Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 4th

Tuesday, 6th June: Yet another bright morning in a blustery north-easterly, though with a few light clouds about, and a little warmer early on.......

Selsey Bill: A flock of 14 Sanderling east was about the only hint of migration, though there were plenty of terns and Mediterranean Gulls lingering offshore. Full log below. (SR/AH/OM/IP)

(0640-0940hrs) (NE, F4-5)

Gannet - 19E, 3W, 1os

Oystercatcher - 2

Sanderling - 14E

Mediterranean Gull - 75os

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 2os

Sandwich Tern - 30os

Common Tern - 6os

Little Tern - 10os

auk sp - 3E

Swift - 10

Swallow - 2

House Martin - 8

Sanderlings (above), Sandwich Tern & Mediterranean Gulls at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were ten Avocets on the pool this morning, along with four Redshanks, two Greenshanks,58 Black-tailed Godwits, 34 Shelducks, a single Shoveler and a Gadwall (AH/OM)

Avocets at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: A Siskin flew over Church Norton this morning. (DC)

Marsh Farm, Sidlesham: There wasn't too much to report this morning, though a couple of Chiffchaffs and Whitethroats were along Church Farm Lane, with a couple more of each, plus a couple of Swallows around Chalder Farm.

Half a dozen Cattle Egrets were scattered about the fields, and a Jay was in the churchyard, but that was about it, with a close encounter with a Brown Hare near Marsh Farm the highlight. (AH)

Chiffchaff (above), Cattle Egrets, Chaffinch & Brown Hare at Marsh Farm, Sidlesham (AH)

North Wall: There were two Greenshanks along White's Creek, with a couple of Grey Plovers and a Ringed Plover further out.

Along the wall, there was a lot of activity from the Reed Warblers, Sedge Warblers, Whitethroats and Reed Buntings, and a Cuckoo was calling constantly from the trees behind the Breech Pool, whilst the male Marsh Harrier was up briefly over the reeds and on the Breech Pool were four Tufted Ducks, a pair of Shelduck, a Great Crested Grebe and the Coot family.

In Owl Copse, the two juvenile Grey Herons seem to have finally left the nest, but there was still lots of activity from the Cattle Egrets and Little Egrets with a few juveniles on show, whilst at Halsey’s Farm a Lapwing was by the rife, c20 Cattle Egrets were in the fields, and there were a few Juvenile Magpies about. (LP)

Greenshank (above), Reed Warbler, Whitethroat, Cattle Egrets & Magpies at the North Wall (LP)

West Itchenor: There was a lot of House Martin activity around the Harbour Office this morning. As the local mud isn't the right consistency for nest building the birds have been provided with artificial nests and it was good to see nine of them were in use, whilst two more nests were almost complete and three more were at the early stage so we can only hope the current dry spell continues.

The foreshore and Chalkdock Wood was quiet in the windy conditions, with Chiffchaffs and a Whitethroat were heard, a Great Crested Grebe was offshore and three Little Egrets, two Shelducks and seven Oystercatchers were present. (SR)

House Martins at West Itchenor (SR)

West Wittering: An unexpected Reed Warbler was singing in the garden his morning. (GM)

Chi GPs: Ivy Lake complex - A check around these pits for breeding Pochard drew a blank, although there were several adults, all but one being drakes. There were a couple of surprises however on West Lake, where the first was a female Red-crested Pochard - quite possibly one of the pair reported some months ago. A brief glimpse of a bird which disappeared into reeds could possibly have been the second individual but it was not possible to confirm this. The second surprise was finding two nesting pairs of Black-headed Gulls (one with young) on a couple of tiny 'islands', just above water level and fairly close in to the main footpath. A pair of Egyptian Geese and their young were also here, but otherwise it was fairly standard fare, with a few Tufted Ducks, 54 Greylags, 30 Canada Geese and several pairs of Great Crested Grebes with young. (OM)

Female Red-crested Pochard, Egyptian Geese with goslings, Black-headed Gulls nesting on 'islands' and Black-headed Gull with young at Chi GPs West Lake. (OM)

Hunston: A male Marsh Harrier went over, just to the north of the canal, this afternoon (SH)

Also, earlier, a Cattle Egret went over the same area. (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pools - There were 25 Avocets, including 15 brooding, on the Stilt Pool this evening, along with two Little Ringed Plovers, a Dunlin, nine Black-tailed Godwits and the pair of Egyptian Geese, though the goslings weren't visible.

Also, a Cuckoo, a Stonechat, three Whitethroats, two Cetti's Warblers, three Reed Warblers, four Reed Buntings and 13 Yellowhammers were along the banks, with a male Marsh Harrier and a Kestrel out hunting. (S&SaH)

Marsh Harrier at Medmerry (SH)

Medmerry Trail: Two rival Lesser Whitethroats were making their presence known along the main path hedgerows, with frequent bouts of singing but only brief views, and there were plenty of Whitethroats in full voice too. The usual Cetti's Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Reed and Sedge Warblers were also still vocal, but Blackcaps less so this morning. The area of bramble around the WT works was busy with the common warblers, a pair of Greenfinches were joined by a couple of juveniles, a pair of Linnets were clearly visiting a nest site, and a Buzzard and Sparrowhawk caused some mild panic to a post-breeding flock of 200 Starlings - but overall there was nothing out of the ordinary. A buck Roe Deer was in the fields on my return journey. (OM)

Greenfinches and Roe Deer along the Medmerry trail (OM)

Monday, 5th June: The breeze was very brisk and still from the north-east, though it remains bright and cool early on and warm and sunny later........

Selsey Bill: It was fairly slow this morning, though there are still a lot of Mediterranean Gulls about. Full log below. (SR/AH)

(0650-0820hrs) (NE, F5)

Gannet - 1E

Common Scoter - 1W

Mediterranean Gull - 21E, 2W, 48os

Sandwich Tern - 8os

Common Tern - 6os

Little Tern - 9os

Swift - 6

House Martin - 4

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

A Hobby flew in off the sea at around noon today. (AW)

Hobby at the Bill (AW)

Ferry Pool: A Greenshank was at the back this morning, with seven Avocets, a couple of Lapwings and eight Redshanks also present, along with c80 Black-tailed Godwits and c30 Shelducks, whilst a couple of Cattle Egrets were again among the cows in the fields. (AH)

Greenshank (above) & Avocets at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: The harbour was all but birdless this morning, with just two Curlews, a handful of Oystercatchers and Shelducks, a drake Gadwall and about 20 Black-headed Gulls being it, with two Sandwich Terns and a handful of Mediterranean Gulls all that could be seen offshore.

The Cuckoo was still around the edge of Priory Wood, though, and two Cattle Egrets were in the horse field, whilst the Severals held a newly fledged family of Whitethroats, two or three singing Reed Warblers, a Cetti's Warbler and c20 Linnets. Also, a family of Swallows were at Greenlease Farm, a family of Mistle Thrushes were along Rectory Lane and there were several singing Blackcaps about. (AH)

Swallows (above), Cuckoo, Whitethroat, Mistle Thrush & Linnet at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pools - Two Cuckoos were calling in and around the poplars today, a Marsh Harrier caused panic over the marsh and a Dartford Warbler, a Stonechat, three Stock Doves, seven Whitethroats, three Reed Warblers, two Cetti's Warblers, a Chiffchaff, 15 Yellowhammers, two Reed Buntings, several singing Skylarks and six Linnets were along the banks, and six Swallows went over.

A Cattle Egret and a family of Canada Geese were on the reserve, whilst 28 Avocets (including 17 sitting birds), two Greenshanks, two Little Ringed Plovers, three Ringed Plovers, two Black-tailed Godwits, six Pied wagtails and the pair of Egyptian Geese and five goslings were all on the Stilt Pool. (SR/S&SaH)

Marsh Harrier (SH (above) & Yellowhammer (SR) at Medmerry

Chichester Canal: At lest ten Norfolk Hawkers were along the western end of the canal late this afternoon, but birds were restricted to heard only Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Reed Warblers. (AH)

Norfolk Hawker at Chichester Canal (AH)

Sunday, 4th June: Another morning of unbroken sun in a fresh north-easterly, still decidedly cool early on, but very warm by midday.....

Selsey Bill: Another surprisingly busy morning for the time of year, with 11 Black Terns moving through east, pausing to feed around the Mile Basket on their way, with a good mix of the other terns about, too, along with a pale-phase Arctic Skua and several hundred Mediterranean Gulls. Full log below. (SH/PB/MRB/BI/AH/P&LH)

(0545-0900hrs) (NE, F5)

Fulmar - 1E

Gannet - 36E, 2W, 4os

Grey Heron - 1N

Gadwall - 2W

Common Scoter - 12E

Oystercatcher - 2E, 2W

Grey Plover - 2E

Sanderling - 1E, 1W

Turnstone - 2E

Arctic Skua - 1os

Mediterranean Gull - 105E, 250os

Common Gull - 1E, 1os

Kittiwake - 3E, 1W

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 2os

Sandwich Tern - 23os

Common Tern - 14E, 12os

'Commic' Tern - 13E

Little Tern - 4E, 22os

Black Tern - 11E

Swift - 16

Swallow - 2

House Martin - 8

Goldfinch - 20

Turnstone (above), Sandwich Tern, Mediterranean Gulls & BI wrapped up warm for an early sea-watch at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were two Greenshanks, a Little Ringed Plover and a Lapwing on the pool this morning, along with 14 Avocets, eight Redshanks, 120 Black-tailed Godwits, a drake Shoveler, two Teal and 42 Shelducks, whilst a Cattle Egret was in the fields.

A look round the Tramway circuit produced a Cuckoo, a Lesser Whitethroat, three Whitethroats, two Blackcaps and three Chiffchaffs, plus a couple of Swallows. (AH/P&LH)

This evening, the Tawny Owl was showing again in the box in the Discovery Area. (S&SaH)

Shelduck and Shoveler on the Ferry (AH)

North Selsey: Two Sparrowhawks and a dozen Swifts went over the garden this afternoon. (S&SaH)

North Wall: The Marsh Harriers were up briefly and a Cuckoo was calling, but it was generally very quiet along a windy wall. (LP)

This evening, the male Marsh Harrier was seen bringing in food, whilst 13 Grey Plovers and six Swallows went over and wo Chiffchaffs were along the wall, whilst there was plenty of Cattle and Little Egret activity in Owl Copse. (S&SaH)

East side: There were at least 30 Grey Plovers in a mix of plumages on the mud this morning, along with c40 Ringed Plovers, at least three Knot, two Turnstones, c20 Dunlin and two or three Sanderlings, whilst the drake Wigeon, a pair of Gadwall, a pair of Mute Swans with four cygnets and c30 Shelducks were also about.

The hedges were quiet, with a couple of Chiffchaffs and a handful of Whitethroats being about it. (AH/LP)

Grey Plover (above), Knot and Grey Plover, Gadwall (AH), Grey Plovers, Ringed Plovers & Whitethroat (LP) along the East Side

Pagham Spit: There was no activity on the Little Terns' island, though a couple were flying around calling, high up, and half a dozen were feeding offshore, whilst about 20 Linnets and a Skylark were along the spit and a flock of c60 Ringed Plovers flew around ner high tide. (AH)

Linnet (above) & Ringed Plovers at Pagham Spit (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pools - Avocet numbers on the Stilt Pools had risen this morning to 40, with 23 potentially brooding, and there were also two Little Ringed Plovers, three Ringed Plovers, four Black-tailed Godwits, the pair of Egyptian Geese with five goslings and three Pied Wagtails also present.

Two Dartford Warblers were along the banks, along with 15 Whitethroats, eight Stonechats, four Reed Warblers, two Cetti's Warblers, five Reed Buntings and ten Yellowhammers, with ten Swallows over, whilst three Cattle Egrets were on the reserve and a Buzzard and a Kestrel were about, too.

Also, four Brown Hares were on the reserve and an injured Cream Spot Tiger moth was along the banks. (S&SaH)

Cream Spot Tiger at Medmerry (SH)

Chi GPs: Drayton House pits - The young Grey Herons on South pit have now fledged, but Pochard were again the main feature of interest this morning, including the first breeding record of the year when a female with six small ducklings was located on North pit, whilst the two pits jointly held another 32 non-breeding birds, all but four of these being drakes.

A flock of 14 Gadwall was also present, plus a dozen Tufted Ducks, two pairs of Mallard with young, six pairs of Great Crested Grebes with young and the non-breeding pair of Egyptian Geese; meanwhile a single Common Tern was busily fishing between both pits.

Singing and nesting Reed Warblers were still much in evidence and several Cetti's Warblers too, but otherwise there was nothing out of the ordinary; I was however pleased to note the Southern Marsh Orchid colony in bloom and I counted at least 152 flowering spikes. (OM)