29th - 31st July 2022

Sunday, 31st July: A grey, but warm and very muggy morning, brightening up a little in the freshening westerly.......

Selsey Bill: Five Little Terns, two Common Terns, nine Sand Martins and 86 Gannets went west this morning. Full log below. (SH/SR/BI/AH/IP/OM)

(0545-0815hrs) (W, F4-5)

Gannet - 4E, 86W

Turnstone - 5

Mediterranean Gull - 2E, 15W, 3os

Sandwich Tern - 1E, 24W, 15os

Common Tern - 2W

Little Tern - 5W

Swift - 3

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

Congratulations to Sarah Russell, runner-up in this year's closely contested Pom-King competition, receiving her trophy from OM at the Bill today. Next year there could be a Pom-Queen! (AH)

(1130-1300hrs) (SH)

Gannet - 1E, 13W

Sanderling - 3

Dunlin - 1

Turnstone - 5

Mediterranean Gull - 2W

Sandwich Tern - 3E, 13W, 4os

Common Tern - 4W

Sanderling at the Bill (SH)

Northcommon Farm: A brief visit this morning was not very productive and the hedgerows failed to produce anything of interest; however there were c.20 House Martins and two Swallows overhead and a couple of Green Woodpeckers in the fields. (OM/JA)

Ferry Pool: Four Common Sandpipers were on the pool this morning, along with two Dunlin, a dozen Redshank, c30 Lapwings, c70 Black-tailed Godwits, 20 Teal, six juvenile Shelducks and the lonely Brent Goose.

Also, c30 Sand Martins went over, the regular Greenshank and a Common Sandpiper were in the channel opposite, but a couple of Whitethroats were all that could be seen on a blustery Tramway. (AH/OM)

Greenshank (above) & Common Sandpiper at the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: The Squacco Heron was again in the fields at Halsey's Farm this morning,showing from time to time around the rife. (BI/PB et al)

This afternoon the Squacco Heron showed well, but briefly, in the rife, whilst a Kingfisher flew down the rife, eight Little Ringed Plovers were on the Breech Pool and ten Swallows and 20 Sand Martins went over. (S&SaH)

Also, at high tide there were three Spotted Redshanks and seven Greenshanks on the Breech Pool (TG-P), whilst later on both a Barn Owl and a Little Owl were out and about (LP)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - The Wood Sandpiper, two Green Sandpipers, six Common Sandpipers, two Snipe, four Avocets and the pair of Ringed Plovers and their well grown chick were on the Stilt Pool this morning., whilst 30 Sand Martins and 20 Swallows went over.

A Wheatear was again on on the reserve and a Corn Bunting was along the banks, as were two juvenile Dartford Warblers, but most birds were keeping low, with otherwise just two Stonechats, three Whitethroats, four Yellowhammers, a Pied Wagtail and two Green Woodpeckers being seen, whilst two Buzzards went over. (S&SaH/PB/LP)

Corn Bunting (SH) (above), Wheatear, Green Sandpipers, Snipe & Stonechats (LP) at Medmerry

Park Farm, Selsey: The fields held c50 Pied Wagtails, but nothing else of note this morning. (IP)

Church Norton: There were still at least four Little Terns present this morning, along with six Common Terns and 60+ Sandwich Terns, plus at least 50 Mediterranean Gulls, spread between the harbour, the beach and offshore, whilst waders included four Whimbrel, a summer-plumaged Grey Plover, a dozen Ringed Plovers and c80 Dunlin.

Two Teal flew over the Severals, where there were also a Gadwall, a Grey Heron and a Sparrowhawk seen, but passerines were few, though c20 Swallows were over the harbour and Bluebell Wood held at least three Willow Warblers and Blackcaps, plus two juvenile Green Woodpeckers, busy chasing each other around. (IP/AH)

Whimbrels (above), Grey Plover & Mediterranean Gulls at Church Norton (AH)

Chichester GPs: Ivy Lake complex - There wasn't much to report today, though 50+ Sand Martins and a few Swallows and Swifts were overhead, an adult and four juvenile Egyptian Geese, four Greylag Geese and two families of Great Crested Grebes were on Ivy Lake, with the pair with two well grown young still on Deep Lake. (AH)

Sand Martin (above), juvenile Egyptian Geese & juvenile Great Crested Grebe at Chichester GPs (AH)

Saturday, 30th July: A very warm morning, almost still early on, but freshening from the south-west and bringing some cloud later....

Selsey Bill: A pod of around seven Bottle-nosed Dolphins heading east was the highlight, though two Common Terns were among the Sandwich Terns lingering around the shingle bar. Full log below. (SR/AH/IP/P&LH)

(0650-0750hrs) (NNW, F1-2)

Oystercatcher - 2W

Turnstone - 8W

Mediterranean Gull - 6os

Sandwich Tern - 19E, 3W, 32os

Common Tern - 2os

Swift - 2

House Martin - 6

Bottle-nosed Dolphin - 7E

(1430-1600hrs) (SW, F5) (SH et al)

Gannet - 4E, 2W

Common Scoter - 12W

Sanderling - 1

Turnstone - 6

Mediterranean Gull - 1W

Sandwich Tern - 17W

Common Tern - 1W

Rock Pipit - 1

Sandwich Tern (above), House Martin & Bottle-nosed Dolphins at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: A Greenshank was at the back this morning, with the regular one still in the channel opposite, along with six Common Sandpipers, four Dunlin, a dozen Redshanks, c40 Lapwings, c75 Black-tailed Godwits, five Teal, a juvenile Shelduck and the Brent Goose. 

A look around the Tramway circuit produced a couple of Willow Warblers, Reed Warblers and Lesser Whitethroats, a Blackcap and at least half a dozen Whitethroats, whilst c50 Sand Martins went over. (AH/IP)

Willow Warbler (above), Whitethroat, Common Sandpiper & Greenshank around the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: The Squacco Heron was still around the rife at Halsey's Farm, showing well intermittently throughout the morning for the many local and visiting birders.

There was a Common Sandpiper in White's Creek, along with three Greenshank, three Knot, a Whimbrel, a Canada Goose and the lone Wigeon, whilst the Breech Pool had all the usual birds, including 30 Dunlin, 24 Redshank, 12 Lapwing, six Black-tailed Godwits, four Little Ringed Plovers, two Pied Wagtails and the Shelduck family.

Out by their island there was a group of 30 Little and Cattle Egrets and a couple of Grey Herons, whilst juvenile Green Woodpecker was in the paddock and the Swallows were still very busy around the stables. (LP/CT/GHi/ARK/M&LH/AGB et al)

Greenshank (above), Knot, Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwits & Green Woodpecker at the North Wall (LP)

The Squacco Heron went missing for most of the afternoon, before re-appearing in the rife at Halsey's Farm, where it stayed for a short while before flying off westwards. 

There were also over 40 Cattle Egrets in the fields, a Greenshank and a Whimbrel in the harbour, three Little Ringed Plovers on the Breech Pool and c50 Sand Martins over. ((OM/NB/LGRE/AH et al)

Squacco Heron (NB top & AH lower) (above) & Cattle Egrets (AH) at the North Wall 

more images of the Squacco Heron (AB)

Sidlesham Quay: There were two Spotted Redshanks in the harbour here this morning. (J Aldridge)

Park Farm, Selsey: Around 20 Swallows, Sand and House Martins were feeding over the fields and there were also a Green and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers about. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: About 40 Little Terns were feeding in and around the harbour mouth this morning and 26 Common Terns went west further offshore.

There weren't many waders on the low tide, though a Common Sandpiper flew west along the beach and another, along with a Dunlin, was on the metalwork, and there wasn't much else about beyond three Sparrowhawks, a Buzzard, two Green and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. (S&SaH).

Late this afternoon there were just a handful of Sandwich Terns in the harbour, along with a couple of Whimbrel, c30 Ringed Plovers, c50 Redshank and c120 Dunlin, whilst a dozen Swallows and a couple of Sand Martins were feeding over the harbour. (AH)

Sandwich Tern (above), Swallow & Ringed Plover and Dunlin at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - The White-rumped Sandpiper was still present early this morning (R Grimshaw), but was not seen subsequently.

The Stilt Pool was, though, full of waders, including the Curlew Sandpiper, a Wood Sandpiper, two Green Sandpipers, at least six Common Sandpipers, a Little Ringed Plover, three Snipe, two Black-tailed Godwits, four Avocets, two Dunlin and the pair of Ringed Plover with their chick.

The first returning Wheatear of the year was seen opposite the Stilt Pool, and three were also three Yellow Wagtails, a Pied Wagtail and a couple of Meadow Pipits around the pool, with six more of the latter, three Dartford Warblers, including at least one juvenile, a Stonechat, a Reed Warbler, a Sedge Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, half a dozen Whitethroats and Yellowhammers and many Linnets along the banks.

Also of note, c50 Swifts and Swallows and c100 Sand Martins went over, as did a Raven, a Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard and three Kestrels, whilst a Whimbrel and up to five Green Woodpeckers were around the poplars. 

There was also a 'helice' type female Clouded Yellow along the banks.(S&SaH/CN/AH et al)

Wheatear (SH) (above), Wood Sandpiper (SaH top, SH middle, AH lower), Curlew Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Snipe, Swift & 'helice' type Clouded Yellow (AH) at Medmerry

Friday, 29th July: After a grey start, a very warm and sunny morning in a light north-easterly breeze....

Selsey Bill: A flock of eight Common Scoter were sat on the sea, and there were a few Swifts and House Martins about this morning. Full log below. (SR/AH/IP/BI)

(0635-0810hrs) (NE, F3)

Gannet - 5E

Mallard - 1W

Common Scoter - 8os

Dunlin - 2E

Turnstone - 2W

Mediterranean Gull - 4E, 1W, 47os

Sandwich Tern - 8E, 3W, 5os

Swift - 24

Green Woodpecker - 1

Swallow - 4E

House Martin - 6

House Martin (above), Sandwich Tern & Common Scoters at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were six Common Sandpipers on the pool this morning, along with four Dunlin, six Redshanks, c30 Lapwings, c40 Black-tailed Godwits, nine Teal and just one juvenile Shelduck, whilst the Greenshank was again in the channel opposite, and a Common Blue was on the roadside bank. (AH)

Common Sandpiper (above), Lapwings, Greenshank & Common Blue at the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - The White-rumped Sandpiper and the Curlew Sandpiper both re-appeared on the Stilt Pool early this morning, and there were also a Whimbrel, five Common Sandpipers and half a dozen Yellow Wagtails there, whilst a Peregrine was sat out on the reserve.

There was also a huge gathering of Sand Martins on the fences around the islands in the pool, but the banks were quiet, with just a single Whitethroat and a couple of Stonechats of note. (PB)

Later, a Glossy Ibis was seen out on the reserve. (D Rimes)

North Wall: A Squacco Heron - the third ever for the Peninsula and the first since the popular bird in 2019 - turned up in the same creek the previous individual favoured at Halsey's Farm, late this morning. It was quite flighty and eventually flew over towards the Honer fields. Also, a Red Kite and 20 sand Martins went over. (T Morgan/S Frettsome/B Smith/IP/SR et al) 

Later in the afternoon the Squacco Heron was back at the end of the rife viewed from the wall before flying up into a tree with a fish. (BI/Sa&SH/NM/AT et al)

Squacco Heron at Halsey's Farm (SR top, IP next two, LP lower four), & with fish (BI)

The Squacco Heron continued to show well intermittently into the evening, before going to roost in Owl Copse at 1920hrs. There were also at least 30 Cattle Egrets feeding in the adjacent fields, two Curlew Sandpipers were on the Breech Pool and a Tawny Owl called from Owl Copse. (AH/AB/CRJ et al)

Squacco Heron (above) & with Cattle Egret at Halsey's Farm (AH)

It was fairly quiet along the wall earlier on, with the bushes notably lacking birds, but there were a family of Sedge Warblers, a family of Reed Buntings, two Pied Wagtails and plenty of Reed Warblers around the Breech Pool, though the only waders on it were a couple of Black-tailed Godwits,  c20 Dunlin and similar of Lapwings.

The harbour was quiet, too, though a Whimbrel, eight Grey Plovers and a few Dunlin were at the end of White's Creek and 52 Cattle Egrets and three Little Egrets were around their island, whilst a Peregrine went over, being mobbed by a Kestrel and 20 Sand Martins were over Halsey's Farm. (AH/GHi/CT)

This afternoon, a Marsh Harrier was seen going over. (CRJ)

Peregrine (above), Peregrine and Kestrel, Sedge Warblers, Reed Buntings, Sand Martin, Cattle Egrets, Grey Plover, Roe Deer (AH) & Marsh Harrier (CRJ) at the North Wall 

Sidlesham: Late this afternoon there were c50 Swifts, c50 Swallows, c20 Sand Martins and maybe five House Martins all feeding over our garden on the west of the village. (AH)

Swifts over Sidlesham (AH)