13th -15th September 2025

Monday, 15th September: A very windy morning from the start, with it from the west and close to gale force, though it was fairly mild and mostly dry.........

Selsey Bill: What was presumably the same Long-tailed Skua as Saturday re-appeared out near the Mile Basket and lingered for a while before heading off west, but there were only two Balearic Shearwaters seen, with the morning dominated by a westward movement of five Black Terns, two juvenile Arctic Terns, 258 Common Terns and 325 Sandwich Terns, with four Arctic Skuas west, too. Full log below. 

(SH/BI/PB/AH/IP/MRe/PA/MO-W/OM/CRJ/DSa/P&LH/RPa/AW et al)

(0615-1200hrs) (W, F6-8)

Balearic Shearwater - 2W

Gannet - 1E, 30W

Shag - 3E

Oystercatcher - 1E, 1W

Sanderling - 4W

Turnstone - 49

Arctic Skua - 4W

Long-tailed Skua - 1os, then W

Mediterranean Gull - 7W

Kittiwake - 28W

Sandwich Tern - 325W

Arctic Tern - 2W

Common Tern - 258W

Black Tern - 5W

Swallow - 1E

Sand Martin - 2E

Meadow Pipit - 1E

(1245- 1715hrs) (P&LH/SH)

Gannet - 6W

Shag - 2W

Oystercatcher - 2E, 2W, 1 present

Turnstone - 48

Arctic Skua - 2W

Mediterranean Gull - 2W

Common Gull - 1W

Sandwich Tern - 14E,90W

Common Tern - 46W

Black Tern (above), Common Terns, Common Terns and Sandwich Tern (AH), Sanderling (AW) and approx 40 of the Turnstones (OM) at the Bill this morning plus a good turnout of watchers! (BI)

North Wall: A Common Sandpiper was by the sluice and two Greenshanks, four Pintail, 18 Wigeon, 14 Lapwings, 19 Black-tailed Godwits and 32 Redshanks were along White’s Creek with 12 Mediterranean Gulls out on the mud.

A Wheatear was along the rocks, and two Little Egrets were with three Grey Herons out on their island, whilst in the nearby channel there were five Greenshanks, three Spotted Redshanks and nine Redshanks.

At Halsey’s Farm a Whitethroat and a few Chiffchaffs were in the bushes, eight Black-tailed Godwits were by the rife, and a Marsh Harrier, a Sparrowhawk, a Buzzard and a Kestrel passed overhead. (LP/MJa)

This evening there were two Wheatears and four Greenshanks seen along the wall. (RPa)

Common Sandpiper (above), Black-tailed Godwits & Little Egret at the North Wall (LP)

Church Norton: Two Spoonbills were in the harbour this morning, along with six Sanderlings, two Whimbrel, a Bar-tailed Godwit, c20 Knot, a dozen Grey Plovers and c40 Dunlin and Ringed Plovers, plus three Common Terns, a juvenile Shelduck and a few Wigeon..

Also, a Wheatear was on the concrete blocks, two Spotted Flycatchers and a handful of Chiffchaffs were behind the hide and two Swallows and c20 House Martins went over. (AH/PB/P&LH)

Spotted Flycatchers (above), Chiffchaff, Wheatear, Sanderlings, Grey Plover & Common Tern at Church Norton (AH)

Despite the westward movement of terns at the Bill, there were still c50 Common Terns, with a Black Tern and eight Sandwich Terns in the harbour this evening.

Also, there were c80 Dunlin, c40 Ringed Plovers, c20 Grey Plovers and two Whimbrel on the last bits of mud and c20 Teal on the water, plus a roost of c90 Great Black-backed Gulls (AH), whilst earlier there was a Curlew Sandpiper on the mud and at least one Spoonbill about (PA)

Black Tern (above), Black Tern, Common and Sandwich Terns, Common Terns & Great Black-backed Gulls at Church Norton (AH)

Sunday, 14th September: The morning started cool and grey and fairly still, before the breeze swiftly switched round to the south and freshened considerably.......

Selsey Bill: A truly remarkable and unprecedented 539 Balearic Shearwaters went west over the course of the morning, more than double the previous day record, and allowing a lot of people a chance to see this globally scarce species.

There was a good supporting cast, too, including a Black Tern, a couple of Arctic Terns, an Arctic Skua and a bit of 'vis-mig,' whilst later an Osprey was seen catching a fish offshore. Full log below.

(SH/BI/PM/PB/MGB/IP/AH/LP/SP/CS/RPa/RHa/JA/DBo/AWi et al)

(0615-1400hrs) (NE, F1, veering to SSW, F4-5)

Great Crested Grebe - 1os

Balearic Shearwater - 6E, 539W

Gannet - 13E, 97W, 10os

Shag - 17E, 1os

Little Egret - 1E

Common Scoter - 19E

Osprey - 1os

Peregrine - 1

Oystercatcher - 2E, 1W

Ringed Plover - 2E

Sanderling - 2E

Turnstone - 27

Arctic Skua - 1os

Mediterranean Gull - 2E, 26W

Common Gull - 9W

Kittiwake - 1W

Sandwich Tern - 40E, 122W

Arctic Tern - 1W, 1os

Common Tern - 2E, 22W

Black Tern - 1os

Razorbill - 2E

auk sp - 3W

Swallow - 59E

Sand Martin - 2

Yellow Wagtail - 11E

Grey Wagtail - 13E

Pied Wagtail - 1

Tree Pipit - 1N

Meadow Pipit - 180E

Wheatear - 1

Chiffchaff - 3

Siskin - 1N

Balearic Shearwaters (PM top two, AH lower), Arctic and Sandwich Terns (RHa), Shags & Sandwich Terns (AH) at the Bill

This afternoon a Sooty Shearwater went west, and three Arctic Skuas went east. Full log below. (AW/SH)

(1445-1545hrs)

Sooty Shearwater - 1W

Gannet - 4E, 2W

Arctic Skua - 3E

Mediterranean - 3W

Sandwich Tern - 25E, 16W

Common Tern - 32E, 5W

Sooty Shearwater at the Bill (AW)

Ferry Pool: There were two Black-tailed Godwits, a Redshank and six Teal on the pool this morning, with c200 Black-headed Gulls roosting at the back. (AH)

Later, a walk around the Tramway produced an Osprey, a Marsh Harrier and two Whimbrel in the harbour, a Kingfisher in Ferry Channel, a Lesser Whitethroat and at least ten Blackcaps in the bushes, plus a fly -over Tree Pipit.

Also, two Wheatears were in the fields at the back and 49 Mediterranean Gulls and a Common Sandpiper were on the pool. (PM)

Osprey (above) & Whimbrel from the Tramway (PM)

Selsey Peninsula: A Long-eared Owl was reported from an undisclosed site this morning. (Eds)

Long-eared Owl on the Peninsula

Mill Pond Marsh: The two Shovelers and c20 Teal were about it on the flooded field, whilst the bushes held a Reed Warbler, a Reed Bunting, a couple of Blackcaps and Whitethroats and half a dozen Chiffchaffs, with an handful of Swallows going over. (AH) 

Reed Warbler (above), Blackcap & Chiffchaff at Mill Pond Marsh (AH)

Church Norton: A Curlew Sandpiper was in the harbour this afternoon, along with ten Knot, 30 Dunlin, a Whimbrel, a couple of Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwits, three Wigeon, four Pintail and two Sandwich Terns, whilst just two Chiffchaffs were in the bushes and a few Swallows, Sand and House Martins went over. (AWi)

North Wall: The Osprey was visible from Owl Point this morning, with a Merlin, a Hobby and two Marsh Harriers also about, whilst two Common Sandpipers, two Spotted Redshanks, two Bar-tailed Godwits and a Lesser Black-backed Gull were in White's Creek, a Water Rail was in Bremere Rife and six Black-tailed Godwits and a Dunlin were at Halsey's Farm, along with a few young Cattle Egrets.

A Whinchat and two Stonechats were at Halsey's Farm, with a selection of regular migrants, including two Wheatears, two Grey Wagtails, a couple of Lesser Whitethroats, a handful of Whitethroats and Blackcaps and a dozen or more Chiffchaffs along the hedges and a few Swallows went over. (MJa/IH/MRi/DHi/AHu/AH/E&SB et al)

Whinchat (above), Chiffchaff, Cattle Egret & Black-tailed Godwits at the North Wall (AH)

Sidlesham: A Spotted Flycatcher and a Redstart were in the hedges along Cow Lane early this morning, whilst eight Siskins, a Yellow Wagtail and Meadow Pipits went over. (PA)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - Amazingly, 65 Balearic Shearwaters were viewable from the beach, heading west, along with seven Gannets and 12 Sandwich Terns.

Also, five Ruff dropped in on near the poplars, with a Snipe and a Marsh Harrier on the reserve, with a Wheatear, two Stonechats, a Whitethroat, a Reed Bunting and three Yellowhammers along the banks. (PB/MRB)

Saturday 13th September: Another morning of highly variable conditions, starting quite pleasantly in a moderate westerly, but soon turning to prolonged heavy rain that finally gave way to a mix of sun and heavy showers.......

Selsey Bill: A very interesting morning around the heavy rain, with a remarkable 110 Balearic Shearwaters going west the highlight, the vast majority of which went through between 0645 and 0745hrs, including a fantastic flock of 43 together.

Running them close were a Long-tailed Skua seen off Hillfield Road at 0900hrs and very probably (it, or another) again from the Bill 30 minutes later, along with a juvenile Pomarine Skua, a Manx Shearwater, seven Black Terns and a Little Tern, all going west. Full log below. (SH/PB/BI/IP/AH/MO-W/JA/PA)

(0615-1000hrs) (WSW, F5

Great Crested Grebe - 1os

Balearic Shearwater - 110W

Manx Shearwater - 1W

Gannet - 64W

Shag - 13E, 3os

Little egret - 2E, 1W

Eider - 1os

Oystercatcher - 1E, 1W

Turnstone - 30 (inc the leucistic bird)

Pomarine Skua - 1W (juv)

Long-tailed Skua - 1W

Arctic Skua - 4E, 1W, 1os

Mediterranean Gull - 2E, 6W

Sandwich Tern - 2E, 218W

Common Tern - 42W

Little Tern - 1W

Black Tern - 7W

auk sp - 1W

Swallow - 11

House Martin - 2

Grey Wagtail - 3E

Meadow Pipit - 26N

Wheatear - 3

Three Balearic Shearwaters went west at 1711hrs and a Black Tern was among the feeding flock this evening. Full log below. (AB/CD)

(1705-1820hrs)

Balearic Shearwater - 3E

Shag - 1os

Arctic Skua - 1W, 2os

Kittiwake - 2os

Black Tern - 1os

A video (BI) of the Balearic Shearwaters passing the Bill is here: BALEARIC SHEARWATERS

Balearic Shearwaters (above), Common Terns, Sandwich Tern, Shags, Wheatear & Turnstones at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were just eight Teal, c30 Mediterranean Gulls and c150 Black-headed Gulls on the pool this morning. (AH)

Mill Pond Marsh: A quick look, late morning, produced a female Merlin over and a Coal Tit, a Whitethroat and a couple of Blackcaps in the bushes, but just a Black-tailed Godwit, two Shovelers and c25 Teal on the flooded field. (AH)

Merlin (above), Black-tailed Godwit & Shovelers and Teal at Mill Pond Marsh (AH)

Church Norton: There were up to six spotted Flycatchers around the hedges by the hide this morning, along with a dozen Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, a Willow Warbler, a couple of Whitethroats and up to ten Chiffchaffs.

The Spoonbill was in the harbour, again, along with a Curlew Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper, a Whimbrel, a Bar-tailed Godwit, four Black-tailed Godwits, 20 Knot, four Grey Plovers and a few Dunlin and Ringed Plovers, and there was also a Kingfisher about, and a male Marsh Harrier flew in over the harbour mouth, being chased by crows. (AW/BI/AH et al)

A video of the one of the Spotted Flycatchers (BI) is here: SPOTTED FLYCATCHER

Spoonbill (above), Whimbrel (AW), Spotted Flycatchers (AW top, AH lower), Garden Warbler & Whitethroat (AH) at Church Norton

This evening a Whinchat and two Stonechats were by the horse field, a t least one Spotted flycatcher was still behind the hide, a Raven dropped in on the metalwork and c25 Sand Martins and c50 Swallows were feeding overhead.

Also, the Spoonbill and a Common Sandpiper were in the harbour and a flock of 12 Knot were flying about, as were c30 Sandwich Terns and a Common Tern. (AH/LP/MRi/AB/CD et al)

Knot (above) & Sand Martin at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - An Osprey was over the reserve this afternoon, along with a Buzzard, a Sparrowhawk and two Kestrels, whilst a flock of c50 Golden Plovers flew in and landed in the fields.

There was a bit along the banks again, despite the breeze, including two Whinchats, four Stonechats, five Meadow Pipits, eight Yellow Wagtails, a Dartford warbler, a Chiffchaff and a Cetti's Warbler, with 25 Sand Martins and 38 Swallows going over. (S&SaH)