10th - 13th July 2023

Thursday, 13th July: Another very blustery morning, surprisingly cool under heavy cloud early on, brightening up as the breeze shifted from west to south-west........

Selsey Bill: A Little Tern and two Common Terns went west on a fairly quiet morning. Full log below. (SR/AH)

(0650-0805hrs) (W, F4)

Gannet - 7E, 20W, 1os

Common Scoter - 2W

Kestrel - 1

Mediterranean Gull - 19W, 61os

Sandwich Tern - 7W

Common Tern - 2W

Little Tern - 1W

House Martin - 8

(1700-1800hrs) (SH)

Gannet - 10E, 3W

Common Scoter - 1E

Mediterranean Gull - 29W, 32os

Sandwich Tern - 13W, 19os

Common Tern - 1W

Gannets (above) & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: A family group of two adult and two juvenile Cattle Egrets dropped in on the pool this morning, and there were also two Common Sandpipers, an Avocet, a Black-tailed Godwit, two Redshanks, two Lapwings and four Shelducks present. (AH)

Common Sandpiper (above) & Cattle Egrets on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: This evening there were four Whimbrels, a Common Sandpiper and a Greenshank in the harbour, along with 14 Dunlin, 18 Ringed Plovers, ten Curlews and c40 Redshanks, with two Sandwich Terns and c20 Mediterranean Gulls among c50 Black-headed Gulls by the concrete blocks, whilst a dozen or so Swallows and Sand Martins were feeding along  the west side. (AH)

Whimbrel at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pools - At least two Dartford Warblers were along the banks this morning, along with a dozen Whitethroats, c20 Yellowhammers, three juvenile Stonechats, a Chiffchaff, a Reed Warbler, c50 Linnets and c20 Skylarks, whilst c30 Swifts and c150 Sand Martins, plus a handful of Swallows went over.

A Greenshank was near the poplars, but there wasn't much on the Stilt Pool, with just an adult and a juvenile Ringed Plover, six Oystercatchers, including one juvenile, the Egyptian Goose family and a Common Sandpiper present. (AH)

Dartford Warbler (above), Whitethroat, Common Sandpiper, juvenile Oystercatcher, Yellowhammer, Linnet, Sand Martin, Swallow & Swift at Medmerry (AH)

Wednesday, 12th July: A bright and very breezy day in a blustery and freshening westerly........

Selsey Bill: Three Common Sandpipers were along the front at high tide and a dark-phase Arctic Skua was chasing the gulls and terns offshore, whilst seven Common Scoters and a Whimbrel went west. Full log below. (PB/PM/SR/IP/AH/OM)

(0600-1030hrs) (W, F4-5)

Gannet - 1E, 42W, 40os

Common Scoter - 7W

Oystercatcher - 2E

Common Sandpiper - 3

Whimbrel - 1W

Arctic Skua - 1os

Mediterranean Gull - 95W, 100os

Sandwich Tern - 35os

Sand Martin - 3

Common Sandpiper (above), Mediterranean Gull (PM), Common Scoters & Sandwich Tern (AH) at the Bill

Ferry Pool: There were three Greenshanks roosting on the pool this morning, along with 14 Black-tailed Godwits, an Avocet, eight Redshanks, c40 Lapwings, five Teal and six Shelducks. (AH/PB)

Greenshanks and Black-tailed Godwits (above), Black-tailed Godwit & Teal on the Ferry (AH)

Later on, Ferry Channel held a Shelduck with six ducklings, the deformed Greenshank and a Little Egret, whilst the Discovery Area had a Blackcap and a Kestrel, and the pool held a pair of Black-tailed Skimmers, a Common Darter, a Grass Snake and c40 Marsh Frog tadpoles, some of them an impressive size, and there was also a Jersey Tiger Moth along the path. (SR)

Greenshank (above), Jersey Tiger & Marsh Frog tadpole around the Ferry (SR)

Church Norton: A Greenshank and the Whimbrel were in the harbour this morning, along with a few Redshanks and Curlews, whilst 57 Mediterranean Gulls were roosting by the concrete slabs and there were also at least six Sandwich Terns and eight Common Terns about, with the latter all flying out to sea together, but that was about it. (AH/PB)

Whimbrel (above) & Sandwich Tern at Church Norton (AH)

This evening, two Dunlin, six Grey Plovers and c20 Ringed Plovers, plus the Whimbrel, were out on the mud, and c20 Sandwich Terns were offshore. (AH)

Sandwich Tern (above), Dunlin and Ringed Plover & Grey Plovers at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pools - The fields had c20 Swallows, c20 Sand Martins and ten Swifts hawking over them, whilst the bushes held numerous Linnets, Goldfinches, Yellowhammers, Whitethroats and two Dartford Warblers. Also, two Reed Warblers were still singing near the Stilt Pool, with a Stonechat nearby, along with a Reed Bunting, a Meadow Pipit, two vocal Green Woodpeckers and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

The Stilt Pool was fairly quiet, though, with only two Common Sandpipers and a Little Ringed Plover of note, whilst the Poplar Creek held two Whimbrel and two Greenshanks. (PM)

Whitethroat (above), Linnet & Green Woodpecker at Medmerry (PM)

Tuesday, 11th July: A much drier morning than forecast, warm and muggy under heavy cloud in a moderate south-westerly breeze. ........

Selsey Bill: A family group of Common Terns went west, as did three Little Terns and four Sand Martins, whilst a juvenile Mediterranean Gull - a very rare commodity this summer - was among the flock on the beach. Full log below. (SR/IP/AH)

(0700-0815hrs) (WSW, F4)

Gannet - 3W

Shelduck - 1W

Kestrel - 1

Mediterranean Gull - 1E, 3W, 20os

Sandwich Tern - 9E, 15W

Common Tern  - 4W

Little Tern - 3W

Swift - 1

Sand Martin - 4W

(1700-1800hrs) (SH)

Gannet - 10E, 3W, 3os

Mediterranean Gull - 46os (including one juvenile)

Sandwich Tern - 30W, 7os (including one juvenile)

adult and juvenile Common Terns (above), Sandwich Tern, Mediterranean Gull, juvenile Mediterranean Gull and Black-headed Gull & Sand Martin at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were just four Black-tailed Godwits, an Avocet, three Teal, four Shelducks and c40 Lapwings on the pool this morning, with ten Swifts over the fields at the back, whilst the Greenshank with the deformed rear end was back in the channel opposite, along with the Shelduck family, c40 Redshanks and four Teal. (AH/BFF/DM)

Greenshank (above), Avocet & Shelduck-lings around the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: Up to 30 Cattle Egrets were around White's Creek this morning, including at least juveniles, whilst a Greenshank, a Whimbrel, c30 Redshanks and four Mediterranean Gulls  were also about.

Three juvenile Marsh Harriers were in the trees north of the Breech Pool this morning and eight Swifts went over. (BFF/DM)

Church Norton: Two Greenshank were together near the concrete blocks, with the Whimbrel briefly nearby, though otherwise there were just a dozen Curlews and Redshanks, plus four Oystercatchers, about, with a few Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls, plus two Common Terns and a dozen Sandwich Terns also around the harbour.

Two or three Blackcaps and a Reed Bunting were the only birds singing, with a Skylark, a Whitethroat, a couple of Jays and half a dozen Linnets, plus a fly-over Swift and six Sand Martins, the only birds seen on the land-side. (AH/BFF/DM)

Greenshanks (above), Whimbrel, Common Tern, Whitethroat, Reed Bunting & Linnet at Church Norton (AH)

Monday, 10th July: A bright and pleasant start slowly gave way to more cloud cover, though warm and humid, as the breeze freshened from the south-west........

Selsey Bill: A Whimbrel went east, whilst there was a huge feeding gull flock offshore, containing at least 500 Mediterranean Gulls. Full blog below. (IP/AH)

(0715-0845hrs) (SW, F4)

Gannet - 4E

Kestrel - 1

Whimbrel - 1E

Mediterranean Gull - 1E, 43W, 500os

Herring Gull - c1000os

Sandwich Tern - 4E, 5W, 6os

Swift - 4

House Martin - 2

Sandwich Tern (above) & Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: It was busy on the pool early this morning, with five Greenshanks, five Little Ringed Plovers - including at least one juvenile, a Common Sandpiper, eight Black-tailed Godwits, four Redshanks, c40 Lapwings, four Shelducks and a Cattle Egret all present, with at least eight more of the latter among the cows in the fields and a new family of Shelducks in the channel opposite. (AH/AW)

Also, early this morning, up to 20 Little Egrets were on the pool. (SH)

Greenshanks (AH) (above), Little Ringed Plovers (AH above & AW),Cattle Egret & Shelduck-lings (AW) at the Ferry

Church Norton: There was a big gathering on the mud this morning, including c200 Mediterranean Gulls, c400 Black-headed Gulls, including up to 20 juveniles, a dozen Common Terns and c30 Sandwich Terns, with a least another 20 of the latter offshore.

Otherwise, two Greenshank were around, but elusive, along with a Whimbrel, a couple of Ringed Plovers and half a dozen Curlews, and a Cattle Egret was in the horse field, but passerines were non-existent, bar a couple of Linnets on the spit. (AH)

Whimbrel (above), Greenshank, Common Tern, Sandwich Terns, Cattle Egret & Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls at Church Norton

North Wall: Along White’s Creek there were 32 Redshank, six Lapwings and two Curlews, and on the Breech Pool there was just the pair of Canada Geese with their single gosling.

Overhead there was a regular passage of Swifts, maybe 60 in total, along with a handful of Sand Martins and a Sparrowhawk drifted over the harbour, whilst behind the Breech Pool at least four Marsh Harriers were seen with the male regularly returning with prey, and two Buzzards and a Kestrel were also about.

There are still good numbers of Little Egrets and Cattle Egrets around Owl Copse, along with a few Grey Herons, but it was quiet at Halsey’s Farm with just a single Skylark seen on a fence post, whilst a Reed Warbler was by the sluice and a family group of ten Long-tailed Tits were in the bushes. (LP/DHi)

Marsh Harrier (above), Long-tailed Tit, Canada Goose family, Lapwing & Redshank at the North Wall (LP)

East Side: Two Whimbrels were along the channel with a few Curlews and Oystercatchers, and out on the mud, a Sandwich Tern was amongst a group of 30 Mediterranean Gulls. (LP)

Sandwich Tern and Mediterranean Gull along east side (LP)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pools - A ringed Spoonbill (so different to last week's bird) and a Common Sandpiper were on the Stilt Pool this evening, along with six Little Ringed Plovers and the one chick, five Oystercatchers and three chicks, the pair of Egyptian Geese and four goslings, two Avocets and three Ringed Plovers. 

The banks were fairly quiet, but still held ten Whitethroats and Yellowhammers,, two Reed Buntings, a Chiffchaff, a Sedge Warbler and three Reed Warblers, whilst a Greenshank was near the poplars, a Sandwich Tern was offshore and 39 Swifts, 30 Swallows, 25 Sand Martins and a Buzzard went over. (IC/S&SaH)

Spoonbill at Medmerry (SH)

Sidlesham: At least 50 Swifts, along with a handful of Swallows and Sand Martins, were over the garden this evening. (AH)

Swift (above) & Swallow over Sidlesham (AH)