26th - 28th August 2022

Sunday, 28th August: A pleasant morning of warm sun and white cloud in a moderate north-easterly breeze........

Selsey Bill: A Bonxie was offshore again this morning, with a huge gathering of 400+ Gannets and many gulls, whilst a few Yellow Wagtails, Sand Martins and Swallows were going east, along with a Garganey, two Greenshank went west and four Wheatears were seen. Full log later. (SH/SR/BI/IP/AH)

(0600-0830hrs) (NE, F3)

Gannet - 420os

Grey Heron - 1E, 1N

Little Egret - 1

Teal - 6E

Garganey - 1E

Common Scoter - 5E

Sanderling - 3W

Greenshank - 2W

Turnstone - 2W

Great Skua - 1os

Mediterranean Gull - 57os

Sandwich Tern - 4os

Common Tern - 1E

Little Tern - 1W

Swallow - 225E

Sand Martin - 39E

House Martin - 6

Yellow Wagtail - 19E

Grey Wagtail -1E

Pied Wagtail - 3E

Meadow Pipit - 1N

Wheatear - 4

Wheatears (above), Sandwich Tern & Gannets at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: Ten Shovelers were new in on the pool, whilst a Little Ringed Plover and a Dunlin were still present, along with a Grey Wagtail and the usual mix of c60 Black-tailed Godwits, c75 Lapwing, c100 Teal, three Shelducks and the Brent Goose. (AH/CBo)

Little Ringed Plover and Grey Wagtail (above), Shovelers (AH) & Redshank (CBo)  on the Ferry

Park Farm, Selsey: Six Yellow Wagtails that flew over the fields, and a Red-legged Partridge seen east of Greenlease - the first sighting here in over three months were the only birds of note this morning. (IP)

East Beach: Remarkably, a different Long-tailed Blue was seen in the garden today . (SR/CRJ et al)

Long-tailed Blue in a Selsey garden (SR)

Church Norton: The Curlew Sandpiper was seen again this morning, flying out of the harbour with a flock of Ringed Plovers, and there were also over 50 Grey Plovers visible of which a minimum of 30 were in summer plumage.

Otherwise, over 100 Ringed Plover were again present and Dunlin numbers exceeded fifty, whilst in addition to this the usual waders were present along with six Turnstones, whilst there were six Wheatears scattered around, including two sat on posts in the horse field. (IP) 

There were still a good number of birds around the hide and churchyard this morning including c.6 Spotted Flycatchers, a Garden Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat and several Blackcaps. The highlights here were a female-type Redstart on the gravestones and a Hummingbird Hawk-moth nearby. The Severals held a Small Copper, a Painted Lady and another Hummingbird Hawk-moth, but bird-wise only a few Willow Warblers and Whitethroats could be found. (BI)

Hummingbird hawk-moth at Church Norton video

Kingfisher at Church Norton (IP), Small Copper & Hummingbird hawk-moth (BI)

In addition to the above, there was a Whinchat sat on the sand at low tide with seven Yellow Wagtails (with three more of the latter going over later on), five Wheatears and a Skylark were along the beach and 18 Little Egrets and 38 Redshanks were counted in the harbour. (AHu)

This afternoon, a Common Sandpiper and a Kingfisher were on the metalwork, with a Hummingbird Hawk-moth and a Sandwich Tern nearby, whilst six Teal were sat on the sea offshore and c75 Sand Martins and c25 Swallows went east over the harbour. (S&SaH)

There were also several Spotted Flycatchers behind the tide and two Whimbrel in the harbour. (CBo)

Spotted Flycatcher (above), Grey Heron & Robin at Church Norton (CBo)

This evening a dozen Yellow Wagtails were in the lettuce field along Rectory Lane, whilst at least two Spotted Flycatchers were by the Mound and a Greenshank and c60 Ringed Plovers were the only birds of note in the harbour. (AH)

Yellow Wagtails at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - The banks were fairly quiet this morning, with just one Wheatear and one stonechat seen, along with a Dartford Warbler, a Whitethroat, a Skylark, a couple of Meadow Pipits and Yellowhammers and plenty of Linnets and Goldfinches, whilst a Kingfisher, c20 Yellow Wagtails were out on the reserve, eight Pied Wagtails were near the car-park and c300 Sand Martins and c200 swallows drifted over east.

A Marsh Harrier and a Sparrowhawk were seen over the reserve, along with up to four Buzzards and Kestrels, but the stilt Pool was quiet again, with a Common Sandpiper, an Avocet, a Lapwing and an Oystercatcher the only waders present, whilst the eight dubious looking Barnacle-type Geese, three Egyptian Geese and three Gadwall were among the 150 or so Canada Geese. (S&SaH/AH)

Wheatear (above), Sand Martin, Common Sandpiper, Meadow Pipit & Barnacle-type Geese at Medmerry (AH)

North Wall: A Golden Plover and 14 Wigeon were in the harbour along with 30 Teal and 20 Dunlin, while two Peregrines circled high up and a Sparrowhawk unsuccessfully chased a Common Sandpiper over the Breech Pool, where there was just a Pied Wagtail, a Lapwing and a few Teal.

Also, c200 Sand Martins and a few Swallows were around, and a Kingfisher was by the sluice, but the bushes were quiet with just a few Willow Warblers and Whitethroats about. (LP/TG/DH)

Sand Martins (above) & Wigeon and Mallards at the North Wall (LP)

Saturday, 27th August: Another very warm and sunny morning in a light breeze, starting in the north and ending up from the south....

Selsey Bill: The first Bonxie of the autumn went east this morning and a Greenshank went west, whilst a Hobby flew in and over from way out to sea and there were more Swallows about than of late. Full log below. (SH/PB/BI/SR/AH/IP)

(0600-0830hrs) (NE, F2)

Fulmar - 2E

Gannet - 5E, 9W, 6os

Common Scoter - 8E

Sparrowhawk - 1

Hobby - 1N

Greenshank - 1W

Turnstone - 9W

Great Skua - 1E

Mediterranean Gull - 23os

Sandwich Tern - 7os

Swallow - 263E

Sand Martin - 90E

House Martin - 19

Yellow Wagtail - 22E

Willow Warbler - 1

(1300-1400hrs) (SH)

Gannet - 3E, 6W

Turnstone - 6E

Sand Martin - 15E

Swallow - 15E

Hobby (above), Fulmar & Sandwich Tern at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: A Whimbrel flew over, going west, and there were a still a Common Sandpiper and a Little Ringed Plover on the pool, but the only other small wader were two Dunlin, with the usual gathering of a dozen Redshank, c50 Black-tailed Godwits, c80 Lapwing, c100 Teal, a Shelduck and the Brent Goose all still present.

A family of Stonechats were in the field, along with a Pied Wagtail and two Stock Doves and a few Sand Martins and Swallows went over, but the Tramway circuit was very quiet again, with just a few Whitethroats seen. (AH/AHu)

Whimbrel (above), Little Ringed Plover and Common Sandpiper, Dunlin & Black-tailed Godwit at the Ferry (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: There were two Willow Warblers and a Blackcap in the hedges this morning, whilst the fields held 500 Swallows, 50 House Martins and ten Sand Martins, plus a Yellow wagtail thatwas amongst the crops. (IP)

East Beach: The Long-tailed Blue was around the garden again this morning, though elusive. (SR)

Church Norton: At least two, and possibly three, Pied Flycatchers and at least ten Spotted Flycatchers were behind the hide and in the churchyard this morning, with several Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats, a Green Woodpecker and lots of Swallows also seen. (GM/M&LH/BI et al)

A male Whinchat was at the horse field, and vast numbers of all three hirundines went over, with the majority being Swallows, but otherwise passerines were thin on the ground bar a male Redstart along the Severals. 

The Harbour held over 100 Ringed Plovers on the mud, but considerably fewer Dunlin than recently - c20, whilst, apart from the regular Curlews, Oystercatchers and Redshanks, there were a few interesting species on view, including a Kingfisher around the metalwork, a Common Sandpiper, a Greenshank that was feeding in the channels, but flew towards Pagham Church as the tide rose and a Common Gull on the mud.

There was also a flock of eight Turnstones around the metalwork and a summer-plumaged Grey Plover was in the Harbour, whilst a single Sandwich Tern flew west offshore, with three Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk also seen. A Water Rail was also along the reeds of the first several. (IP/BI)

Also, later on, a Curlew Sandpiper was out on the mud before the tide rose, along with a Golden Plover, c50 Grey Plovers, c100 Ringed Plovers, c50 Dunlin, 29 Great Crested Grebes, five Grey Herons and a Peregrine. (AHu)

This afternoon, an Osprey was seen hunting over the harbour.(MB)

Pied Flycatcher (above), Spotted Flycatchers, Lesser Whitethroat (GM) & Curlew Sandpiper (AHu) at Church Norton

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There were lots of birds along the banks this morning, including two Whinchats, nine Stonechats, eight Wheatears, two Dartford Warblers, a Sedge Warbler, two Willow Warblers, three Cetti's Warblers, a Meadow Pipit, a Reed Bunting, two Corn Buntings, 23 Yellowhammers, eight Yellow Wagtails and 22 Pied Wagtails and c150 Goldfinches, with a Swift, a House Martin, and c400 Sand Martins and Swallows going over.

A Green Sandpiper and a Common Sandpiper were in the pathside pools, whilst a Marsh Harrier, four Buzzards and two Kestrels were up over the reserve, but the Stilt Pool was again quiet, with just two Common Sandpipers, two Egyptian Geese and eight Barnacle-type Geese of note. (S&SaH/PB)

This evening two Ravens went over and a Barn Owl was out hunting, whilst three Swifts were among the many hirundines present.

Also, a Badger was seen running down the road near the car-park at dusk. (MT/AB/CD)

Raven at Medmerry (MT)

North Wall: There were still a few bits around the fields at Halsey's Farm, including three Whinchats, four Spotted Flycatchers, four Wheatears, a Garden Warbler, a Blackcap and a few Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroats, along with a Kingfisher.

There were at least 500 Swallows and Sand Martins all over the area, with just a few House Martins among them, which attracted in a juvenile Hobby at one point, but the wall was very quiet otherwise, with just three Pied Wagtails on the Breech Pool, nothing really moving in the bushes and just a Whimbrel and a few Curlews and Lapwing, together with a dozen roosting Cattle Egrets in the harbour. (AH/GM et al)

This afternoon there were still 300+ Sand Martins and Swallows about, along with two Wheatears and 19 Yellow Wagtails, whilst a male Marsh Harrier with all primaries intact - either a new bird or the regular one has moulted his primaries - was at Owl Point. (S&SaH)

Hobby (above), Whinchat, Spotted Flycatcher, Wheatears, Sand Martin & Swallow at the North Wall (AH)

Friday, 26th August: A beautiful late summer's morning of unbroken warm sun in a light and variable breeze....

Selsey Bill: The morning's highlight, for those lucky enough to see it, was undoubtedly the Turtle Dove that sat out on the scaffolding on Bill House roof before dropping down and disappearing into the gardens.

Otherwise, there was also a Whinchat on Bill House roof, five Yellow Wagtails and four Swifts over and a Black Tern west and two Little Terns east offshore, whilst five Redshank west were unusual for the Bill. Full log below. (SR/IP/AH/BI/P&LH/OM)

(0645-0900hrs) (NNW, F1-2)

Gannet - 16E, 10W

Shag - 2E

Sanderling - 2E

Redshank - 5W

Turnstone - 1E

Mediterranean Gull - 1E

Sandwich Tern - 16E

Common Tern - 2W

Little Tern - 2E

Black Tern - 1W

Turtle Dove - 1

Swift - 4

Green Woodpecker - 1

Swallow - 7E

Sand Martin - 5E, 2W

House Martin - 22

Yellow Wagtail - 5E

Grey Wagtail - 1W

Whinchat - 1

Willow Warbler - 2

(1345-1430hrs) (P&LH)

Gannet - 4os

Oystercatcher - 1W

Turnstone - 2W

House Martin - 2

Wheatear - 1

Turtle Dove (above), Swifts, Whinchat, Willow Warbler, House Martin, Shags, Sandwich Tern & Redshanks at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were two Spotted Redshanks on the pool again, along with a Green Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper, three Dunlin and a Little Ringed Plover, plus the usual mix of a dozen Redshank, c40 Black-tailed Godwits, c60 Lapwings, c100 Teal and the Brent goose. (AH)

Spotted Redshanks and Black-tailed Godwits (above) & Teal at the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: A singing Chiffchaff, a Reed Bunting and a Blackcap were by the stables this morning and there was a steady movement of Swallows and Sand Martins overhead. 

The water level in the Breech Pool has increased overnight and it contained six Pied Wagtails, a Little Ringed Plover, a Common Sandpiper, three Teal and a fishing Kingfisher, with a few Sedge Warblers and a couple of Reed Warblers also around. (LP/CT)

Little Ringed Plover (above), Sedge Warbler, Blackcap & Kingfisher at the North Wall (LP)

East Side: A Great White Egret flew down the east side and was relocated further down towards the harbour entrance with a group of ten Little Egrets. 

A Sanderling was on the mud in the middle of the harbour and a few Dunlin, Ringed Plovers and a couple of Grey Plovers were along the channel, where there was also a Greenshank and a Kingfisher, (LP/PC/CT/GHi)

Great White Egret and Little Egrets (above), Sanderling (LP), Kingfisher &  Little Egret (GHi) along the East side 

This evening there were two Whinchats and five Wheatears in the fields at Owl Point, with two Spotted Flycatchers and several Willow Warblers, Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroats in the hedges at Halsey's Farm, with c40 Yellow Wagtails and c20 Cattle Egrets among the cattle there.

The wall was quiet, though a Marsh Harrier was seen at the back and 100+ Sand Martins and a few Swallows were feeding around the Breech Pool, where conditions were ideal for waders, but were only being used by two Lapwings, plus a flyby Kingfisher.

A Clouded Yellow and a few Willow warblers were along the east side, but the harbour was quiet beyond four Whimbrel that flew in. (AH/LP/IH/SP/TG/NM et al)

Whinchat (above), Wheatears, Yellow Wagtails, Sand Martin, Spotted Flycatcher & Whitethroat at the North Wall (AH)

Church Norton: At least one Pied Flycatcher, two Redstarts and half a dozen Spotted Flycatchers were commuting between the churchyard and the field by the hide this morning, along several Willow Warblers, Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats and Blackcaps, with a Whinchat and half a dozen Wheatears along the beach and spit and at least six Willow Warblers around the second Several. A Hummingbird hawk-moth was here, too.

The harbour held a Greenshank, a Whimbrel and a Kingfisher, but not much else of note, beyond a few Sand Martins and Swallows over, and there were also eight Buzzards up over Greenlease Farm. (AH/BI/P&LH et al)

This evening there were two Redstarts and a Whitethroat around the first Several. (S&SaH)

Pied Flycatcher (above), Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher & Lesser Whitethroat at Church Norton (AH)

West Itchenor: On a quick look around Itchenor this morning I found two of the House Martin nests were still active with young and along the shore were 120 Black-tailed Godwits, 80 Mediterranean Gulls, five Curlews, six Dunlin, five Ringed Plovers, six Sandwich Terns, a Turnstone, a Pied Wagtail, a Green Woodpecker, 40 Swallows, eight House Martins and seven Sand Martins. (SR)

Bar-tailed Godwit and Mediterranean Gulls at West Itchenor (SR)

Northcommon Farm & Warner Lane: Most of the activity was around 'flycatcher corner' this morning, with a nice selection of a Pied Flycatcher, five Spotted Flycatchers, six Willow Warblers, three Whitethroats and two Blackcaps. 

A group of eight Buzzards were also soaring above, whilst a single Wheatear was in the fields.Nearby, a male Redstart and two Whitethroats were in Warner Lane paddocks. (OM)

(above) Pied Flycatcher with two Spotted Flycatchers and (below) Spotted Flycatcher at Northcommon Farm (OM)

Park Farm, Selsey: There were seven Whinchats and 12 Wheatears around the fields this evening, along with five Yellow Wagtails and five Pied Wagtails, with c100 Sand Martins and c50 Swallows going over. (S&SaH)

East Beach: A Long-tailed Blue was in my garden this evening. (SR)

Long-tailed Blue in an East Beach garden (SR)