20th - 22nd March 2019

Friday, 22nd March: A very grey and gloomy morning of heavy cloud and the odd hint of drizzle, with just a slight south-westerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: Amazingly, a Water Rail appeared in the Bill House garden in the same area as last year's first-ever bird (which was present from 26th March to 2nd April) and surely must be the same individual dropping in again on return migration.
Otherwise, it was slow again offshore, with just a few Brent Geese, Common Scoters and Sandwich Terns going east, whilst four Wheatears were along the beach and a few Meadow Pipits and Linnets were moving overhead. Full log below.......

(0645-1045hrs)  (C&M/BI/IP/AH/PM/JA/RP)
Great Northern Diver - 3os
Red-throated Diver - 2W
Gannet - 15W
Brent Goose - 31E
Shelduck - 11W
Mallard - 3W
Common Scoter - 92E, 6W
Red-breasted Merganser - 3E, 4W, 12os
Sparrowhawk - 1p
Water Rail - 1 Bill House garden
Ringed Plover - 3E
Mediterranean Gull - 5E, 1W
Sandwich Tern - 7E, 3W, 1os
Meadow Pipit - 120N
Wheatear - 4p
Chiffchaff - 1p
Linnet - 14N
Common Seal - 1os

Water Rail (above), Sandwich Tern, Shelducks, Brent Geese & Wheatear (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were just two Avocets present this morning, along with a single Snipe and a handful of Lapwing, whilst among the wildfowl seen were four Gadwall, 54 Shovelers and 20 Teal, but there were just a dozen Wigeon about. (AH)

Shovelers on the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: Early on, four Sand Martins paused briefly around the pool before heading on north, whilst singing Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Cetti's Warblers were all heard, but not seen.

A Spotted Redshank was in Ferry Channel, along with 35 Black-tailed Godwits and c50 Redshank and Teal. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above) & Black-tailed Godwits in Ferry Channel (AH)

Church Norton: There were still eight Slavonian Grebes offshore, though distant, this morning, along with seven Red-breasted Mergansers and a Great Crested Grebe, and a female-type Marsh Harrier was hunting over the Severals, but the harbour was quiet, with just four Brent Geese and a few Wigeon and Teal noted, plus at least 30 Mediterranean Gulls.
Waders were thin on the ground, with just a few Black-tailed Godwits, Ringed Plovers and Dunlin of note, though 120 Golden Plovers appeared up high from the west over the wood before retreating again. Also, a few Meadow Pipits went west along the spit and a Chiffchaff was singing near the Mound. (AH/IP/BI/PM/HR/DM)

Mediterranean Gulls at Church Norton (AH)

Runcton. Sixteen Mute Swans and 35 Canada Geese were at the reservoir. The flock of 220 Linnet was still present on the weedy field just south of the village; also 3 singing Chiffchaffs, a Nuthatch singing in Runcton Manor, a pair of House Sparrows down the lane, and better still a male House Sparrow in the garden, actually the first here for at least a year! (CRJ).

Ivy Lake: A Reed Bunting and several singing Chiffchaffs were along the hedges, whilst on the water there were 20+ Pochards and several pair of displaying Great Crested Grebes. (AH)

Great Crested Grebes at Ivy Lake (AH)

  Thursday, 21st March: Similar to yesterday; overcast, dry and pleasantly mild, with just a very light westerly breeze.....

Sharper-eyed readers will have noticed a new addition to the title bar marked 'Selsey Peninsula Statistics' - an item compiled by Ian Pitts - which gives a breakdown of all the species recorded on the Peninsula, but also much more. An analysis of the frequency with which all of those species have been seen, together with a monthly breakdown of their occurrence is given for the last few years, and further information will be added to this work in progress. Keen Peninsula listers and casual visitors alike will find this a valuable reference tool, and we are grateful to Ian for his sterling efforts in bringing this information together.

There were a few teething problems to get the link sorted (and we're grateful to Bart Ives for smoothing things out), but it seems to be working well now (!) The information is in Excel format and is compatible with systems using Excel 2003 and beyond....though some readers may find it best to go into 'download' mode if necessary for easier reading. The editors gratefully acknowledge the continuing support and effort behind the scenes provided by our Log-keeper (JA) and our statistician (IP) which makes the whole thing a team effort that works. (Eds)

Selsey Bill: There wasn't too much for another good turn-out this morning, though a few Brent Geese went east, three Great Northern Divers were on the sea and three Wheatears were on the beach. Full log below. (C&ME/PB/MO-W/AH/RJS/RP/A&YF et al)
(0700-1045hrs)
Great Northern Diver - 1E, 3os
Red-throated Diver - 2E
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 9W
Brent Goose - 35E, 1W
Pintail - 4E
Common Scoter - 4E, 9os
Red-breasted Merganser - 7os
Common Gull - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 2W
Sandwich Tern - 3os
Meadow Pipit - 5N
Pied Wagtail - 3N
Wheatear - 3p
Chiffchaff - 1p
Goldcrest - 1p

Wheatear (AH) (above) & Brent Goose (RP) at the Bill

Ferry Pool: There were four Avocets, six Redshank, plus a few Lapwings around the pool, with c20 Teal, c50 Shovelers and c80 Wigeon about.

The Water Rail was showing well in Red Barn Ditch early on, but the Tramway circuit was quiet except for two or three singing Chiffchaffs and the adjacent harbour just held a handful of Black-tailed Godwits. (AH)

Water Rail (above), Chiffchaff & Black-tailed Godwit around the Tramway (AH)

Medmerry: Coastguard Station to the Windmill - There were four Wheatears along the cliff this morning, with another six around the rocks from the Windmill but, other than c40 Curlews, a couple of Meadow Pipits and a Brown Hare in the big field, it was quiet. 

Also, a Great Northern Diver and four Red-breasted Mergansers were offshore and six Brent Geese flew east. (AH)

Wheatears at Medmerry (AH)

Northcommon Farm: A Willow Warbler, two Chiffchaffs and a Redwing were around Flycatcher Corner this morning. (SH)

Church Norton: There were 14 Slavonian Grebes offshore this morning. (RJS)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A pair of Little Ringed Plovers were on the Stilt Pool, and even doing display flights, this morning, along with a dozen Ringed Plovers and 58 Avocets. There were no other migrants, but up to ten Mediterranean Gulls were present, along with 16 Gadwall and a scattering of Teal, Wigeon and Shovelers, whilst a Great Northern Diver was fairly close offshore.
The banks were busy with the regular species, including 30+ Yellowhammers, 20+ Linnets, a handful of Reed Buntings and plenty of Skylarks. (AH)
Later on, two Wheatears were around the rocks opposite the Stilt Pool and two Swallows went over, whilst there were two pairs of displaying Little Ringed Plovers. (HB)

Little Ringed Plovers (above), Great Northern Diver, Avocets & Linnet at Medmerry (AH)

Wednesday, 20th March: A fairly mild, if overcast, morning, with just a light -south-westerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: The undoubted highlight was an arrival of Wheatears, estimated at a minimum of 39 birds, most of which were seen coming in off the sea in a short spell just before 9am, with close to 20 birds viewable at the same time at one point. 

The sea, though, remained quiet, with 15 Red-throated Divers east the only possible passage birds. Full log below.... 
0700-1130hrs: (C&ME/AH/IP/RP et al) 
Red-throated Diver - 15E, 3W
Great Northern Diver - 1E, 3os
Great Crested Grebe - 1E, 2W
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 2E, 28W
Eider - 3W
Common Scoter - 8E, 23os
Red-breasted Merganser - 5E, 2W, 17os
auk sp - 1W
Sandwich Tern - 2os
Kittiwake - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 7W
Common Gull - 3E, 2W
Meadow Pipit - 17N
alba Wagtail - 7N
Wheatear - 39N/ob
Goldfinch - 1N
Linnet - 3W

Wheatears (above) (top one RP), Sandwich Tern, Gannet & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

AH and IP hunting Wheatears! (RP)

Ferry Pool: It was quieter this morning, with just four Avocets and a handful of Black-tailed Godwits and Redshank among the regular wildfowl, including c30 Teal, c50 Shovelers and c150 Wigeon. (AH)

Medmerry: Windmill area - At least nine Wheatears were along the rocks by the caravan park this morning, with a Black Redstart in the vicinity, too. (AB)

Ivy Lake: A Sand Martin was over the lake at lunchtime today, and two Blackcaps and numerous Chiffchaffs were around the remaining hedges, whilat a Tree-creeper was by New Lake. (IP/AB)

Church Norton: There were at least nine Wheatears together around the concrete slabs and adjacent shingle this morning, whilst the only other hint of migration was a Sand Martin over Rectory Lane.

Two Gannets and a Great Crested Grebe were offshore, but the harbour was quiet at high tide, though the Whimbrel was in its usual haunt and a Peregrine was upsetting the gulls around Tern Island. (AH/IP)

Wheatears (above) & Whimbrel at Church Norton (AH)

Pagham Lagoon & Spit: A Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaffs and 3 Cetti’s Warblers were singing from the Lagoon edges and vegetation, but there was little of note on the water except a pair of displaying Great Crested Grebes, a few Little Grebes and a couple of Brent Geese.

Fifty Brent Geese were along the harbour edge from the Spit, plus 20 Ringed Plovers and 40 Oystercatchers, but a Peregrine was very active, repeatedly flushing the waders and gulls from Tern island and the harbour, before settling down. Also, two pairs of Skylark were present, whilst offshore 6 Slavonian Grebes were in various stages of acquiring summer plumage. (OM)