Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 23rd -25th May 2024

Saturday, 25th May: A beautiful, sunny morning in just a light south-westerly breeze.....

Apologies for the slightly odd colours and spacings at present, but Blogger seems to be having some technical issues currently (Eds)

Selsey Bill: There were a couple of unexpected birds this morning, in the form of a Cuckoo - a rare bird at the Bill - flying over calling, and a Black Tern that went east offshore, though otherwise it was quiet beyond plenty of Common Scoter activity again. Full log below. (JA/PB/SH/BI/AH/IP/SR)

(0515-0800hrs) (SW, F2-3)

Great Northern Diver - 2os

Fulmar - 2W

Gannet - 7E, 10W

Common Scoter - 134E, 57W, 38os

Oystercatcher - 3E, 3W

Sanderling - 23E, 2W

Mediterranean Gull - 3E

Kittiwake - 3E, 3W

Sandwich Tern - 4E, 19os

Common Tern - 1E

'Commic' Tern - 2E

Little Tern - 9E, 6os

Black Tern - 1E

Cuckoo - 1

Swift - 2

Swallow - 7

House Martin - 4

Fulmar (above), Sanderlings & House Martin at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were just four Avocets, two Redshanks, a drake Teal and 14 Shelducks on the pool this morning. (AH)

Avocet at the Ferry (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: A Skylark was singing and displaying over the fields, and at least two Whitethroats were in the vicinity, whilst a Swift went over the building site. (IP)

Church Norton: It was quiet in the harbour, with just four Turnstones, plus single Whimbrel, Bar-tailed Godwit and Ringed Plover, together with a few Oystercatchers, and that was it for waders, though three Little Terns were feeding in the harbour and two Sandwich Terns were offshore. A Pied Wagtail on the mud was an odd sight, but apart from that there were just c30 Shelduck and, a pair of Great crested Grebes,
Around the Several, three Buzzards were over the trees, a lot of Reed Warblers, but only one Sedge Warbler, were heard, a Lesser Whitethroat was in the bushes by the horse field, which briefly had a Cattle Egret present, and there were plenty of Whitethroats and Cetti's Warblers about, whilst a Great Spotted Woodpecker was active at Greenlease Farm. (IP)

Late this afternoon, there were just two Whimbrel, a Curlew, a Bar-tailed Godwit, four Sanderlings, c30 Dunlin and c50 Ringed Plovers on the mud on the falling tide. (AH)

Sanderling (above), Dunlin and Ringed Plovers & Sanderlings, Dunlin and Ringed Plovers at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: Two female Marsh Harriers - neither of which was the one with missing primaries - - were about this afternoon, whilst seven Cattle Egrets were at Halsey's Farm, and in owl Copse two young Cattle Egrets ere being fed by their parents, and there were three Grey Heron chicks and nine Little Egret chicks.

Also, eight Swifts went over, and there were plenty of Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warblers, plus a few Reed Buntings, along the wall. (S&SaH)

Medmerry: Porthole Farm and Ham Farm - There were finally some Corn Buntings for the SOS survey this morning, with four birds spread around their traditionally favourite big field south of the banks at Ham, with another in an oat crop towards Wilson's Farm, though none were heard to sing.

Otherwise, there were probably 50 Linnets and 30 Skylarks around the fields, plus one or two Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings, whilst a Chiffchaff, a Sedge Warbler and half a dozen Reed Warblers and Whitethroats were around the ponds and adjacent hedges, with a Cuckoo heard but not seen, and there were also three Cattle Egrets actually on the banks and two Brown Hares on the reserve.

There wasn't too much at Porthole Farm, beyond the usual Whitethroats and Yellowhammers. (AH)

Corn Buntings (above), Cattle Egret, Skylark, Yellowhammer & Brown Hare at Medmerry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There were four Avocet chicks on the Stilt Pool, plus 19 adults, whilst the Lapwings still had two chicks and there were also four Little Ringed Plovers, five Ringed Plovers and two Dunlin present.

There was plenty along the banks, including three Dartford Warblers, c25 Whitethroats, eight Reed, four Sedge and six Cetti's Warblers, a Chiffchaff, two Stonechats, six Reed Buntings and c20 Yellowhammers, with six Cattle Egrets on the reserve and two Kestrels and four Buzzards over. (S&SaH/PB)

Avocet family at Medmerry (SH)

Friday, 24th May: A lovely morning of sun and white cloud in a light to moderate south-westerly breeze.....

Selsey Bill: There were a lot of Common Scoters about, but not too much else this morning. Full log below. (AH/IP/SR/P&LH)

(0630-0830hrs) (WSW, F3-4)

Great Northern Diver - 1os

Fulmar - 1W

Gannet - 4E, 2W, 5os

Common Scoter - 3E, 110W, 45os

Oystercatcher - 2E

Sanderling - 3W

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1os

Sandwich Tern - 14os

Swallow - 3

House Martin - 12

Common Scoters (above), Fulmar & House Martin at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: A Little Ringed Plover was at the back this morning, with six Avocets, four Redshanks and six Lapwings also present, along with two drake Teal, eight Mallards and 24 Shelducks.

Also, a Cuckoo was calling, two Swifts and two Buzzards went over and a Lesser Whitethroat, two Whitethroats, a Blackcap and four Chiffchaffs were around the Tramway. (AH/P&LH)

This afternoon, a Hobby was hunting over the back of the pool. (AB)

Little Ringed Plover (above) & Teal at the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: It was quiet along the wall this morning, with a Cuckoo along the hedges and four Buzzards high overhead at Halsey’s Farm, where there were also a couple of Skylarks. The Cattle Egrets, Little Egrets and Grey Herons were busy in the trees at Owl Copse, and the usual mix of Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers, Whitethroats, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches and Long-tailed Tits were along the bushes and reeds.
The pair of Mute Swans on the Breech Pool now have three cygnets, and four Tufted Ducks and a Great Crested Grebe were also on the water, but it was quiet in the harbour, with just three Curlews out on the mud and a few Shelducks and Mute Swans on the water. (LP/TRH)

This afternoon, a Spotted Flycatcher was in the dead tree behind the stables. (SHo)

Cattle Egret (above), Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Mute Swan family & Buzzards at the North Wall (LP)

Church Norton: It was quite quiet this morning, with just a Whimbrel, a Lapwing and two Curlews of note in the harbour and a Cuckoo, four Chiffchaffs, a Whitethroat, a Cetti's Warbler and a Swallow along the front. (P&LH)

Late this afternoon, a smart summer-plumaged Grey Plover was in the harbour, along with a Curlew, ten Whimbrel, half a dozen Dunlin and a dozen Ringed Plovers, with a singing Chiffchaff in the churchyard. (AH)

Grey Plover (above), Whimbrel & Chiffchaff at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There was quite a bit of activity around the Stilt Pool this morning, including three pairs of fish-passing Little Terns, the first two Avocet chicks of the spring, with at least a dozen more birds still sitting, a pair of Oystercatchers, three Redshanks, six Dunlin, six Lapwings and a few Gadwall and Tufted Ducks.

There were also two pairs of Ringed Plovers getting very combative with each other, and at one point they were joined in their tussle by the pair of Little Ringed Plovers.

A vocal Cuckoo, two Cattle Egrets, three Buzzards and 30 Shelducks were the only things of note on the reserve, whilst the banks were quite busy, too, with two Dartford Warblers, a par of Stonechats, carrying food, half a dozen Reed Warblers, a couple of Cetti's Warblers, 20+ Whitethroats and Yellowhammers,half a dozen Reed Buntings, 20+ Skylarks and 50+ Linnets seen, along with six Swifts and a dozen Swallows.

There were also a couple of Hairy Dragonflies along the banks.(AH/P&LH)

Little Ringed and Ringed Plovers (above), Avocet chick, Dartford Warbler, Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Little Terns, Cattle Egret, Gadwall & Hairy Dragonfly at Medmerry (AH)

Medmerry: Medmerry Trail to Wilson's Farm - The highlight this morning was what appeared to be two Grey Partridges which flushed from the trail junction at Ham into a nearby set- aside field. Apart from this, most bushes had a singing Whitethroat present, Sedge Warblers were evident near the start of the trail, as were Reed Warblers, and at least four Cetti's Warblers were heard.

A Cattle Egret was at Ham viewpoint before flying over to Chainbridge and a Stonechat with a fledged youngster was also here; two more pairs of Stonechats were along the trail. Two Grey Herons flew over high west and more were heard from the herony/Comorant roost near Wilson's Farm.

Raptors were surprisingly few but there were two Buzzards thermalling over the WTW where there were also a few Swifts and Swallows hunting insects. (BI)

Thursday, 23rd May: A warm, bright and breezy morning, with lots of sun in a brisk westerly.....

Selsey Bill: Another quiet morning, though an Arctic Skua was lingering offshore and five Little Terns and ten Kittiwakes went west. Full log below. (AH/SR)
(0645-0815hrs) (WNW, F4-5)
Fulmar - 1W
Gannet - 2W
Arctic Skua - 1os
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 2os
Kittiwake - 10W
Sandwich Tern - 19os
Little Tern - 5W
Swallow - 3N
House Martin - 8

Kittiwake (above) & Sandwich Tern at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: A Great Crested Grebe flew in high from the harbour, circled the pool and flew off north, but otherwise it was the usual mix, including two Avocets, two Redshanks, the Black-tailed Godwit, the drake Teal, a drake Shoveler and 18 Shelducks. (AH)

This evening the Tawny Owlet was showing well in the Discovery Area. (S&SaH)

Great Crested Grebe at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: A quick look in the harbour this afternoon produced at least ten Whimbrel, four Curlews – including a yellow-tagged one, N6, a summer-plumaged Grey Plover, c40 Dunlin and c80 Ringed Plovers. (AH)

Later, at 1820 hrs, a Short-eared Owl was over the concrete blocks, being mobbed by gulls, before it flew off along the spit. (CW)

Grey Plover (above), Whimbrel, colour-tagged Curlew & Dunlin and Ringed Plovers at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: A sub-adult male Marsh Harrier and the female with several missing primaries were seen this evening, but neither of the regular pair.

There were also several Grey Heron and Little Egret chicks in Owl copse and 15 cattle Egrets flew in to roost. (S&SaH)

Medmerry: Windmill to the Breach - Half a dozen House Martins were the only birds at the windmill end, with a handful of Linnets among the caravans, whilst at the breach end there were a pair of Meadow Pipits carrying food, more Linnets and a handful of Swallows.

Two Little Terns flew west past the breach, but there was no other sign of activity from them, whilst a first-year Kittiwake dropped in on the roosting gulls and a Peregrine went over, heading west, and waders comprised six Turnstones, 11 Dunlin, 18 Ringed Plovers, a Curlew and two Oystercatchers.

Also, a Fox with cubs was on the old crazy golf course by the windmill and another appeared out of the rocks by the breach. (AH)