Selsey Bill Spring Summary 2026

 

Foreword

by the Editors

The next two paragraphs may seem very familiar, for they have twice appeared in previous spring summaries, but this duplication is deliberate, for the comments then are equally valid this year......

'As each spring approaches, anticipation starts to build, especially amongst the sea-watchers and those keen to get stuck into some decent up-Channel passage. Throw in the chance of some scarce passerine migrants arriving off the sea and it’s an exciting mix. Will there be a good Pom Skua movement? Will the weather be favourable? What will be bird of the season? Will it be a memorable season? Will it be a bumper year? Well, what follows should hopefully answer those questions….

Once again our stalwart log-keeper JA managed to keep the Bill log going to his high standards, although this year he continued to face a number of work-related and other problems, which inevitably impinged on his available birding time.  We remain very grateful for his time and effort and are thankful that he remains in post with this key role'.

So, what of spring 2026? The truth is that generally the weather was reasonable and conditions were quite fair at times. Often a prevailing but brisk NE wind, once firmly set in, can be to the detriment of visible passage and certainly there was plenty of that going on this year. But even when the favourable SE winds occurred, it often failed to produce the goods migration-wise. Worryingly, passage movements have generally been consistently lower in recent years – both for seabird numbers and incoming passerines – and it seems that a pattern may be emerging. Natural fluctuations of course will occur from year to year, but the signs are there that perhaps global loss of wintering habitat and climate change are having an effect. If you haven’t guessed already, I think it would be fair to say that spring 2026 was a poor one at the Bill. A couple of colourful Bee-eaters did their best to add a splash of colour, whilst the Pom Skua count was around average, but overall it was hard going, and the following summary will allow readers to draw their own conclusions…..(OM)

The Selsey Bill Recording area (south of the line between the old Coastguard Station to the west and the Lifeboat Station to the east)

 

Selsey Bill Sea-watching - Spring 2026 Summary

Compiled by Justin Atkinson

Yet again, a good deal of observer effort was put in throughout the spring, with every day in March, April and May being covered, and an overall total of 398 hours watched (March 95, April 165, and May 138 hrs). This is actually down a little on the previous two spring totals (437 & 401 hrs respectively) but it is again pleasing to note that there has been at least some coverage on every single day of the year at the Bill, as has been the case for several years now!

Selsey Sea-watching Spring Summary – Watched every day, 398 hours in total, 95 in March, 165 in April and 138 in May.

Winds:

March – In the north and/or west for a lot of the month. Easterly 18^th - 22^nd.

April – Variable for much of the month then NE or E from the 20^th.

May – South-east on the 1^st and some easterly in the first ten days, then mainly NW or SW for the rest of the month.

A very disappointing spring for watching up-Channel seabird movements. Even some days with favourable conditions, on appropriate dates, failed to produce the desired outcome.

Great Northern Diver – Double figure counts, throughout the period, used to be the norm…but not so now. Nine offshore on 31^st March and 11 on 10^th April were the highest day counts. Some birds attained full summer plumage in April. Numbers dropped from the first week in May and the last ‘spring’ sighting was on 24^th May. (Note: Two were still offshore on 2^nd June).

Red-throated Diver – 100 or so birds seen going east is not a great total for a spring, with 15 east on 10^th March being the biggest movement. Small numbers were seen in March and April with the occasional bird offshore, whilst the last was one flying west into the Solent on 13^th May.

Black-throated Diver – Flocks of summer-plumaged Black-throated Divers passing Sussex headlands last century were one of the highlights of the spring. A spring total of just six is very poor indeed. One was on the sea on 5^th and 7^th March, another went east on 24^th and another was on the sea on 20^th April. Only two flew east in May, the last being on the 7^th.

Diver sp – A dozen divers seen going east or west, were not identified to species.

Great Crested Grebe – Between one and four were seen on most days in March and April, either going east or west or on the sea, but notably fewer in May.

Red-necked Grebe – The one or two wintering birds did not hang on until the spring this year, last seen on 22^nd February.

Slavonian Grebe – The over-wintering birds hung on until March. Six were offshore on 13^th, with the last one being seen on the 29^th.

Fulmar – Considering the hours watched, totals of 17 east and 30 west this spring were not noteworthy.

Storm Petrel – A probable was seen on 20^th May.

Sooty Shearwater – A single sighting of a bird heading west on 21^st April, a most unusual date for this species.

Manx Shearwater – The earliest ever sighting of one shearing west on the 2^nd March was promising, but there were only 13 others seen.  The average spring total is 83.

Balearic Shearwater – One flew west on 22^nd April.

Gannet – The biggest day count was 326, cruising west, on 15^th April. Totals of 763 west and 1,542 east were noted this spring, plus small numbers also feeding offshore on some occasions, including 80 on 15^th April.

Cormorant – No significant counts. Seems to be decreasing.

Shag – Sightings throughout the period followed the usual pattern of birds heading east in the morning and coming back west in the afternoon/evening. Totals for the spring were 72 east and 13 west, with over half of these being in March. Numbers dropped off during April and there were six seen in May. Four singles were seen on the sea, two in March and two in April.

Cattle Egret – One was seen in the gardens on 24^th April, and another flew in off the sea and continued north on 29^th April.

Great White Egret – Singles flew west on 8^th May and 19^th May.

Little Egret – One went east on 22^nd March and two came in off the sea together on 24^th April.

Grey Heron – One flew in off the sea on 30th April and continued north. Another was seen heading east on 5^th May.

Spoonbill – Two went east on 21^st April.

Mute Swan – One west offshore on 28^th March was the only record.

Brent Goose – A below average spring total of 2,491. The majority of these, 2,222, moved through in March, with the best day being 10^th with 1,507 heading east. There were 198 east in April and 71 in May. A handful of birds were seen going west and a flock lingered on sea for an hour before moving on. The very last of the spring were 37 east on 4^th May.

Grey Goose sp – Two unidentified grey geese were seen flying east on 19^th March and another three went east on 17^th May.

Canada Goose – Two east on 6^th March.

Egyptian Goose – Three went west on 22^nd March.

Shelduck – Small numbers, moving east and west throughout. An increase in records from late April into May included one or two being seen offshore and flying over the gardens, possibly prospecting for nest sites.

Wigeon – A flock of 11 flew east on 10^th March.

Gadwall – Two flew east on 2^nd March, then two east on 19^th April and two west on 3^rd May.

Teal – A spring total of 23, all in March and April. Eight were offshore on 17^th March, as were two on the 21^st.

Mallard – Less sightings of the local birds this spring, but still a pair around on and off.

Pintail – Sixteen east and five west, all in March and early April.

Garganey – One east on 18^th of March was a day later than the earliest record. Eight were seen in April; six on the 7^th, one on the 17^th and one on 26^th. Nine in a spring is well above the average.

Shoveler – Seventy-two was the spring total, with 56 of those being in March. The highest day count was 46 on 2^nd March. One was on the sea on 20^th April for a while before flying off west and the last was a single passing east on 8^th May.

Tufted Duck – Two east on 9^th May.

Eider – Sporadic sightings in April and May comprised of six east, 13 west and two offshore, some of these being the same individuals.

Long-tailed Duck – One offshore on 28^th March and one west on 3^rd April, then another or the same on the sea the day after.

Common Scoter – A very poor spring! The total of 1,912 going east is less than half the average, with over half of those in April, but there were no big days, the best being 171 east on 8^th April. The offshore flock reached a high of 36 on 24^th April and there were still 18 offshore on 1^st May.

Velvet Scoter – Only 13 seen, all east, a third of the spring average: three on 21^st March. one on 8^th April, seven on 30^th April, one on 1^st May and another the next day.

Red-breasted Merganser – With the number of over-wintering birds dropping year on year, spring sightings have also decreased. In March between one and 13 were around, then April records totalled 29 east and 34 west, with one to five offshore most days. Last seen on 27^th April when two were on the sea.

Kestrel – Four singles came in off the sea in April, and one was present on 7^th. Another or the same was present on 5^th and 21^st May.

Hobby – Nine incoming migrants noted, the first on 20^th April, an average date. There were four others in April and four in May.

Peregrine – Seen three times in April and one coasted east on 1^st May.

Merlin – One east on 27^th March.

Sparrowhawk – With very low numbers of incoming migrants Sparrowhawks found something better to do. Just two sightings in March and two in April.

Marsh Harrier – One came in off the sea on 29^th March.

Red Kite – One from the west went off north on 7^th March. Two together coasted west early on 20^th March, and later that morning another drifted east, south of the Lifeboat station.

Oystercatcher – One to a dozen seen most days going east or west or on the shingle bar.

Ringed Plover – One west on 25^th March, five east in April and five east and one west in May.

Grey Plover – Five east on 14^th March were probably just moving between the harbours. Sixty-six in April is a reasonable total, although the majority of those were in two flocks, 25 on the 4^th and 31 on 30^th. Two more on 7^th May.

Common Snipe – One in off the sea on 7^th April.

Knot – A total of 194 was a good count for the spring. However, all but seven of these were moving on three dates towards the end of April: 34 on 21^st, 59 on 26^th and 94 on 30^th.

Sanderling – The only March records were a single on the beach on 28^th and 15 east on 29^th. In April, 185 went east and 66 in May. In addition, however, birds were also seen going west in numbers, totalling seven in April and 104 in May. The odd one or two were seen on the beach but 35 were there on 20^th May.

Dunlin – There were 33 on the beach that then headed off west on 28^th March, presumably moving between harbours. Thereafter 54 went east in April and May.

Bar-tailed Godwit – An average spring with 717 recorded eastwards. Most of these seen towards the end of April, including 308 on 30^th.

Whimbrel – A good spring with 516 logged heading east. The majority moved, as is usual with this species, in the last week of April, including a good day total of 101 on 24^th. A few birds took the opportunity to rest on the shingle bar or beach.

Curlew – No obvious up-Channel passage discerned, with eight east and 38 west.

Purple Sandpiper – A single bird was on the beach on 20^th March.

Common Sandpiper – One on the beach on 30^th April and again on 1^st May.

Turnstone – Seen virtually every day in March and April. Highest count was 38 on the beach on 16^th March. Numbers fell away towards the end of April and there were only three records in May, singles west on 1^st and 2^nd, and 15 on the beach on 3^rd.

Pomarine Skua – A spring total of 51, two above the average, of which 46 were seen in April but only five in May. The first were two on 21^st April, a day earlier than the average. Singles were seen on the following two days, then 11 on 24^th, nine on 25^th and another single on 27^th. The ‘Big’ day was the 30^th when 19 went east, all but one of them before 09:40 hr. Four were seen on 1^st May and the last was on 4^th May. There were two dark phase (morph) birds.

Arctic Skua – An easterly total of 88 is well below the average. First seen on 29^th March when one was lingering offshore, and further odd singles were seen lingering offshore in late April and early May. The best day total for passage was 12 on 25^th April.

Great Skua – Only eight seen going east, the first of those on the early date of 13^th March. None were seen in May.

Mediterranean Gull – Small numbers seen offshore, or going east or west, in March and April, less in May. Totals did show an easterly bias, 442 east against 219 west, but there were no big days, though 50 were offshore on 27^th May.

Little Gull – The spring total of 35 is well below the average. All but two were in April, including 23 on 24^th. The last two went east on 8^th May.

Black-headed Gull – Seen every day offshore. Not a great deal of up-Channel movement noted apart from 59 east on 20^th March and 114 east between 24^th and 26^th April.

Common Gull – From one to four were seen regularly, offshore, or moving east or west, throughout the spring but not a lot of passage noted, the best being 22 on 8^th April, 21 on 24^th and 20 east on 1^st May.

Lesser Black-backed Gull – Two east in March. Eight going east on 24^th April may have been migrating. Also, the odd single bird eastwards or offshore in April and 11 were offshore on 15^th May.

Great Black-backed Gull – Seen virtually every day, going east, west or offshore, in small numbers, whilst 51 flew east on 24^th April.

Herring Gull – High counts of birds feeding offshore were 3,000 on 23^rd April, 1,200 the next day and 1,600 on 15^th May.

Kittiwake – Just four seen in March, whilst 18 east and 33 west were logged in April, and 72 east and 46 west in May. The odd one or two were also seen offshore in mixed feeding flocks.

Sandwich Tern – The spring passage total is estimated at about 3,125. Thirteen east on 25^th February may have been on the move but it is difficult to be sure when over-wintering birds are leaving, and newly arrived migrants are appearing. In March, 72 were recorded as going east, but some birds were also seen offshore in varying numbers every day, including 24 on 4^th. Over two and a half thousand were noted as going east in April, but with ever increasing numbers lingering offshore, and toing and froing from the breeding colony in the harbour at Church Norton, migrating birds are hard to pick out. Clear easterly movements were recorded on 6^th to 8^th April, including 276 on 7^th, and on 23^rd and 24^th April when 621 went east. Some passage was also noted in the first few days of May. Large numbers seen feeding offshore, several counts of over 200, especially from the middle of the month

Roseate Tern – No records at The Bill, this spring, for the third year in a row.

Common Tern – The first was seen going east on the late date of 10^th April. The spring total was 1,159, the best day being 20^th April, when 263 went east. Up to 30 were seen feeding offshore from the end of April.

Arctic Tern – More identified than in recent springs. In April there were seven on 25^th, 20 on 28^th and ten on 30^th. Another 54 went east in May, including 38 on 8^th.

Commic Tern – 489 in April and 105 in May, all east, is well below average.

Little Tern – First noted on 8^th April with four east. A high total of 437 this spring, mostly in April, included 140 on the 30^th. Anything up to 40 feeding offshore daily from mid-April. Another 52 in May, 37 of which, on the 8^th, were clearly on the move. Good numbers offshore during May, lots of double figure counts, including 72 on 2^nd and 43 on 16^th.

Black Tern – An average total of 29 this spring, and an average first sighting of three east on 22^nd April. A flock of 11 birds passed east on 23^rd April. Just one seen in May on 5^th.

Auk sp – Totals of 53 east and 73 west.

Guillemot – One on the sea on 3^rd March and one east and one offshore on 11^th April. Three west on 19^th May and another four west and a bird offshore the next day.

Razorbill – Just two in March, one east and one west. Five west in April and another offshore on 11^th. Two were offshore on 1^st May, then a small increase that month when 25 went east and 15 went west, including 17 east on 13^th.

Puffin – One was found dead on the beach on 2^nd March. One went east on 2^nd May at 16:40 hr.

Cuckoo – One heard on 4^th May.

Green Woodpecker – One in the gardens on 21^st March. One on 31^st May.

Great Spotted Woodpecker – One on 7^th April.

Stock Dove – Seven east on 9^th May.

Short-eared Owl – One in off the sea on 21^st March.

Bee-eater – Two flew in off the sea on 1^st May and hung around the Oval Field, on and off, for 45 minutes, before flying back out to the sea. Perhaps the spring highlight!

Swift – The first was an incoming bird on 19^th April, five days ahead of the average first date. There were 29 others north in April and just 16 more in May, with none moving after the 13^th. Presumed local breeding birds were noted from 4^th May.

Skylark – Two went north on 18^th March and another north on 23^rd April. There were also three singles coasting west on 7^th and 17^th April and 11^th May.

Sand Martin – Just 30 noted arriving. The first were four on 7^th April, an average date. There were 25 more in April and only one in May, on the 3^rd.

Swallow – A below average spring total of 552 were seen heading in off the sea. The first, the earliest ever by a day, was a single heading north on 20^th March, then two others later that month. In April, a total of 391 included 136 on 21^st, whilst in May, 158 more were logged, nearly all of these being in the first week. A few of these birds lingered around The Bill before moving inland.

House Martin – Only 19 were noted coming in this year, the first of these on 23^rd March was the earliest ever by a day. Local breeding birds were present from 9^th April and had increased to a maximum of 20 by the end of May.

Tree Pipit – One north on 21^st April was the first and there were two others that month. Only one in May, on the 4^th.

Meadow Pipit – The main movement totalled 155 north in second half of March, of which 107 were between the 18^th and 20^th, followed by 56 north in early April. One was on the Oval Field on 17^th April.

Yellow Wagtail – Thirty-one were recorded this spring. The first arrival was on 18^th April and there were 21 others that month. Nine more were seen in May, the last one on 12^th.

Pied Wagtail – Twenty-five were recorded coming in this spring, mainly in April. Birds were also seen coasting both ways and occasionally on the Oval Field.

Black Redstart – One present on 19^th April.

Whinchat – Just one on 24^th April.

Wheatear – Only 36, a poor spring total. One seen on 10^th March equalled the earliest ever date. Another nine were seen in March and 24 in April, but just two in May, on the beach on 2^nd and 4^th.

Common Whitethroat – One in the ‘long gardens’ on 16^th May was the only record.

Blackcap – One on 7^th March, an early date, was the only sighting.

Willow Warbler – A spring total of ten birds is disappointing. Two were present on the early date of 1^st April, but just seven more were noted that month, all towards the end of April. The last was a single seen on 7^th May.

Chiffchaff – One present on 3^rd March and another two singles north, on 7^th and 20^th. Fifteen others noted in gardens or near the beach in March and just another ten in April.

Goldcrest – One on 7^th March.

Raven – All records were in March. One flew over on 7^th, two went west on 21^st and two over on 26^th.

Jackdaw – Eight flew east offshore on 2^nd March.

Rook – Two went east offshore on 2^nd March and another four did the same on 13^th April.

Carrion Crow – Often seen coming in off the sea, having been on the Mile Basket rocks or on boats, or maybe from the continent. Twenty on 28^th March came from far out, whilst anything between one and fifteen were occasionally seen on the shingle bar at low tide.

Goldfinch – Six flew in on 3^rd March. Local birds seen regularly throughout.

Chaffinch – One went east on 18^th March. In April, two were present on 1^st, one flew east on 8^th, and a single bird was around on 25^th.

Linnet – Birds were seen, in small numbers, coasting or in off, in March and April. Four recorded in May.

Serin – One came in off the sea and lingered briefly on the early date of 19^th March.

Redpoll – One north on 18^th March. Three singles were seen in April; one north on 4^th April, another west the next day, and one north 24^th.

Yellowhammer – One on the Oval field on 5^th March and another noted on 20^th April.