Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 17th

Sunday, 19th May: A fair;y mild day, with just a light breeze going round from north-east to south-west and a mix of hazy sun and heavy cloud, with the odd spot of light drizzle....

Selsey Bill: A fairly quiet morning, but with a mix of birds, including a dozen Eider, a few waders and a Yellow Wagtail and a couple of Wheatears. Full log below. (SH/PB/AH/BI/IP)
(0530-0930hrs)
Great Northern Diver - 1W, 1os
Fulmar - 2E, 4W
Gannet - 32E, 14W
Shelduck - 6p
Common Scoter - 2E, 3os
Eider - 9E, 2W, 1os
Kestrel - 1N
Grey Plover - 9W
Sanderling - 5E, 3W, 1p
Bar-tailed Godwit - 2E
Whimbrel - 1E
Sandwich Tern - 27E
Little Tern - 4os
Common Tern - 1E, 2os
auk sp - 1W
Yellow Wagtail - 1N
Swallow - 9N, 3p
House Martin - 13p
Wheatear - 2p
Whitethroat - 1p
Chiffchaff - 1p

Wheatear (above), Eider, Sanderling, Little Tern & House Martins at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were c40 Black-tailed Godwits present on the high tide, along with eight Avocets, a Little Ringed Plover, four Redshank and the two familes of Shelducks, plus the Reed Warblers at the front, whilst a Whimbrel, the pair of Wigeon and four Gadwall were in the channel opposite early on. (AH)

Reed Warbler (above), Wigeon & Black-tailed Godwit around the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Marsh Barn - Two Cuckoos were in the area, along with the two adults and two young Stonechats, whilst along the banks and pools there were 10+ Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers and Reed Warblers, along with at least 20 Whitethroats. Also, Hobby, a Kestrel and a Buzzard all went over, along with half a dozen Swallows. (S&SaH)
Later on,the WeBS high-tide count produced two Greenshank, two Bar-tailed Godwits, six Little Ringed Plovers and at least ten Ringed Plovers, including one with three chicks on the reserve opposite the Stilt Pool.
Also a pair of Peregrines were about, one of which was seen to take a Feral Pigeon, and there were still two Cuckoos and lots of Reed Warblers present. (HB)

Stonechat at Medmerry (SH)

Park Farm, Selsey: A Lesser Whitethroat was in the lane again, with a pair of Whitethroats and a pair of Skylarks in the fields, whilst there were a dozen or more Swallows and House Martins around/over the buildings. (AH/IP/RM)

Swallow at Park Farm, Selsey (AH)

Nearby, in our North Selsey garden, another Cream-spot Tiger was in the moth trap. (SH)

Cream-spot Tiger in a Selsey garden (SH)

Church Norton: Nine Knot and ten Bar-tailed Godwits, plus one or two Ringed Plovers were in the harbour and around ten Grey Plovers, ten Knot, a Turnstone and five Dunlin were flying about offshore. Plenty of Little, Common and Sandwich Terns were in the harbour and offshore, where there were also a couple of Gannets.

Passerine interest was really restricted to the regular Whitethroats, Reed and Sedge Warblers, plus the usual Reed Buntings and Linnets. (AH/IP/RM)

Knot and Bar-tailed Godwits (above), Knot, Dunlin and Grey Plovers, Sandwich Tern, Gannet & Whitethroat at Church Norton (AH)

Saturday, 18th May: After a very gloomy and dank start, a fine and sunny day, with just a light and variable breeze....

Selsey Bill: The highlight for those that saw it was a Storm-petrel offshore that went east quite close in, just after 1000hrs, even pausing to patter over the water as it went. Otherwise, there were two Pomarine Skuas east at 0730, and three Arctic Skuas and three Manx Shearwaters, also east. Full log below.....
0515-1730hrs: (JA/SH/PB/JF/IP/IF/BI/CRJ/OM et al)
Great Northern Diver - 3os
Great Crested Grebe - 2E
Manx Shearwater - 3E
Fulmar - 1E, 2W
Storm Petrel - 1os then east
Gannet - 93E, 20W
Eider - 1os
Common Scoter - 23E
Grey Plover - 2E
Turnstone - 1E
Sanderling - 8E
Little Tern - 3E, 3os
Common Term - 131E, 4os
Sandwich Tern - 90E, 22os
Arctic Skua - 4E (3 l/p, 1d/p)
Pomarine Skua - 2E (0730hrs)
Kittiwake - 8E
Razorbill - 1E
Guillemot - 1E
auk sp - 1E
Swallow - 30N, 16 p
Yellow Wagtail - 1N
Whitethroat - 2p
Reed Warbler - 1 gardens

Rumour has it that Jack (above) has seen a good deal more Poms than some of our local birders this spring - including our esteemed log-keeper JA - and even has the nerve to use his equipment! (OM)

Medmerry: Easton Lane area - A probable ringtail Montagu's Harrier went over the poplars area at 2pm this afternoon, but continued on northwards. (HB)

There was no sign later on, though eight Buzzards were enjoying the sunshine and there was also a Cuckoo and one or two Reed Warblers about. (SH/BI)

Ferry Pool: A Common Sandpiper was on the pool early on, along with eight Avocets, five Redshank and two Little Ringed Plovers, whilst a Marsh Harrier went over mid-morning. There appeared to be seven young Shelducks, divided between two sets of parents, whilst there were also three or four Gadwall and a Stock Dove about and at least half a dozen Lapwing on the arable fields.
Two pairs of Reed Warblers were in the road-side reed-beds, whilst a Chiffchaff, a Lesser Whitethroat and a couple of Blackcaps were singing nearby and a pair of Swifts were overhead. (AH)

Little Ringed Plover (above), Avocets, Reed Warbler, Shelducks & Stock Dove at the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: The usual Reed and Sedge Warblers, plus a Cetti's Warbler and a Blackcap were singing along the pool and three House Martins were overhead, whilst in Ferry Channel there were a Common Sandpiper, a pair of Wigeon and a group of 16 Gadwall that dropped in. (AH)

Common Sandpiper (above) & Wigeon in Ferry Channel (AH)

Church Norton: A Cuckoo was calling continuously and showing well at the back of the Severals, with the usual Whitethroats, Sedge Warblers, Reed Buntings and Linnets also present and a Buzzard was over the wood. Also, the pair of Swallows were sitting outside the hide together, so hopefully they will move in again directly.
A dozen or so Bar-tailed Godwits were roosting on Tern Island, but the tide was too high for any other waders, though there were 20+ Little Terns around the Peregrine's island and 50+ Sandwich and a few Common Terns, plus a few Mediterranean Gulls around Tern Island. (AH) Later, a Wheatear was also present on the beach. (SH)

Cuckoo (above), Swallow, Reed Bunting, Bar-tailed Godwits & Sandwich Terns at Church Norton (AH)

Chi GPs - Drayton pits: A Marsh Harrier was present this morning, whilst a count at the three pits in the area produced a total of 38 Pochard. Several Common Terns were fishing over the lakes and several pairs each of Greylag and Canada Goose now have young. Bizarrely, there was another large daytime gull roost on the North pit, where 280 Herring and 12+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls were present. (OM)

Drayton North pit, showing just part of the large gathering of gulls this afternoon. (OM)

Chi GPs - Ivy Lake: A Common Tern was present this afternoon but there was no sign of the Little Gull in a quick look. Surprisingly, an angler had sent up camp right in the middle of the reedbeds on the far side. (BI)

East Head: There were at least three Black Terns present in the feeding flock of Common and Sandwich Terns offshore this morning, and possibly one or two more. On the beach were two Sanderlings and a Pied Wagtail and two Eider, a female and a young male, were along the surfline. (BI)

Friday, 17th May: A marked change from the last few days; a decidedly cold and grey morning, with the fresh breeze from the north.....and drizzly rain by early afternoon.

Selsey Bill: There were no more Pomarine Skuas this morning, but an Arctic Skua, seven Black Terns and 100 or so 'Commic' Terns went east, along with six Manx Shearwaters, with another ten of the latter west. Also, a Hobby arrived from the sea and a Spotted Flycatcher was in Grafton Road, whilst the pod of Bottle-nosed Dolphins were offshore again. Full log below......
0500-1530hrs: (PB/JA/JF/OM/C&ME/AH/BI/CRJ et al)
Red-throated Diver - 1E
Great Northern Diver - 1os
Fulmar - 2E, 1W
Manx Shearwater - 6E, 11W
Gannet - 272E, 42W
Eider - 1os
Common Scoter - 44E, 10W, 2os
Hobby - 1N
Whimbrel - 3E
Grey Plover - 15E
Sanderling - 19E
Arctic Skua - 1E (l/p)
Kittiwake - 6E
Little Tern - 4E
Black Tern - 7E
Common Tern - 54E
Arctic Tern - 2E
'Commic' Tern - 94E
Sandwich Tern - 79E
Guillemot - 2E
auk sp - 8E, 2W
Swift - 32N
Swallow - 21N
House Martin - 3N
Whitethroat - 2 gardens (pair nest-building)
Spotted Flycatcher - 1 in Grafton Road, soon moved on.

Gannets at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: Eight Avocets and two Little Ringed Plovers were on the pool, along with four Redshanks, three Lapwings, 60 Black-tailed Godwits, four Gadwall and a dozen Shelducks, plus the family group. (AH)

Shelduck and Lapwings at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: A Black Tern was roosting among the many Sandwich, Little and Common Terns at high tide late this morning. (IL)

Earlier there were seven Knot, four Grey Plovers and 12 Bar-tailed Godwits out on the mud, but the hedges were quiet. (AH)

Grey Plover at Church Norton (AH)

West Itchenor: Three Black Terns were out in the harbour near Stakes Island between 12.30 and 1.30pm, before flying off south-east. (PH)

Fishbourne Creek: A Spotted Flycatcher in the avenue of trees between Fishbourne Church and Dell Quay was the only bird of note, along with a Greenshank and four Brent Geese out in the creek. (AW)

Spotted Flycatcher at Fishbourne Creek (AW)

Medmerry: Breach area - There were a few birds around the last patches of rough ground, including a Corn Bunting, a Meadow Pipit carrying food, several Skylarks and Whitethroats and a few Linnets, with a couple of Reed Warblers in the reeds and a few Swallows over.

However, there were no waders or wildfowl on the tidal pools beyond a handful of Oystercatchers and Shelduck. (AH)

Corn Bunting (above) & Meadow Pipit at Medmerry (AH)

One of the Sanderlings at nearby West Sands on Tuesday was colour-ringed in Griend, Netherlands in July 2017, and this is the first sighting since. (AW)

Color-ringed Sanderling at Medmerry (AW)

Medmerry: Chainbridge to Ham - The ditches and hedges around Chainbridge field held a male Stonechat, at least three Reed Buntings and and several Reed Warblers, Whitethroats, Linnets and Skylarks, with more of the latter along the banks towards Ham.

A Cuckoo was very active around the trees by the farm and a Peregrine was out on the derelict building on the reserve, but the only couple of Corn Buntings seen were on the Breach side of the barley field.

There were also a singing Chiffchaff and Blackcap, plus several Swallows, Reed Warblers and Whitethroats about, along with lots of Skylarks. (AH)