Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 20th

Thursday, 22nd July: It remains very sunny, but the freshening north-easterly breeze kept the temperature down a little.....

Selsey Bill: A tight flock of ten Little Terns racing east was the only thing of note, though a few hirundines were feeding/moving offshore. Full log below. (SR/MO-W/AH)

(0650-0850hrs) (NE, F3-4)

Gannet - 10E

Dunlin - 1E

Turnstone - 9

Mediterranean Gull - 2E, 2os

Sandwich Tern - 20os

Little Tern - 10E, 1os

Swift - 6

Swallow - 17E

Sand Martin - 2E

House Martin - 6E

Pied Wagtail - 1E

Little Terns (above) & Sandwich Terns at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: Early on, six Cattle Egrets were in the field immediately south of the pool, with a Grey Wagtail and a Greenshank in the channel opposite, whilst later, on the full tide, the four Spotted Redshanks were back on the pool.

Otherwise, it was the regular mix, including two Avocets, a dozen Redshank, c75 Lapwing and c150 Black-tailed Godwits, c40 Teal and four Shelducks. (AH)

Grey Wagtail (above), Greenshank, Cattle Egrets, Avocet & Spotted Redshanks, Lapwings, Redshanks and Black-tailed Godwits at the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Porthole Farm to Ham Farm - There were a lot of Whitethroat families around all the hedges and banks, but not much more beyond a handful of Yellowhammers and a few Swallows at Porthole Farm.

Three Corn Buntings were sat out in the big oat field at Ham, with another group of five (presumably a family) making a short flight, whilst there were numerous Skylarks about the banks, along with a couple of Reed Buntings, a Sedge Warbler and a Reed Warbler and the young Little Grebe was still on the ponds.

There were also a Painted Lady, a Common Blue and a couple of Common Darters along the banks.(AH)

Corn Bunting (above), Sedge Warbler, Whitethroats, Swallow, Yellowhammer, Linnet, Skylark, Painted Lady & Common Darter at Medmerry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There was a good selection of waders on the Stilt Pool at high tide this morning, including a Wood Sandpiper that dropped in, a Green Sandpiper, four Common Sandpipers, a Greenshank, seven Little Ringed Plovers - including three juveniles, two Avocets and six Dunlin. (IL)

Wood Sandpiper (above), Common Sandpiper & Little Ringed Plover at Medmerry (IL)

North Wall: At least 200 Sand Martins were feeding over the Breech Pool this evening. (SP)

Church Norton: This evening, at least ten Common Terns and ten Little Tens, including two or three juveniles of each, andc30 Mediterranean Gulls were among at least 300 Sandwich Terns, all of which went up in a mass silent dread as a Peregrine cruised back and forth with intent, though it didn't appear to chase anything.

There were also two Whimbrel, ten Curlews, five Ringed Plovers, c50 Redshank and c150 Dunlin in the harbour. (AH)

Sandwich Terns (above), Common, Little and Sandwich Terns, Mediterranean Gull, Peregrine & Whimbrel and Oystercatcher at Church Norton (AH)

Wednesday, 21st July: Another very warm, sunny morning with just a slight north-easterly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: The first returning Shag and Grey Wagtail were the highlights of a fairly slow morning. (AW/SR/MO-W/AH)

(0645-0800hrs) (NE, F2)

Gannet - 10os

Shag - 1W

Common Scoter - 1E

Oystercatcher - 1W

Turnstone - 3E, 7 present

Mediterranean Gull - 1os

Sandwich Tern - 16os

Swift - 4

Swallow - 6E, 3W

House Martin - 2

Grey Wagtail - 1

Shag (above), Grey Wagtail, Turnstone (AW), Sandwich Tern, Swift & Common Scoter (AH) at the Bill

Ferry Pool: The four Spotted Redshanks were on the pool again this morning, along with a Common Sandpiper, ten Redshank, two Avocets, c75 Lapwing and c150 Black-tailed Godwits, whilst at least a couple of Cattle Egrets were in the back of the field with the cows. (AH)

Later on, the Greenshank and a Whimbrel were in Ferry Channel. (NB)

Spotted Redshank (above) & Common Sandpiper at the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: A juvenile Marsh Harrier was seen from Pagham Rife near to Honer Farm, flying for short periods behind the large willows and then making ungainly landings in the big trees, repeating the process several times. Later the male was quartering the fields to the north of Honer Cottages.
Also, two Common Sandpipers were on Honer reservoir, several Broad-bodied Chasers were along the Rife and a Clouded Yellow butterfly was in the field that regularly floods to the west of the Rife. (JDW)

Otherwise, the harbour was quiet beyond a couple of Greenshank and Whimbrel, a dozen Lapwing, c50 Redshanks and c40 Curlews that had earlier been in the newly mowed fields, whilst a Common Tern was over the Breech Pool.
At least a dozen Cattle Egrets were around Owl Copse and Halsey's Farm, where there were also two or three Sand Martins among 50+ Swallows, plus a Whitethroat, whilst the odd Reed Bunting, Reed and Sedge Warbler broke cover along a quiet wall, where there were also one or two Marbled Whites still on the wing (AH/TG/LP)

This evening the female Marsh Harrier was out hunting, whilst a Common Tern with a juvenile around the Breech Pool, 100+ Swallows and a few House Martins went over and 200+ Sand Martins went into roost in the reed-beds. (S&SaH)

Cattle Egrets (above), Common Tern, Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting & Marbled White at the North Wall (AH)

Tuesday, 20th July: The very warm spell continues, with another bright and sunny morning in just a light south-easterly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: Nine Turnstones were along the beach, but otherwise it was business as usual. Full log below. (SR/IP/MO-W/AH)

(0700-0815hrs) (ESE, F2)

Gannet - 5E, 4W

Turnstone - 9

Mediterranean Gull - 1W, 1os

Sandwich Tern - 14os

Swallow - 3W

House Martin - 2

Small White - 1 on beach

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

Ferry Pool: There were four Spotted Redshanks on the pool again at high tide this morning, along with a Common Sandpiper, four Avocets, 12 Redshanks, c60 Lapwings, c150 Black-tailed Godwits, c40 Teal and five juvenile Shelducks.

Also, at least ten Cattle Egrets were in the field, whilst a look round the Tramway produced a couple of families of Blackcaps, with a Reed Warbler family in Red Barn Ditch and a couple of Whimbrel in the channel opposite, but not much else.(AH/BFF/DIS/NB)

Cattle Egrets (above), Spotted Redshanks, Lapwings and Black-tailed Godwits, Black-tailed Godwit, juvenile Shelduck, Blackcap, Reed Warbler & Vervain around the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: This evening a Greenshank and two Whimbrel were in Ferry Channel, whilst a couple of Swallows were over the mowed field where there were half a dozen Stock Doves.

Most of the small birds were keeping low, though a family of Long-tailed Tits - quite a scarce sight this summer - were moving along the hedges. (AH)

Greenshank (above), Long-tailed Tit, Stock Doves & Hornet Mimic Hoverfly along the Long Pool (AH)

Church Norton: Two Common Sandpipers were in the harbour his morning, along with four Whimbrel, a Knot, 20 Dunlin, 16 Turnstones and a few Curlews, with up to eight Common Terns and a few Mediterranean Gulls among the many Sandwich Terns. (BFF/DIS)

North Wall: Most of the action was at Owl Copse this morning with at least three young Cattle Egrets and five young Little Egrets, with more of the latter gathered on their usual island in the harbour alongside a couple of juvenile Grey Herons, while others flew off into the fields.

Owl Water held a calling Little Grebe, the Mute Swan family and a family of Coots, while a Cetti's Warbler called as did a couple of Reed Warblers. The water in Breach Pool was high and it held just the Great Crested Grebe and its chick, two Tufted Ducks, a Mallard with eight tiny ducklings and another, older family.

One of the Marsh Harriers was quartering the fields beyond where there was a flock of 15 Curlew and a couple more Cattle Egrets. (SR)

Marsh Harrier (above) & juvenile Cattle Egret at the North Wall (SR)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There were several families of Whitethroats, Reed Warblers and Linnets along the banks, with half a dozen Yellowhammers and just a few Skylarks about, too, whilst a flock of 15 Sand Martins went over east and a handful of Swallows were lingering.

Two Greenshanks and a Whimbrel were by the poplars, along with two Egyptian Geese, whilst a quiet Stilt Pool just held two Common Sandpipers, a dozen Lapwings, a few Teal, Gadwall and Tufted Ducks and about 100 Black-headed Gulls.

There were also a couple of Black-tailed Skimmers and Emperors about, too. (AH)