Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 13th

Saturday, 15th April: Another unseasonably chill morning in a moderate north-westerly breeze, mostly grey but with a few pleasant sunny intervals............

Selsey Bill: A slightly more interesting morning than the conditions suggested, including a Long-tailed Duck and two dark-phase Arctic Skuas east, a (sadly, not very well-looking) Guillemot and eight Great Northern Divers on the sea and a Wheatear and two Swallows in off. Full log below. (SH/PB/BI/IP/AH/MO-W/SR/P&LH)

(0600-0900hrs) (NW, F4)

Great Northern Diver - 1E, 8os

Red-throated Diver - 2os

diver sp - 3E

Gannet - 10E, 10W, 5os

Shag - 1E

Grey Heron - 1N

Long-tailed Duck - 1E

Common Scoter - 3E, 13W, 18os

Sparrowhawk - 1

Oystercatcher - 2E, 2W

Arctic Skua - 2E

Mediterranean Gull - 2os

Common Gull - 2W

Sandwich Tern - 9E, 8os

Common Tern - 6E, 2os

Guillemot - 1os

auk sp - 3W

Swallow - 2N

Meadow Pipit - 4N

Wheatear - 1

Rook - 1W

At 1530hrs this afternoon an Osprey went west, well offshore. (SM)

Wheatear (above), Sparrowhawk, Great Northern Diver, Shag & Guillemot at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: The first Common Sandpiper of the year and the Spotted Redshank were both in the channel this morning, and two Wheatears were in the field at the back, along with a Skylark, but the pool just held six Avocets, a Redshank a dozen Teal, four Shelducks and c50 Shovelers. (AW/AH/HB/PB et al)

Common Sandpiper (above) & Spotted Redshank in Ferry Channel (AH)

Long Pool: At least one Reed Warbler and plenty of Sedge warblers were singing along the pool, with two Yellowhammers, a Reed Bunting and a Chiffchaff were also about, whilst a Marsh Harrier was about early on, a lone drake Wigeon was in Ferry Channel and three or four pairs of Lapwings and a few Skylarks were over the uncropped fields. (AW/AH/HB et al)

This evening a Short-eared Owl was out hunting the fields at the end of the pool. (AB)

Reed Warbler (AW) (above), Sedge Warbler & Yellowhammer (AH) along the Long Pool

Park Farm, Selsey: There were just eight Shelducks and a couple of Pied Wagtails in the fields this morning. (IP)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A Dartford Warbler, two Whitethroats, a Reed Warbler, five Cetti's Warblers, two Chiffchaffs, a Reed Bunting and two Yellowhammers were along the banks, whilst three Swallows, a Kestrel, a Sparrowhawk and three Buzzards went over.

Also, a Greenshank and an Avocet were by the poplars, with another 20 of the latter and two Ringed Plovers were it for the Stilt Pool. (S&SaH)

North Wall: The Garganey reappeared in the harbour by Heron Island late this morning, whilst a Common Sandpiper was on the mud opposite Bremere Rife and two Whimbrel went over, heading north.

Otherwise, two Little Egrets were in the paddock this morning and a Wren and a couple of Greenfinches were in the hedges, and along White’s Creek there were two Shovelers, 12 Teal, lots of Black-tailed Godwits, three Grey Plovers and 14 Redshanks, with four Tufted Ducks on the Breech Pool along with a Great Crested Grebe, two Canada Geese and the pair of nesting Mute Swans, whilst the male Marsh Harrier was up briefly further back.

Four Cetti’s Warblers, three Reed Warblers, three Sedge Warblers, three Chiffchaffs, two Willow Warblers and two Reed Buntings were along the wall, and a Whimbrel, a Bar-tailed Godwit and12 Curlews were in the fields, whilst at Owl Copse there was plenty of activity from the Little Egrets, Cattle Egrets and Grey Herons, and 15 more Little Egrets were in the Slipe Field. (RBe/LP/IP et al)

Garganey (above), Cattle Egret, Wren (LP) & Whimbrel (RBe) at the North Wall

Church Norton: The male Redstart was still around the orchard at Greenlease Farm and three Wheatears were along the beach, whilst both Sedge and Reed Warblers could be heard singing from the Severals, where there was also two or three Jays, three Reed Buntings, a Kestrel, a pair of Little Grebes and a pair of Gadwall, and there were a couple of Willow Warblers and half a dozen Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were around the Mound/hide area.

The Whimbrel was again in the harbour, along with a few Grey Plovers, Turnstones, Dunlin and Ringed Plovers and at least 250 Black-tailed Godwits, whilst a drake Red-breasted Merganser, a pair of Teal and 40 Shelducks were also about. (IP/AH/P&LH/HB et al)

Also, later on, a Large Tortoiseshell butterfly was around the rubble pile at Greenlease Farm, and the Restart was still by the orchard and two Eider were offshore. (AB/BI/S&SaH/SR)

Redstart (IP) (above), Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Red-breasted Merganser, Black-tailed Godwits & Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls (AH) at Church Norton

Friday, 14th April: A thoroughly dismal morning for the time of year, cold despite a fresh southerly breeze, later shifting to become south-easterly, with often heavy, drizzly rain persisting all morning.......

Selsey Bill: An early flourish, which included an Arctic Skua and a few Common and Sandwich Terns heading east, quickly petered out, despite the apparently promising conditions, with very little on the move thereafter. Full log below. (BI/RHa/IP/MO-W/SR/OM/AH)

(0630-1145hrs) (S/SE F5-6)

Great Northern Diver - 1W, 2os

Great Crested Grebe - 1W, 1os

Fulmar - 1W

Gannet - 10E, 4W

Common Scoter - 5E, 20os,

Red-breasted Merganser - 1E, 1W

Oystercatcher - 1E

Turnstone - 1E

Arctic Skua - 1E

Kittiwake - 1W

Mediterranean Gull - 24os

Common Gull - 1E

Sandwich Tern - 40E, 4os

Common Tern - 12E, 8os

Meadow Pipit - 4N

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

There was a bit of activity early this afternoon, with a Bonxie, two Arctic Skuas and a flock of 28 Bar-tailed Godwits, plus a Whimbrel, going east. Full log below. (AW)

(1330-1430hrs)

Bar-tailed Godwit - 28E

Whimbrel - 1E

Great Skua - 1E

Arctic Skua - 2E

(1530-1630hrs) (SH/SR/AH)

Great Northern Diver - 1os

Great Crested Grebe - 1os

Gannet - 28E, 1W

Common Scoter - 4E

Oystercatcher - 2E

Turnstone - 6E, 4 present

Sandwich Tern - 11E, 4os

Common Tern - 3E, 1os

Arctic Skuas (above) & Bar-tailed Godwits and Whimbrel at the Bill (AW)

Ferry Pool: The Great White Egret went over again, heading west, early this morning. (MO-W)

Later, a Little Ringed Plover flew out from the back, but it was otherwise the usual fare, including six Avocets, a Lapwing, a dozen Teal, four Shelducks and c50 Shovelers, whilst the Spotted Redshank, rapidly changing into summer plumage, was again in the channel opposite. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above), Avocet, Shovelers & Shelducks at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: The Whimbrel was again on the mud near the benches this morning, with c50 Dunlin and c200 Black-tailed Godwits also present, along with a Gadwall and a few Teal and Shelducks, but beyond that it was just the mass of Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls, plus c50 Sandwich Terns, around the island, and a half-heartedly singing Chiffchaff was it for the bushes. (AH)

Whimbrel (above) & Black-tailed Godwits at Church Norton (AH)

Chichester GPs: Ivy Lake complex - A fairly quick look at lunchtime produced two Common Terns, c200 Sand Martins and a handful of Swallows feeding over the lakes, with c25 (mostly male) Pochards, a dozen Tufted Ducks, a pair of Egyptian Geese and twp pairs of Greylag Geese on the water and a couple of Chiffchaffs in the bushes. (AH)

Sand Martin (above), Chiffchaff & Pochards at Ivy Lake (AH)

Thursday, 13th April: A bright and very blustery morning after the overnight storm, cold early on, but warming up as the brisk breeze backed from north-west to south-west.....

Selsey Bill: A flock of ten Common Terns lingering close offshore was the highlight of a very quiet morning. Full log below. (SR/AH)

(0720-0850hrs) (NW, F6)

Great Northern Diver - 1W

Great Crested Grebe - 1os

Gannet - 3E, 3W

Common Scoter - 3E

Red-breasted Merganser - 3W

Turnstone - 12

Kittiwake - 1W

Sandwich Tern - 7E, 9W, 3os

Common Tern - 10os

auk sp - 1W

Collared Dove - 1

Swallow - 1E

Pied Wagtail - 1

Common Terns at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were 17 Avocets on the pool this morning, but, otherwise, just a Black-tailed Godwit, a Redshank, ten Teal and c30 Shovelers, whilst the Spotted Redshank was again in the channel opposite. (AH)

Spotted Redshank (above) & Shovelers at the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: A drake Garganey - the first of the year - was along the rife at Halsey's Farm, with a few Teal and a Little Grebe for company, with two Swallows, two Linnets and two Jays also in the vicinity and plenty of Cattle Egrets, Little Egrets and Grey Herons were around Owl Copse.

Also, a Wheatear, a Chiffchaff and a couple of Reed Buntings were along the wall, a Green Woodpecker was in the paddocks, a Sedge Warbler, a Sparrowhawk and a pair of Tufted Ducks were at the Breech Pool, whilst two Shovelers, two Gadwall, nine Canada Geese and a few Curlews and Shelducks were in the fields, but White's Creek just held two Black-tailed Godwits and a dozen Redshank. (SP/LP/AH/RHa/TH/OM/SR et al)

Later, a Water Vole was showing well in the rife between Halsey's Farm and Marsh Farm, with a Marsh Harrier quartering the fields and two Swallows and a dozen Mediterranean Gulls over, whilst there were plenty of Bee flies on the wing, too. (SR)

Garganey (top OM, middle LP, lower AH) (above), Wheatear, Reed Bunting (LP). Cattle Egret (AH) & Water Vole (SR) at the North Wall

Church Norton: A Whimbrel was in the harbour, along with c50 Dunlin and c200 Black-tailed Godwits, though there didn't appear to be very many Sandwich Terns among the vast throng of Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls sat out on the mud.

A fairly quick look around the sheltered hedges produced just two or three Willow Warblers and Blackcaps, plus a dozen Chiffchaffs, but not much else. (HR/DMe/AH)

Willow Warbler (above), Chiffchaff & Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls at Church Norton (AH)

This evening the Whimbrel was showing well by the benches and a lone Brent Goose and a few more Sandwich Terns were in the harbour, whilst at least three Blackcaps and a few Chiffchaffs were by the Mound. (AH)