4th - 6th November 2016

Sunday, 6th November: A cold, crisp and sunny late autumn morning with a brisk and chilly NW wind, but with the prospect of showers by evening......

Selsey Bill: Another quiet morning, with the brisk offshore breeze making what activity there was - mainly Gannets and auks moving about - very distant. Full log below...
0630-0900hrs: (Obs: JA/SH/IP/PB/AH et al)

Diver sp - 2W
Gannet - 1E, 10W
Little Egret - 1W
Brent Goose - 4E, 11W
Shelduck - 2W
Common Scoter - 9W
Red-breasted Merganser - 5E, 5W
Curlew - 1W
Guillemot - 1E
Razorbill - 3E
auk sp - 43E, 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 1W
Common Gull - 6W
Pied Wagtail - 4W

Grey Wagtail - 1W

Meadow Pipit - 5N

Chiffchaff - 1 Oval Field

Goldfinch - 20W

Linnet - 3N

Very tame Turnstone between SH & JA at the Bill (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: The Dartford Warbler was showing again this morning, along with a couple of Stonechats, two Chiffchaffs and  two Buzzards. (S&SaH)

Dartford Warbler (above), Chiffchaff, Stonechat, Great Spotted Woodpecker & Clouded Yellow around Park Farm, Selsey (SH)

Ferry Pool: There were a Green Sandpiper and a Black-tailed Godwit on the pool this morning, along with a Shelduck, 30 teal and at least 200 Wigeon. (AH)

Green Sandpiper (above) & Teal on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: A Firecrest in the trees at the bottom of the path to the harbour was in a prolonged dispute with a Goldcrest, with much chasing about and frenzied calling deep in the undergrowth before they finally separated. 

In the harbour there were at least four Bar-tailed Godwits, the Whimbrel briefly, a drake Shoveler, equally briefly, and 50+ Pintail among the commoner birds, whilst the Slavonian Grebe, along with a couple of Great Crested Grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers, was offshore again.

There were also a Common Gull and a couple of Stonechats along the beach and another of the latter in the horse field, a Skylark and a few Meadow Pipits were on the spit and a Golden Plover and 100 Lapwings were around Greenlease Farm. (AH/IP/DIS/DM/S&SaH)

Later there were 2 Stonechats, 4 Chiffchaffs, a Kingfisher and a Peregrine, plus a Golden Plover, a Buzzard and a Clouded Yellow butterfly. (S&SaH)

Shoveler (above), Common Gull, Stonechat, Bar-tailed Godwit, Shelducks and Lapwing at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: Unfortunately the Breech Pool was a duck-pond again this afternoon, with a female Pintail the only bird of note beyond c50 Wigeon, c100 Teal and c40 Mallard.

However White's Creek was teeming with birds on the rising tide, including a Spotted Redshank, eight Bar-tailed Godwits among c150 Black-tailed Godwits, c300 Lapwing, lots of mobile Dunlin and Grey Plovers and at least 500 Brent Geese coming and going from the inland fields. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above), Bar-tailed Godwits and Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwits & Brent Geese from North Wall (AH)

Pagham Lagoon: Not much to report this afternnon beyond a Pochard among the Tufted Ducks, two or three Common Gulls and at least 30 Little Grebes. (AH)

Pochard (above) & Common Gull on Pagham Lagoon (AH)

Saturday, 5th November: A very cool day, with a rising northerly breeze after a fairly still start.....but remaining dry and cloudy with some hints of brightness.

Selsey Bill: A fairly quiet morning after yesterday's excitement, with not much more than distant auks and Gannets on the move, several Red-throated Divers west and three Great Northern Divers offshore. Full log below......

0630-1200hrs: (JA/SH/OM/SR/IP/AH/BI)

Red-throated Diver - 1E, 5W

Great Northern Diver - 1W, 3 os

Great Crested Grebe - 1W

Gannet - 13E, 12W

Brent Goose - 2E, 11W

Common Scoter - 4E

Red-breasted Merganser - 3W

Guillemot - 3E

Razorbill - 23E

auk sp - 100E, 3W

Mediterranean Gull - 2W

Skylark - 4W

Pied Wagtail - 5W

Meadow Pipit - 5N

Goldfinch - 20W

(1400-1500hrs) (SH)

Gannet - 13E, 7W

Red-breasted Merganser - 5E

Peregrine - 1 chasing Turnstones (unsuccessfully!)
Bonxie - 1E

Razorbill - 2E

auk sp - 4W

Ferry Pool: There was a single Black-tailed Godwit on the pool this morning along with 85 Wigeon and c200 Lapwings, with 50 more of the latter on the adjacent cropped field. (AH)
Also, near the Visitor Centre a Merlin was seen chasing a Meadow Pipit and a Swallow went over. (A&YF)

Black-tailed Godwit (above) & Wigeon and Lapwing on the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - It was very quiet, with highlights being a Short-eared Owl by the Stilt Pool, a Kingfisher nearby and a single Stonechat along the banks. (S&SaH)

Medmerry: East side - A Black Redstart was on the rubble at the east side this morning along with two Stonechats but it was generally quiet in the area. (BI)

Black Redstart at Medmerry  (BI)

Medmerry: Ham Farm - A Merlin was out hunting at dusk tonight, along with a Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel, whilst on the intertidal areas there were 200+ Teal and 50+ Dunlin. (AH)

Church Norton: A Short-eared Owl was disturbed by a crow from the spit this morning, before quickly settling back down, and offshore the first Slavonian Grebe was on the sea, along with a Great Crested Grebe, and also three Great Northern Divers flew west and two Red-breasted Mergansers went east.

In the harbour there were 3-400 Brent Geese, 50+ Pintail, half a dozen Bar-tailed Godwits, two Peregrines, a Common Gull and a Kingfisher, with a handful of Skylarks on the spit, but generally small birds were few and far between. (AH/IP)

Short-eared Owl (above), Slavonian Grebe, Skylark, Grey Plovers, Dunlin, Great Black-backed Gull & Common Seal at Church Norton (AH)

Friday, 4th November: Cool and very cloudy with a light southerly wind and the likelihood of showers later.......

Selsey Bill: First news this morning of a Little Auk west at about 0745 (JA). Subsequently there was an interesting selection, though all in small numbers, including a Red-necked Grebe offshore before moving off east, a Balearic Shearwater going through east at a leisurely pace on the 'Mile Basket line', a Goldeneye (rare here)  west, and two House Martins and four Swallows moving through together. Full log below. (JA/AH/SR)

Great Northern Diver - 3os

Red-throated Diver - 2W

Red-necked Grebe - 1os

Balearic Shearwater - 1E

Gannet - 6E, 36W

Brent Goose - 5E, 12W

Common Scoter - 2E, 5W

Goldeneye - 1W

Red-breasted Merganser - 1W, 1os

Sparrowhawk - 1p

Oystercatcher - 2W, 1p

Turnstone - 14p

Mediterranean Gull - 1W

Kittiwake - 2E, 4W

Little Auk - 1W

Guillemot - 1E

Razorbill - 6E, 2W

auk sp - 39E, 12W

House Martin - 2p

Swallow - 4p

Meadow Pipit - 4W

Pied Wagtail - 1W, 3p

Linnet - 11p

Goldfinch - 20p

Great Northern Diver (above), Common Scoters & Gannets at the Bill (AH)

Selsey High Street: A Grey Wagtail was on the roof of the flats by the Co-op on the High Street this morning. (AH)

Grey Wagtail in Selsey (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were two Green Sandpipers, c40 Lapwing, c20 Teal and c80 Wigeon this morning, plus c20 Red-legged Partridges that marched into the Wigeon flock and sent them off in a flap! Also, there were at least 200 Teal in the channel opposite.(AH)

Green Sandpipers (above) & Teal around the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: A fairly quick look along the beach before it started to rain produced two Red-throated Divers and four Brent Geese flying west, and two Red-breasted Mergansers and four Great Crested Grebes offshore, and there were still several hundred Brent Geese in the harbour. (AH)

Red-breasted Mergansers at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: Just after I arrived at the North Wall this morning one of the regular dog walkers came along and told me that as he was driving along the lane a few minutes earlier he had seen a 'Blackbird with a white chest' fly ahead of him and dive into the hedgerow on the right, so I went and investigated but could not find any trace of what sounded like a Ring Ouzel. (PC)