19th - 21st June 2020

Sunday, 21st June: A morning that started with drizzly rain and leaden skies and ended up with lots of warm sunshine, though the fresh south-westerly was a constant..........

Selsey Bill: Four Manx Shearwaters went through west, after the weather improved, whilst  19 Common Scoters went east and as many as 183 Swifts were coasting west overhead and over the sea. Full log later. (SH/BI/AH/SR/IP)

(0545-0930hrs) (SSW, F6)
Manx Shearwater - 4W
Fulmar - 4E, 1W
Gannet - 5E, 64W
Mallard - 1W
Common Scoter - 19E
Sandwich Tern - 75os
Common Tern - 9os
Little Tern - 6os
Razorbill - 3W
Swift - 183W
House Martin - 3

Swift (above), Common Tern, Sandwich Tern & Gannet at the Bill (AH)

(1645-1900hrs) (SW. F5-6) (SH/SR)
Manx Shearwater - 4E (2 at 1755 & 2 at 1815hrs)
Gannet - 16E, 3W, 7os
Sandwich Tern - 22e, 68W, 40os
Common Tern - 4E, 1W, 3os
auk sp - 1W

Ferry Pool: Back to normal this morning, with just four Black-tailed Godwits and 22 Shelducks on the pool, plus a Buzzard.. (AH) Later, two Cattle Egrets were in Ferry field (RAI)

Shelduck on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were still plenty of Little, Common and, especially, Sandwich Terns bringing in fish and feeding both in the harbour and offshore this morning.
Otherwise there were half a dozen Mediterranean Gulls present, but the only waders were a lone Knot and half a dozen or so Curlews, Ringed Plovers and Oystercatchers, whilst passerines of note included a juvenile Stonechat along the path to the beach, a couple of Whitethroats and Swallows along the front and a few Linnets and Skylarks on the spit. (AH)
Later there was a bit of a feeding frenzy around the metal work and in front of Tern island, with 50+ Sandwich Terns and maybe 100 Black-headed Gulls and 4 Mediterranean Gulls plus a few Little and Common Tern, plus a few Turnstone and Dunlin roosting on the spit and 5 maybe 6 Tufted ducklings keeping a low profile in the reeds. (S&SaH)
Two Ringed Plover chicks (tiny fluff balls) were following one of the adults on Tern island. (RAI)

Little Tern (above), Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Mediterranean Gull, Ringed Plover, Stonechat & Whitethroat at Church Norton (AH)

Black-headed Gulls and Sandwich Terns at Church Norton (SH)

North Wall: Most of the visible birds in the brisk breeze were skyward, such as an occasional Little Egret, Swift, Swallow, Skylark and Kestrel.  Chiffchaffs, a Blackcap, a Greenfinch and Green Woodpecker could be heard in Owl Copse while there was an abundance of Meadow Brown butterflies in the surrounding fields.  (IH)

Medmerry: Porthole Farm - What were presumably the same four Ravens seen over the Ferry yesterday were on the fields this evening, though fairly restless.
Also, c100 Swifts and House Martins, plus a few Swallows were overhead and three Mediterranean Gulls were among the Black-headed Gulls on the fields. (AH)

Ravens (above), Swift & Mediterranean Gull at Medmerry (AH)

Saturday, 20th June: The Summer Solstice started cloudy and grey with a few spots of rain early on in the moderate south-westerly breeze, clearing to give a sunny, bright and breezy day......

Selsey Bill: A Bonxie went west early on, but it was generally quiet, though there was a continuous flow of Sandwich Terns heading back to the harbour with fish. Full log later.
(SH/SR/BI/IP/MO-W/AH)
(0530-0830hrs) (SSW, F3-4)

Fulmar - 1E, 1W

Gannet - 16E, 7W

Common Scoter - 5E, 3W

Curlew - 1W

Bonxie - 1W

Sandwich Tern - 70+os

Common Tern - 6os

Little Tern - 2os

Razorbill - 1W

Swift - 5

House Martin - 9

House Martins at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: A white-ruffed male Ruff was on the pool early on, along with a Little Ringed Plover, five Black-tailed Godwits and a dozen Redshank, plus c20 Shelducks, whilst seven Cattle Egrets were in the adjacent fields before they were spooked by a Buzzard.. (AH/RP/SR et al)

Ruff (above) (AH top two, lower RP) & Cattle Egrets (first two SR, then AH) at the Ferry

This afternoon four Ravens circled over the Ferry together before drifting off north. (AW)

Raven over the Ferry (AW)

Long Pool: A pair of Little Grebes with a youngster were on the pool this morning, whilst in Ferry Channel there were a drake Shoveler and a few Redshanks, with a few more of the latter and one or two Curlews and Lapwings out in the harbour.
There were a few Linnets along the hedges, a Lesser Whitethroat popped out briefly and there were still a couple of Reed Warblers singing, but that was about it. (AH)

Shoveler (above), Little Grebe chick & Linnet along Long Pool (AH)

West Wittering: A flock of Crossbills were heard going over the garden this afternoon, the later a flock of eight (presumably the same birds) were seen at the top of a tree in a neighbouring garden before they flew off again.. (GM)

Park Farm, Selsey: There were several young Swallows and Pied Wagtails around this morning. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: The harbour held plenty of Little, Common and Sandwich Terns, with waders comprising 33 Turnstones, a Grey Plover, two Dunlin, half a dozen Ringed Plovers, two Curlews and a few Oystercatchers.
Also, the Sparrowhawk was still sat on its nest, six Buzzards were overhead, three young Stonechats, along with a Sedge warbler, three Reed Buntings and a few Reed Warblers were along the front and a mother Tufted Duck had six ducklings with her on the Second Several, the first time they have bred here in three years. (S&SaH/IP)

North Mundham:  A Hummingbird Hawkmoth was found this morning (MJ)

Pagham East side: An unseasonal drake Wigeon was in the channel, where it spent a good deal of time preening, but otherwise it was standard fare. Waders there consisted of 18 Oystercatchers, eight Redshank, six Curlew and two Lapwings, whilst two Common Terns were fishing in White's Creek and further along two Great Crested Grebes were present. (OM)
Later on, there were a few Purple Hairstreaks in the oaks along the path from Church Lane. (BI)

 Phone-scoped images of the Wigeon (with Black-headed Gulls) in the channel on the East side (OM) 

Purple Hairstreak & Large Skipper (BI)

Friday, 19th June: A fairly cool, very grey and blustery day, with a the odd squall of drizzle blown through on the fresh south-westerly......

Selsey Bill: What was presumably the same first-summer Red-throated Diver that was recently off West Wittering went west early on, and two Fulmars, a Little Tern and four Common Terns also went west. Full log below. (BI/AH/SR/IP)

(0600-0830hrs) (SW, F4-5)

Red-throated Diver - 1W

Fulmar - 2W

Gannet - 13E, 11W

Common Scoter - 11E, 1W

Oystercatcher - 2W

Sandwich Tern - 30os

Common Tern - 4W

Little Tern - 1W

auk sp - 1E

Swift - 6

Common seal - 1os

Fulmar (above), Gannet & Common Seal at the Bill (AH)

(1630-1730hrs) (SW, F6) (SH)
Manx Shearwater - 2E
Fulmar - 2W
Gannet - 2E, 2WMediterranean Gull - 1W, 1os
Sandwich Tern - 100+, inc 76 feeding
Little Tern - 2os
Razorbill - 1W

Ferry Pool: At high tide five Avocets (including a family of four) and three Black-tailed Godwits were on the pool, a long with a drake Teal and 18 Shelducks. (AH)

Avocet (above), Black-tailed Godwit & Teal on the Ferry (AH)

This afternoon a Marsh Harrier was over the field south of the pool (SH), whilst later a Common Sandpiper was in the channel opposite and four Cattle Egrets were among the cows in Ferry Field.(AW).

Common Sandpiper (above) & Cattle Egrets around the Ferry (AW)

Runcton, North Mundham, Hunston Golf Course and Fisher:  Birds seen on a look around the area this afternoon included two Common Buzzards, two sparring Cuckoos, two Song Thrushes, three Blackcaps, three Whitethroata and a Lesser Whitethroat. 

There were also lots of Meadow Browns and Red Admirals and a Comma. (CRJ)

North Wall: A Cormorant grappled with and finally overcame a large eel in Whites Creek and there were Cuckoos near the stables and towards Marsh Farm. 

The steady breeze ensured that little was on show along the Wall apart from a Greenfinch, a Reed Bunting and a few Reed Warblers while in Owl Copse Little Egrets, Cattle Egrets and Grey Herons were all visible. (IH)

Cormorant and Eel at the North Wall (IH)

Church Norton: There was lots of Little, Common and Sandwich Terns feeding both offshore and in the harbour this morning, whilst half a dozen Mediterranean Gulls were also present, two drake Teal flew down the harbour and waders included a dozen Turnstones, a Grey Plover, at least eight Ringed Plovers and two Dunlin, plus two Curlews in the harbour and three that flew west offshore.

A Chiffchaff and a Blackcap were singing near the Mound, the Swallows were around the hide and there were at least half a dozen Linnets and Skylarks along the spit. (AH)

Little Tern (above), Common Tern, Sandwich Terns, Turnstone, Grey Plover & Skylark at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There was no sign of the Green Sandpiper this morning but a  Cuckoo was calling near the poplars and a Little Ringed Plover was on the Stilt Pool and otherwise it was the standard fare of the regular farmland birds. (BI)