Birding the Selsey Peninsula: 19th

Saturday, 21st September: Another fairly cool and overcast morning, though the breeze had eased a little and shifted more to the east.......

Selsey Bill: A Spotted Flycatcher was unexpected this morning, though otherwise it was the similar mix of visible migrants, though a few less hirundines and a few more Meadow Pipits. Full log later. (SH/BI/PM/AH/SR/IP/JA)

(0630-0900hrs) (ENE, F4)

Gannet - 9E, 5W, 40os

Little Egret - 1E, 2W, 1 present

Brent Goose - 1W

Wigeon - 4E

Teal - 1E

Common Scoter - 5E

Sparrowhawk - 1

Kestrel - 2

Oystercatcher - 1E, 1W

Grey Plover - 1W

Bar-tailed Godwit - 7E, 3W

Turnstone - 3

Mediterranean Gull - 5E, 1W

Sandwich Tern - 37E, 1W

Swallow - 101E

Sand Martin - 7E

House Martin - 11E

Yellow Wagtail - 11E, 4W

Pied Wagtail - 7E

Meadow Pipit - 111E

Chiffchaff - 4

Spotted Flycatcher - 1

Linnet - 11E

Spotted Flycatcher (above) & Yellow Wagtail at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: The five Spotted Redshanks were again busy feeding on the pool, and there were also two Green Sandpipers again, along with a Common Sandpiper, six Avocets, c30 Black-tailed Godwits, c120 Lapwings, three Shelducks and c35 Teal. (AH)

Spotted Redshanks (above), Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper & Avocets at the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: It was very quiet along here, with just two Stonechats and two Reed Buntings along the hedges and half a dozen Swallows and two House Martins over. (AH)

Stonechat at the Long Pool (AH)

Mill Pond Marsh: There were just ten Black-tailed Godwits, a Redshank, a Greenshank, four Shovelers and 15 Teal present this morning. (AH/BI)

Shoveler, Black-tailed Godwit and Teal at Mill Pond Marsh (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: A Yellow Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail, four Pied Wagtails, plus a few Swallows, a Kestrel and a Buzzard went over, with a Green Woodpecker and a few Chiffchaffs also seen. (IP)

Church Norton: A few Chiffchaffs in the hedges and three Sand Martins and a few Swallows and Meadow Pipits over were the only passerines seen, whilst a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk were about, too.

Also, Bar-tailed and three Black-tailed Godwits were in the harbour, along with a few Dunlin, a Pintail and c50 Teal and Wigeon were in the harbour and a lone Sandwich Tern went west, carrying a fish. (IP)

North Wall: The main action was again around the paddock this morning with a Spotted Flycatcher, two Whinchats, four Stonechats, a Cetti’s Warbler, a Reed Bunting, a Sedge Warbler, a Whitethroat, six Chiffchaffs, 18 Goldfinches, a Green Woodpecker, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Jay and three Swallows on the fences and bushes, with 100 more Swallows, 12 Sand Martins, a Meadow Pipit and a Grey Wagtail overhead, and the male Marsh Harrier dropped into the reeds further back.

Along White’s Creek there were two Brent Geese, and lots of Wigeon, with a few Pintail and Teal also about and the usual Redshanks, Lapwings and Curlews were along the banks, and a few Dunlin and Grey Plovers were further out on the mud. At Halsey's Farm, a young Hobby flew over and two Stonechats were on the fenceline. (LP/SP/JDW/BI et al)

Stonechats (above), Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Chiffchaffs & Swallows at the North Wall (LP)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A good mix along the banks included a Wheatear, seven Stonechats, two Dartford Warblers, a Whitethroat, 15 Chiffchaffs, two Cetti's Warblers and eight Yellowhammers about, whilst seven Yellow Wagtails, two Grey Wagtails, c20 Meadow Pipits, seven Sand Martins and 56 Swallows went over, going east.

Also, a Common Sandpiper and a Greenshank were on the Stilt Pool, with another of the latter on the reserve, with a Marsh Harrier, two Buzzards and seven Kestrels over. (S&SaH)

East Head: A flock of 24 Brent Geese were at the mouth of the lagoon off East Head today - the first of the autumn here. (GM)

Brent Geese at East Head (GM)

Chi GPs: Drayton House pits - The WeBS count covering the two pits was completed today, and whilst there was nothing exceptional, there were a couple of interesting sightings. Firstly, a single Pintail dropped onto the North pit lake this morning, actually a scarce bird here and my first record for the site, but it remained only 20 minutes before flying off west. Secondly, the count of Pochard reached an impressive 115 birds, all but three on the North pit, showing just what an important site this continues to be for the species. Great Crested Grebes numbers were above average, with a joint total of 32 counted and other highlights included two Kingfishers, a Water Rail and a Snipe.

Cetti's Warblers were more noticeable today with up to five singing birds, whilst up to 20 Chiffchaffs were active around the banks and hedgerows. (OM)

Pochards at Drayton House pits (OM)

Friday, 20th September: It was a cooler and greyer morning than of late, with the fresh and blustery north-easterly still persisting ......

Selsey Bill: Just a few hirundines went east this morning, along with three Tree Pipits and seven Grey Wagtails, whilst the juvenile Common Tern was still about and five Brent Geese went west. Full log below. (BI/SR/IP/AH/P&LH)

(0630-0830hrs) (NE, F4-5)

Gannet - 2E, 3W, 60os

Grey Heron - 1

Brent Goose - 5W

Wigeon - 5E

Shoveler - 2E

Sparrowhawk - 2

Oystercatcher - 1E, 1W

Mediterranean Gull - 1E, 7os

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1os

Sandwich Tern - 2E, 7os

Common Tern - 1os

Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1

Swallow - 141E

Sand Martin - 8E

House Martin - 1E

Grey Wagtail - 7E

Pied Wagtail - 4E

Tree Pipit - 3E

Meadow Pipit - 51E

Chiffchaff - 2

Linnet - 22E

Goldfinch - 4E

(1220-1320hrs) (P&LH)

Gannet - 7os

Common Scoter - 1E

Turnstone - 6W

Swallow - 42E

House Martin - 2E

Meadow Pipit (above) & the very low tide at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were five Spotted Redshanks on the pool this morning, feeding together, and there were again two Green Sandpipers, with, otherwise, seven Avocets, c40 Lapwings, 32 Black-tailed Godwits, four Shelducks and 25 Teal, whilst later on, a flock of 25 Greylag Geese flew over. (AH/P&LH)

Spotted Redshanks (above) & Green Sandpipers at the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There was a bit of visible eastward migration again, early this morning, including a Tree Pipit, 63 Meadow Pipits, 25 Swallows, seven House Martins and 23 Linnets, whilst two Wheatears, two Stonechats, eight Chiffchaffs, four Blackcaps, four Reed Buntings and a Goldcrest were along the Severals/beach area and a Snipe and three Sparrowhawks went over. (MRe)

Later on a Spotted Flycatcher and three Chiffchaffs were around the churchyard/hide area, with a flock of seven Jays going over together there, along with three Meadow pipits, five Sand Martins, two House Martins and c100 Swallows, with a couple of Stonechats about, too.

Waders in the harbour included three Whimbrel, three Bar-tailed Godwits and a Grey Plover, whilst a gathering of 42 Little Egrets were roosting out off the wind on Tern Island. (P&LH)

This evening there were two Whimbrel, two Bar-tailed Godwits, a dozen Dunlin, c50 Black-tailed Godwits and c80 Redshanks around on the falling tide, plus a few Wigeon and Teal and a fly-by Sparrowhawk, with half a dozen Chiffchaffs in the churchyard. (AH)

Bar-tailed Godwit (above), Dunlin & Sparrowhawk at Church Norton (AH)

Mill Pond Marsh: This evening there was just a Greenshank, a Redshank, a Black-tailed Godwit and half a dozen Teal on the flooded field. (AH)

Greenshank and Redshank at Mill Pond Marsh (AH)

North Wall: Most of the activity was in the paddocks again this morning, with three Whinchats, three Stonechats, a Lesser Whitethroat and a handful of Chiffchaffs all being active, but elsewhere there wasn't much more than a Jay and the odd Chiffchaff to be seen, though c100 Swallows went over east.

There wasn't much on the Breech Pool beyond a couple of young Little Grebes and c20 Teal, whilst in White's Creek there were c20 Black-tailed Godwits and c50 Lapwings, with plenty of Wigeon and Teal about, and there were 15 Pintails in the harbour at the far end. (AH/LP/TRH/LL)

Whinchats (above), Stonechat, Lesser Whitethroat, Jay, Black-tailed Godwit & Pintails a the North Wall (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - After a slow start, there was a good eastward movement of 600+ House Martins and 225+ Swallows, along with 30+ Meadow Pipits, this morning, but four or five Dartford Warblers and half a dozen Yellowhammers were all that could be seen on the banks in the wind.

Also, a Marsh Harrier went over and two Greenshanks, four Golden Plovers, 77 Wigeon and a flock of 120 Stock Doves were on the reserve. (PA)

Thursday, 19th September: Another morning with more or less unbroken warm, if hazy, sunshine tempered by a strong north-easterly breeze......

Selsey Bill: A bit less busy than the last couple of days, but there was still a steady eastward flow of hirundines, with a few Yellow Wagtails and Meadow Pipits among them, whilst a Wheatear went along the beach, a Common Tern was on the shingle bar and 11 Brent Geese and 37 Wigeon went west. Full log below. (SR/PA/AH/LP)

(0700-0900hrs) (NE, F5)

Gannet - 2E, 9W, 34os

Brent Goose- 11W

Wigeon - 15E, 37W

Common Scoter - 2E

Turnstone - 23

Mediterranean Gull - 21os

Sandwich Tern - 5E, 2W, 1os

Common Tern - 1os

Swallow - 271E

Sand Martin - 10E

House Martin - 623E

Yellow Wagtail - 10E

Pied Wagtail - 7E

Meadow Pipit - 42E

Wheatear - 1

Jay - 1

Wigeon (above), Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern & Mediterranean Gulls at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were two Green Sandpipers on the pool his morning, along with a Common Sandpiper, a Snipe, six Avocets, 34 Black-tailed Godwits, c60 Lapwings, two Shovelers and a dozen Teal, with a Grey Wagtail active at the front. (AH)

Grey Wagtail (above), Green Sandpiper & Common Sandpiper at the Ferry (AH)

North Wall: A Great White Egret was on the Breech Pool, with a second bird along the East side in the harbour, towards high tide. Also on the Breech Pool were six Lapwings 15 Black-tailed Godwits and a Bar-tailed Godwit.

Also, a Spotted Flycatcher was by the stables, a Whinchat was on the fence, a Green Woodpecker was amongst the grass, half a dozen Swallows went over, and further back a Marsh Harrier dropped into the reeds.(LP/TRH/CRJ/JDW)

This evening a total of 61 Cattle Egrets flew in to roost in Owl Copse, including a flock of 50 birds, whilst 46 Yellow Wagtails went in to roost on the Breech Pool, where the Great White Egret was showing again.

Also, a juvenile and a male Marsh Harriers were about, along with two Stonechats and a Cettti's Warbler. (S&SaH)

Spotted Flycatcher (above), Whinchat & Green Woodpecker at the North Wall (LP)

East Head: A Nuthatch was present around the west end of Ella Nore Lane again this morning. (SH)

Church Norton: There was a bit of visible migration along the beach again this morning, including two Yellow Wagtails, c50 Meadow Pipits, c20 Sand Martins, c30 House Martins and c100 Swallows, whilst a juvenile Marsh Harrier, two Stonechats, three Blackcaps and 14 Chiffchaffs were along the Severals, whilst half a dozen more of the latter, a couple of Goldcrests and a Mistle Thrush were around the hide/churchyard area.

Two Brent Geese went west offshore, with another in the harbour, and c120 Wigeon and 35 Teal flew in from out to sea, but a Whimbrel, two Dunlin, c50 Redshanks and c30 Little Egrets was about it in the harbour. (MRe/AH et al)