Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 22nd

Saturday, 24th April: Another bright and very breezy morning, warming up from a cold start, with the wind still stuck in the east .......

Selsey Bill: A Puffin went east this morning at 0720hrs, not too far out, in what was a very busy morning, including 14 Velvet Scoters, 1800+ Common Scoters, three Pomarine Skuas and a couple of flocks of Little Gulls going east, whilst a Hobby and three Yellow Wagtails came in off the sea. Full log below. (JA/SH/BI/IP/MO-W/PB/PM/AH et al)

(0525-1230hrs) (E, F4-5)
Great Northern Diver – 1os
Red-throated Diver – 1E, 1os
Great Crested Grebe – 1E, 1W
Fulmar – 7E
Gannet – 238E, 27W
Brent Goose – 38E
Shelduck – 3W
Shoveler – 6E
Teal – 2E
Gadwall – 6E
Tufted Duck – 3E, 3W
Eider – 1os
Common Scoter – 1826E
Velvet Scoter – 14E
Red-breasted Merganser – 2E
Hobby – 1N
Lapwing – 3N
Grey Plover – 10E
Knot – 2E
Sanderling – 19E
Black-tailed Godwit – 1E
Bar-tailed Godwit – 14E
Whimbrel – 97E
Turnstone - 2
Great Skua – 4E
Pomarine Skua – 3E (1052hrs, 2l/p, 1 d/p)
Arctic Skua – 2E
Common Gull – 3E
Kittiwake – 10E
Little Gull – 34E
Sandwich Tern – 206E
Common Tern – 206E
Arctic Tern – 3E
‘Commic’ Tern – 28E
Little Tern – 42E
Razorbill – 2E
Guillemot – 1E
Puffin -1E (0718hrs)
auk sp – 45E, 8W
Yellow Wagtail – 3N
Pied Wagtail – 3N
Meadow Pipit – 7N
Swallow – 22N
Sand Martin – 2N
House Martin – 2N
Willow/Chiff - 1

Pomarine Skuas (above), Arctic Skua, Little Gulls, Common Terns & Gadwall at the Bill (PM)

This afternoon another ten Pomarine Skuas went east, along with six Arctic Skuas and another 50 Common Scoters. Full log below. (JA/SH/CN/IP/AH/SR/PD/AB)

(1430-1830hrs)

Great Northern Diver – 1os

Red-throated Diver – 3E

Gannet – 10os

Shag – 2E

Long-tailed Duck – 1os

Common Scoter – 50E

Red-breasted Merganser – 1E

Grey Plover – 4E

Whimbrel – 15E

Turnstone – 2E

Pomarine Skua – 10E (1 at 1455, 4 at 1555, 1 at 1615, 1 at 1705 and 3 at 1745hrs)

Arctic Skua – 6E, 1os

Mediterranean Gull – 2E, 1os

Kittiwake – 3E

Little Gull – 1E

Sandwich Tern – 8E, 40os

Common Tern – 27E

‘Commic’ Tern – 33E

Little Tern – 5E, 5os

auk sp – 6E, 4W

Swallow – 2N

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

Ferry Pool: There were six Avocets and six Shovelers on the pool early on, whilst later a flock of 15 Whimbrel were on the field, along with a pair of Lapwings, with another flock of 17 of the former going over, along with two or three Swallows.

Another couple of Whimbrel and three Black-tailed Godwits were in the channel opposite, whilst several Blackcaps, a Willow Warbler and a Chiffchaff were around the Discovery Area. (AH)

There was also a Lesser Whitethroat singing by Red Barn Ditch this morning. (HB)

Blackcap (above), Lapwing & Whimbrels around the Ferry (AH)

Honer Reservoir: The drake Ring-necked Duck was again present this morning at the reservoir, along with two Little Ringed Plovers and a Swift. (AHu/BFF/MO-W et al)

Drake Ring-necked Duck at Honer reservoir (BFF)

North Wall: In the Breech Pool there were a very good number of singing Reed Warbler with a couple of Sedge Warbler and a Cuckoo was calling to the north, whilst there were good numbers of Common Whitethroats singing in the hedgerows.

Also, in the harbour there were six Whimbrel and a Greenshank. (BFF/DIS)

Chichester Marina: The female Pied Flycatcher again today. (RHa)

Chichester GPs: Half a dozen Swifts - the first of the year - were over Westhampnett Pit this morning (MB), with another dozen, plus a Red Kite, over Ivy Lake later on (BI). Also, one or two Common Terns were present and a Greenshank was flying around. (AW)

At around 1530hrs, a Hobby was over West Lake with around ten 10 Swifts, but there were just a few Swallows and Sand Martins, plus a couple of House Martins about, whilst two Egyptian Geese flew over. (AB)

Swifts (above), Common Tern & Greenshank at Ivy Lake (AW)

Medmerry: Coastguards Station to Windmill area - This morning there was a Great Northern Diver, an Eider and a pale-form Arctic Skua sat offshore drifting west. In off the sea were a Chiffchaff, two Swallows, a Skylark and three Whimbrel, while there were four Wheatear around the area in front of the go-kart track. (AW)

Wheatear (above), Chiffchaff & Skylark at Medmerry (AW)

Church Norton: There were up to 90 Bar-tailed Godwits in the harbour this morning, but a couple of Whimbrels, a Curlew and a few Ringed Plovers were the only other waders noted.

At least eight Little Terns and two Common Terns were among the very large numbers of Sandwich Terns, Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls in the harbour, but passerines were almost non-existent. (AH)

There were also two Wheatears along the spit and eight summer-plumage Grey Plovers and a Brent Goose in the harbour. (IP/CN)

Sandwich Tern (above) & Bar-tailed Godwits at Church Norton (AH)

West Wittering: A coupe of Chiffchaffs were showing well in our lane this afternoon. (GM)

Chiffchaffs at West Wittering (GM)

Long Pool: This evening half a dozen Whimbrel were along Ferry Channel, whilst a pair of Gadwall were on the pool, two Swallows were feeding overhead and several Sedge Warblers and Linnets were singing, despite the conditions. (AH)

Whimbrel (above), Gadwall & Swallow along the Long Pool (AH)

Friday, 23rd April: More of the same today; cold early on, warm later under blue skies, but still with a chilly, fresh and blustery easterly breeze .......

Selsey Bill: There were three more Pomarine Skuas going east his morning, along with three Bonxies, six Arctic Skuas, a Black-throated Diver, four Avocets, 70+ Common/Commic Terns, 200+ Sandwich Terns and a lovely close flock of 11 Kittiwakes, whilst the Long-tailed Duck was about again and a Merlin, a Marsh Harrier and a few Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins came in off the sea. Full log below......

(0530-1400hrs): (E-ESE F4-5/6) (JA/PB/PM/JF/OM/CRJ/AH/BI/IP/A&YF et al)

Red-throated Diver - 5E, 1W

Black-throated Diver - 1E

Great Northern Diver - 2 os

Fulmer - 7E, 2W

Gannet - 212E, 25W

Shelduck - 7E

Mallard - 2

Common Scoter - 114E

Red-breasted Merganser - 1E

Long-tailed Duck - 1E

Shoveler - 6E

Oystercatcher - 2E

Whimbrel - 22E

Bar-tailed Godwit - 40E

Avocet - 4E

Grey Plover - 4E

Knot - 4E

Sanderling - 2E

Dunlin - 3E

Merlin - 1N

Kestrel - 1 area

Marsh Harrier - 1N (1130hrs)

Great Skua - 3E

Pomarine Skua - 3E (2@0712, 1@ 0940hrs)

Arctic Skua - 6E (4 d/p, 2 l/p)

Little Gull - 14E

Kittiwake - 14E

Mediterranean Gull - 2E

Little Tern - 3E

Common Tern - 37E

'Commic' Tern - 68E

Sandwich Tern - 227E

auk sp - 15E, 1W

Skylark - 1N

Meadow Pipit - 3N

Yellow Wagtail - 1N

Swallow - 22N

Sand Martin - 12N

House Martin - 2N

Wheatear - 1N

(Dolphins, presumed Bottle-nosed, pod of 7-8 offshore)

Pomarine Skua (above), Arctic Skua, Arctic Skua and Bar-tailed Godwits, Avocets, Bottle-nosed Dolphins (PM), Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Kittiwakes, Bar-tailed Godwits & Fulmar (AH) at the Bill

This afternoon there were three Manx Shearwaters going east, with a couple of Arctic and Great Skuas, plus a few more terns east. Full log below.
(1400-1830hrs) (JA/SH/CRJ/ B&MaC/AB/PB/AH)
Great Northern Diver – 1os
Red-throated Diver – 1E
Manx Shearwater – 3E
Gannet – 58E, 2W
Long-tailed Duck – 1os
Common Scoter – 14E
Knot – 8E
Whimbrel – 16E
Great Skua – 2E, 1os
Arctic Skua – 2E
Sandwich Tern – 40E, 15os
Common Tern – 16E
‘Commic; Tern – 31E
Little Tern – 4E, 5os
Guillemot – 1os
Swallow – 2N

Common Tern (above) & Sandwich Tern at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were only eight Shoveler, 15 Shelducks, two Teal and four Gadwall on the pool, along with 20 roosting Black-tailed Godwits and a few Redshanks, whilst two Spotted Redshanks and two Whimbrel were in the channel opposite. (AH)

Spotted Redshanks (above) & Whimbrel around the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Coastguard Station - A very close Pomarine Skua was seen going east here (and later at the Bill), whilst there was a Rock Pipit on the sea defences and three Swallows flew in. (AW)

Pomarine Skua at Medmerry (AW)

Chichester Marina: A female Pied Flycatcher was in willows by the first car-park today, occasionally showing well.

Also, a Reed Warbler was in the bushes there, a male Marsh Harrier went over and six Whimbrel were among the many Mediterranean, Black-headed and Herring Gulls following a tractor in the nearby fields. (RBe/IH/BI/AH et al)

Pied Flycatcher (AH/BI), Whimbrel and Mediterranean Gull & gull flock (RBe) at Chichester

The Pied Flycatcher continued to show well this afternoon, and there were two Large Red-eyed Damselflies there, too. (AB et al)

Pied Flycatcher (above) & Large Red-eyed Damselfly at Chichester Marina (AB)

Warner Lane paddocks: A Garden Warbler was in the hedges this morning. (BI)

Park Farm, Selsey: This evening there were two Wheatears on the fields, with a Willow Warbler in the hedges and seven Swallows over. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: Five Little Terns were in the harbour early on and a flock of 14 Whimbrel went over. (PH)

This evening, at least 40 Bar-tailed Godwits and perhaps a dozen Whimbrel were in the harbour, plus a single Knot and a few Ringed Plovers that were chasing each other around, whilst the pair of Mistle Thrushes were in the churchyard and at least five Blackcaps were by the Mound. (AH)

Bar-tailed Godwits (above), Ringed Plover & Mistle Thrush at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: Just 10 Black-tailed Godwits and two Mute Swans were along White's Creek. On the Breech Pool there were three pairs of Tufted Ducks, a pair of Little Grebes, a pair of Gadwall and four male Shovelers and a female.

The usual Cetti's, Reed and Sedge Warblers were along the Wall but in a stiff, cold wind not much singing was going on. Also seen were a pair of Linnets and a Common Whitethroat, whilst five Little Egrets were sheltering from the wind in Honer 1 field, a lot of gargling noises were coming from Owl Copse and a Cuckoo was at Bremere bridge copse. (JDW)

There wasn't much from Sidlesham Quay to Owl Point but a Wheatear was around the fenceline. (BI)

Long Pool: There were plenty of Reed and Sedge Warblers, Whitethroats and Linnets, plus a Chiffchaff and a couple of Reed Buntings along the pool, though they were all keeping low. (AH)

Sedge Warbler (above) & Whitethroat along the Long Pool (AH)

Honer Reservoir: The drake Ring-necked Duck was still present late this morning, along with a handful of Tufted Ducks and a pair of Gadwall. (AH/Est et al)

Ring-necked Duck at Honer Reservoir (AH)

Thursday, 22nd April: The wind is very firmly set in the east at present, with another bright and blustery morning, warm in the sun, cool in the breeze....

Found: If anyone has lost the (objective lens) end-cover of a stay-on scope case at Selsey Bill recently, please contact OM and it will be returned to you. (Eds)

Request: If you are one of the more mature Peninsula birders who remembers seeing the Subalpine Warbler at Sidlesham (near the Crab & Lobster) in October 1993 AND you took notes or better still a photo, please would you contact OM asap. Many thanks. (Eds)

Selsey Bill: This morning, over 70 Bar-tailed Godwits, 16 Whimbrel, five Little Terns and a steady stream of Sandwich Terns and Gannets went east, a Yellow Wagtail flew in off the sea and a Great Northern Diver flew in from a long way off. Full log below. (CRJ/A&YF/AH/MO-W/IP/SR/PC)

(0630-1000hrs) (ENE, F5)

Great Northern Diver – 1W

Fulmar – 1E, 2W

Gannet – 53E, 2W

Shelduck – 3E

Common Scoter – 15E, 7W

Oystercatcher – 1E

Bar-tailed Godwit – 72E

Whimbrel – 16E

Sandwich Tern – 54E, 36os

Little Tern – 5E

Yellow Wagtail – 1N

Pied Wagtail – 1E

Little Tern (above), Fulmar, Gannet, Whimbrel, Bar-tailed Godwits & Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwits at the Bill (AH)

The first two Pomarine Skuas of the season were seen by two lucky observers (JA and SH!) at 1825 hrs, going east, in an interesting late afternoon sea-watch, including a flock of 17 Little Gulls, an Arctic Skua, three Bonxies and total of 461 Bar-tailed Godwits, including a fine flock of 200, all going east. Full log below. (JA/SH/AH/AW)

(1535-1845hrs)

Gannet – 48E, 6W

Common Scoter – 15E

Grey Plover – 1E

Sanderling – 1E

Bar-tailed Godwit – 461E (including flocks of 200, 72, 55 & 40)

Whimbrel – 16E

Great Skua – 3E

Pomarine Skua – 2E (1825hrs, 1l/p, 1 d/p)

Arctic Skua – 1E

Little Gull – 17E (in one flock)

Sandwich Tern – 26E, 40os

Common Trtn – 3os

‘Commic’ Tern – 1E

Little Tern – 2E, 7os

Swallow – 1N

Bar-tailed Godwits (above) & Little Tern at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were six Avocets, 45 Black-tailed Godwits, a dozen Redshank and three Lapwings on the pool this morning, along with eight Shoveler, two drake Gadwall and 15 Shelducks.

A Spotted Redshank and five Whimbrel were in the channel opposite, along with a pair of Gadwall,, but the Tramway circuit was fairly quiet in the wind, though plenty of Whitethroats were about, along with a Willow Warbler and few Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above), Whimbrel, Avocets, Black-tailed Godwits, Gadwall, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat & Blackcap around the Ferry (AH)

Honer Reservoir: The drake Ring-necked Duck was present again this morning, and still this afternoon. (BL/AW et al)

This evening a Little Ringed Plover was back on the formerly flooded field. (TG)

Ring-necked Duck at Honer Reservoir (AW)

Medmerry: Medmerry Trail and Porthole Farm - There were at least half a dozen Whitethroats along the concrete road, with one seen carrying nesting material, but there wasn't much else beyond the odd Chiffchaff and Blackcap.

At Porthole Farm there were c30 Swallows over the fields, with a handful of House Martins among them, whilst a Willow Warbler and a Sedge Warbler were heard from the hedges, along with a Blackcap and more Whitethroats. (AH/CRJ)

Swallow (above) & Whitethroat at Medmerry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A White-fronted Goose was on central sandy island of the Stilt Pool this aftenoon, along with 11 Canada Geese, ten Avocets, three Little Ringed Plovers, five Shelducks, two Black-tailed Godwits, four Tufted Ducks (2 pairs), a Whimbrel, a lone Brent Goose and plus the usual collection of Mallards, Cormorants, Herring Gulls, Black headed Gulls, a Great Black-backed Gull, three Oystercatchers, two Mute Swans, a Little Egret, a Grey Heron and a Lapwing.

Also, a female Redstart and several Whitethroats were near Marsh Barn, a pair of Wheatears in stubble field nearby, with plenty of Linnets and Skylarks about, too. (T & B Randall).