19th - 21st September 2025

Sunday, 21st September: A much cooler morning, though mostly bright and sunny in a moderate north-easterly breeze......

Selsey Bill: It was quiet again offshore, but there was more visible migration, including 35 Siskins, two Yellow Wagtails, five Grey Wagtails, 33 Meadow Pipits west and 35 Swallows east. Full log below. (SH/BI/IP/AH)

(0630-0900hrs) (NE, F3)

Gannet - 1W

Shag - 4E

Oystercatcher - 1W

Turnstone - 1

Mediterranean Gull - 173W

Sandwich Tern - 3E, 14W, 6os

auk sp - 3W

Swallow - 35E

Yellow Wagtail - 2W

Grey Wagtail - 5W

Pied Wagtail - 9W

Meadow Pipit - 33W

Chiffchaff - 1

Goldcrest - 1

Long-tailed Tit -2

Magpie - 9

Siskin - 35w

Linnet - 25W

Sandwich Tern (above), Meadow Pipit & Pied Wagtails at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: There were a Green Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper, four Black-tailed Godwits and eight Teal on the pool early this morning. (AH)

Green Sandpiper (above), Common Sandpiper & Black-tailed Godwit at the Ferry (AH)

Mill Pond Marsh: A male Redstart was in the hedges this morning, joined by a female later, along with half a dozen Chiffchaffs and a vocal Cetti's Warbler, whilst two Snipe and a dozen Teal were on the flooded field, with c100 House Martins and a handful of Sand Martins, but surprisingly no Swallows, feeding over the water. (AH/S&SaH/PA)

Redstart (above), Chiffchaff, House Martin & Snipe at Mill Pond Marsh (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: At least a dozen Chiffchaffs were about, with a Willow Warbler and a male Blackcap amongst them, whist a Whinchat was in the horse paddocks, with a Pied Wagtail and a Green Woodpecker also about, and two Ravens and two Siskins flew over, as did a Kestrel and two Buzzards, with four House Martins among large numbers of Swallows. (IP/S&SaH)

Church Norton: There were three Redstarts about this morning - one near the hide and two along the Severals, together with a Whitethroat, three Stonechats, a Cetti's Warbler and two Stock Doves, whilst a couple of Wheatears and a Grey Wagtail were along the spit and another at Greenlease Farm, with a Mistle Thrush, a Green Woodpecker and a dozen Chiffchaffs around the hide/churchyard area.

In the harbour there were four Spoonbills,, two Bar-tailed Godwits, 15 Knot and a few Dunlin and Grey Plovers, with a Marsh Harrier, two Sparrowhawks and four Buzzards over. (SM/IP/S&SaH/BI)

This evening a Little Stint and five Curlew Sandpipers were among the Dunlin out on the mud. (PA)

Redstart (above), Chiffchaff (SM) & Redstart (IP) at Church Norton

North Wall: A Woodlark, a Tree Pipit and a flock of five Ravens went over early this morning, whilst two Grey Wagtails and two Wheatears were along the wall, a Redstart was in the bushes by Owl Copse, four Whinchats and three Stonechats were along the fences at Owl Point, and Chiffchaffs were everywhere, with at least 30 seen throughout the morning. Also, there was a steady movement of House Martins, Swallows, and Sand Martins, plus c50 Meadow Pipits, over the harbour.

A Spoonbill and a Spotted Redshank were in White's Creek, along with a Kingfisher and all the regular species, with lots of Dunlin, Ringed Plovers and Grey Plovers further out on the mud and a Greenshank was by Heron Island.

Also, at Halsey’s Farm a Kingfisher was along the rife, a Cattle Egret was in the field and a Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel and three Buzzards were overhead, whilst a Clouded Yellow was along the lower path, and a Grass Snake was in the water between the sluice gates. (PA/MRi/LP/DHi/MJa/EB/SBr/JDW)

Redstart (above), Wheatear, Grey Wagtail, Spoonbill & Clouded Yellow at the North Wall (LP)

This afternoon a Curlew Sandpipers were in the harbour, with a Kingfisher by the sluice, whilst a male Redstart, two Cetti's Warblers, five Reed Buntings, c20 Chiffchaffs ans Long-tailed Tits were along the wall and a Marsh Harrier, two Buzzards, three Kestrels and c300 Swallows and similar of House Martins went over. (S&SaH/E&SB)

Kingfisher (above), Long-tailed Tit & Dunnock along the North Wall (EB)

Pagham Spit: A Stonechat, a Chiffchaff, a Skylark and a dozen Linnets, plus a Sparrowhawk over, were all that could be found along the spit this morning, whilst in the harbour there were up to five Curlew Sandpipers and c20 Knot among c150 Dunlin and c100 Ringed Plovers near the harbour mouth, but not much else beyond a few Wigeon and Pintail. (AH)

Curlew Sandpipers, Dunlin and Ringed Plovers (above), Stonechat, Skylark, Pintail & Wigeon at Pagham Spit (AH)

Long Pool: Early this evening there were three Whinchats and three Stonechats in the field adjacent to Long Pool, and there were a few Chiffchaffs along the hedges but only one Whitethroat was seen.

A Snipe flew out into the harbour and there were four Marsh Harriers about, one was over the saltmarsh and three came in from the fields to the west putting up around 40 Red-legged Partridges. (AW)

Whinchat (above) & Red-legged Partridges along the Long Pool (AW)

East Head: This afternoon a Stonechat was in the dunes, a handful of Sand Martins were among a good number of Swallows and House Martins moving through, whilst in the harbour there were a Black-tailed Godwit, a couple of Curlews and Mediterranean Gulls, plus a few Sandwich Terns. (JC)

 

Saturday, 20th September: A heavily overcast, though mild and muggy, morning in a moderate south-westerly breeze......

Selsey Bill: The highlight this morning was three Marsh Harriers flying west together, some way offshore, whilst there was some 'vis-mig,' including 53 Siskins and 502 Meadow Pipits west, though inevitably there were many fewer hirundines about. Full log below. (SH/JA/BI/PB/IP/AH/JFi)

(0615-0915hrs) (SSW, F3-4)

Gannet - 18E, 30W

Shag - 8E

Common Scoter - 4E, 9W

Marsh Harrier - 3W (together)

Dunlin - 60W

Turnstone - 10

Mediterranean Gull - 164W

Sandwich Tern - 9E, 12W

Swallow - 166E

Sand Martin - 1E

House Martin - 4E

Yellow Wagtail - 7E

Grey wagtail - 4E

Pied Wagtail - 3E

Meadow Pipit - 502W

Siskin - 53W

This afternoon, a Bonxie was lingering offshore and two Black Terns, 23 Kittiwakes and 25 Sanderlings went west. Full log below. (SH)

(1645-1745hrs) 

Gannet - 1E, 46W

Shag - 2W

Sanderling - 25W

Turnstone - 1

Great Skua - 1os

Kittiwake - 23W

Sandwich Tern - 10W

Common Tern - 2W

Black Tern - 2W

Razorbill - 1W

auk sp - 1W

Swallow - 1E

Gannets at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: It was surprisingly lively around the vicinity this morning, with three Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, seven Black-tailed Godwits and eight Teal, plus 187 Mediterranean Gulls, on the pool, with three Whinchats and two Wheatears in the field and a firecrest in the Discovery Area, whilst another Common Sandpiper, three Spotted Redshanks and two Whimbrel were in Ferry Channel and a Water Rail was in Red Barn Ditch.

There was also some overhead passage, including the first Woodlark of the year, a Tree Pipit, three Yellow Wagtails, two Grey Wagtails, two Ravens, a Marsh Harrier, c50 Siskins, c750 Meadow Pipits and a continuous flow of hirundines. (AW/ESt/MB/DB/AH/RPa/KB)

Later, both a Merlin and a Marsh Harrier went over the pool. (RBe)

Water Rail (above), Common Sandpiper (AW), Green Sandpipers (AW top, AH lower) & Spotted Redshanks (AH) around the Ferry

Mill Pond Marsh: Two Garganey were among the Teal on the flooded field before they all flew into the harbour this morning, with a Common Sandpiper, two Snipe and a few Gadwall also present, plus a Water Rail swimming around near the reeds.

There were also a few Chiffchaffs in the bushes and a steady flow of Swallows overhead. (IP)

North Selsey: Two Swifts were among the hundreds of Swallows and House Martins going over the house early this afternoon. (AW)

Swifts over Selsey (AW)

Marsh Farm, Sidlesham: A remarkable 94 Cattle Egrets, in one flock, were in one of the fields this morning and around the new diggings were c.25 Herring Gulls, a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Yellow-legged Gull. (BI)

Yellow-legged Gull (above), Lesser Black-backed, Herring and Mediterranean Gulls & Cattle Egrets at Marsh Farm (BI)

Church Norton: A total of 21 Curlew Sandpipers were in the harbour on the rising tide this morning, before they all flew off together, later returning to the harbour mouth.

Also, all nine Spoonbills were still present and there were plenty of Knot, Dunlin, Grey Plovers, Ringed Plovers and Redshank about, along with c50 Sandwich Terns, c20 Pintail, c50 Teal and 100 Wigeon.

At least one Spotted Flycatcher was still behind the hide, along with a few Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs and two Firecrests were in the hedges, but there were just a couple of Stonechats along the Severals, though a Hobby flew over, along with several hundred Swallows, a few Siskins, and an Arctic Skua was off of the spit. (DB/MB/AH/MO-W/MI/KB et al)

Early this afternoon, an Osprey drifted across the harbour, whilst among other sightings were two Greenshanks, and a Peregrine carrying prey, with a Shag on the shingle bar offshore, with two Whitethroats along the west side. (RPa/RBe et al)

Curlew Sandpipers (above), Spoonbills, Pintail, Sandwich Terns, Spotted Flycatcher & Chiffchaff at Church Norton (AH)

A waterlogged Red-legged Partridge (it did make it out again!) (above) & a lot of bird-watchers at Church Norton (RBe)

East Side: There was a good selection along the East side on the rising tide, with five Curlew Sandpipers, three Greenshanks, two Spotted Redshanks, a Bar-tailed Godwit, 18 Black-tailed Godwits, two Knot, a Common Sandpiper, 32 Grey Plovers, 74 Lapwing, c150 Ringed Plover, c80 Dunlin, c120 Redshanks, 48 Turnstones, 27 Curlews and 35 Oystercatchers all out on the mud and a good selection of Pintail, Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall and Great Crested Grebes on the water.

Twenty Mediterranean Gulls were along the banks and nine Spoonbills were also about, whilst later an Osprey flew across the harbour towards Church Norton. (SP/IH/LP/MJa/RPa)

Curlew Sandpipers (above), Spotted Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Pintails, Knot and Grey Plovers & Ringed Plovers along the East side (LP)

North Wall: A Wheatear was along the rocks and five Snipe flew out of the harbour, whilst at Halsey’s Farm the lone Cattle Egret was again by the rife, two Whinchats, four Stonechats, five Meadow Pipits and a Redstart were on the fences, and ten Chiffchaffs, 18 Long-tailed Tits, four Reed Buntings, a Linnet and a Whitethroat were along the bushes. (LP/MJa)

This afternoon there were two Ospreys seen fishing over the harbour - one hear Tern Island and one in Ferry Channel, and there were six Spoonbills visible, too.

Also, two Redstarts, two Whinchats and five Stonechats were in the Owl Point fields, with a Cattle Egret, a Whitethroat, three Chiffchaffs and a Cetti's Warbler along the wall. (S&SaH)

Redstart (above), Wheatear, Reed Bunting & Cattle Egret at the North Wall (LP)

Sidlesham: A Redstart was in the hedges in Cow Lane this morning. (PA)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - A Merlin went low along the beach this morning, and there were also a Marsh Harrier, a Sparrowhawk, three Kestrels and five Kestrels over, along with a Grey Wagtail, four House Martins and c300 Swallows, whilst a Kingfisher was on the reserve and two Sandwich Terns were offshore.

Also, six Wheatears and two Whinchats were along the banks, along with five Stonechats, two Whitethroats, two Chiffchaffs, four Cetti's Warblers, 22 Yellowhammers and c20 Meadow Pipis. (S&SaH)

Medmerry Trail to Ham: There were a few Whitethroats around the hedgerows and a steady trickle of hirundines moving over along the trail whilst at Ham the highlights were two Whinchats, two Stonechats and a Marsh Harrier heading south out to sea. (BI)

Whinchat & Stonechat at Medmerry (BI)

Friday, 19th September: Finally, the breeze dropped as it backed to the south, leaving a very warm and sunny morning......

Selsey Bill: The sea was all but dead this morning, save four Avocets going east, with all the interest overhead, including 53 Siskins, over 450 Meadow Pipits and over 1600 Swallows, all going east. Full log below. (PM/BI/AH/IP/GM/RAI et al)

(0630-0900hrs) (S, F3)

Gannet - 15W

Shag - 3E

Grey Heron - 1W

Oystercatcher - 3W

Avocet - 4E

Sanderling - 6W

Curlew - 1E

Turnstone - 20

Mediterranean Gull - 36W

Sandwich Tern - 1W

Swallow - 1642E

Sand Martin - 27E

House Martin - 19E

Yellow Wagtail - 3E

Grey Wagtail - 6E

Pied Wagtail - 1E

Meadow Pipit - 455E

Willow Warbler - 1

Siskin - 53E

Linnet - 114E

Goldfinch - 30E

Avocets (PM), Shag, Siskins & Swallow (AH) at the Bill

Ferry Pool: A Common Sandpiper, a Black-tailed Godwit and seven Teal were all that was present this morning. (AH)

Common Sandpiper on the Ferry (AH)

Mill Pond Marsh: There were just 16 Teal on the flooded field this morning and up to ten Chiffchaffs in the hedges, with c50 Swallows and c20 House Martins feeding overhead. (AH) Earlier a Green Sandpiper and a Redshank were present along with a calling Water Rail and eight Pied Wagtails. (BI)

Chiffchaff at Mill Pond Marsh (AH)

Selsey: A flock of c12 Siskins went over my house to the north of the town, this morning. (AW)

Selsey Golf Club: A flock of seven Glossy Ibises were reported flying over south-west, late this afternoon. (per Birdguides)

Church Norton: The Wryneck showed well at times - but also disappeared regularly - along the Severals this morning, with a couple of Whinchats and Stonechats, a Reed Warbler, half a dozen Whitethroats and Blackcaps and 15 Chiffchaffs also about, with 75 Siskins, 100 Linnets, 20 Meadow Pipits, a Grey Wagtail and half a dozen Yellow Wagtails and Reed Buntings  all going over.

Also, the two Spotted Flycatchers were still behind the hide, along with half a dozen Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, a Kingfisher was in the harbour and a Wheatear was on the concrete blocks, whilst as the morning progressed thousands of Swallows, with 100+ House Martins and Sand Martins were drifting through, with many feeding over the harbour and fields.

Early on, a dozen Ruff flew around the harbour but didn't settle, a Merlin was sat out, a Hobby and two Marsh Harriers were about, with an Osprey over the harbour later on, a Golden Plover and two Curlew Sandpipers among the relatively few waders seen, and four Spoonbills were roosting near Tern Island. 

(MRe/PA/PM/AH/AB/GM/JDa/RJS/LL/MG/RAI/RS/AW/AJW/JC et al)

Wtyneck (AJW top, PM next two, AH lower two) (above), Stonechat (PM), Spoonbills, Marsh Harrier, Spotted Flycatcher (AH), Swallows (PM top, AH lower), Sand Martin, Sand Martin and Swallows, House Martin & Swallow (AH) at Church Norton

Pagham Spit: Two Little Stints - the first of the year - and up to eight Curlew Sandpipers were among the large flock of roosting waders in the harbour mouth this morning, and there were also two Black Terns, a Common Tern and c75 Sandwich Terns present, along with a Little Ringed Plover, a Whinchat and a Wheatear. (PA/BI)

Little Stint (above) & Curlew Sandpiper at Pagham Spit (PA)

North Wall: A Curlew Sandpiper, three Spotted Redshanks, three Greenshanks, a Spoonbill, a Common Sandpiper and a Kingfisher were all along White’s Creek this morning, and along the wall, two Wheatears were on the rocks, a Stonechat was in the reeds and hundreds of Swallows were over the Breech Pool.

A Marsh Harrier, a Sparrowhawk and four Buzzards were over the fields and there were a Sedge Warbler, a Cetti's Warbler and a few Reed Buntings, Whitethroats and Linnets along the bushes.

At Halsey’s Farm, two Whinchats and five Meadow Pipits were on the fences, and a single Cattle Egret was by the rife. (OM/PA/MJa/TRH/GHi/SP/LP/EB/C Stockwell et al)

Spoonbill (above), Whinchat, Wheatear, Stonechat, Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank (LP), Cetti's Warbler (C Stockwell), Sedge Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Swallow, House Martin & mixed Hirundines (EB) at the North Wall

Marsh Farm, Sidlesham to Honer Reservoir: Four Cattle Egrets were opposite the building works today (which appears to be a new farm reservoir), a Merlin flew through and c.50 Yellow Wagtails were with the cattle at Bramber. Around Fisher there were several mixed Tit flocks, plenty of Meadow Pipits and a constant stream of Swallows overhead. There was no sign of the Grey Phalarope at Honer, however, with just a few Mallards, Coots and Tufted Ducks noted here. (BI)

Medmerry: Ham Farm - Five Corn Buntings were in the setaside field west of Ham viewpoint this morning, with a minimum of ten Whinchats in the immediate area, too.

Also two Ravens went over and there were many hundreds of Swallow going through, with a few House Martins and Sand Martins among them. (MWh)