24th - 26th August 2017

Saturday, 26th August: Another glorious day, with blue skies, plenty of warm sun and a light westerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: There was a massive gathering of hirundines on and over the Oval Field, with most eventually drifting off west along the beach, taking several Yellow Wagtails and a couple of Grey Wagtails with them, though the sea was unsurprisingly quiet. Full log below. (SH/PB/IPAH)

(0620-0830hrs)

Gannet - 12W

Common Scoter - 17E, 2W

Mediterranean Gull - 71E

Sandwich Tern - 5E, 5W

Swift - 3p

Green Woodpecker - 2p

Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1p

Swallow - 960W

House Martin - 2244W

Sand Martin - 400W

Yellow Wagtail - 5W

Grey Wagtail - 2W

Pied Wagtail - 1W

Willow Warbler - 1p

Linnet - 4E

House Martins at Selsey Bill (AH)

Northcommon Farm:  A Little Owl was on the woodpile, with its back to the lane this morning. (SR)

Little Owl at Northcommon Farm (SR)

Ferry Pool: There was nothing but a couple of dozen Black-tailed Godwits and Lapwngs, plus 14 Teal on the pool, whilst the channel opposite held a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper and c40 Redshank.
The Tramway circuit was quiet, too, with just a handful of Blackcaps, Whitethroats and Willow Warblers present, and a few Swallows and Sand Martins over. (AH)

Teal (above) & Willow Warbler around the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were at least five Spotted Flycatchers, two Redstarts and several Lesser Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Whitethroats and Willow Warblers behind the hide, whilst there were two more Redstarts, a Whinchat, a Garden Warbler, several Sedge Warblers and at least ten Whitethroats along the front of the two Severals, and there were also two or three Wheatears, a Skylark and a few Linnets along the beach.

A flock of c50 Grey Plovers were on the beach, a couple of Sandwich Terns were offshore, there were at least 400 Mediterranean Gulls scattered about and there was a constant presence of Swallows over the beach, with a few House and Sand Martins among them.
The harbour was quiet, save the usual Dunlin and Ringed Plovers, though two Peregrines were about, high up. (AH/IP/S&SaH/PB/P&JW et al) This evening a Black Tern was briefly present. (CWM)

Spotted Flycatcher (above), Whinchat, Lesser Whitethroat, Grey Plovers & Buzzard at Church Norton (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: Two Redstarts were in the hedges before Park Lane, and a Wheatear and at least 20 Yellow Wagtails were in the now cultivated lettuce fields, as was a Grey Partridge among three Red-legged Partridges. There were also many hundreds of Swallows, House and Sand Martins overhead, along with a couple of Sparrowhawks and at least three Buzzards, and a Green Sandpiper flew over, too. (AH/IP/S&SaH/PB)

Yellow Wagtail (above), Grey Partridge & Swallow around Park Farm, Selsey (AH)

North Wall:There were 86 Common Redshanks in and around White's Creek, and nearly 800 gulls, presumably mostly Black-headed, out in the Harbour. Only Mallard appeared on the Breech Pool, though along the Wall there were two Wheatears and three Whitethroats, with hirundines everywhere, feeding on high and slowly drifting westwards. 

Moorhens were feeding young at Owl Water and two Mute Swans at that location were hissing at visitors. At Macracapra Copse there were seven Whitethroats, a Redstart and a Cetti's Warbler, whilst along Honer Lane there were a further fve Whitethroats, six Willow Warblers and two Whinchats. On Honer reservoir there were two Little Grebes, a Coot and a Common Sandpiper. At places Pagham Rife is completely blocked by vegetation, which I think is probably Pennywort. (JDW) 

Earlier out in the harbour there were also two Whimbrel, two Greenshank and a Spotted Redshank whilst there were a number of Sedge and Reed Warblers in the Breech Pool reeds. At Halsey's Farm there were two Cetti's Warblers, four Lesser Whitethroats, six Whitethroats and a few Willow Warblers. A Tree Pipit dropped into the bushes briefly and two Whinchats were also along the fence line here. A Common Sandpiper got up from the "round pool" and there were four Reed Warblers in the scrub near the Halsey's creek. (BI/IH) 

This evening the Barn Owl was out over the Breech Pool fields and c.100 Yellow Wagtails came into roost in the reeds there. There was a large Gull roost out in the harbour consisting mainly of Black-headed & Herring Gulls though there were three Great Black-backed Gulls, six Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a single Mediterranean Gull and two Yellow-legged Gulls also present. (BI/IB)

Mute Swans (above) & Grey Heron from North Wall & an overgrown Pagham Rife (JDW)

Whinchat at Halsey's Farm (BI)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - This afternoon there were seven Greenshanks near the poplars and a Common Sandpiper near Marsh Barn, and around the banks and hedges there were 40+ Yellow Wagtails, four Whinchats, eight Wheatears and three Whitethroats, with five Buzzards, two Kestrels and a Peregrine about, too. (S&SaH)

Whinchat (above) & Greenshanks at Medmerry (SH)

Medmerry: Ham Farm - This evening there were eight Whinchats viewable together on the rough ground by the ponds, a Wheatear, two Corn Buntings and c40 Linnets and Goldfinches along the banks, and c30 Sand Martins and Swallows feeding over the ponds. (AH)

Corn Buntings (above), Wheatear & Whinchats at Medmerry (AH)

Friday, 25th August: The fine spell continues, with another lovely day after a misty start, with lots of sunshine and a light and variable breeze...

Ferry Pool: There was still nothing but a handful of Lapwing and Black-tailed Godwits on the pool, though Teal numbers had increased to 15, whilst a Kingfisher was in the rife, as was a calling Cetti's Warbler.
A Greenshank, a Whimbrel and a Common Sandpiper were among 40 or so Redshanks in the channel opposite, a few Sand Martins went over and up to ten Blackcaps were in the Discovery area, but no other migrants were noted. (AH)

Greenshank (above) & Blackcap around the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Ham Farm - At the willows and pool area at Ham, near the sea wall, there was a Spotted Flycatcher, ten Willow Warblers, 30 Whitethroats and two Lesser Whitethroats, along with 15 Yellowhammers and three Corn Buntings. On the fences there were six Whinchats and six Wheatears, and there were also six Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk about. (B'OD).

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - The most notable thing this morning were the huge numbers of hirundines present, primarily around the Stilt Pool, with a guesstimate of 700 Sand Martins, 200 House Martins and 100 Swallows feeding and sitting on the fences and waterside sedges.
Along the banks there were half a dozen or so Whinchats and Wheatears, a few Meadow Pipits and many Linnets and Goldfinches, with probably between 60 and 80 Yellow Wagtails present, mostly in the cattle fields. Also, early on, there were 20+ Whitethroats, up to five Sedge Warblers, a couple of Willow Warblers and a Lesser Whitethroat in the hedges.

There were very few waders about, with a few Black-tailed Godwits near the poplars, two Green Sandpipers in the first pool, and another on the Stilt Pool, a Greenshank near Marsh Barn and a Common Sandpiper in the channel by the beach being the total.

At least 500 Canada Geese came into the Stilt Pool, and among them were the now annually returning pair of Bar-headed Geese, plus the Greylag and a few dubious hybrids. (AH)

Yellow Wagtail (above), Whinchat, Wheatear, Sedge Warbler, Bar-headed Geese & Sand Martins, House Martins and Swallow at Medmerry (AH)

This evening a ring-tailed harrier - almost certainly a Hen Harrier, but all opinions welcome! - flew over north near the car park.

Also about were up to ten Greenshank, ten Wheatears, three Whinchats, 30+ Yellow Wagtails and 10+ Meadow Pipits, with four Black-tailed Godwits on the Stilt Pool and 50+ Sand Martins, 20+ Swallows and a couple of House Martins overhead. (SH)

Hen Harrier (above), Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear and Greenshank at Medmerry (SH)

Church Norton:  A good selection of migrants were about today; around the Severals there were two Redstarts, a Whinchat, a Sedge Warbler, a Reed Warbler a Lesser Whitethroat, and several Whitethroats, plus a Water Rail and a Cetti's Warbler being heard only, whilst  two Wheatears were on the concrete blocks with another on beach,

Also, a Green Sandpiper flew out of the pool by hte horse field, a Common Sandpiper was in the Severals and there were good numbers of Swallows, a few Sand Martins and a late Swift overhead, plus two Grey Wagtails flew over the Priory.

Around the churchyard and behind hide there were three Redstarts, seven Spotted Flycatchers, a juvenile Lesser Whitethroat, several Willow Warblers, two Blackcaps and two Whitethroats, plus a Green Woodpecker, and there were at least four young Swallows in the nest in the hide being fed by their parents. (C&JM/C&ME)

Spotted Flycatcher (above), Spotted Flycatcher and Willow Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat & young Swallows at Church Norton (C&JM)

Thursday, 24th August: Another pleasant late-summer day, with a still start before the westerly breeze picked up, but plenty of sunshine between the clouds....

Selsey Bill: There was a large gathering of hirundines over the Oval Field and beach this morning, c200 House Martins, c150 Swallows and c35 Sand Martins with more flying, mainly west, over the sea. 

An uncooperative Redstart was in Bill House garden, keeping close in to the tamarisk along with six Willow Warblers, whilst other gardens contained a Whitethroat and four more Willow Warblers, and also four Wheatears were along the beach, four Sandwich Terns flew west and there was a Seal offshore. (SR/MJ)

(1630-1730hrs): (SH)
Gannet - 1E
Sandwich Tern - 2W
Swift - 1W
Tree Pipit - 1E, over Oval Field
Also, at least 8 Bottle-nosed Dolphins east, feeding behind the Mile basket for a while.

Selsey: A Sparrowhawk and two Swifts over the north of the village this morning. (SH)

Ferry Pool: There were just the regular c40 each of Lapwing and Black-tailed Godwit on the pool again, though a Spotted Redshank and two Common Sandpipers were in the channel opposite, along with 50+ Redshank. (AH) 

There were also a handful of Yellow Wagtails among the cattle on Ferry Field. (AB)

Spotted Redshank (above), Common Sandpiper & Lapwing around Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: The Southern Migrant Hawker was present on the Small Pool again this morning, though elusive.

Bird-wise there were lots of Whitethroats, with just singles of Whinchat, Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat among them, plus fly-over Grey and Yellow Wagtails. (AB)

This evening there were at least 500 - and quite possibly double that number - Sand Martins over the pool and the adjacent small grass field. (AH)

Sand Martins along Long Pool (AH)

North Wall: Nothing bar a few Mallards on the Breech pool again. There were a few more migrants along the Wall hedgerows today, including two Redstarts, 15 Whitethroats, 7 Reed Warblers, a Sedge Warbler, 2 Cetti's Warblers and 12 Willow Warblers. A single Greenshank flew around calling and shortly after a Golden Plover did likewise. (OM et al)

White's Creek/East side was less productive this morning, with few small waders visible, largely due to the presence of a Peregrine resting on the mudflats, in between small sorties. There were at least 100 Mediterranean Gulls in with a roosting flock of Black-headeds, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 3 (possibly 4) Yellow-legged Gulls, whilst a single Pintail was in the channel, plus half a dozen Great Crested Grebes and a Whimbrel. There was also an obvious increase in hirundines, with 200+ Swallows and perhaps 50 Sand Martins moving through in all directions. A Grey Wagtail, two Common Sandpipers and a Kingfisher were around the sluice area. (OM/PC)

Peregrine out on the mudflats from White's Creek (OM)

Church Norton: Quieter than yesterday, but a Tree Pipit dropped in briefly near the hide, and a Hobby went over, and there were also a Garden Warbler, a couple of Lesser Whitethroats, Blackcaps and Willow Warblers, plus a dozen Whitethroats nearby, with that many again of the latter along the Severals, along with a Whinchat, a Reed Warbler and a couple of Sedge Warblers.

A couple of Wheatears were on the beach, where there was a steady stream of Swallows and Sand Martins, plus the odd House Martin, going west, though, surprisingly, the pair in the hide have another growing brood there.

There was little in the harbour beyond a handful of Whimbrel and a few Ringed Plovers, Dunlin and Redshank, and just a couple of distant Sandwich Terns offshore, plus c300 Mediterranean Gulls on the low-tide line.

Also, a Stoat (presumably a young one) was playing about in the open behind the hide for several minutes, climbing up and down the fences and jumping about pretending to catch prey. (AH/D Buckingham et al)

Lesser Whitethroat (above), Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Wheatear and Stoat at Church Norton (AH)

This evening there were three Spotted Flycatchers, four Wheatears, a Lesser Whitethroat and 10+ Willow Warblers about, plus a Peregrine. (S&SaH)

Spotted Flycatcher at Church Norton (SH)

Medmerry: Ham Farm - A Tree Pipit dropped in on the fence by the ponds for just a few seconds, and there were also two Whinchats and a couple of Whitethroats nearby, but not much else beyond several hundred Swallows and Sand Martins feeding over the ponds and banks, occasionally stopping on the wires. (AH)

Tree Pipit (above), Whinchat & Sand Martin at Medmerry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - This afternoon there were nine Whinchats, up to 17 Wheatears and 40+ Yellow Wagtails along the banks and beach. (BO'D)