7th - 9th October 2022

Sunday, 9th October: Another bright and sunny morning, but with a brisk and blustery southerly breeze....

Selsey Bill: There was nothing very rare to be seen, but there were a lot of birds on the move, including over 700+ Linnets and 31 Skylarks, with 42 Kittiwakes, 33 Brent Geese and three Red-breasted Mergansers among those seen heading west. Full log below. (SH/PB/MB/PM/BI/AH/SR/P&LH et al)

(0650-0930hrs) (SSE, F4-5)

Great Crested Grebe - 1W

Gannet - 252W

Shag - 30E

Brent Goose - 33W

Wigeon - 3W

Teal - 1W

Red-breasted Merganser - 3W

Common Scoter - 2W

Sparrowhawk - 1

Kestrel - 1

Sanderling - 1E

Turnstone - 16

Arctic Skua - 2os

Mediterranean Gull - 17os

Common Gull - 2E

Kittiwake - 42W

Sandwich Tern - 24os

Guillemot - 1W

Razorbill - 75E, 109W, 15os

auk sp - 963W

Skylark - 31E

Swallow - 121E

House Martin - 21E

Meadow Pipit - 189E

Pied Wagtail - 153E

Linnet - 705E

Shags (above) & Linnets at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: It was just the usual mix at high tide, including c40 Black-tailed Godwits, c60 Lapwings, c40 Shovelers, c80 Teal and 11 Shelducks. (AH)

Black-tailed Godwits and Lapwings on the Ferry (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: A Merlin went over the fields this morning, and there were also a Sparrowhawk, three Kestrels and three Buzzards about, whilst the farm held two Grey Wagtails, 12 Stonechats, c20 Pied Wagtails and c30 Meadow Pipits, plus a pair of Red-legged Partridges, with a Goldcrest and four Chiffchaffs in the hedges and c30 Swallows over. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: A dark-phase Arctic Skua was offshore this morning, along with a Razorbill, a Shag and three Sandwich Terns, whilst 50 Knot were roosting on the beach with eight Dunlin and six Ringed Plovers.

Also, a Goldcrest was at the Severals, with c50 Swallows and a Grey Wagtail over. (S&SaH)

Arctic Skua at Church Norton (SaH)

North Wall: Four Spotted Redshanks were in White's Creek, along with a Snipe, c30 Black-tailed Godwits and plenty of Redshanks and Lapwings, and a Kingfisher was by the sluice, whilst a Marsh Harrier was hunting behind a birdless Breech Pool.

The bushes were quiet, though, in the wind, beyond a few Reed Buntings and a flock of Long-tailed Tits, plus at least 50 Swallows over. (AH/LP et al)

Spotted Redshanks and Pintail (above), Long-tailed Tit & Swallow at the North Wall (AH)

Kingfisher at the North Wall (A Dennis)

East side: At least 40 Pintail were among c200 Wigeon and Teal, whilst a Lesser Black-backed Gull and c40 Mediterranean Gulls were on the last bits of mud, along with plenty of mostly distant Grey Plovers and Dunlin. (AH)

Pintail (above), Pintail and Wigeon, Grey Plover, Lapwing & Mediterranean Gull along the East side (AH)

Chi GP's: Drayton House pits and Lake - I visited all three pits this morning for the WeBS count, but overall it was disappointing with low numbers of wildfowl and Coots – and just six of the latter on South pit for unknown reasons. Highlights were few but included two Kingfishers, 52 Pochard, 26 Gadwall and at least 10 Chiffchaffs, whilst several noisy Jays, two Buzzards, a Sparrowhawk and three Cetti’s Warblers were the best of the rest. (OM)

Medmerry: Chainbridge to Ham - A Marsh Harrier and six Kestrels were about this afternoon, along with six Swallows, four Chiffchaffs, 30 Stonechats spread along the hedges and a big, loose flock of at least 300 Linnets out on the reserve. (S&SaH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to Wilson's Farm - A Marsh Harrier was hunting here, too, whilst a Merlin flew in and settled in a dead tree full of Wood Pigeons that seemed surprisingly unconcerned by its presence.

Also, two Wheatears were briefly along the banks, at least eight Stonechats were along the hedges and a handful of Reed Buntings were in the cover crop field near Wilson's Farm. (AH)

Merlin (above) & Stonechat at Medmerry (AH)

Saturday, 8th October: A lovely warm and sunny autumn morning in just a light north-westerly breeze.........

Selsey Bill: Two Arctic Skuas were lingering offshore, and over 1000 auks went west this morning, along with 100 Meadow Pipits and 21 Brent Geese, whilst 42 Shags went east. Full log below. (SH/PB/BI/AH/SR)

(0700-0900hrs) (NW, F2)

Red-throated Diver - 1W

Gannet - 96W

Shag - 42E

Brent Goose - 21W

Common Scoter - 3E, 3W

Red-breasted Merganser - 1W

Sparrowhawk - 1

Oystercatcher - 2W

Dunlin - 7W

Turnstone - 1

Arctic Skua - 2os

Mediterranean Gull - 12W

Kittiwake - 7W

Sandwich Tern - 11os

Razorbill - 168E, 10os

auk sp - 100E, 1030W

Skylark - 3W

Swallow - 22W

House Martin - 30W

Meadow Pipit - 100W

Grey Wagtail - 1W

Pied Wagtail - 62W

Wheatear - 1

Chiffchaff - 3

Magpie - 19W

Wheatear (above), Shags & Sandwich Terns at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: Around 25 Black-tailed Godwits and 40 Lapwings were on the pool this morning, together with c40 Shovelers, c60 Teal, five Shelducks and the Brent Goose, whilst c50 House Martins were feeding over the Tramway. (AH)

Black-tailed Godwits at the Ferry (AH)

Marsh Farm, Sidlesham: There were 28 Cattle Egrets around the cows at midday today, with eight more towards Fisher, as well. (CRJ)

North Wall: There were four people fishing in White's Creek this morning, so bird numbers were limited to just a few Wigeon and Pintail, along with ten Redshank and a couple of Dunlin, whilst there were eight Black-tailed Godwits in the Breech Pool along with 24 Teal, a Kingfisher that flew through, and a few Swallows and House Martins overhead.

At Halsey’s Farm, another Kingfisher was along the rife and c30 Meadow Pipits and a Kestrel were in the fields, whilst a Wheatear was along the wall and there were at least 20 Stonechats along the hedgerows, together with a few Reed Buntings, Chiffchaffs and Long-tailed Tits, with a couple of Cetti’s Warblers and a Reed Warbler in the reeds. Out in the harbour at high tide a Great Crested Grebe and a Sandwich Tern were also seen. (LP/CT)

Reed Warbler (above), Wheatear, Stonechat, Kingfisher & Reed Bunting at the North Wall (LP)

Medmerry: Easton Lane and Earnley to the Stilt Pool - The juvenile Red-backed Shrike continued to entertain at close range a continuous flow of visitors this morning around the RSPB car-park at Earnley.

The banks were busy, too, with a Whinchat, two Wheatears, two Dartford Warblers, two Corn Buntings, two Whitethroats, several Chiffchaffs and Cetti's Warblers, half a dozen Yellowhammers and 22 Stonechats noted, along with 20+ Meadow Pipits, five Pied Wagtails, c50 Skylarks and c500 Linnets.

Up to 50 Swallows and House Martins were continuously overhead, with a Merlin, two Marsh Harriers, two Sparrowhawks and half a dozen Kestrels and Buzzards also seen, whilst seven Cattle Egrets were around the cows, but a Snipe and c30 Lapwings were the only waders on the Stilt Pool, which also held three Gadwall and c50 Wigeon and Teal. (AH/S&SaH/AB et al)

Red-backed Shrike (above), Cattle Egret, Linnets & Meadow Pipit at Medmerry (AH)

Medmerry: Porthole Farm - A Merlin went over then dropped down chasing something this evening, whilst the dwarf sunflower/game cover field towards Greenwood Farm held at least 20 Stonechats and 100 Linnets, with another six Stonechats and 50 Linnets around the other hedges in the vicinity. (AH)

Merlin (above) & Stonechats at Medmerry (AH)

Friday, 7th October: Another mild, but blustery, morning with a fresh south-westerly pushing through a lot of cloud.....

Selsey Bill: A Balearic Shearwater went west, with another two possibles, as well, whilst over 1500 auks - mostly Razorbills - went west and 52 Shags went east, and a few Siskins, Linnets and Meadow Pipits went over. Full log below. (BI/P&LH/SR/AH)

(0700-0900hrs) (SW, F6)

Balearic Shearwater - 1W (0826hrs)

Gannet - 268W

Shag - 52E, 1os

Brent Goose - 23E, 3W

Oystercatcher - 1W

Turnstone - 11

Mediterranean Gull - 24W

Kittiwake - 8E, 61W

Sandwich Tern - 3E, 22W

Common Tern - 4W

Guillemot - 3W

Razorbill - 669W

auk sp - 18E, 960W

Meadow Pipit - 30W

Grey Wagtail - 4W

Pied Wagtail - 2N

Chiffchaff - 1

Siskin - 31N

Linnet - 19E

(1330-1500hrs) (P&LH)

Gannet - 75os

Merlin - 1

Kestrel - 1

Kittiwake - 2W

Sandwich Tern - 11os

Common Tern - 4W

Razorbill - 7W

auk sp - 79W

Swallow - 4S

(1530-1700hrs) (SH)

Gannet - 114os, then W

Shag - 20W

Arctic Skua - 2os

Mediterranean Gull - 10W

Kittiwake - 36W

Sandwich Tern - 2W, 10os

Razorbill - 2E, 8W

auk sp - 36E, 10W

Common Terns (above), Sandwich Tern, Guillemot, Shags & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: Around 40 Lapwings were roosting on the pool, though otherwise it was just c30 Shovelers, c20 Wigeon, c60 Teal, five Shelducks and the Brent Goose. (AH)

This evening there were a Kingfisher and a Greenshank in the channel opposite. (AH)

Greenshank (above) & Kingfisher along Ferry Channel (AH)

Church Norton: At high tide there were two Whimbrel and three Greenshank roosting in the harbour, along with a Snipe, 24 Grey Plovers, six Turnstones and 34 Redshanks, whilst there were also three Pintail and six Wigeon among the few dozen Teal present and up to 125 Linnets on and over Tern Island.

A Kingfisher and a Sparrowhawk were also seen, together with c30 Swallows, plus 12 Meadow Pipits in off the sea, whilst 59 Ringed Plovers, six Turnstones and c80 Dunlin were roosting on the beach.

There was a bit of activity offshore, too, including 20 Razorbills and c40 auk sp going west, and a Kittiwake, six Sandwich Terns and up to 100 Gannets feeding offshore. (AH/P&LH)

Whimbrel (above) & Greenshanks and Grey Plovers at Church Norton (AH)

This evening there were two Greenshanks in the harbour, along with a few Grey Plovers and three Sandwich Terns, whilst at least a dozen Chiffchaffs and a couple of Green Woodpeckers were along the hedges. (AH)

Chiffchaff (above) & Greenshanks at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: The Red-backed Shrike was still present today near the RSPB car-park. (CBo et al)

Red-backed Shrike at Medmerry (CBo)

Honer Reservoir: A single Common Sandpiper was the only bird on the reservoir itself, with a Chiffchaff being the only bird of note in the hedges. (LP/AH)

Common Sandpiper at Honer Reservoir (AH)

There were also five Pied Wagtail and a Grey Wagtail at the water treatment works, whilst two Stonechats, a Green Woodpecker and two Jays were in the fields. Later on, there were a Grey Wagtail, a Teal, the Greenshank from the North Wall, a Dunlin and a Green Sandpiper, as well as the Common Sandpiper, on the reservoir. (LP)

Green Sandpiper (above), Greenshank & Common Sandpiper at Honer Reservoir (LP)

Pagham Lagoon and Spit: There were just three Tufted Ducks, six Little Grebes and a Great Crested Grebe on the Lagoon with the usual Mallards and Coots.

Along the Spit there were six Stonechats, eight Meadow Pipits and four Skylarks with an active flock of 70 Linnets and a few House Sparrows. Up to 50 Dunlin, 30 Turnstones, five Ringed Plovers and 70 Oystercatchers were spread around the shingle and a couple of Gannets drifted west offshore. (LP)

Stonechat (above) & Ringed Plover and Dunlin at Pagham Spit (LP)

North Wall: There were 35 Black-tailed Godwits on the Breech Pool with a few Teal and Wigeon. A Rock Pipit was along the wall and a Grey Plover, a Curlew and a few Redshanks were out on the mud. (LP)

Rock Pipit at the North Wall (LP)