Friday, 21st September: A bright and very breezy day - though not as bad as predicted - feeling notably cooler but with sunshine and cloud and a brisk W/NW wind......
A bit of advance notice.....the absence of AH this weekend is a timely reminder to advise all readers - and especially contributors - that both OM and AH will be away for a week in early October (Shetlands!). As our dear wives have no idea as to how this blog works (!) the burden will fall solely upon the capable shoulders of Bart Ives, our deputy editor. Bart is a working man with a family, and will do his best to keep things running smoothly, but inevitably he will be somewhat stretched during this time. Please make allowances and forward all submissions to Bart during our absence; we haven't yet missed a daily report on the blog since its inception and hope this will continue, but if things do go awry I'm sure you'll understand. Another reminder will appear nearer the time, but meanwhile keep watching, though we hope not to get 'seen off' too badly whilst away! (OM/AH)
Selsey Bill: There was a small amount of visible migration this morning with a few Meadow Pipits and Siskins moving but other than four very distant Manx Shearwaters it was pretty quiet offshore.
(0745-0915hrs) (BI)
Church Norton: Early this morning there was little to see with high winds sweeping the harbour. A few Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Whitethroats and assorted tits were along the hedgerows, whilst a Wheatear was sheltering on the edge of the mud away from the beach. (AW)
Wildfowl on the Stilt Pool and Wheatear at Medmerry (BI)
Thursday, 20th September: The very stormy weather continues, with yet another blustery and grey, if mild, morning, with the near gale force winds being back round towards westerly.........then later more south-westerly
Selsey Bill: Given the duration, direction and strength of the winds over the last couple days - and the storms and spent hurricanes that gave rise to them - it would not be unreasonable to expect some excitement for the sea-watchers at this time of year.... but not a bit of it! It was even quieter than yesterday, though the first two Brent Geese of the autumn went west, as did a Manx Shearwater, a few Sandwich Terns and an Arctic Skua..... though even then, much of it was very distant. Once again it proved disappointing....or is it just the onset of an early bout of SCAD (= Sussex Coast Autumn Doldrums)?
Full log below........
(0730-1200hrs) (OM/C&ME/AH)
Manx Shearwater - 1W
Gannet - 14E, 46W
Brent Goose - 2W
Common Scoter - 5W
Wigeon - 1W
A bit of advance notice.....the absence of AH this weekend is a timely reminder to advise all readers - and especially contributors - that both OM and AH will be away for a week in early October (Shetlands!). As our dear wives have no idea as to how this blog works (!) the burden will fall solely upon the capable shoulders of Bart Ives, our deputy editor. Bart is a working man with a family, and will do his best to keep things running smoothly, but inevitably he will be somewhat stretched during this time. Please make allowances and forward all submissions to Bart during our absence; we haven't yet missed a daily report on the blog since its inception and hope this will continue, but if things do go awry I'm sure you'll understand. Another reminder will appear nearer the time, but meanwhile keep watching, though we hope not to get 'seen off' too badly whilst away! (OM/AH)
Selsey Bill: There was a small amount of visible migration this morning with a few Meadow Pipits and Siskins moving but other than four very distant Manx Shearwaters it was pretty quiet offshore.
(0745-0915hrs) (BI)
Manx Shearwater - 4W
Gannet - 1W
Common Scoter - 2E
Sanderling - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 5W
Gannet - 1W
Common Scoter - 2E
Sanderling - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 5W
Sandwich Tern - 2E
Swallow - 12W
Meadow Pipit - 53W
Yellow Wagtail - 1W
Siskin -18W
1615-1715hrs: (SH)
Gannet - 1W
auk sp - 1W
Sanderling - 1E
Great Skua - 1W
Commic Tern - 1W
Sandwich Tern - 1W
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1W
Meadow Pipit - 1W
Swallow - 1W
Swallow - 12W
Meadow Pipit - 53W
Yellow Wagtail - 1W
Siskin -18W
1615-1715hrs: (SH)
Gannet - 1W
auk sp - 1W
Sanderling - 1E
Great Skua - 1W
Commic Tern - 1W
Sandwich Tern - 1W
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1W
Meadow Pipit - 1W
Swallow - 1W
Church Norton: Early this morning there was little to see with high winds sweeping the harbour. A few Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Whitethroats and assorted tits were along the hedgerows, whilst a Wheatear was sheltering on the edge of the mud away from the beach. (AW)
Wheatear at Church Norton (AW)
Medmerry, West side - A fairly comprehensive look at all of the pools failed to turn up anything of note and in general it was, as expected, quiet in the blustery wind. A Wheatear was near Easton Lane and a Green Woodpecker and two Kestrels were nearby whilst there were a few Tufted Ducks and Canada Geese on the nearest pool. At the Stilt Pool there were still plenty of Canada Geese, Teal and Wigeon, as well as a few Gadwall, and half a dozen Black-tailed Godwits were present but no other waders. The beach area was fairly busy with a flock of c.50 Meadow Pipits and another of c.30 Linnets milling about the fields & fences. (BI)
Wildfowl on the Stilt Pool and Wheatear at Medmerry (BI)
Ferry Pool: The pool remained quiet, with c. 30 Teal, a dozen Shelducks of various ages, a few Lapwings over & around and six Black-tailed Godwits. (BI)
North Wall: A breezy but productive morning around the North Wall. The juv Spoonbill was very active, feeding in White's Creek on a rising tide and then later seen in flight. There were 22 Pintail in White's Creek also, but not many waders of note. The Breech Pool, however, had 12 Spotted Redshank and 5 Greenshank in the high tide wader roost. A brief juv/female Merlin was a nice bonus. The 12 Cattle Egrets were still present amongst the cattle on the footpath NW of Owl Copse. (D.Barber/P.Johnstone per SOS)
North Wall: A breezy but productive morning around the North Wall. The juv Spoonbill was very active, feeding in White's Creek on a rising tide and then later seen in flight. There were 22 Pintail in White's Creek also, but not many waders of note. The Breech Pool, however, had 12 Spotted Redshank and 5 Greenshank in the high tide wader roost. A brief juv/female Merlin was a nice bonus. The 12 Cattle Egrets were still present amongst the cattle on the footpath NW of Owl Copse. (D.Barber/P.Johnstone per SOS)
Thursday, 20th September: The very stormy weather continues, with yet another blustery and grey, if mild, morning, with the near gale force winds being back round towards westerly.........then later more south-westerly
Selsey Bill: Given the duration, direction and strength of the winds over the last couple days - and the storms and spent hurricanes that gave rise to them - it would not be unreasonable to expect some excitement for the sea-watchers at this time of year.... but not a bit of it! It was even quieter than yesterday, though the first two Brent Geese of the autumn went west, as did a Manx Shearwater, a few Sandwich Terns and an Arctic Skua..... though even then, much of it was very distant. Once again it proved disappointing....or is it just the onset of an early bout of SCAD (= Sussex Coast Autumn Doldrums)?
Full log below........
(0730-1200hrs) (OM/C&ME/AH)
Manx Shearwater - 1W
Gannet - 14E, 46W
Brent Goose - 2W
Common Scoter - 5W
Wigeon - 1W
Commic Tern - 1E
Sandwich Tern - 1E, 8W
Kittiwake - 1W
Arctic Skua - 1W
Swallow - 49W
West Itchenor: A juvenile Osprey flew down the Chichester channel past Bosham Hoe and Itchenor this morning at 09.20, occasionally hovering and diving as it went. (PH)
Church Norton: Early this morning there was a Knot and a Greenshank on the rising tide. A Hobby flew along the coast before turning in over the Severals, while a single Wheatear was taking shelter along the shingle. (AW)
There was very little of note at high tide this morning - just and handful of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs among a mobile Blue Tit flock, a couple of Swallows over and a few Teal and Pintail on the water in the harbour. (AH)
Wednesday, 19th September: Another very windy morning, with the south-south-westerly picking up to gale force by lunchtime, though again remaining mostly dry and quite mild.....Sandwich Tern - 1E, 8W
Kittiwake - 1W
Arctic Skua - 1W
Swallow - 49W
Brent Geese past the Bill (AH)
(1630-1730hrs) (SH)
Manx Shearwater - 1W
Gannet - 1E, 1W
Common Scoter - 4W
Sandwich Tern - 9W
Gannet - 1E, 1W
Common Scoter - 4W
Sandwich Tern - 9W
Ferry Pool: A Marsh Harrier went west over the Tramway just after 7am this morning, whilst in Ferry Channel there were three Spotted Redshanks, a Greenshank, two Whimbrel, c50 Redshank and c200 Teal. The pool itself, though, was very quiet, with just 20 Teal, and a dozen shelducks, Lapwings and Black-tailed Godwits present. (AH)
Marsh Harrier (above), Spotted Redshanks, Greenshank and Teal & Whimbrel in Ferry Channel (AH)
Church Norton: Early this morning there was a Knot and a Greenshank on the rising tide. A Hobby flew along the coast before turning in over the Severals, while a single Wheatear was taking shelter along the shingle. (AW)
Hobby (above), Knot & Wheatear at Church Norton (AW)
There was very little of note at high tide this morning - just and handful of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs among a mobile Blue Tit flock, a couple of Swallows over and a few Teal and Pintail on the water in the harbour. (AH)
Pintails (above), Blackcap & Grey Squirrel at Church Norton (AH)
Selsey Bill: Not much was on the move, but a total of 12 Manx Shearwaters - all heading west - was unusual for the time of year, but beyond that it was just a Fulmar and a few Sandwich Terns and Gannets moving, plus 200+ Swallows feeding out over the water and drifting west. Full log below. (SH/PB/C&ME/AH)
(0700-1145hrs) (PB)
Manx Shearwater - 12W
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 5E, 51W
Teal - 1W
Common Scoter - 6E
Ringed Plover - 2W
Sanderling - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 1W
Sandwich Tern - 3E, 7W
Swallow - 11E, 373W
(1630-1730) Four Cormorants, six Herring Gulls and a Carrion Crow in an hour - definitely the worst sea-watch ever! (SH)
(0700-1145hrs) (PB)
Manx Shearwater - 12W
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 5E, 51W
Teal - 1W
Common Scoter - 6E
Ringed Plover - 2W
Sanderling - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 1W
Sandwich Tern - 3E, 7W
Swallow - 11E, 373W
(1630-1730) Four Cormorants, six Herring Gulls and a Carrion Crow in an hour - definitely the worst sea-watch ever! (SH)
Sandwich Tern (above) & Gannets at the Bill (AH)
Ferry Pool: The pool was all but devoid of birds, save a dozen Teal and half a dozen Shelduck, with most of the activity being in the channel opposite, where two Spotted Redshank and two Whimbrel were present early on and 250 Teal, 50 Redshank and a dozen Black-tailed Godwits were present later on. (AH)
Spotted Redshank (above), Whimbrel & Teal in Ferry Channel (AH)
Church Norton: Early this morning at high-tide there was a Greenshank in the harbour and two Wheatears were along the shingle, but apart from a few Swallows heading west there was little else showing. (AW)
There wasn't much more later on, though a Reed Warbler, a couple of Whitethroats and half a dozen Willow/Chiffs were skulking in the bushes, a couple of Sand Martins were among c30 Swallows and a Peregrine, two Bar-tailed Godwits and c20 Ringed Plovers were in the harbour. (AH)
There wasn't much more later on, though a Reed Warbler, a couple of Whitethroats and half a dozen Willow/Chiffs were skulking in the bushes, a couple of Sand Martins were among c30 Swallows and a Peregrine, two Bar-tailed Godwits and c20 Ringed Plovers were in the harbour. (AH)
Wheatear, Greenshank (AW), Reed Warbler & Bar-tailed Godwit (AH) at Church Norton
Later on there were two Curlew Sandpipers, two Bar-tailed Godwits and a Knot in the harbour, a Wheatear on the beach and a Buzzard plus a few Swallows and Meadow Pipits over.
Also, of interest, a young Adder - 6 inches long and no thicker than a pencil - was at the second Several.(SH)
Also, of interest, a young Adder - 6 inches long and no thicker than a pencil - was at the second Several.(SH)
Curlew Sandpiper, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher at Church Norton (SH)
Close views of the young Adder at the second Several (SH)
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