martins passed through. (OM)

At the North Wall this morning: Spotted Redshank with Black-tailed Godwits, moulting Lapwings, Yellow-legged Gulls and Whimbrel (OM)

 

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - As usual there were plenty of Skylarks and Linnets, plus lesser numbers of Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings, Meadow Pipits and Goldfinches along the banks, and up to 20 Sand Martins and Swallows, plus a single Swift went over southwards. 

A Green Sandpiper was in the second sluice, and on the Stilt Pool there were two Common Sandpipers and two Little Ringed Plovers, one of which quickly saw off a Ringed Plover that dropped in. Also there were a couple of Mediterranean Gulls, a Little Tern and four or five Sandwich Terns in the vicinity, plus the mother Gadwall with five ducklings and c20 Canada Geese. (AH/BI)

Casual Skylark!, Common Sandpiper, Gadwall family, Sand Martin & sandwich Tern at Medmerry (AH)

Birdham: Of unknown origin, of course, but potentially a splendid record of a Swallowtail on a buddleia in my garden this morning !

One pic and it was gone but I shall be keeping an eye on the garden for the rest of the weekend as you can imagine ! (PS)
Update - Sadly, on closer inspection it is not a Swallowtail - but most likely to be a Malachite, a species found in Central America and most likely an escape from Earnley Butterfly Farm! (PS)

Malachite butterfly in a Birdham garden (PS)