23rd - 25th March 2019

Monday, 25th March: A bright and breezy morning, with a brisk north-westerly just keeping it a bit cool away from shelter....  

Selsey Bill: It was another quiet morning, though a couple of Wheatears flew in, along with a scattering of Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails, and nine Sandwich Terns were lingering offshore. Full log later. (C&ME/IP/BI/AH/RP)
(0700-1000hrs)
Great Northern Diver - 1os
Red-throated Diver - 7E
Great Crested Grebe - 2E
Gannet - 4E, 11W
Shag - 1W
Brent Goose - 1E, 2W
Shelduck - 2W
Common Scoter - 9E
Red-breasted Merganser - 1E, 5W
Kestrel - 1p
Curlew - 3E
Common Gull - 4E
Sandwich Tern - 9os
Meadow Pipit - 11N
Pied Wagtail - 7N
Wheatear - 3N
Chiffchaff - 1p

Ferry Pool: A surprise this morning, in the shape of a Jack Snipe, which flew out low from near the creek in the field and dived into the vegetation along the north side of the pool, where there were already up to ten Common Snipe.
Otherwise it was the usual fare, including two Green Sandpipers in the concealed pool and eight Avocets, a dozen Lapwing and Redshanks, c20 Teal and c40 Shoveler scattered around the main pool.
Also, a Spotted Redshank and 80 Black-tailed Godwits were in the channel opposite, but the Tramway circuit held little of note beyond three or four singing Chiffchaffs. (AH)

Green Sandpipers (above), Snipe, Spotted Redshank, Black-tailed Godwits & Chiffchaff around the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: It was generally quiet with a keen northerly wind early on, though there were close to a hundred Black-tailed Godwits along White's Creek and still a few remaining Wigeon, but with water levels on Breech Pool remain high and there were just two Tufted Ducks and a handful of Teal and Mallard. 

On Honer Reservoir there were 17 Tufted Ducks, 6 Gadwall, 3 Mallard and 2 Little Grebes, but the only migrants I encountered were Chiffchaffs, with two at Bremere Bridge and two in Owl Copse. 

A pleasant surprise on the return trip was a Red Kite over the sluices at Welbourne, though it didn't linger for long before heading off in a north-easterly direction. (JDW)

Medmerry: Porthole Farm to Ham Farm - The only migrants noted were a handful of Chiffchaffs along the hedges near the sewage farm, but there were plenty of Yellowhammers and Skylarks about, plus the odd Meadow Pipit and Stock Dove, whilst a few Mediterranean Gulls were among the flock following a tractor.
There was just one Corn Bunting seen along the banks at Ham, though there were at least 100 Linnets present, plus more Skylarks and a pair of Yellowhammers. (AH/IP)

Corn Bunting (above), Yellowhammer, Stock Doves & Linnets at Medmerry (AH)

Sunday, 24th March: A bright, chill and fairly still start to the morning, with the light breeze freshening a little as it shifted round towards north-west.....becoming quite spring-like with sunshine and scattered cloud.  

Selsey Bill: It was predictably quiet after yesterday's excitement, but there were still a fair number of species noted, including a Sand Martin north and 25 Sandwich Terns east. Full log below. (SH/CN/PB/OM/IP/BI/AH/MO-W/PM et al)
(0600-0930hrs)
Great Northern Diver - 4os
diver sp - 1E
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 11E, 2W
Brent Goose - 7E
Shelduck - 2E, 3W
Common Scoter - 5E
Red-breasted Merganser - 6E
Kestrel - 1p
Dunlin - 3W
Curlew - 2E
Turnstone - 20W
Mediterranean Gull - 2E, 2os
Sandwich Tern - 25E, 1W
Meadow Pipit - 12N
Pied Wagtail - 1N
Sand Martin - 1N
Wheatear - 1p
Chiffchaff - 2p
Linnet - 5W
1000-1100hrs: (CBC/MC)
Great Northern Diver - 4os
Gannet - 4E
Eider - 5E, settled os
Red-breasted Merganser - 6os

Sandwich Tern (above) & Chiffchaff at the Bill (AH)

Selsey: A Merlin went over the north of the town early this morning. (SH)

Medmerry: Coastguards to Windmill area - A Great Northern Diver and a female Eider were offshore from the Coastguards area late morning and three Corn Buntings were near the caravans at Toe End. (PJ)
Also, there were still plenty of Wheatears about the vicinity early this morning. (A Huttley) 

Ham viewpoint - In contrast it was fairly quiet here, apart from 2 Corn Buntings, 50+ Linnets, 3 Wheatears, and a few Skylarks and Reed Buntings. (SR)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - The day's highlight was clearly the White Stork - first spotted by Margaret Collins - which spent some time around midday circling over the north of the reserve before soaring off to the north-west, then apparently dropping down towards the Earnley area before eventually being lost to view. It appeared unringed and fully-winged and seems a good candidate for a wild bird..... (CBC&MC/OM/AB et al)

Also, a Greenshank was near the poplars, at least seven Little Ringed Plovers were on the Stilt Pool and 50 Dunlin were amongst the Avocets. The Spoonbill was seen to flight into the middle of the reserve early on, but could not be re-located later.  Two Ravens flew over early afternoon, and up to 16 Buzzards were present (especially when the Stork was around!) whilst three or four Wheatears were on the rocks and beach.  (AB/OM/CBC/MC/IP/RM/Ga&RH et al)
Also noteworthy was an Adder sunning itself on the main track for some while (OM/AB et al)

White Stork (AB above) & Little Ringed Plover (GaH) at Medmerry

 Adder on the main track at Medmerry (OM)

Hunston: There were still 15 Cattle Egrets in the field east of the sub-station this morning. (BI)


Chi Marina: Two Marsh Harriers were hunting over the reedbed and pool early this morning and having a real tussle with the local Buzzards......could it be the harriers had been roosting there overnight? (OM)

Ivy lake: It was rather better for butterflies than for birds today with Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Small White, Red Admiral & Peacock all out in the sunshine. Birdwise there was little of note with just a few Chiffchaffs among the regular small birds along the paths and the Black-headed & Herring Gulls still feeding on the insect hatch over the water. A look at new lake produced a few Shoveler & Gadwall and plenty of nest-building Cormorants on the far side. (BI)

Ferry Pool: There were eight Avocets and three Snipe present this morning, along with six Gadwall, c25 Teal and c50 Shovelers, though the Wigeon seemed to have moved on and the only remaining Lapwing were three or four displaying pairs. (AH/JW)

Avocet (above) & Snipe at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: Up to eight Slavonian Grebes, a handful of Red-breasted Mergansers and a couple of Sandwich Terns were offshore this morning, whilst a Swallow flew in and up to four Wheatears were along the beach.

The only other migrants noted were a few Chiffchaffs, whilst the harbour was quiet beyond a few Black-tailed Godwits, Grey Plovers, Dunlin and Ringed Plovers, plus about 40 Brent Geese on the far side, though the Skylarks were busy along the spit, where there was also a Comma butterfly. (AH/IP/RM/CN/CRJ et al)

Wheatear (above), Chiffchaff, Skylark & Comma at Church Norton (AH)

Sidlesham: There were two Chiffchaffs singing in our garden, with two Buzzards calling and displaying overhead and a Brimstone and a Red Admiral cruising around. (A&YF)

Saturday, 23rd March: After a very murky still start to the morning, it brightened slowly with the light, but freshening, north-easterly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: It was a very interesting morning at the Bill - after a message from local fisherman Chris Wilson reporting him having seen lots of Chiffchaffs on the move overnight from his boat far out in the Channel. (See more below)

Among the highlights were two Garganey in a flock of 60 Common Scoters, the first Common Tern of the spring (and possibly for the country this year) and a Black-throated Diver all going east, whilst onshore a Swallow went over, a Black Redstart and half a dozen Wheatears were on the beach, a Firecrest was in the ornamental garden, at least 20 Chiffchaffs were spread about the bushes and the Water Rail was again in the Bill House garden. Full log below. 
(0700-1100hrs) (SH/PB/OM/AH/BI/IP/JA/MO-W et al)
Red-throated Diver - 1E
Black-throated Diver - 1E
Great Northern Diver - 6os
Great Crested Grebe - 1E
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 3E, 43W
Brent Goose - 21E, 2W
Common Scoter - 107E
Red-breasted Merganser - 4E, 8os
Mallard - 7  area
Garganey - 2E
Sparrowhawk - 1 area
Water Rail - 1 still Bill House garden
Common Tern - 1E
Sandwich Tern - 5E
Mediterranean Gull - 9E
Meadow Pipit - 27N
Pied Wagtail - 1N
Grey Wagtail - 1 gardens
Swallow - 1N
Black Redstart - 1 ob
Wheatear - 6 ob
Chiffchaff - 20+ gardens
Goldcrest - 1 Oval field
Firecrest - 1 Broadreeds ornamental garden
Reed Bunting - 1 Bill House garden

Wheatear (above), Chiffchaff, Meadow Pipit, Great Northern Divers & Gannets at the Bill (AH)
& Black Redstart (BI)

(1400-1500hrs) ( SH)
Great Northern Diver - 4os
Gannet - 12E, 1W
Common Scoter - 8os
Red-breasted Merganser - 5os
Meadow Pipit - 7N
Chiffchaff - 1N

The English Channel off Selsey: This morning's Chiffchaff fest was possibly over a hundred birds or more. When it was dark they were constant, but could have been the same birds flying around in the lights, as we where moving very slowly fishing.

As daylight broke it eased off, then a couple of hours later they started again and there was a slow steady stream of them past, one brave exhausted little chap did land & stayed aboard for about an hour.

A good day for seabirds too, despite the calm sea - the best for Gannets for months, with several dozen about, along with several Fulmars and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, two Great Skuas and a few Guillemots. (CW)

Gannet and Fulmar (above), Gannets & Chiffchaff at sea off Selsey (CW)

Park Farm, Selsey: A Wheatear was on the fields (S&SaH), whilst a Fieldfare was on a patch of open ground a the north of the village (IP).

Ferry Pool: There was a lone Knot on the concealed pool this morning, whilst there were six Avocets and at least ten Snipe on the main pool, along with a few Lapwing, four Gadwall, c20 Teal and c50 Shovelers. (AH)

Knot (above) & Gadwall on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were four Slavonian Grebes, two Great Crested Grebes and seven Red-breasted Mergansers offshore, whilst ten Common Scoter went east and a few Ringed Plovers were on the beach.
There were up to five Wheatears along the spit/beach, along with a few Skylarks and a Sparrowhawk, and a female-type Marsh Harrier attracted the attention of four Buzzards whilst on a prolonged hunt over the Severals.
The harbour didn't hold too much of note, though at least 20 Mediterranean Gulls were present, along with a Knot and a few Black-tailed Godwits, an apparently newly-fledged Grey Heron was among three adults on the creek by the horse field and there were also a handful of Chiffchaffs in the hedges. (AH/IP/S&SaH/P&JW et al)

Marsh Harrier (top pic - SH) (above), Slavonian Grebe & Grey Herons at Church Norton (AH)

East Head: The final WeBS count of the season produced a small number of Brent Geese (around 70 birds), a dozen Black-tailed Godwit, some coming into breeding plumage, and a single Greenshank. 
The only real surprise were seven Avocets at the far end of Snowhill Creek - the first time I personally have seen them here. (GM)

Avocet in Snowhill Creek (GM)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A Spoonbill was active in the Stilt Pool this morning between c.11.30am-12pm. There were also lots of Avocets plus Little Ringed Plover, Gadwall, Little Egret and Teal, plus Canada Geese and Mute Swans as well. 

The feeders by the hedge in the field en route to the pool had good numbers of Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings and House Sparrows, but I didn’t spot any Wheatears. (A Wells)

Later, a Common Sandpiper (possibly, given the early date, the formerly regular wintering bird not seen since late in the autumn) was seen, along with a Green Sandpiper, a Little Ringed Plover, a Stonechat and 49 Avocets. (S&SaH)