Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 16th

Wednesday, 18th September: A bright but cool morning, with a fresh north-easterly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: There was very little migration overhead, despite the promising wind direction,but a big group of Swallows and House Martins were feeding high up and the odd Meadow Pipit went over. Full log below. (C&ME/AH)
(0645-0945hrs)
Gannet - 14E, 62W
Shag - 4E
Wigeon - 15W
Turnstone - 8 ob
Sandwich Tern - 6E, 2W
Mediterranean Gull - 10E,
House Martin - 360E
Swallow - 195E
Meadow Pipit - 110W
Pied Wagtail - 2N
Chiffchaff - 2 gardens
Goldcrest - 2 gardens

Ferry Pool: The pool remains largely empty of birds, though the Avocet was still present, along with c40 Black-tailed Godwits and c20 Teal. The channel opposite still held a Whimbrel, plus c100 Teal. (AH)

Whimbrel (above) & Avocet around the Ferry (AH)

North Wall and Halsey's Farm: The bird of the day was undoubtedly the Lapland Bunting, found by visiting birder Ian McKercher, feeding along the upper path of the wall before it flew into the harbour. Fortunately, it reappeared on the lower path, allowing good views before it again flew into the harbour. This is the first record for the Peninsula since two were at Selsey Bill in December 2010.

Otherwise there were up to 100 Yellow Wagtails with the cattle, and three Reed Warblers and a few Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats and a dozen or more Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were along the hedges.

Halsey's Farm was quiet, save a couple of Chiffchaffs, though a Raven and four Sand Martins went over. (I McKercher/AH/BI/NBd)
The Lapland Bunting was seen again on the lower path again at 5.20pm, but once again it flew off into the harbour. (S&SaH)

Lapland Bunting (top two I McKercher, others AH), Yellow Wagtails, Lesser Whitethroat & Chiffchaff (AH) at the North Wall

Pagham Lagoon/ East side: An adult Arctic Skua flew through the harbour going east, a Common Sandpiper was on the lagoon, two Greenshanks and a yellow-flagged Curlew (possibly ringed in Poland) were in the harbour. (I McKercher)

Medmerry: Breach area - A Spoonbill was in the tidal area this morning, but there was little else about save c50 Linnets. (A&YF)

Church Norton: There was no sign of the Wryneck this morning, though a Stonechat, a Reed Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat and a handful of Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Whitethroats were seen on a generally quiet morning.
A few Swallows and sand Martins were going over, but the only waders of note in the harbour were four Bar-tailed Godwits. Also, a Small Copper, a Comma and a Speckled Wood were among the butterflies seen. (AH/A&YF/MR et al)

Stonechat (MR) (above), Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff & Small Copper (AH) at Church Norton

Tuesday, 17th September: A brighter, fresher morning, warm in the sun despite the brisk northerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: There wasn't much on the move, though seven juvenile Shags went east, but there were eight Yellow Wagtails and 50+ Meadow Pipits feeding on the Oval Field, before they departed west. Full log below......
(0645-0930hrs) (C&ME/AH/IP)
Gannet - 11E, 41W
Shag - 7E
auk sp - 2W
Sandwich Tern - 9E, 2W
Mediterranean Gull - 4E, 3W
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1 area
Swallow - 102W
House Martin - 179E
Meadow Pipit - 137W
Pied Wagtail - 2N
Yellow Wagtail - 8W
Grey Wagtail - 2W
Chiffchaff - 4 gardens
Goldcrest - 1 gardens
Linnet - 5W

Yellow Wagtails (above) & Meadow Pipit at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: The pool was again quiet, with just an Avocet of note, though there were still c40 Black-tailed Godwits, c100 Lapwing, two Shelducks and c30 Teal present, whilst a Kingfisher and a Whimbrel were again in the channel opposite. (AH/IP)

Avocet and Shelduck on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: The Wryneck continued to show well at times between the Severals this morning, with a Redstart and one or two Whitethroats nearby and at least three Wheatears along the spit.

There was a Firecrest, another Redstart and at least three Spotted Flycatchers in the churchyard/hide area, along with a dozen Blackcaps and 20+ Willow/Chiffs, a few of which were likely Willow Warblers. There were also large numbers of Swallows and House Martins feeding high over the reserve. (AH/IP/AM/KJ et al)
The Wryneck was still showing well late this afterrnoon. (CN/HB)

Wryneck (above), Spotted Flycatcher, Whitethroat & Blackcap at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: East side - There were four Whinchats together, and a Lesser Whitethroat near the solar farm, with another Whinchat and four Wheatears along the banks towards Chainbridge Field, whilst an Osprey went high over the Breach area.

Final totals for the east side of the reserve included seven Whinchats, 20+ Stonechats, six Wheatears and 16 Corn Buntings. (HB)

Medmerry: West side - An Osprey was near the poplars this afternoon (HB) and a Black Swan had joined the Bar-headed Geese and other wildfowl of dubious origin on the Stilt Pool. (AT)

Black Swan at Medmerry (AT)

Runcton: At the southern end of Runcton Manor this afternoon there were two Spotted Flycatchers, a Redstart and a Willow Warbler, (CRJ)

North Wall and Halsey's Farm: Early on, there were singles of Spotted Redshank, Greenshank and Whimbrel in White's Creek, plus a Kingfisher, a couple of Pintail and 15 Wigeon. The Breech Pool was as usual devoid of waders with just a few Mallard present, though a couple of Cetti's Warblers were calling occasionally. Along the hedgerows were 15 Chiffchaffs, half a dozen Whitethroats and a couple of Blackcaps, but in the Honer fields adjacent, there was a nice flock of 150+ Yellow Wagtails around the feeding cattle.
The Owl Point area produced two Whimbrel but little else other than a couple of Whitethroats, so I soon moved on to Halsey's Farm, where there were pockets of activity. Three Redstarts - including a fine male - were present in one small area, together with a few Blackcaps and Whitethroats, and about 10 of the latter two species were logged in the general area, plus six Chiffchaffs.
Later, two Peregrines were sat out on the mud in the centre of the harbour, viewable from the Wall. (OM)

Yellow Wagtail at the North Wall and Redstart at Halsey's Farm (OM)

This evening there were still three Redstarts around the hedges at Halsey's Farm, along with two Whinchats, a Whitethroat, two Chiffchaffs and c50 Meadow Pipits, with 100+ Swallows and House Martrins overhead. (AH)

Redstart (above) & Whinchat at Halsey's Farm (AH)

East Head: A Kingfisher was at Snowhill Creek, with seven Meadow Pipits and our usual male Kestrel at nearby Cakeham. (MR)

Meadow Pipit (above), Kingfisher & Kestrel around East Head (MR)

Monday, 16th September: A grey and largely overcast morning, though still mild in the light westerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: It was mostly quiet, save a huge pulse of c700 Swallows and then later a pulse of c300 House Martins, going west. Otherwise there were a couple of Wheatears along the beach and 11 Yellow Wagtails over. Full log below.....
(0645-1045hrs): (C&ME/AH/IP/OM)

Gannet - 8E, 37W

Shag - 3E

Turnstone - 14p

Mediterranean Gull - 17E, 10W

Sandwich Tern - 14E, 7W

Common Tern - 3W

Swallow - 1110W

House Martin - 312W

Meadow Pipit - 38W

Yellow Wagtail - 11W

Pied Wagtail - 16W

Wheatear - 2 ob

Blackcap - 1p

Chiffchaff - 8p

Goldcrest - 2p

House Martin at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were just a Common Sandpiper and three Dunlin present, along with c50 Black-tailed Godwits and c40 Lapwings, with a Kingfisher and a Whimbrel in the channel opposite. (AH/IP)
This evening an Avocet was on the pool, with a Shelduck and three Teal - the only other birds present. (AH)

Common Sandpiper on the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: There were three Ospreys viewable from here over the harbour at the same time, at around 11am, with two circling high up and another drifting in from the east before eventually going off west over the Ferry.

The bushes were quiet, though, with just a Sedge Warbler, a couple of Whitethroats and a handful of Blackcaps seen, whilst Ferry Channel held at least 200 Teal, c75 Redshank and c40 Dunlin, all put up by the Osprey. (AH)

Osprey (above) & Blackcaps along the Long Pool (AH)

Medmerry: Breach Area - An Osprey went over at 10.30am. (SH)

Church Norton: The Wryneck was showing intermittently, though occasionally very well, this morning, either side of the path between the Severals.

Also, the Ospreys together were seen, though the harbour was quiet, as were the bushes beyond a few Blackcaps, Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs, with a small but steady flow of Swallows and House Martins overhead. (A&YF/TR/PC/AH/IP et al)

Wryneck (top two AF, others AH) & Blackcap (AH) at Church Norton

Chi GPs: Ivy Lake complex - There was little to grab the attention this morning, although the (presumed) family party of seven Egyptian Geese was present, plus at least 40 Great Crested Grebes. A number of small flocks of Swallows and House Martins - and at least six Sand Martins - passed through, whilst along the hedgerows and trees at least 15 Chiffchaffs were logged, but little else except a largish party of Long-tailed Tits.

New Lake held a small flock of seven Shovelers amongst other common wildfowl, whilst a Treecreeper and a couple of Chiffchaffs were the only other birds of note. (OM)