13th - 15th September 2018

Saturday, 15th September: A return to the fine weather, with a warm and sunny morning, with just a moderate westerly breeze.........

Selsey Bill: The first Siskins of the autumn were recorded, plus a late Swift, among a small amount of visible migration. Full log below. (SH)
(0630-0900hrs)
Gannet - 2E, 2W
Little Egret - 1W
Sparrowhawk - 1p
Kestrel - 2p
Mediterranean Gull - 14E, 15W
Sandwich Tern - 15E, 7W
Common Tern - 1W
Swift - 1E
Swallow - 25E
House Martin - 30E
Meadow Pipit - 13W
Yellow Wagtail - 1E
Grey Wagtail - 1E
Willow Warbler - 2p
Chiffchaff - 1p
Siskin - 3W

Ferry Pool: There were four Greenshank and four Spotted Redshank on the pool very early on, seen by a visiting birder, with four of the latter then in Ferry Channel, where there was also a Common Sandpiper and three Whimbrels, wihlst otherwise it was just the usual selection of c120 Lapwing, c20 Teal, ten Black-tailed Godwits and eight Shelduck present, plus a Grey Wagtail over. (AH/IP/AW)

Later on, a Spotted Redshank was actually on the Long Pool. (AW)

A video of the Spotted Redshank (AW) is here

Spotted Redshanks in Ferry Channel (above) & Long Pool (AW)

Park Farm, Selsey: There were six Yellow Wagtails in the fields and a Willow Warbler in the hedges, with two Buzzards and four Sparrowhawks over. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: There were a selection of migrants spread along the front this morning, including two Redstarts, two or three Wheatears, several Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroats, half a dozen Blackcaps, a couple of Willow Warblers and 30+ Chiffchaffs, whilst there was a huge flock of House Martins - c500 birds - with up to 30 Swallows and a handful of Sand Martins among them. Also a Grey Wagtail and a few Meadow Pipits went over.
Also a Marsh Harrier hunted briefly over the first Several and a Sparrowhawk was also seen. (S&SaH/AH/IP/P&JW et al)

Marsh Harrier (above), Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff & House Martin at Church Norton (AH)

This afternoon a Garden Warbler was near the concrete wall. (AW)

Garden Warbler at Church Norton (AW)

North Wall: Only one Cattle Egret was seen this morning, in the fields west of the Breech Pool, whilst the Spoonbill was only present early on before flying to the far end of the harbour. There was a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper among a few Dunlin in White's Creek, and there were also four Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank and c25 Wigeon and Teal present, with similar numbers of Lapwing and Black-tailed Godwits and Lapwings, plus two Snipe and a Water Rail, in the Breech Pool.

Passerine migrants were few, though a Wheatear, a couple of Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroats, a Stonechat, a Sedge Warbler, a Spotted Flycatcher, half a dozen Blackcaps and a dozen Chiffchaffs were seen, mostly in the hedges of Halsey's Farm. A couple of Kingfishers were seen, four Yellow Wagtails and a few Meadow Pipits went over , and up to 50 Swallows, plus a few House Martins were overhead. (AH/A&YF/JDW et al)

Later on, there was a report on Twitter of five White Storks flying west over the North Wall  (later seen over Denmead in Hampshire) (per BI)
Late afternoon, all 12 Cattle Egrets were still in residence, along with 40 Yellow Wagtails. (LGRE per Sussex Twitter)

Cattle Egret (above), Greenshank, Snipe & Wheatear around the North Wall (AH)

Medmerry: Golf Links Lane to Ham viewpoint  - There were 9 Buzzards up together and a minimum of 11 Kestrels and a Peregrine. A handful of Swallows were around, plus a few Sand Martins, Yellow Wagtails and Meadow Pipits passing over. (S&SaH)

Also, a group of at least 13 (and possibly up to 20) Buzzards were seen on a recently harvested field near the Easton Lane Car-park. (C Evans)

Friday, 14th September: A cool and grey morning, with heavy cloud and a freshening westerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: (0730-0930hrs) (C&ME)
Gannet - 6E, 30W
Little Egret - 1E
Common Scoter - 4E
Mediterranean Gull - 4os
Sandwich Tern - 23os
Swallow - 43E
Meadow Pipit - 8W
Pied Wagtail - 1W
Willow/Chiffs - 4 gardens

Ferry Pool: There was no sign of the Little Stint this morning, with just the usual selection of c80 Lapwing, c20 Black-tailwed Godwits, c20 Teal and a dozen Shelduck present, whilst in the channel opposite there were 20 more Black-tailed Godwits, up to a dozen Dunlin and a few Redshank and Teal, with three Grey Wagtails going over northwards.
The Tramway circuit was quiet, with barely half a dozen Blackcaps and a couple of Chiffchaffs noted, whilst a Greenshank and a couple of Whimbrel were out in the harbour.

Also, a Clouded Yellow was seen. (AH/PB/BO'D)

Lapwings (above) & Dunlin around the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Earnley to the Stilt Pool - A Little Stint and a Ruff were on the Stilt Pool this morning along with two Dunlin, a few Black-tailed Godwits and a Common Sandpiper. There was also plenty of wildfowl present; the Canada Geese horde numbering c.500, two Bar-headed Geese, c.50 of each Teal & Wigeon and a few Gadwall. Along the beach there was the large Linnet flock and a few Meadow Pipits and two Wheatears. The easterly hedges & banks held another flock of Linnets and one of Yellowhammers with more Meadow Pipits and also a few Skylarks here. (BI)

Little Stint (above), Ruff & Common Sandpiper on the Stilt Pool (BI)

Church Norton: There were 20 +Blackcaps and similar of Willow/Chiffs this morning, along with a Garden Warbler, and there were plenty of hirundines overhead, along with two Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk. (A&YF) Also this morning, a Mistle Thrush was in the churchyard early on, whilst this afternoon a Whinchat was on the spit, along with two Wheatears. (AW)

 Whinchat (above) and Wheatear at Church Norton (AW)

North Wall: The Spoonbill, a Yellow-legged Gull, two Greenshank, a Whimbrel and a Peregrine were well out in the harbour from White's Creek this morning, two Grey Wagtails were around the sluice gates and a showy Little Egret, two Spotted Redshanks and a Knot were among the usual Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwits and Redshank in the creek. 

At least five Cattle Egrets and c.20 Yellow Wagtails were in the fields behind the Breech Pool early on, but soon departed, whilst along the wall and Owl Copse there were a couple of Reed Buntings, four Lesser Whitethroats, two Whitethroats, several Reed Warblers and a Sedge Warbler, and half a dozen Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, plus a big, but distant, hirundine flock of c80 birds containing a few Sand Martins among the Swallows. On Breech Pool there was the usual gang of Mallards, with two Shoveler, 20 Teal, 10 Black-tailed Godwits and a Snipe.
At Bremere bridge four Jays were collecting acorns from a nearby oak tree, at the Macracapra copse there were two Green Woodpeckers and a Raven, and around Halsey's Farm there were 20+ Chiffchaffs and a handful of Blackcaps. (JDW/OM/AH/IH/PC et al)
The Spoonbill arrived close in, in White's Creek at 12.45 pm (SA).

Chiffchaffs (above), Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap (AH), Stock Dove, Little Egret & Reed Bunting (JDW) around the North Wall

Fishbourne Creek: A Little Stint was present on the edge of the channel late morning, though it remained fairly distant, whilst other waders included a Spotted Redshank, three Greenshank, perhaps 120 Redshank and 80+ Black-tailed Godwits. Three Black Swans were amongst the large herd of Mutes and 15 Wigeon. There was little of note on the passerine front, the best being a Wheatear and five Chiffchaffs, with small numbers of Swallows passing through. (OM)

Black Swans with Mutes in Fishbourne Creek (OM)

Thursday, 13th September: A glorious morning, with lots of warm sunshine - after a misty start- and just a gentle westerly breeze....

Selsey Bill: There was nothing moving offshore, but 15 Wheatears were along the beach and over a dozen Willow/Chiffs were in the gardens. Full log below.....
0730-1030hrs: (C&ME)
Gannet - 6E
Wigeon - 3W
Turnstone - 16 ob
Sandwich Tern - 19os
Mediterranean Gull - 1os
Jay - 1 (Bill House garden)
Meadow Pipit - 22N
Swallow - 184E
House Martin - 23E
Wheatear - 15 ob
Willow/Chiffs - 15 gardens

Northcommon Farm: There were two Spotted Flycatchers at 'Flycatcher Corner' this morning. (SH)

Medmerry: Breach to Ham - A Short-eared Owl was near the breach this morning, around the banks to Ham there were three Whinchats and up to ten Wheatears, and in the hedges at Ham there were plenty of Whitethroats and Willow/Chiffs, plus a couple of Lesser Whitethroats and Blackcaps and a Spotted Flycatcher. (HB/BO'D)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A Marsh Harrier and a Golden Plover went over, whilst there were at least five Wheatears about ad what appeared to be the Tufted Duck x Pochard hybrid was in the channels opposite. (BO'D)

Later on, there were a Kingfisher, two Wheatears, 40+ Meadow Pipits, 100+ Yellow Wagtails and three Stonechats seen along the banks and ditches, and a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper, 12 Avocets and 50+ Mediterraneabn Gulls around the poplars area.
The Stilt Pool held just two Common Sandpipers and ten Dunlin, whilst up to ten Kesteels, two Buzzards and 25 Swallows were seen overhead. Also, a Barn Owl came out to hunt at 7.15pm. (S&SaH)

Ferry Pool: The Little Stint was still present, but the digger excavating the adjacent rife meant there weren't many birds about, though there were still c40 Lapwing, c20 Teal, two Shelduck and four Black-tailed Godwits present. (AH)

Little Stint (above) & Black-tailed Godwit on the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: There were still a dozen Cattle Egrets about, split between two herds of cows, and the Spoonbill, plus a Spotted Redshank, was in White's Creek, along with 50+ Lapwing and 20+ Black-tailed Godwits, plus two adult Yellow-legged Gulls on the saltmarsh.

There were plenty of passerine migrants about, including at least two Redstarts still around Halsey's Farm and a dozen or more Blackcaps and Whitethroats, at least 10 Lesser Whitethroats and half a dozen Reed Warblers, several Sedge Warblers and 40+ Willow/Chiffs (the majority of which appeared to be Chiffchaffs) spread along the wall and all the adjacent hedges. 
Also a Kingfisher,  two Wheatears and half a dozen Reed Buntings were along the wall, two Water Rails were squealing from the reeds and c.30 Yellow Wagtails, half a dozen Meadow Pipits and 20+ Sand Martins, plus a few Swallows, went over. (AH/OM/IH/BFF/DM et al)

Redstart (above), Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Reed Bunting, Cattle Egrets & Spoonbill around the North Wall & dawn at Halsey's Farm (AH)

 Adult Yellow-legged Gull and Spoonbill in White's Creek (DM)

Church Norton: By comparison, it was very quiet here, with a Hobby over being the only bird of note, and migrants restricted to a couple of Blackcaps and Whitethroats and a dozen Swallows, and not much else to report beyond three or four Jays and the regular waders in the harbour. (AH/A&YF)

Whitethroat (above) & Greenfinches at Church Norton (AH)

Later on there were nine Wigeon, 23 Pintail, 45 Grey Plover, a Bar-tailed Godwit and three Sandwich Terns in the harbour and four Wheatears on the concrete slabs, whilst a juvenile Marsh Harrier was hunting the northern end of the harbour. (BFF/DM)

This afternoon there was a Spotted Flycatcher behind the hide along with a few Blackcaps and Willow Warblers and there were two Whinchats on the old horse-field, with at least four Wheatears along the spit and two Sandwich Terns just offshore. (AW)

Whinchats (above), Spotted Flycatcher & Wheatear at Church Norton (AW)

East Head: There were 60 Yellow Wagtails in the fields this evening. (BO'D)

Chi GP's - Drayton Pits: During a somewhat belated WeBS count this morning, the highlight was a Hobby hunting quite high over the south pit. An influx of 38 Shovelers in eclipse plumage was notable, as was a female Pochard with a colour-marked (pale green) 'nasal saddle' on its bill, but otherwise there was nothing out of the ordinary, although a pair of Great Crested Grebes with a late brood of four fairly small young is perhaps also worthy of mention. (OM)

Female Pochard with lime-green nasal saddle, on Drayton GPs this morning....regrettably the bird always stayed too distant for me to be able to read any number details. Enquiries reveal that in all probability this coloured saddle was fitted in France.