11th - 13th July 2022

Wednesday, 13th July: A very warm and muggy morning, in mostly overcast conditions and with just a light north-westerly breeze.......

Selsey Bill: A Common Scoter east, 11 Swallows west and a couple of Little Terns offshore was about the sum of interest this morning. Full log below. (SR/AH)

(0635-0735hrs) (NW, F2-3)

Gannet - 2E, 2W

Mallard - 2W

Common Scoter - 1E

Sandwich Tern - 13os

Little Tern - 2os

Swift - 6

Swallow - 11W

House Martin - 2

Common Seal - 2os

This evening an Arctic Skua went west at 1800hrs, disturbing the gulls on the shingle bar as it went. (B Smith)

Ferry Pool: There were still eight Little Ringed Plovers spread around the pool this morning, along with a Common Sandpiper, three Dunlin, 22 Black-tailed Godwits, c30 Redshanks, c60 Lapwings, a juvenile Mediterranean Gull and the Shelduck family.

Also, what was presumably the lone Brent Goose from the harbour flew around before heading off west, whilst c40 Swallows were over the fields at the back.. (AH)

Little Ringed Plovers (above) & Brent Goose at the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: It was very quiet this morning, with just the odd snippet of Sedge and Reed Warbler song and otherwise just a Reed Bunting and a handful of Linnets and Whitethroats seen and nothing in Ferry Channel. (AH)

Whitethroat (above), Reed Bunting & Linnet along the Long Pool (AH)

North Wall: The summer-plumaged Spotted Redshank was on the busy Breech Pool this morning, along with a Greenshank, four Redshanks, eight Lapwings, six Black-tailed Godwits, a Little Ringed Plover, a Curlew, a Kingfisher, two Cattle Egrets, a Little Egret, the Shelduck family and a Roe Deer.

Another 18 Cattle Egrets were perched in a tree at the back of Honer 1 and six more, along with four Little Egrets and a couple of Grey Herons were out on their island. On the rising tide two Great Crested Grebes and the Mute Swan family were on the water and four Grey Plover and a few Curlew were out on the mud, whilst an adult and two juvenile Green Woodpeckers were in the paddock, with a few Greenfinches and Goldfinches around the adjacent bushes. (LP/DH/CT/TG)

There were 200+ Swallows over the fields at Owl Point this evening. (SP)

Green Woodpeckers (above), Black-tailed Godwits, Cattle Egrets & Curlew at the North Wall (LP)

Church Norton: There were at least 42 Little Terns, including a dozen juveniles, feeding in and around the harbour mouth on the rising tide, with more on and over the islands, whilst there were still 100+ Sandwich Terns about, including plenty of juveniles, along with a couple of Common Terns and at least a dozen juvenile Mediterranean Gulls.

At least 100 Dunlin and c30 Turnstones and Redshanks were roosting at high tide, but the only passerines seen were a couple of Linnets and Skylarks along the spit. (AH)

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

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Stilt Pools - A look this evening produced very little along the banks beyond a few Yellowhammers, Linnets and Skylarks, plus a dozen Swallows over, whilst the Stilt Pool held four Common Sandpipers, a Snipe, a Little Ringed Plover, two Ringed Plovers, eight Avocets, plus the one remaining chick, a dozen Lapwings and two Black-tailed Godwits. (AH)

Common Sandpiper (above), Avocet & Yellowhammer at Medmerry (AH)

Chichester GPs: Ivy Lake Complex - A brief walk this evening revealed a family of Great Crested Grebes, a Chiffchaff and a party of Long-tailed Tits around Deep Lake, whilst it was interesting to see West Trout Lake held a pair of Common Terns as they bred here in previous years.

Also on the same lake were 12 Pochard, five Egyptian Geese, another Long-tailed Tit family and some snatches of Reed and Sedge Warbler song. (SR)

Common Tern (above) & Great Crested Grebe and chick at Chichester GPs (SR)

Tuesday, 12th July: It was fairly overcast and slightly cooler early on, but very warm again as the sun broke through, with the breeze still from the east, picking up through the morning.....

Pom trophy mishap...There will be a bit of an unavoidable delay this year in the presentation of the trophies for the winner and runner-up of the Pom King competition. Unfortunately my esteemed co-editor and his trusty four-legged sidekick Boo had a bit of a mishap in  transporting the trophies to me for updating....but they will be back! Meanwhile, it gives House clearance a whole new meaning! (OM)

Er...slight repairs needed! (OM)

Selsey Bill: A Common Gull and a flock of nine Swallows east were the only birds beyond the usual species this morning. Full log  below. (SR/AH/IP)

(0655-0755hrs) (E, F2-3)

Gannet - 1E, 2os

Common Gull - 1E

Sandwich Tern - 36os

Swift - 4

Swallow - 9E

House Martin - 2

Two Arctic Skuas went west at 1645hrs this afternoon. (B Smith)

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

Ferry Pool: Two Little Ringed Plovers were on the pool this morning, along with two Common Sandpipers, two Dunlin, 33 Black-tailed Godwits, c75 Lapwings, 12 Redshanks and the Shelduck family 

A juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker was in the Discovery Area, but otherwise there were just a brief Chiffchaff and Blackcap singing. (AH).

Common Sandpipers (above), Great Spotted Woodpecker & the low water level at the Ferry (AH)

Early this afternoon a Marsh Harrier went over the pool and there was a remarkable gathering of 13 Little Ringed Plovers, plus a Common Sandpiper. (BFF/DM/DIS/SM/IP)

Later on, Little Ringed Plover numbers were back down to five, all juveniles (AH), but back up to eight by 2000hrs (S&SaH).

juvenile Little Ringed Plover at the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: The summer-plumaged Spotted Redshank was on the Breech Pool again this morning, along with 14 Black-tailed Godwits and 20 Lapwings, whilst a juvenile Marsh Harrier went west over Owl Copse, where there were also six Cattle Egrets and a Kingfisher.

There were a few waders in the harbour this morning, on the rising tide, including three Greenshanks, three Common Sandpipers, a Whimbrel, 23 Grey Plovers, half a dozen Dunlin and 35 Redshanks and Curlews, whilst there were also a juvenile Mediterranean Gull, the long-staying Brent Goose and the pair of Wigeon present, a Sparrowhawk went over and c50 Swallows were feeding low over the water. (OM/AH/BFF/DM/DIS/SM)

This evening there was a big, but brief, gathering of c200 Swallows and c200 Sand Martins over Halsey's Farm, before they all flew up high and disappeared. (S&SaH)

Spotted Redshank (top OM, above AH), Greenshanks, Swallows, Sparrowhawk & juvenile Mediterranean Gull at the North Wall (AH)

Honer Reservoir: There was nothing on the very low reservoir, except a pair of Little Grebes, a pair of Mute Swans and a dozen Coots, but c50 Sand Martins and c100 Swallows, plus a Pied Wagtail, were around the fields and wires along the lane. (AH)

Sand Martins (above) & Swallows at Honer Reservoir (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Stilt Pools - Early on, the Stilt Pools held a gathering of c75 hirundines, largely Swallows and Sand Martins, along with 17 House Martins.

Two Common Sandpipers, half a dozen Lapwings, an adult and juvenile Little Ringed Plover, three Ringed Plovers, ten Oystercatchers, including the two family groups, the adult Avocets with their chick and three other juveniles with parents, c50 Canada Geese and a Moorhen with chick were also present.

Along the hedges were good numbers of singing Yellowhammers, Linnets and Skylarks, with the occasional Whitethroat, but the Stonechats were nowhere to be seen, whilst two Buzzards flew overhead. (SR)

Common Sandpiper (above), Sand Martins & Swallows and Sand Martins at Medmerry (SR)

Church Norton: Late this afternoon there were c120 Dunlin, a Whimbrel and half a dozen Ringed Plovers and Turnstones on the mud, with plenty of young Little and Sandwich Terns, plus a couple of Common Terns, about, with adults still bringing in food. (AH)

juvenile Common Tern (above) & Sandwich Terns at Church Norton (AH)

Monday, 11th July: A scorching hot morning of unbroken sunshine in a very light easterly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: Another unsurprisingly quiet morning. Full log below. (SR/AH/IP)

(0640-0755hrs) (E, F2)

Gannet - 1E, 1os

Mediterranean Gull - 1E

Sandwich Tern - 26os

Little Tern - 4os

Swift - 3

Swallow - 4E

House Martin - 2

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

Ferry Pool: Just one Little Ringed Plover was on the pool this morning, along with 36 Black-tailed Godwits, 33 Lapwings, 12 Redshanks, a Grey Heron and the Shelduck family, now reduced to five youngsters. (AH)

Little Ringed Plover (above), Black-tailed Godwits & Grey Heron at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were a minimum of 12 juvenile Little Terns present this morning , and quite probably between 15 and 20, with half a dozen feeding offshore together at one point and more spread around the islands, with adults bringing food into the colony, too.

Otherwise, there were still plenty of young Sandwich Terns about, along with a couple of Common Terns and at least a dozen juvenile Mediterranean Gulls, whilst c80 Dunlin, c40 Turnstones and c20 Ringed Plovers wee also roosting in the harbour, but the only passerines noted were a couple of Skylarks and Linnets along the spit. (AH)

Little Terns (above), Sandwich Tern, Mediterranean Gull & Dunlin at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: A summer-plumaged Spotted Redshank was on the Breech Pool this morning, along with ten Black-tailed Godwits, eight Lapwings, two Little Ringed Plovers, two Pied Wagtails, a Curlew, a Dunlin, a Kingfisher and the Shelduck family.

Two Green Woodpeckers and a family of Blackbirds were at the end of Church Lane this morning along with a Wren, a Robin and a Dunnock, a Whitethroat was by the Sluice and there were c60 Swallows and a few Sand Martins over the reeds along the rife.

In the water by Owl Copse there was a Little Grebe and a Mallard with six ducklings, a family group of Long-tailed Tits were in the bushes and a few Reed Warblers and a Water Rail were also about, whilst six Cattle Egrets were in the fields, with a couple more out by their island along with nine Little Egrets and six Grey Herons. (LP/DH/PC)

Spotted Redshank (above), Green Woodpecker, Mallard family & Blackbird family a the North Wall (LP)

Medmerry: Porthole Farm - About 20 Swallows (mostly juveniles) were along the wires on Ham Road and at Oakhurst Farm this evening, whilst the bushes along the Medmerrry Trail held a family of Stonechats, several Whitethroat and Linnet families at at least five Yellowhammers. (AH)

Swallow (above), Whitethroat, Stonechat & Yellowhammer at Medmerry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A Green Sandpiper flew up from the reserve and a Snipe was again on one of the path-side pools this evening, whilst a Sandwich Tern flew inland over the banks.

Along the banks there were ten Yellowhammers, a Reed Bunting, five Whitethroats and a Reed Warbler, whilst c40 swallows and a Sparrowhawk went over.

Two Common Sandpipers were again on the Stilt Pool, along with two Little Ringed Plovers, four Ringed Plovers, two Dunlin and six Avocets, pus the last remaining chick. (S&sSaH/PB)

Snipe at Medmerry (SH)