Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 29th

Thursday, 30th June: A decidedly cool morning, heavily overcast and with odd spells of drizzly rain early on, but brightening slowly as the breeze freshened from the south-west..........

Selsey Bill: There was little to report beyond plenty of terns offshore. Full log below. (SR/AH)

(0635-0735hrs) (WSW, F3)

Gannet - 1E, 2W

Mediterranean Gull - 3os

Sandwich Tern - 75os

Common Tern - 2os

Little Tern - 8os

House Martin - 4

Common Seal - 1os

(1645-1745hrs) (SH)

Gannet - 5E, 2W

Common Scoter - 1W

Mediterranean Gull - 10W

Common Gull - 1W

Sandwich Tern - 67os

Little Tern - 7os

Sandwich Tern at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were 62 Lapwings, seven Redshank and ten Black-tailed Godwits on the pool this morning, plus the Shelduck family. (AH)

Black-tailed Godwits (above) & Shelduck family (AH)

Pagham Spit: Two Common Sandpipers were together on the remnants of the Little Lagoon on the spit, later moving off into the harbour. (IMcK)

North Wall: There were 52 Redshanks and three Grey Plovers in White's Creek this morning, while 51 Curlew were spread across the harbour.

Along the edge of the Slipe field two Chiffchaff and a Reed Warbler sang whilst off the North Wall, three Cetti’s Warblers included two singing and 16 Reed Warblers included some fully fledged young still being fed by adults. (IMcK)

There wasn't much to report this evening, with three Sand Martins and a Common Tern, plus a few Cattle Egrets being about it. (S&SaH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pools - There were plenty of young birds along the banks, including at least four Whitethroat families and two Stonechat families, with plenty of Linnets and Skylarks about, along with at least half a dozen Yellowhammers, a couple of Reed Buntings and at least four singing Reed Warblers.

A feeding flock of c25 Swifts dropped in just north of the Stilt Pool for a while before moving off west, with a few Swallows about, too, whilst two Cattle Egrets were on the adjacent part of the reserve.

There were still four juvenile Avocets, along with eight adults and three chicks, but only single adult Little Ringed and Ringed Plovers were seen, with the Oystercatcher family apparently moved on, though the adult and juvenile Egyptian Goose were still present, as was the mother Tufted Duck with two ducklings.

Otherwise, three Grey Herons flew over together and c60 Canada Geese were on the pool, along with four Lapwings. (AH)

Swifts (above), Cattle Egrets, Little Ringed Plover, Avocet, Stonechat, Whitethroat & Yellowhammer, Stonechat and Whitethroat at Medmerry (AH)

Church Norton: There were at least 80 freshly fledged Sandwich Terns in the harbour this evening, along with many young Black-headed Gulls, but, so far, no young Mediterranean Gulls.

Also, four Ringed Plovers were in the harbour, with another six and six Turnstones on the beach. (AH)

Sandwich Terns (above) & Mediterranean Gulls at Church Norton (AH)

Wednesday, 29th June: A morning of changeable weather, with a murky start in lighter winds, followed by a spell of quite heavy rain that gave way to a mix of heavy cloud and the odd bit of blue sky in a freshening south-westerly.........

Selsey Bill: There was a bit more activity offshore this morning, with quite a few Gannets, terns and gulls heading out to feed, whilst five Common Scoters went east. Full log below. (SR/AH)

(0635-0820hrs) (SW, F3-4)

Gannet - 19E, 12W, 6os

Mallard - 6W

Common Scoter - 5E

Oystercatcher - 1E

Mediterranean Gull - 9W, 1os

Sandwich Tern - 75os

Common Tern - 9os

Little Tern - 22os

Swift - 5

House Martin - 3

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

Ferry Pool: There were 12 Black-tailed Godwits on the pool this morning, along with just two Lapwings and the Shelduck family. (AH)

Lapwing on the Ferry (AH)

East Side: There were several Purple Hairstreaks in the oaks along the east side this morning. (TH)

Purple Hairstreaks along the east side (TH)

North Wall: There were just a few Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers and Reed Buntings along the wall this morning. (MT)

Sedge Warbler at the North Wall (MT)

Church Norton: With the wind easing a little, there was a bit more warbler activity than of late, with a Lesser Whitethroat singing and another seen, and several Whitethroats, Blackcaps and Reed Warblers both seen and heard along the front, along with a handful of Linnets and a bedraggled young Buzzard.

At least 50 juvenile Sandwich Terns and lots of young Black-headed Gulls were spread around the harbour, where there was still plenty of activity, but waders were confined to four Ringed Plovers, two Turnstones and a dozen Curlews. (AH)

Lesser Whitethroat (above), Whitethroat, Blackcap, Linnet, juvenile Buzzard, juvenile Sandwich Tern, Ringed Plover & Yellow Horned Poppy at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pools - Despite the wind and occasional shower Skylarks, Yellowhammers and Linnets were in full song today, whilst a family of Stonechats were sitting out and a Sparrowhawk, three Buzzards and two Kestrels were seen over the fields.

The first two Tufted Ducklings of the year were on the Stilt Pools, whilst a pair of Avocets were looking after their three tiny chicks, even chasing off the Little Ringed Plovers. Meanwhile the three juvenile Avocets had almost reached adult size, as had the young Oystercatchers, whilst Little Ringed Plovers were very active - there seemed to be three adults and one juvenile, along with one Ringed Plover.

Only one Egyptian Goose was seen today and there was a family of Mallards with seven ducklings. Unfortunately there was an injured Lapwing that appeared to have a broken wing. Also, two Swallows flew over the pools. (SR)