23rd - 25th July 2020

Saturday, 25th July: A very grey and murky morning, with drizzly rain early and late, blown through by a blustery south-westerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: Three Sanderlings, 14 Turnstones and a flock of 20 Sand Martins west were the highlights of a quiet morning. (SH/BI/AH/IP)
(0600-0830hrs) (SW, F5)
Gannet - 11e, 24W
Common Scoter - 1E, 4W
Curlew - 1W
Turnstone - 14W
Sanderling - 3W
Sandwich Tern - 30os
Common Tern -3W, 2os
Swallow - 1W
Sand Martin 20W

Common Tern (above) & Sanderlings at the BIll (AH)

(1400-1500hrs) (SH)
Gannet - 5E, 1W
Sanderling - 2E
Turnstone - 1E
Sandwich Tern - 9os
Common Tern - 1os
Little Tern - 3os
Swift - 14W

(1805-1905hrs) (JA)
Manx Shearwater - 1W (1838hrs)
Gannet - 20E, 7W
Sandwich Tern - 4E, 15w
Little tern - 1W

Ferry Pool: There were 15 Black-tailed Godwits on the pool early on, before they decamped into the channel opposite, where there was also a Greenshank, a Whimbrel and a few Redshanks. 
Also, ten Shelducks (all, bar one, juveniles) dropped in on the channel early on and were later out in the harbour, along with a dozen Lapwings, whilst a Sparrowhawk, a Sand Martin and a handful of Swallows went over. (AH/IL) 

Shelducks (above) & Black-tailed Godwits in Ferry Channel (AH)

Church Norton: There were still a few Little Terns around the harbour, along with two Common Terns and c50 Sandwich Terns, whilst waders included a Common Sandpiper, three Whimbrel, half a dozen Ringed Plovers and c30 Dunlin on the mud and three Turnstones on the beach, and there were also three Gannets heading wes toffshore..
Up to ten Swallows were feeding in the harbour, whilst three juvenile Reed Buntings were by the horse field and two Whitethroats, a Pied Wagtail and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers were around Greenlease Farm. (AH/S&SaH)

Little Tern (above), Common Tern, Sandwich Terns, Swallow, Whimbrel & Oystercatchers at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Marsh Barn - At high tide this evening there were two Common Sandpipers, two Greenshank, a Whimbrel, c30 Black-tailed Godwits, c20 Dunlin and c50 Redshank, plus a dozen Mediterranean Gulls, around the poplars area.

There were also at least 200 Linnets, 100 Goldfinches and just the odd Yellowhammer and Skylark in the vicinity. (AH)

Common Sandpiper (above), Black-tailed Godwits and Dunlin & Linnets at Medmerry (AH)

Friday, 24th July: A warm and fairly muggy morning, mostly overcast, with a moderate north-westerly breeze.....

Firstly a colour ringing report from Richard Fairbank,of Mediterranean Gull Yellow 2N22, seen in Pagham Harbour on 16th July - and it turns out to be one of our own chicks, ringed on 24th June last year.

A request, particularly in view of yesterday's dolphin sighting, would you be happy to use the blog to draw everyone's attention to the fact that the coming week, 25 July - 3 August is National Whale and Dolphin Watch? This the link to the Sea Watch Foundation site setting out the details of NWDW, https://www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/ including an online sightings form: https://www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/sightingsform/


There is also scope to set up more systematic recording of cetaceans at the Bill which I shall explore more fully in the near future. (CN)  (Eds)

Selsey Bill: A Bonxie offshore and then west was the clear highlight of a slow morning. Full log below. (BI/AH/SR/IP)
(0605-0800hrs) (WNW, F3-4)
Gannet - 14E, 16W
Common Scoter - 10W
Oystercatcher - 1E, 3W
Turnstone - 1W
Bonxie - 1W
Mediterranean Gull - 3E, 6W
Sandwich Tern - 15E, 29W
Common Tern - 2W
Little Tern - 1E
auk sp - 1W
Sand Martin - 1W
House Martin - 2

Common Scoters (above), Gannet & Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There was little to report this morning, despite the infusion of fresh water, with just five Black-tailed Godwits on the pool, whilst the channel opposite held another 20, plus a Greenshank and a few Redshank. (AH)

Greenshank (above), Black-tailed Godwit & juvenile Redshank around the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: There was not a single wader on the Breech Pool early on this morning - although it was low tide and most waders were out in the harbour. A juvenile Cattle Egret was with a couple of Little Egrets on the roost 'island' near Owl copse, with at least another two juveniles amongst the eight birds seen flying out of Owl copse. 
A Kingfisher flew east over the Breech Pool, whilst plenty of Reed Warbler activity was also noted from family parties in the reed-beds, with a Skylark, a Meadow Pipit and a Green Woodpecker seen at Halsey's Farm and c20 Swallows over. (OM/IH/AH/BI et al)

Cattle Egret (above), Skylark and Meadow Pipit & Green Woodpecker around the North Wall (AH)

East side: The highlight of the morning was a Hobby which flew SW almost over the heads of the observers, before continuing on into the harbour.
Along White's Creek were a Common Sandpiper and the 'short-billed' (deformed) Greenshank, with at least two more of the latter out in the harbour channels. A Spotted Redshank was also present there, though it kept its distance, along with up to five Whimbrel.  
Good numbers of Dunlin were also present, with a minimum of 300 birds on the viewable mudflats - though despite some scrutiny nothing unusual could be located with them - whilst a flock of 20 Black-tailed Godwits in White's Creek included the colour-ringed bird reported on 18th July.  (OM/IH/SP/AH/BI)

Spotted Redshank and Black-headed Gull (above),  Whimbrel (OM), Hobby & Greenshank (AH) from the East side

Thursday, 23rd July: A pleasant morning of sunshine and white cloud, with a south-westerly breeze picking up as the day progressed.....

Selsey Bill: A Grey Heron went west, with it, or another back east much further out, a flock of 23 Common Scoter went west and a few Little and Sandwich Terns were offshore, whilst at least three Bottle-nosed Dolphins went west at a leisurely pace. Full log below. (MO-W/AH/SR)

(0630-0800hrs) (SW, F2-3)

Gannet - 8E, 3W

Grey Heron - 1E, 1W

Common Scoter - 23W

Oystercatcher - 1E, 2W

Curlew - 1W

Mediterranean Gull - 6E, 7W, 10os

Sandwich Tern - c30os

Little Tern - 7os

Swift - 20

House Martin - 12

Bottle-nosed Dolphin (SR) (above), Mediterranean Gull & Grey Heron (AH) at the Bill

(1645-1745hrs) (SH)
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 6E
Kittiwake - 1W
Sandwich Tern - 27os
Common Tern - 2os
Little Tern - 7W, 5os

Ferry Pool: The most interesting news from the Ferry is that the RSPB have now installed a pump to extract fresh water from the rife to refill the pool and reduce the salinity. Let's hope their efforts are rewarded with some good waders!

Today, though, there were just the three juvenile Little Ringed Plovers at the front and a dozen Black-tailed Godwits, that soon rejoined the other 30 or so in the channel opposite, where there was also a Greenshank and a Whimbrel. 

A look around the Tramway circuit produced a Lesser Whitethroat, a couple of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs and half a dozen Whitethroats. (AH)

Greenshank (above), Little Ringed Plovers, Dunlin, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroats & Greenfinch around the Ferry (AH)

Sidlesham: A Fallow Deer stag, complete with a full set of antlers, was in a small orchard  along Cow Lane early this morning. This is a very rare animal on the Peninsula, despite being common just a few miles to the north of us. (AH)

North Wall: This morning produced the usual suspects with three Whimbrels, an adult Spotted Redshank and the returning Greenshank with the deformed bill in White's Creek.
Three Sand Martin flew over the harbour where there was a loose flock of 80 Mediterranean Gulls with an adult Yellow-legged Gull sitting amongst them and12 Dunlin. (BFF/DM/TB/NR)

Church Norton: There were still at least a dozen Little Terns around New Island and feeding inside the harbour and offshore, and there were also half a dozen Common and 50+ Sandwich Terns about.

Two Sanderling were along the beach among a few Dunlin, with more of the latter and c40 Turnstones and Redshanks in the harbour, but passerines were non-existent beyond the Swallows around the hide. (AH)

Little Tern (above), Common Tern, Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Swallow & Black-headed Gulls at Church Norton (AH)

It was relatively quiet this afternoon with plenty of Sandwich Tern and attendant youngsters two pair of Common Terns and perhaps 12 Little Terns, but not much else except 200 Dunlin and a single Common Sandpiper. 

Later there was also a Whimbrel and a dozen or so Mediterranean Gulls present, too, along with half a dozen Swallows. (BFF/DM/TB/NR/AH/AW)

Sandwich Terns (above), Whimbrel & Swallow at Church Norton (AH)

Sightings of colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwits:- The following two birds were observed at the North Wall /White's Creek recently and details of the sightings history have now been received, as below.......

Sightings history of the above Black-tailed Godwit at the North Wall on 18th July 2020 (OM):-

This bird was ringed in Hampshire by Pete Potts..... 05-Sep-10 Farlington Marshes LNR, Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth, Hampshire, S England 21-Jun-11 Kópasker, NE Iceland 13-Sep-11 Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, S England 26-Sep-11 Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, S England 30-Jan-12 Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, S England 19-Feb-12 Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, S England 27-Mar-12 Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, S England 13-Sep-12 Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth, Hampshire, S England 02-Oct-12 Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth, Hampshire, S England 30-Dec-12 Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, S England 30-Jan-13 Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, S England 10-Nov-13 Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, S England 03-Feb-14 North Wall, Pagham Harbour, W Sussex, S England 03-Aug-15 Titchfield Haven NNR, Fareham, Hampshire, S England 18-Sep-15 North Wall, Pagham Harbour, W Sussex, S England 28-Jan-16 Pulborough Brooks RSPB reserve, Pulborough, West Sussex, England 05-Jul-16 Mistley Walls, Stour Estuary, Manningtree, Essex, E England 25-Oct-16 North Wall, Pagham Harbour, W Sussex, S England 13-Sep-18 Titchwell RSPB reserve. Norfolk, E England 16-Sep-18 Titchwell RSPB reserve. Norfolk, E England 20-Jul-19 Humber, N Lincolnshire, E England 26-Aug-19 North Wall, Pagham Harbour, W Sussex, S England 03-Jan-20 Pagham Harbour, Pagham, West Sussex, S England 19-Jan-20 Pagham Harbour, Pagham, West Sussex, S England 25-Jan-20 Pagham Harbour, Pagham, West Sussex, S England Sightings history of the above Black-tailed Godwit at the North Wall on 20th July 2020 (OM):-This bird was ringed on the Humber. It was ringed on 6 November 2018 at Welwick Saltmarsh on the north bank  of the Humber (53.6494N, 0.0169E) when it was aged as an adult. There have been a number of previous  re-sightings, mainly in Norfolk, as below.

29/11/2018		Welney, Norfolk
02/01/2019		Welney, Norfolk
26/01/2019		Welney, Norfolk
17/02/2019		Welney, Norfolk
18/10/2019		Welney, Norfolk
19/10/2019		Welney, Norfolk
01/11/2019		Welney, Norfolk
18/03/2020		Nene Washes, Cambridgeshire