1st - 3rd August 2017

Thursday, 3rd August: A very blustery and unsettled day, with a gale force westerly and the odd bit of blue sky and the odd blustery shower....

Selsey Bill: Three Manx Shearwaters and two Little Terns west were the highlights, but not too much else was moving despite the conditions. (JA/AH/BFF/DM/KF)

(0710-0920hrs)

Manx Shearwater - 3W

Fulmar - 1E, 4W

Gannet - 49E, 73W

Common Scoter - 11E

Turnstone - 1W

Little Tern - 2W

Sandwich Tern - 2E, 14W

Common Tern - 1W

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

(1630-1730hrs) (SH)

Gannet - 5E, 16W

Kittiwake - 1W

Sandwich Tern - 4W

Ferry Pool: There were a Greenshank and a Green Sandpiper tucked away in the pool near the road, hidden by the reeds, this morning. (BO'D)

Out on the main pool there were still two Little Ringed Plovers, five Avocets, c75 Black-tailed Godwits, five Teal, two Redshank and c120 Lapwings. 

In the channel opposite there were just a Common Sandpiper (which flew in from the Ferry) and c60 Redshank. (AH)

Common Sandpiper (above) & Lapwings at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were two Little Stints out on the mud briefly before the tide rose this morning, and then later on there were four roosting on Tern Island. Also in the harbour were two Little Terns, an adult and a juvenile, a Common Tern, around 20 Sandwich Terns, a juvenile Little Ringed Plover, two or three Whimbrel, half a dozen Ringed Plovers, Turnstone and Dunlin, plus c100 Redshank.

There was little to report from the land side, just a few Swallows and a flock of Long-tailed Tits with one or two Willow/Chiffs and Whitethroats around its periphery. (AH/BFF/DM/A&YF)

Little Stints (above), with Dunlin, Little Tern, juvenile Little Ringed Plover, Sandwich Terns, Whimbrel, Swallow & Long-tailed Tit at Church Norton (AH)

Other birds seen during the rest of the morning included a single juvenile Peregrine roaming around, 3 Whimbrel,75 Dunlin, 40 Ringed Plover and 4 Little Stints, along with 4 Common, 3 Little & 35 Sandwich Terns in the harbour. The Little Stints are best looked for off the bench at the Inner Beach. (BFF/DM)

Little Stints and Dunlin at Church Norton (BFF)

North Wall: This afternoon the juvenile Cattle Egret was reported again by a visiting birder. (per BO'D)
It was windy along the wall this morning! Along White's Creek were 8 Mute Swans and around 80 Black-headed Gulls, whilst Breech Pool was full to overflowing and only held 20 or so Mallard and 2 Teal.  In Honer 2 field behind the hedge and out of the wind there was a flock of 60 Swallows feeding just inches above the grass. At Owl Point 15 Little Egrets and 2 Grey Heron were sheltering from the wind and a further 4 Little Egrets were doing likewise in Owl Copse.  (JDW)

Little Egrets roosting near Owl Point (JDW)

Wednesday, 2nd August: Another thoroughly miserable day, after a grey and blustery start, with the predicted heavy rain setting in from mid-morning, driven on by a strong and increasing southerly, approaching gale force by late morning........

Selsey Bill: With the forecast of a strong southerly and heavy rain, sea-watching was the only realistic option (well, to me at least) - albeit that viewing from the car was likely to play a large part of the morning's proceedings - and so it turned out to be. The promise did not live up to the reality however and in the event there was scant reward for a 4-hr shift, with not too much moving beyond a steady trickle of Sandwich Terns - though enough to suggest they were now on the move - and Gannets. Full log below.......
0750-1150hrs:   (OM)
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 92E, 124W
Common Scoter - 10E
Common Sandpiper - 1W
Common Tern - 4W
Sandwich Tern - 10E, 45W
Sand Martin - 8 out S

 Gannets passing the Bill this morning (OM)

Ferry Pool: A Wood Sandpiper dropped in briefly this morning, before flying off again soon afterwards. (TG-P)

Otherwise there were three Little Ringed Plovers, five Avocets, five Dunlin, two Redshank,, c40 Black-tailed Godwits and c75 Lapwings on the pool, plus a couple of Reed Warblers at the front and c100 Swallows feeding over the cattle at the back

In Ferry Channel, opposite, there were four Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper and c150 Redshank, whilst the Kingfisher dropped in briefly, too. (AH/OM)

Kingfisher (above), Greenshanks and Redshanks, Little Ringed Plovers, Avocets, Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank, & Dunlin and Lapwings around the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were two Little Terns in the harbour this afternoon - presumably migrants from elsewhere and the first for ten days. (TG-P)

North Wall: There was no sign of the Cattle Egret this morning, among any of the three groups of cattle spread around the fields, though they all had dozens of Swallows and Sand Martins around them.

Half a dozen Swifts went over the Breech Pool, but the only birds on it were c60 Black-tailed Godwits and c150 Mallards, whilst in White's Creek there were two Greenshank and a Common Sandpiper, but nothing else of note. Also, a flock of around 200 Goldfinches was flying around after being disturbed from the paddocks. (AH/PC)

Greenshanks (above), Common Sandpiper & Black-tailed Godwits around North Wall (AH)

Ivy Lake: There were at least 500 Sand Martins feeding over the lake this evening in the poor weather but, oddly, no other hirundines at all. (AH)

Sand Martin over Ivy Lake (AH)

Tuesday, 1st August: A bright and breezy day, with plenty of warm sunshine and white cloud and the breeze from the south.....

Selsey Bill: 0715-0945hrs: (C&ME/DF)
Great Crested Grebe - 1E
Fulmar - 2W
Gannet - 16E, 8W
Dunlin - 1W
Common Scoter - 3E, 8W
Common Tern - 4W
Commic Tern - 15os
Sandwich Tern - 11W
Kittiwake - 1W
Swallow - 1 p
House Martin - 6, local birds

 Ferry Pool: The Egyptian Goose was on the pool early on, and otherwise there were four Little Ringed Plovers, two Dunlin, eight Avocets, two Redshank, c60 Black-tailed Godwits and c150 Lapwing, before the latter decamped to the fields.

The Kingfisher was briefly in the channel opposite, and a Common Sandpiper and c30 Redshank were also present, but the adjacent bushes were quiet save a couple of Whitethroats and a Chiffchaff. (AH/AW)

Little Ringed Plovers (above) & Dunlin and Lapwing on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: This morning there were a Garden Warbler, a Sedge Warbler, a Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Reed Warblers and several Willow Warblers in the hedgerow by the beach, and two Purple Hairstreaks and two Clouded Yellows in and around the Ash trees, plus Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood, Small White and Holly Blue.  (A&YF/CRJ/JD/DS/DF)
Early on, an adult and 2 juvenile Peregrines were screaming over the churchyard. In the harbour 1 female Shoveler, 35 Sandwich Tern, 6 Common Tern, 12 Whimbrel, 18 Turnstone and a few Ringed Plover. (CRJ)

 Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - Probably the most numerous warbler was Sedge Warbler, with up to 20 seen along the hedges and ditches in the company of half a dozen or so Reed Warblers and a dozen Whitethroats. A few Sand Martins and Swallows went over, but no other migrants were evident, though there were plenty of Skylarks, Linnets and Meadow Pipits about, plus one or two Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings.

A Whimbrel, a Curlew and a Redshank were by the Poplars, but the only other waders noted were an Avocet and three Common Sandpipers on the Stilt Pool, where there was also the Shelduck family, the mother Tufted Duck and young, and around a dozen loafing Sandwich Terns, whilst up to 200 Canada Geese and the Greylag dropped in, too. Also, two Common Terns were over the reserve and three or four were offshore with around eight Sandwich Terns. (AH)

Sedge Warblers (above), Reed Warbler, Whitethroat, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Common Sandpiper, Sandwich Terns & Grey Heron at Medmerry (AH)

Breach Viewpoint: Early afternoon there was a gathering of 20 Sandwich (3 juveniles), 2 Common and 3 Little Terns on and around the lagoons, whilst on the mudflats were 28 Grey Plover, 10 Ringed Plover and 12 Dunlin. (OM)

Breach Viewpoint, Medmerry: above - Sandwich, Common and Little Terns, centre - adult and juvenile Sandwich Terns and lower - Little Tern (OM)

North Wall: A juvenile Cattle Egret was present at 1530 hrs today, initially in the field to the east of Owl Copse and later roosting with a Little Egret on the copse itself; it was still present at 1800hrs. A Hobby also went over as did a Yellow Wagtail and there were six Greenshanks in the channel opposite Halsey's Farm sluice. Along White's Creek were c.30 Redshanks and there were 42 Black-tailed Godwits on the Breech Pool, where the water appears to have dropped a little, and two Common Terns were feeding here. (KJ/BI)

Cattle Egret at the North Wall (BI) 

This evening the Cattle Egret was not showing (hopefully having gone to roost!), but the two Barn Owls were showing well, two Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank and a Whimbrel were on the mud opposite Owl Copse, a Shoveler and c80 Black-tailed Godwits were on the Breech Pool, the three Eider were out in the harbour and dozens of Swallows and Sand Martins were dropping into the reeds to roost. (AH/IB/IH/DI)

Barn Owl (above), Spotted Redshank, Whimbrel & Shoveler along North Wall (AH)

Chi GPs: Ivy Lake complex- Quiet this afternoon and with Ivy Lake still cordoned off due to the blue green algae problem, viewing was heavily restricted.....

Ivy Lake - One Tufted Duck with a single tiny duckling; 4 Great Crested Grebe families, two having 1 juvenile, one having 2 and another having 3; 3 Common Terns, 6 Long-tailed Tit families, 2 Whitethroat families, 1 Sedge Warbler and 4 Chiffchaffs.

East Lake - The pair of Common Terns that lost their eggs to the rising tide last week were back on their rock, a dozen Swallows, 17 House Martins and a few Sand Martins fed over the water, a Whitethroat was present along with 2 families of Long-tailed Tits and there were 2 Chiffchaffs.
West Trout Lake - Two Common Terns, 3 Black-headed Gull chicks, Great Crested Grebes with their 3 young, and the Mute Swan family.

Triangle Lake - Great Crested Grebes with 2 young and nearby a family of Whitethroats.

New Lake -  Four Little Grebe chicks, Great Crested Grebes with 2 young (SR)

 Juvenile Great Crested Grebe, Chi GPs (SR)