1st - 3rd June 2017

Saturday, 3rd June: A real 'bright and breezy' day, with plenty of sunshine and white cloud and a brisk south-westerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: A Sedge Warbler was singing from bushes at the sea end of Lifeboat Way this morning - quite unexpected in such a heavily built up area.  Also, six Swifts were overhead along with 12 House Martins. (SR)
Also (1630-1730hrs) (SH)
Gannet - 9E, 9W
Common Scoter - 5W
Little Tern - 4os
Common Tern - 13os
Sandwich Tern - 5os

Ferry Pool:The pair of Redshank actually have four chicks, though the smallest one nearly met an untimely end, after a Carrion Crow pounced on it. Fortunately, after I shooed the crow away, the chick, which was lying motionless, picked itself up, sat and then stood for a couple of minutes before scuttling off back into the reeds.

Also on the pool were two Avocets,  the family of Shelducks and two Lapwings, whilst in the channel opposite there were four Gadwall and 25 Black-tailed Godwits. 

A Cuckoo flew over the Tramway to the Long Pool, but there was not much else of note beyond one or two Whitethroats and a couple of Reed Warblers in Red Barn Ditch. Also, a Bee Orchid was showing nicely in the car-park. (AH)

Cuckoo (above), Redshank chicks, Redshank chick recovering from a lucky escape & Bee Orchid around the Ferry (AH)

JA and IL neglecting their bird-watching duties to look at moths at the Centre (AH)

Long Pool: There was plenty of Reed and Sedge Warbler song along the pool, plus a couple of Reed Buntings and Linnets, whilst two Little Terns briefly visited the end of Ferry Channel, where there were also half a dozen noisy Redshanks and 20 Shelducks, and two Mediterranean Gulls went over west. (AH)

Sedge Warbler (above) & Redshanks chasing a Carrion Crow along Long Pool (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There were at least half a dozen Reed Buntings, three or four Yellowhammers, Stock Doves and Whitethroats and numerous Skylarks along the banks, plus two Mediterranean Gulls, two Swifts, two House Martins and a few Swallows over.

Around the Stilt Pool there were about ten Avocet families of various ages, and a pair of Little Ringed Plovers had a very small chick with them, with five Black-tailed Godwits and a pair of Oystercatchers being the only other waders present. There were also a family of Canada Geese with four goslings, a lone Gadwall and a couple of displaying Meadow Pipits present. 
Also a Brown Hare, a Painted Lady and several Common Blues and Black-tailed Skimmers were seen. (AH)

Avocet boundary dispute (above), Avocet chick, with Little Ringed Plover, Stock Dove, Yellowhammer, Mediterranean Gull, Meadow Pipit, Brown Hare & female Black-tailed Skimmer at Medmerry (AH)

Church Norton: Not much to report beyond two Buzzards at Park Farm, Selsey and a Kestrel in the Bluebell Wood, though there was a Roe Deer and a strange long-antennaed  'micro' moth - nemophora degeerella -  in the Severals. (SH)

Kestrel (above), Roe Deer & nemophora degeerella at Church Norton (SH)

Friday, 2nd June: A fairly muggy and warm day, with a mix of sunshine and cloud and just a very light southerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: There were five active House Martin nests seen today in the Bill area, with two more being built, and a female Eider was sat out, resting on a groyne off Hillfield Road. (SR)
0630-0900hrs:  (C&ME)
Great Crested Grebe - 1W
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 27E, 3W
Eider - 1os
Common Scoter - 30E
Common Tern  - 6 E  
Commic  Tern - 19 os 
Sandwich Tern - 38 os 

Also, 1 Swallow and 2 Swifts area, plus House Martins as above

Eider and Herring Gull at the Bill (SR)

Ferry Pool: The pair of Redshanks with two chicks were still present on the pool this morning, along with a Lapwing, 72 Black-tailed Godwits and two Shelduck, plus the regular Reed and Cetti's Warblers and a Stock Dove sat in the EA yard. (AH)
Nearby, the second Tawny Owlet 'branched out' today....(IL)

Stock Dove (above) & Black-tailed Godwits around the Ferry (AH)

Tawny Owlet no.2 on a branch near the nest site in the Discovery area..... (IL)

Long Pool: There was not much to report this morning, with the Reed and Sedge Warblers being a bit half-heated, though there were a few Linnets ad a couple of Whitethroats making a bit more noise, as were half a dozen Redshank in Ferry Channel. (AH)

Whitethroat (above) & Redshank from Long Pool (AH)

Ivy Lake: There were just a couple of Common Terns sat on the buoys, and there were also a family of young Tufted Ducks, a dozen Great Crested Grebes and four Pochard present, though the hedges were fairly quiet beyond a couple of Chiffchaffs and a few Long-tailed Tits. (AH)

Tufted Duck family (above) & Common Tern and Great Crested Grebes on Ivy Lake (AH)

Selsey: Warner Lane - A Peregrine went over the new Bunn's office site this afternoon. (SH)

Park Farm -  A juvenile Grey Heron was on the empty new balancing pond in Manor Lane this evening, and a Buzzard and two Mediterranean Gulls went over the farm. (SH)

Grey Heron at Park Farm, Selsey (SH)

Thursday, 1st June: Another very pleasant summer's day, with a light easterly breeze and plenty of warm sunshine after a misty start.....

Selsey Bill: There were 70 Common Scoters, a Kittiwake and a steady trickle of Gannets east and Sandwich Terns offshore, but not too much else, though at least a dozen House Martins were taking advantage of the muddy puddles. Full log below.....

0630-1000hrs: (C&ME/AH/SR)

Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 41W, 4W
Little Egret - 1E
Common Scoter - 70E
Oystercatcher - 2E
Common Tern - 8E
Commic Tern - 30os
Sandwich Tern - 54os mostly drifted E
Kittiwake - 1E
Razorbill - 2E
Also 7 Swifts and 3 Swallows present, and c.12 House Martins collecting mud

Sandwich Tern (above), Common Scoters, Herring Gulls & House Martins at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were 42 Black-tailed Godwits on the pool this morning, plus a couple of Redshank and Lapwings, the family of Shelducks, a Red-legged Partridge and a pair of Moorhens with a chick. (AH)

Black-tailed Godwits (above) & Red-legged Partridge at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were still plenty of Little, Common and Sandwich Terns in the harbour, but no waders to speak of, and the bushes are starting to go very quiet, though a Lesser Whitethroat was calling near the hide, a couple of Skylarks were on the beach and a Reed Bunting was on the first Several. (AH)

Skylark (above), Sandwich Tern & Rabbit on the beach at Church Norton (AH)

West Wittering: Further news of the Turtle Doves - there were actually two - at Nunnington Farm Campsite was that they hung around for 3-4 days and one bird was still there two days ago but not seen since. No song was heard so I presume they are passage birds. (BO'D)

Medmerry: Stilt Pool - The first-summer Little Gull was on the Stilt Pool this afternoon. (B'OD)

Medmerry: Ham Farm - There were definitely three, and possibly four, singing Corn Buntings along the bank this evening, one of which dropped into the barley with its mate. There were also plenty of Skylarks, a couple of Reed Warblers in the ponds and a handful of Common and Sandwich Terns fishing off the Breach.

Also, along Ham Lane, near Porthole Farm, there were a pair of Lapwings in the big uncropped field by the road, with a young chick hiding in the ruts, though what chance it has with 200 crows in the adjacent field is best not considered! (AH)

Corn Buntings (above), Skylark, Lapwing & Common Blue at Medmerry (AH)