13th - 15th September 2022

Thursday, 15th September: A fairly light northerly breeze and heavy cloud cover made it a distinctly chillier morning than of late......

Selsey Bill: A Short-eared Owl that came in off the sea and drifted off east was the highlight, with otherwise just a modest amount of visible migration going on. Full log below. (AH/IP/P&LH)

(0700-0900hrs) (N, F3)

Gannet - 2E, 7os

Shag - 6E

Kestrel - 1

Oystercatcher - 1E

Turnstone - 18

Mediterranean Gull - 1W

Sandwich Tern - 8os

Short-eared Owl - 1E (0817hrs)

Swallow - 152E

House Martin - 11

Yellow Wagtail - 1E

Grey Wagtail - 1W

Meadow Pipit - 36N

Short-eared Owl (above), Shags, Sandwich Tern & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: there wasn't much out of the ordinary this morning, with just 20 Shovelers, c50 Teal, five Shelducks, the Brent Goose and c30 Black-tailed Godwits and Lapwings present. (AH)

Later on, on the rising tide, a Curlew Sandpiper and a Common Sandpiper were along the channel opposite. (P&LH)

Shoveler (above) & Black-tailed Godwits at the Ferry (AH)

This evening there were four Spotted Redshanks on the pool. (AH)

Spotted Redshanks, Black-tailed Godwit and Lapwings on the Ferry (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: There were three Whinchats, two Wheatears, a Stonechat, two Chiffchaffs, c20 Meadow Pipits and two Green Woodpeckers around the fields and hedges and a Sparrowhawk and c20 Swallows went over. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: There were still up to four Spotted Flycatchers behind the hide this morning, along with up to a dozen Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, whilst four Wheatears were along the beach and three Stonechats and up to ten Whitethroats and two or three more Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were along the Severals.

There was also a bit of visible migration along the beach, with four Siskins, five Linnets, c40 Meadow Pipits, a Sand Martin, c20 House Martins and c100 Swallows all going east.

The harbour, though was quiet, with two Curlew Sandpipers, two Whimbrels and a dozen Grey Plovers the only waders beyond Curlews and Redshanks. (AH/P&LH/CRJ)

Spotted Flycatcher (above), Wheatear, Whitethroat, Blackcap & Chiffchaff at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Chainbridge to Ham - The Glossy Ibis was still present and feeding in a stubble field next to the Ham Farm barns this morning, whilst three Tree Pipits went over, along with at least 150 Meadow Pipits. 

Also conspicuous were a Wheatear, three Whinchats and six Stonechats along the banks, 350+ Linnets and 16 Yellow Wagtails in the fields inside the sea bank and an interesting roving passerine flock heading through a Sea Buckthorn hedge contained 19 Chiffchaffs, four Willow Warblers, two Sedge Warblers, ten Blackcaps, six Whitethroats, five Blue Tits, four Great Tits, eight Long-tailed Tits and a surprising Cetti's Warbler tagging on.

Waders present on the tidal mud comprised nine Dunlins, a Grey Plover, a Bar-tailed Godwit, nine Ringed Plovers, eight Redshanks, five Greenshanks, three Curlews and a Whimbrel, whilst five Snipe flew over, heading towards Pagham Harbour. (JP)

West Itchenor: An Osprey went over heading east this morning, but there was no sign of the Curlew Sandpipers. (PH)

Pagham Spit: A Redstart was in the old car-park at the start of the spit this morning. (TG)

Redstart on Pagham Spit (TG)

North Wall: Three Stonechats were in the paddocks this morning, with another along the wall, where there was also a Wheatear, a Reed Bunting, a Lesser Whitethroat and a couple of Chiffchaffs.

The usual Greenshank was in White's Creek along with four Dunlin, 24 Black-tailed Godwits, 30 Lapwing, 12 Redshank and a few Wigeon, Pintail, Gadwall and Mallards. There were 30 Teal, a Kingfisher and a Cormorant on the Breech Pool with a few Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins overhead, while at Halsey’s Farm another Kingfisher was by the rife, a Marsh Harrier, a Kestrel and a Jay were over the fields and a Meadow Pipit was on the fence. (LP/CT/PC)

Later on, there were also a Whinchat at the paddocks and five Bar-tailed Godwits in White's Creek. (P&LH)

Lesser Whitethroat (above), Stonechat, Kingfisher & Greenshank at the North Wall (LP)

Wednesday, 14th September: A morning of more or less continuous rain, heavy at times, in a brisk north-easterly breeze, though still quite mild and brightening up by early afternoon......

Selsey Bill: Unsurprisingly quiet this morning, though a Merlin flew east, some way offshore, and a Swift was among the House Martins. Full log below. (SR/AH/IP) 

(0700-0830hrs) (NE, F4-5)

Gannet - 6E, 2os

Shag - 2E

Little Egret - 1

Common Scoter - 5E

Merlin - 1E

Turnstone - 5

Sandwich Tern - 8E, 20os

Swift - 1

Swallow - 6E

House Martin - 118

Meadow Pipit - 3N

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

I can now confirm the colour-ringed Sandwich Tern seen off the Bill on the 11th came here from Haringvliet in the Netherlands, where it was ringed on 20th May this year. Age and sex are unknown, but this is the first time the bird has been seen outside of the Netherlands having spent the summer months there. (SR)

Netherlands-ringed Sandwich Tern at the Bill (SR)

Ferry Pool: A Snipe and two Dunlins were the only waders on the pool, aside from the regular 30 or so Black-tailed Godwits and 60 Lapwings, whilst there were also ten Shovelers, c80 Teal, three Shelducks and the Brent Goose on the pool and a Spotted Redshank in the channel opposite.

Also, a Kingfisher and a Little Egret were both on the small pond in the Discovery Area, a Grey Wagtail went over, 100+ House Martin and Swallows were over the fields at the back and up to 2000 Starlings were on the wires towards the sewage works. (TG-P/AH)

Selsey: Two Swifts went over St Peter's Church this afternoon, along with plenty of Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins. (AW)

Church Norton: There wasn't much doing early on, though at least four Spotted Flycatchers and six Chiffchaffs were behind the hide and a Mistle Thrush was in the car-park, but the harbour just held a handful of Grey Plovers, Dunlin, Teal and Wigeon and plenty of Redshanks. (AH)

Later on, a Curlew Sandpiper was on the mud, two Marsh Harriers were out hunting over the harbour and a Whinchat and a Swift were along the west side. (A Wright)

Spotted Flycatcher (above), Chiffchaff, Mistle Thrush & Grey Plover at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: A Curlew Sandpiper, a Spotted Redshank, 50 Redshank, 20 Dunlin and 30 Lapwing were in White's Creek this morning, along with a few Wigeon, Pintail and Mallards, while further out there were a pair of Gadwall, eight Grey Plovers and four Ringed Plovers.

Two Kingfishers were around the sluice and five Wheatears were along the wall, while in the bushes towards Owl Copse, there were four Lesser Whitethroats, a Blackcap and a few Long-tailed Tits and at at Halsey’s Farm there were a Redstart, a Whinchat, a Meadow Pipit and another Wheatear. (LP)

Spotted Redshank (above), Curlew Sandpiper, Wheatear & Blackcap at the North Wall (LP)

This evening there were seven Wheatears along the wall, and another five at Owl Point, including a good candidate for a 'Greenland' Wheatear, and there were also a Whinchat, a Whitethroat and two Spotted Whitethroats about. (AH/LP/SP)

potential 'Greenland' Wheatear (above) & Spotted Flycatcher at the North Wall (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There was plenty of activity along the banks this evening, including 12 Whinchats, nine Wheatears, 11 Stonechats, four Whitethroats, five Willow Warblers, three Dartford Warblers, four Cetti's Warblers, two Corn Buntings and a Yellowhammer, with a Raven, 22 Yellow Wagtails and c150 Meadow Pipits on the reserve.

Also, a Water Rail was by the first sluice, six Grey Herons flew out to sea together, a Sandwich Tern was offshore and a Common Sandpiper and four Greenshanks were on the Stilt Pool, but only c20 Swallows were seen overhead, along with four Kestrels. (S&SaH)

West Itchenor: There were still six Curlew Sandpipers showing well on the mud off the jetty this morning, along with about 40 Black-tailed Godwits and a few Dunlin and Turnstones, whilst an Osprey went over west along Chichester Channel. (PH/AH)

Curlew Sandpipers at West Itchenor (AH)

Tuesday, 13th September: A very grey and overcast - and sporadically rainy - morning in a fresh north-easterly, though surprisingly mild......

Selsey Bill: Two Black Terns and a Common Tern were among the Sandwich Terns offshore, and over 1000 Swallows, the first seven Siskins of the autumn and 36 Yellow Wagtails went over east. Full log below. (SR/KT/IP/AH/KJ/CRJ et al)

(0640-0855hrs) (NE, F4-5)

Gannet - 7E, 13W, 30os

Shag - 9E

Mute Swan - 1E

Oystercatcher - 2W

Turnstone - 8

Mediterranean Gull - 1E, 2os

Sandwich Tern - 39E, 5W, 12os

Common Tern - 1os

Black Tern - 2os

Swallow - 1172E

Sand Martin - 65E

House Martin - 236E

Yellow Wagtail - 36E

Grey Wagtail - 3E

Meadow Pipit - 82N

Wheatear - 6

Chiffchaff - 2

Siskin - 7E

Linnet - 8E

Black Tern (above), Sandwich Tern, Shags, Gannet & Swallow at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: A juvenile Common Tern flew through and at least 500 Black-headed Gulls were on the pool, along with c25 Black-tailed Godwits, c50 Lapwings, c20 Shovelers, c60 Teal, four Shelducks and the Brent Goose, whilst the three Spotted Redshanks, five Dunlin and a dozen Wigeon were among the birds in the channel opposite. (AH)

Later on, there were four Spotted Redshanks and a Green Sandpiper on the pool, along with a Common Gull, whilst two Wheatears and two Stonechats were on the field. (CRJ)

Common Tern (above), Spotted Redshank & Lapwing at the Ferry (AH)

West Itchenor: There were still up to seven Curlew Sandpipers on the mud off Itchenor Jetty this morning. (PH)

Chichester GPs: A Pied Flycatcher and two Spotted Flycatchers were in the hedges of the field behind Nunnery Lake this morning. (SR)

Church Norton: At least 1000 House Martins and 500 Swallows were feeding and drifting east over the whole area this morning, whilst 40 Meadow Meadow Pipits went east along the beach, with other migrants comprising four Spotted Flycatchers and two or three Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers in the churchyard/hide area, along with a Mistle Thrush and a Sparrowhawk,though it was quiet elsewhere.

A single Curlew Sandpiper, a Greenshank and a few Dunlin and Grey Plovers were about it for interest out on the mud, whilst there were eight Sandwich Terns feeding offshore. (AH/KJ/KF/CRJ et al)

Further to the above, there were masses of hirundines going through and past Church Norton this morning - well over 10,000, with an absolute explosion of birds leaving once the rain stopped. I counted 310 in a minute at one point and it was well over 100 per minute the whole 45 minutes or so I was watching. I estimated 500 Sand Martins and 5000 each of Swallows and House Martins, and this would be a conservative count. (SM)

The field opposite the Old Piggery held a Greenland Wheatear, several Whinchats, 55 Yellow Wagtails and 48 alba/Pied Wagtails. (DSF)

House Martin (above), Mistle Thrush, Grey Plovers & Sandwich Tern at Church Norton (AH)

This evening there were at least five Spotted Flycatchers in the churchyard up to ten Chiffchaffs, all in the sheltered corners, and a Marsh Harrier was hunting over the harbour. (AH)

Marsh Harrier (above), Spotted Flycatcher & Chiffchaff at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: Two Wheatears were along the wall this morning, but there were just a few Mallards and Coots on the now very full Breech Pool, and a Kingfisher flew through, with another very active around the sluice.

A Garden Warbler, a Whitethroat and a Cetti’s Warbler were in the bushes and along White's Creek where there were 16 Black-tailed Godwits, a Greenshank, 30 Dunlin, a Little Egret, 50 Redshank, 20 Lapwing, and a few Curlew, along with a good mix of Ducks including Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Pintail, Mallards and Shelduck. (LP)

Garden Warbler (above), Whitethroat & Little Egret at the North Wall (LP)

Chichester Gravel Pits: Ivy Lake Complex - There was still very little activity on the lakes themselves, though Ivy and Triangle Lake held three Black Swans, two calling Cetti's Warblers, 14 Great Crested Grebes, two Gadwall, five Shovelers, 15 Canada Geese, a Grey Heron, a family of Long-tailed Tits and a few feeding Swallows.

Deep Lake had a Kingfisher, a singing Chiffchaff and two Cetti's Warblers and Copse Lake had five Tufted Ducks, two Pochard, a Great Crested Grebe and a Willow Warbler.

The best area was a corner of a small field behind Nunnery Lake/Deep Lake, where a number of small birds were feeding including a Pied Flycatcher, two Spotted Flycatchers, two Willow Warblers, a Blackcap and a family of Long-tailed Tits. (SR)

There was no sign later on of the Pied Flycatcher, though there were four Spotted Flycatchers and good numbers of commoner migrants present. (CS)

Pied Flycatcher (above) & Black Swans at Chichester GPs (SR)