26th - 28th October, 2018

Sunday, 28th October: Another cold and blowy morning, with a strong north-easterly breeze and a mix of sun and grey cloud....

Selsey Bill: It proved to be a very interesting morning, with plenty of sea-passage and visible migration, involving a wide range of species. Highlights of visible migration included a Short-eared Owl, three Lapwings, a Crossbill, three Woodlarks, two Lesser Redpolls, eight Siskins and six Bramblings in off the sea, along with 341 Chaffinches and 486 Linnets, with a Mistle Thrush and a Swallow also seen.
Brent Geese were the main species moving offshore, totalling 510 west, though there were also two Red-throated Divers west and 118 Wigeon west and 69 east among a range of duck species seen. Full log below. (SH/BI/AH/IP)

(0630-1130hrs)

Red-throated Diver - 2W

Gannet - 65os

Brent Goose - 510W

Wigeon - 69E, 118W

Teal - 2E, 64W

Shoveler - 2W

Pintail - 7W

Tufted Duck - 1W

Common Scoter - 17E, 7W

Red-breasted Merganser - 1E, 6W

Kestrel - 1p

Lapwing - 3N

Grey Plover - 2W

Sanderling - 7W

Curlew - 1W

Mediterranean Gull - 7W

Common Gull - 5W

Kittiwake - 22W

Razorbill - 1E

Short-eared Owl - 1N

Woodlark - 3N

Skylark - 4N

Meadow Pipit - 7N

Pied Wagtail - 3p

Swallow - 1W

Chiffchaff - 3p

Starling - 457N

Blackbird - 1N

Mistle Thrush - 1N

Linnet - 486N

Siskin - 8E

Lesser Redpoll - 2N

Goldfinch - 45E

Crossbill - 1N

Brambling - 6N

Chaffinch - 341N

Reed Bunting - 1N

Short-eared Owl (above), Brent Geese, Gannet & Wigeon and Teal at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were just five Shelducks present early on, with c100 Teal in the channel opposite, and just c40 Lapwing and a dozen Teal present later. (AH/IP)

Teal in Ferry Channel (AH)

Church Norton: The Spoonbill was in the harbour again this morning, with c25 Avocets, c60 Brent Geese and a dozen Pintail in the main channel and a few Grey Plover, Dunlin and Redshank out on the mud.

Half a dozen Goldcrests were in the churchyard, one or two Reed Buntings and Meadow Pipits were along the front and seven Shoveler were on the second Several, whilst c50 Lapwing, c50 Linnets and c20 Meadow Pipits were along Rectory Lane. (RJS/AH/IP/BI)

Shovelers (above), Brent Geese, Grey Plover & Curlew at Church Norton (AH)

Late this afternoon a Spoonbill was on Peregrine Island, with 250+ Brent Geese in the harbour, though little else was seen during a rainstorm except a Buzzard being hassled by a Magpie. Earlier a pair of Stonechats were just beyond the western end of the reserve by the carriage homes. (AW/S&SaH)

Stonechat (SH) (above), Spoonbill, Buzzard & a rainbow over Tern Island (AW) at Church Norton

Saturday, 27th October: A very bright but very cold morning, after a sharp early frost and a clear starlit night, with a fresh northerly breeze....certainly not the conditions for producing grounded migrants!

Selsey Bill: There was nothing moving offshore except for three Common Scoter that dropped onto the sea, and no obvious visible migration overhead, so most of the time was spent searching the gardens and area......which also proved to be almost dead! Log below:
0745-0945hrs: (SH/OM/MJ)

Common Scoter - 3os

Common Buzzard - 1 over Selsey, viewed from Bill (SH)

Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1 on trees Oval field

Pied Wagtail - 1W

Goldfinch - 30 area

Linnet - 10 area

Chiffchaff - 1 gardens

Selsey, East beach - Around the pond there were 2 Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest. (OM)

Chiffchaff at East beach pond (OM)

Selsey, Warner Lane paddocks: Two Stonechats and a Buzzard were the only birds of note (OM)

Stonechat at Warner Lane (OM)

Northcommon Farm: No migrants - just a Buzzard and a couple of Green Woodpeckers. (OM)

Park Farm, Selsey: A pair of Stonechats were on the fields where they wintered last year, whilst a Blackcap was in the hedges and a Grey Wagtail went over. (IP)

Ferry Pool: Four Spoonbills flew over from out of the harbour, heading west, at 7.45am this morning. (IP) Also about were four Shovelers and a few Wigeon, Teal and Shelduck, with a handful of Redshank and Black-tailed Godwits, plus a few more Teal, in the channel opposite. (AH/IP)

Pagham Beach: A fairly close pod of 15-20 Bottle-nosed Dolphins were seen heading in the direction of Pagham from Aldwick at lunchtime today. (BC)

Church Norton: The long-staying, but ever-elusive, Hooded Crow flew from the Severals and along the spit towards Pagham this morning.

Also, along the spit this morning there were two large flocks (50+) of Linnets with smaller flocks of Greenfinches and Goldfinches, along with a few small groups of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks. (AW)

In the harbour a Spoonbill was on Peregrine Island, there were 27 Avocets, 22 Great Crested Grebes, four Little Grebes, c25 Pintail and c40 Brent Geese along the main channel and two Bar-tailed Godwits and a Knot were among the Dunlin and Grey Plovers.

Three or four Reed Buntings, a couple of Song Thrushes and a couple of Meadow Pipits were along the path to the beach and a Mistle Thrush and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were around the car-park/churchyard area.. 

A pair of Stonechats were at the west end of the reserve, three Shovelers and a Little Grebe were on the second Several, and a couple of Jays, Sparrowhawks and Kestrels were about, too. (AW/AH/IP)

Hooded Crow (above), Little Grebe (AW), Mistle Thrush, Reed Bunting, Avocets & Fox (AH) at Church Norton

Fishbourne Creek: A look along the harbour from Apuldram Church produced three Greenshank, a Spotted Redshank, c80 Black-tailed Godwits, c400 Wigeon and c120 Mute Swans, but only around 30 Brent Geese.

Along the edges there were up to eight Rock Pipits, a dozen Meadow Pipits and four Reed Buntings, plus a fly-over Grey Wagtail, but not too much else. (AH)

Greenshanks (above), Grey Plover, Meadow Pipit & Wigeon at Fishbourne Creek (AH)

Friday, 26th October: A mixed morning, with a grey but fairly mild start, despite the fresh westerly breeze, followed by heavy drizzly rain and then bright and breezy, if decidedly cooler.....

Selsey Bill: There was a selection of species, both overhead and offshore, but only in low numbers. Full log below. (C&ME/AH)

(0730-1000hrs)

Gannet - 2E, 25W

Little Egret - 1W

Mute Swan - 5W

Brent Goose - 4W

Common Scoter - 6E

Curlew - 1W

Turnstone - 18W

Mediterranean Gull - 16W

Razorbill - 1os, then W

Guillemot - 1E

auk sp - 1E

Meadow Pipit - 23W

Pied Wagtail - 27E

Goldfinch - 40W

Linnet - 25W

Siskin - 6W

Guillemot (above), Brent Goose, Meadow Pipits & Mute Swans at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were c150 Lapwings, c80 Teal, two Shoveler and a dozen or so Wigeon and Shelduck on the pool, with another 150 Teal, plus a handful of Redshank and Black-tailed Godwits in the channel opposite.

A Water Rail was busy catching small fish in Red Barn Ditch, but the Tramway circuit just held a lone Reed Bunting and a few Goldfinches, Long-tailed and Blue Tits. (AH)

Water Rail (above), Reed Bunting & Teal and Shoveler around the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There was very little to report in some dire weather, with a Greenshank in the harbour the only wader of note among the scattering of Grey Plovers, Redshank and Dunlin, though a dozen Brent Geese and a Peregrine were also present.

Also, a Chiffchaff and a couple of Goldcrests were among a mixed tit flock by the concrete wall. (AW/AH/BI)

Ringing recovery: Of interest a ringed Great Black-backed Gull was found recently dead at Church Norton on 10.10.2018. Enquiries reveal it was ringed in Norway in 2014. (IL)
The details and previous sightings were as follows:
History; Rung at Vest-Agder, Mandel Norway on 30.06.2014
28.08.2014 50°43'34''N, 001°35'04''E (FR07), Boulogne-sur-Mer Port [891 km/207]
20.10.2017 50°36'36''N, 003°25'49''W (GBDV), Dawlish Warren NNR [1080 km/225]
02.11.2017 50°42'00''N, 003°04'00''W (GBDV), Axe Estuary, Seaton [1057 km/224]
10.10.2018 50°45'11''N, 000°45'51''W (GBXW), Church Norton [960 km/217] (201) 2018-01749

Greenshank and Mallard (AW) (above) & Grey Plovers (AH) at Church Norton

Pagham churchyard: A quick look before the rain this morning produced a Blackcap, 2 Coal Tits and a couple of Goldcrests. (OM)

Pagham Lagoon: The footpath near the Lagoon held a Chiffchaff, two Goldcrests, a Cetti's Warbler and a dozen Long-tailed Tits. (OM)

Halsey's Farm: Generally quiet this morning, the highlights being a few Reed Buntings, two flocks of Goldfinches and  a small passage of Meadow Pipits overhead. (BI)

Warner Lane: Two Fieldfares were in the paddocks this morning. (BI)