Tuesday 14 July 2020

14th - 16th July 2020

Thursday, 16th July: A very grey and muggy morning, with the north-westerly breeze freshening as the morning progressed........

Selsey Bill: A tight, swirling flock of c40 Swifts going over east was the highlight, with, otherwise, just the regular mix of species. (MO-W/AH/SR/IP)
(0645-0815hrs) (NW, F3-4)
Gannet - 12E, 8W
Mediterranean Gull - 6E, 8W
Sandwich Tern - c50os
Common Tern - 8W
Little Tern - 2E, 3W
Swift - 40E, 25 present
House Martin - 8


Swifts (above), Little Terns & Sandwich Tern at the Bill (AH)



(1645-1800hrs) (SH)
Gannet - 5E, 7W
Kittiwake - 2W
Sandwich Tern - 9W, 67os
Common Tern - 1W, 2os
Little Tern - 7os
Swift - 1
House Martin - 8

Ferry Pool: There was just a lone Common Sandpiper, plus two Teal, on the pool early on, whist a later look found it devoid of birds, though a Whimbrel and a few Redshank were in the channel opposite. (MO-W/AH)
Later on, two Black-tailed Godwits and an Avocet were on the pool. (BFF/DM)


Whimbrel in Ferry Channel (AH)

East Head: A very early juvenile Wheatear was on the rocks at Snowhill Creek today. (S Rushmer per PH)


juvenile Wheatear at East Head (S Rushmer)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - Three Greenshank and two Common Sandpipers were on the Stilt Pool this morning, along with two Lapwings, a well-grown juvenile Grey Heron, a Little Egret, the family of Mute swans and 20 Canada Geese. 
There were plenty of Skylarks and a few more Yellowhammers than of late along the banks, plus a Reed Bunting, a Greenfinch, a Kestrel and a few Linnets, whilst another Greenshank was by the poplars and four Shelducks flew over. (IP)

North Wall: A Little Ringed Plover and a Common Sandpiper were on the Breech Pool this morning, along with a few Teal, Lapwing and Black-tailed Godwits, whilst a Greenshank flew over north and c40 Curlews were in the newly mowed fields behind.
Two more Common Sandpipers were in the harbour, along with several Whimbrels, and c80 Black-tailed Godwits were in White's Creek, whilst a Cattle Egret and 11 Little Egrets were in/around Owl Copse..
Around 40 Swifts and half a dozen Swallows went over, along with a Peregrine whilst a Meadow Pipit was displaying near Owl Point, three Green Woodpeckers were seen and a few Whitethroats, Reed Warblers and Long-tailed Tits were along the wall. (AH/IH/BFF/DM)


Cattle Egret (above), Greenshank, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Curlews & Little Egrets at the North Wall (AH)







Church Norton: A single un-ringed Roseate Tern showed well for several observers on the mud in front of Tern Island today, whilst also noted were a Whimbrel and a pair of Ringed Plover with two youngsters. (BFF/DM)
Also, a ringed Roseate Tern was present from 1500-1545hrs before it flew out to sea, suggesting that two birds were still around today. (IL)

Roseate Tern at Church Norton (DM)






There was no further sign this afternoon/evening of the Roseate Tern, with numbers diminished overall, though there were still at least half a dozen Little Terns in the harbour and a constant stream of Sandwich Terns bringing in fish.
Dunlin numbers had increased considerably, with c120 on the mud, and also seen were a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper and several Whimbrels.
Unfortunately, a very selfish group of visitors settled on the concrete slabs in the fenced off area, pushing the pair of Ringed Plovers and their tiny chicks out onto the open mud, where the gulls were taking an interest. Let's hope they manage to survive! (AH/HB et al)


Sandwich Tern (above), Dunlin, Ringed Plover family & unwelcome visitors at Church Norton (AH)








Wednesday, 15th July: A fairly pleasant morning, quite mild, though mostly overcast with just a light north-westerly breeze....

Selsey Bill: There was a steady westward movement of c85 Sandwich Terns this morning, possibly indicating some migration, but otherwise it was the usual mix. Full log below. (AH/MO-W/IP)
(0645-0800hrs) (NW, F3)
Gannet - 15E, 8W, 5os
Common Scoter - 1E, 2W
Mediterranean Gull - 30W, 8os
Sandwich Tern - 20E, 85W, 30os
Common Tern - 4W
Little Tern - 3W
Swift - 16
Sand Martin - 2W
House Martin - 5

Common Scoter (above), Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Mediterranean Gull & Gannet at the Bill (AH)





Highlight this evening was a Balearic Shearwater west, quite close in. (SH)
(1645-1815hrs) 
Balearic Shearwater - 1W (1735hrs)
Gannet - 23E, 7W, 3os
Black-headed Gull - 132W
Mediterranean Gull - 22W
Sandwich Tern - 34W, 36os
Common Tern - 11W, 2os
Little Tern - 1os

North Selsey: Two Yellow Wagtails went over west early this morning. (SH)

Ferry Pool: There were three Common Sandpipers together early on, along with five Teal, but later there were no birds at all on the pool, though a Common Sandpiper and three Black-tailed Godwits, plus a few Redshank and a Curlew, were in the channel opposite. (AH/MO-W)


Common Sandpipers on the Ferry (AH)


North Wall: A Common Sandpiper was in the Breech Pool this morning together with a Spotted Redshank (which flew south into the harbour), about 100 Black-tailed Godwits and four Common Terns.  
Another Common Sandpiper was in White's Creek and out on the mud were two Whimbrels and a Greenshank, while about 20 Sand Martins flew over.  (IH)

Church Norton: A Roseate Tern showed well early on for a gathering crowd of watchers, before disappearing, possibly out to sea, and had not been re-found by late morning.
Otherwise there were still at least 40 Little Terns present - many sat out together on the mud whilst others were catching fish and returning to New Island - along with 30+ Common and 100+ Sandwich Terns and at least 50 Mediterranean Gulls.
Two Greenshank were seen early on, too, and there were also at least three Whimbrel, the Common Sandpiper, c20 Dunlin and c40 Turnstones in the harbour. (PB/AH/IP/MO-W et al)
The Roseate Tern went missing for much of the day, but popped at lunchtime (NB) and again this evening (SP) on its favoured area of mud.
Also a juvenile Oystercatcher and four newly fledged Little Terns were seen this afternoon, whilst an adult Kittiwake was among the gulls and terns in the harbour this evening. (AB)


Roseate Tern (above), Little Terns & Sandwich Tern at Church Norton (AH)




Medmerry: Easton Lane to Marsh Barn - A quick look this evening produced a Greenshank and eight Redshanks by the poplars, c20 Swifts and similar of Swallows over the new reservoirs, half a dozen Yellowhammers along the banks and a very fine dog Fox by the first viewpoint. (AH)


Greenshank and Redshank (above), Yellowhammer and Fox at Medmerry (AH)









Tuesday, 14th July: A mostly grey morning, after light overnight rain, but warm and muggy in the light westerly breeze....

Selsey Bill: There were a few more birds than yesterday, but only of the regular species. (AH/MO-W/IP/SR)
(0640-0810hrs) (W, F3)
Gannet - 6E, 30W, 10os
Common Scoter - 8E
Mediterranean Gull - 12W, 4E, 5os
Sandwich Tern - 40os, including several juveniles
Swift - 8
House Martin - 6


Gannet (above), Common Scoters & Sandwich Terns at the Bill (AH)



Ferry Pool: Early on there was just a Common Sandpiper on the pool, whilst later it was joined by three Little Ringed Plovers, one of which was probably a juvenile. (AH)


Common Sandpiper (above) & Little Ringed Plover on the Ferry (AH)


Long Pool: a couple of Reed Buntings, a Whitethroat and a handful of singing Reed Warblers was about it this morning, with Ferry Channel just holding a few Black-tailed Godwits, Curlews and Teal among c80 Redshank. (AH)


Reed Bunting along the Long Pool (AH)

North Wall: One Yellow-legged Gull and three Whimbrel were out on the mud at White's Creek this morning, together with about 80 Black-tailed Godwits and 20 Common Redshank.  Thee Common Terns (apparently five earlier), one Little Tern and 20 Sand Martins were feeding at the Breech Pool where there was also one Spotted Redshank and the flash of a Kingfisher. 
The reeds were noisy with Reed and Sedge Warblers, a Reed Bunting was visible while apparently earlier at least 100 Curlew occupied one of the newly hayed fields near Owl Copse.  Finally,  towards Bremere Bridge there was a family of Skylarks. (IH/JDW)

Church Norton: Two Roseate Terns were on the mud early on, whilst at least one performed well for much of the morning among the 30+ Common Terns, 150+ Sandwich Terns and c40 Mediterranean Gulls sat out in the harbour. 
Also, at least 60 Little Terns were still present, including 56 sitting on the sand-bank near the harbour mouth, whilst a Common Sandpiper, c40 Dunlin and a few Turnstones, Ringed Plovers and Curlews were also about. (ARK/AH/IP/SR/OM/P&JW et al)
This afternoon three Roseate Terns were seen again, along with the Common Sandpiper and a Peregrine, whilst a party of Avocets flew past west, offshore from the Severals. (GJ)
Also this afternoon, a pair of Oystercatchers with a young chick were in the harbour. (SR)
Despite the disturbance caused by a canoeist there were still two Roseate Terns out on the mud in front of Tern Island late this evening. (TH)




Roseate Tern with Sandwich Terns (above), Little Terns, Common Tern & Common Sandpiper at Church Norton (AH)





Chi GPs - Drayton Pits: All very quiet on the pits..... I could find no sign of any Marsh Harriers today on any of the pits, which is unusual. Whether or not I was just unlucky this morning I'm not sure, but it's quite possible the harrier family have now moved on....time will tell.
There were no new broods of Pochard - or indeed any other wildfowl - although non-breeders and at least 24 Gadwall were present, plus breeding Little and Great Crested Grebes. A dozen Swifts were high over the pits and two Common Terns were fishing. (OM)

Medmerry: Ham Farm - The first returning Wninchat - and quite an early one - was along the banks this evening, along with what would appear to be the second brood of young Stonechats from the third pair that bred there earlier on.
Otherwise, just one Corn Bunting (though it was carrying food), a Reed Bunting, three or four Yellowhammers, a family of Whitethroats and plenty of Skylarks were about, whilst c50 Sandwich Terns were roosting at the Breach, a dozen Mediterranean Gulls and c20 Swallows went over and a pair of Brown Hares were on the edge of the tidal area. (AH)

Whinchat (above), Stonechats, Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, Skylark & Brown Hare at Medmerry (AH)










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