17th - 19th October 2023

Thursday, 19th October: After a lot of overnight rain, a grey and blustery morning, though surprisingly mild and muggy in the brisk southerly .....

Selsey Bill: Three Little Gulls and a first-winter Arctic Tern going east, along with four Red-breasted Mergansers and a few Kittiwakes were the highlights of a morning with reasonable variety but low numbers for a good turn-out of watchers. Full log below. (AH/SR/LP/SP/CRJ/BFF/DM/OM)

(0740-1130hrs) (SSE, F6-7)

Gannet - 22E, 17W

Shag - 18E

Brent Goose - 7E, 5W

Eider - 1W

Wigeon - 2E

Common Scoter - 5E

Red-breasted Merganser - 4E

Kestrel - 1

Turnstone - 4

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1os

Little Gull - 3E

Mediterranean Gull - 26E, 1W

Common Gull - 7E

Kittiwake - 7E

Sandwich Tern - 2E

Arctic Tern - 1E

Razorbill - 2E, 1os

auk sp - 1E

Skylark -6E

Swallow - 18E

Meadow Pipit - 5W

Pied Wagtail - 3E

Linnet - 11E, 20W

Little Gull (OM) (above), Kittiwake, Shags & Gannets (AH) at the Bill

Also, of note today, a Siskin was among c50 Goldfinches in a garden along Byways, just behind the Bill. (B Richardson)

Siskin at the Bill (B Richardson)

Ferry Pool: There were just nine Avocets, c30 Lapwings, three Shelducks, c40 Shovelers and c20 Teal on the pool this morning. (AH)

Avocets (above) & Shelducks and Lapwings on the Ferry (AH)

This evening, the eight Spotted Redshanks were back on the pool, along with three Greenshanks and 11 Avocets. (AH)

Spotted Redshanks (above), Avocets & Spotted Redshanks, Greenshanks, Lapwing and Shovelers on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: A few more waders were in the harbour this morning, including a Greenshank, a Knot, five Bar-tailed Godwits, c30 Grey Plovers and c100 Dunlin, plus two Red-breasted Mergansers and at least 50 Wigeon and Teal, whilst four Brent Geese went east offshore.

A Marsh Harrier flew over the harbour and Priory Wood, heading off west, with three Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk also in the vicinity, whilst a dozen Meadow Pipits and c30 Goldfinches also went west along the beach, but a Dartford Warbler along the gorse on the beach and a few Goldcrests, three Jays, a Mistle Thrush and a Great Spotted woodpecker in the churchyard were the only other birds about. (AH/BFF/DM/LP/SP)

Marsh Harrier (top BF, lower AH) (above), Sparrowhawk, Meadow Pipits, Bar-tailed Godwit & Grey Plover  (AH) at Church Norton

Medmerry: Coastguard Station - Two first-winter Little Gulls went east, early this afternoon. (AW)

Little Gulls at Medmerry (AW)

Wednesday, 18th October: A pretty miserable morning of near gale-force easterly winds and persistent drizzly rain, and due to get worse later.....

Selsey Bill: The unexpected highlight of a quiet morning was two Bonxies that flew east, stopping to mug a gull along the way, but otherwise it was very quiet. Full log below. (SR/AH/AW)

(0740-0855hs) (ESE, F6-7)

Gannet - 20E

Brent Goose - 1E, 4W

Common Scoter - 1E

Sanderling - 1E

Turnstone - 1

Great Skua - 2E

Mediterranean Gull - 25os

Common Gull - 3E

Sandwich Tern - 2E

auk sp - 1W

Swallow - 5E

Pied Wagtail - 1

Meadow Pipit - 1E

Chiffchaff - 1

Sanderling (above), Common Gull, Brent Goose (AW) & Mediterranean Gull (AH) at the Bill

Ferry Pool: There were 11 Avocets and ten Shelducks on the pool this morning, along with 36 Lapwings, c40 Shovelers, ten Wigeon and c20 Teal, whilst a Cattle Egret and four Little Egrets were around the concealed pool.. (AH/JMo)

Avocets (above), Shelducks, Avocet and Teal & Shoveler at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: As is always the case in a strong easterly, there were very few birds in the harbour, with just a handful of Grey Plovers and Curlews and c20 Dunlin and Redshank visible, along with two Shelducks and six Pintails.

A Mistle Thrush was again in the churchyard, but otherwise four Jays and a handful of Goldcrests were all that could be found. (AH)

Mistle Thrush (above), Goldcrest & Pintail at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: A Jay and a Green Woodpecker were in the paddock this morning and there was a good selection of birds close to the sluice, including a Greenshank, a Spotted Redshank, a Bar-tailed Godwit, two Black-tailed Godwits, a Pied Wagtail, 12 Grey Plovers, 50 Dunlin, 70 Redshank, 100 Lapwing, two Curlews, two Little Grebes, two Great Crested Grebes, 24 Mallards, 40 Teal, 60 Wigeon and six Pintail. 

It was predictably quiet along the wall with just a flyover Snipe, a Stonechat at Halsey’s Farm and a couple of Chiffchaffs in the bushes. (LP)

Stonechat (above), Spotted Redshank & Spotted Redshank and Grey Plover at the North Wall (LP)

East Side: There was plenty to see along the East Side, with 100 Dunlin, 50 Grey Plover, 120 Lapwing, six Bar-tailed Godwits, a Black-tailed Godwit, and 40 Ringed Plovers along the banks, 52 Brent Geese in the channel, along with 40 Wigeon, 20 Teal and four Pintail. 

Also, 74 Great Black-backed Gulls were on the mud, as well as a Lesser Black-backed Gull, three Common Gulls and three Grey Herons, whilst a Peregrine was sat on a fence post out on the new Tern island. (LP)

Bar-tailed Godwit and Dunlin (above), Ringed Plovers, Brent Geese, Grey Herons & Great Black-backed Gulls along the East side (LP)

Tuesday, 17th October: Another bright, but windy morning in the persisting fresh easterly, but a little warmer than yesterday.....

Selsey Bill: There was nothing unusual among them, but good numbers of House Martins, Swallows, Linnets and Goldfinches were going over east, though the sea remains quiet. Full log below. (SR/IP/AH/AW)

(0730-0930hrs) (E, F4-5)

Red-throated Diver - 1W

Gannet - 71E

Shag - 2E

Brent Goose - 7W

Wigeon - 20W

Common Scoter - 4E

Tufted Duck - 1E

Sparrowhawk - 1

Kestrel - 1

Turnstone - 16

Mediterranean Gull - 2E, 1W

Sandwich Tern - 3E

Razorbill - 1os

Guillemot - 1os

Skylark - 3E

Swallow - 179E

House Martin - 50E

Pied Wagtail -  51E

Meadow Pipit - 16E

Chiffchaff - 2

Linnet - 71E

Chaffinch - 12E

Goldfinch - 128E

Guillemot (above), Razorbill (AW), House Martins, Skylark, Shag & Sandwich Tern (AH) at the Bill

Ferry Pool: There were eight Avocets on the pool this morning, along with just four Black-tailed Godwits, c90 Lapwings and a dozen Shovelers. (AH)

Avocets (above), Lapwings & Shoveler at the Ferry (AH)

Notrh Wall: A Ruff was in White's Creek this morning. (AT/ C Barrett)

Church Norton: Three Mistle Thrushes were in the churchyard, along with a handful of Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs, a couple of Stonechats and Jays were along the path to the beach and three Swallows and c30 Linnets went over.

There were plenty of Grey Plovers and Dunlin spread across the mud, along with two Shelducks, ten Little Egrets and a few Wigeon and Teal, but that was about it for the harbour.

There were also still lots of Red Admirals and a few Speckled Woods on the wing. (AH/CRJ)

Chiffchaff (above), Mistle Thrush, Grey Plover and Dunlin (AH) & Red Admiral (CRJ) at Church Norton

Runcton: There were nine Egyptian Geese in the fields south of the village this morning, with a Raven and two Buzzards going over, but otherwise just 13 Mallards, two Moorhens, five Long-tailed Tits, a Greenfinch and a Roebuck were seen (CRJ)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There were just one Dartford Warbler, one Cetti's Warbler, two Chiffchaffs, two Goldcrests, three Yellowhammers and five Stonechats along the blustery banks this evening, with an Egyptian Goose on the reserve and two Marsh Harriers, a Buzzard and a Kestrel going over. (S&SaH)