4th - 6th May 2016

Friday, 6th May: The wind had picked up and gone a few degrees further north this morning, but still basically fine and bright after a chill start.....eventually going round to the south-east by late afternoon.

Selsey Bill: There are times when the geography of the Bill seems to work against us and perhaps today was such an occasion. The wind had shifted more to the NE than SE which often makes quite a difference here, seabirds then passing on the far (south) side of the Isle of Wight and thus beyond our viewing range. Whilst the regulars are well used to this it can be frustrating at times, especially when sites further east record the passage we miss, but when the south-easterlies return it tends to drive passing birds through the Solent, and thus much closer to the Bill-tip. Simple!
Less activity than yesterday, but by late afternoon there had still been 18 Pomarine Skuas, eight Arctic Skuas, a drake Garganey and five Black Terns through, along with four Hobbies in off the sea. Also the pod of Bottle-nosed Dolphins were offshore again this morning. Full log below....

0500-1630hrs:  (Obs: JA/OM/JF/C&ME/CRJ et al)
Great Northern Diver - 2os
Great Crested Grebe - 2E
Fulmar - 1E
Gannet - 145E, 6W
Manx Shearwater - 7E
Canada Goose - 1E
Brent Goose - 18E

Common Scoter - 311E

Gadwall - 4W

Garganey - 1E (drake, 0930)

Curlew - 3E

Whimbrel - 11E

Bar-tailed Godwit - 3E

Turnstone - 7E

Dunlin - 6E

Sanderling - 3E

Ringed Plover - 1E

Oystercatcher - 11E, 18 ob (shingle bar)

Hobby - 4N

Little Tern - 22E, 6os

Black Tern - 5E

Common Tern - 44E

Commic Tern - 55E

Arctic Tern - 2E

Sandwich Tern - 39E

Little Gull - 8E

Black-headed Gull - 15E

Arctic Skua - 8E

Pomarine Skua - 18E (7,3,3, 1,1,1,2)

Great Skua - 1os

auk sp - 3E, 3W

Swift - 4 area

Swallow - 60N

House Martin - 1N, 4 area

Whitethroat - 2 gardens

After 4.30pm passage died, with just a Bonxie east of note, though at least 20 Little Terns and 40 Common Terns were feeding close inshore on the very low tide. (AH/JA/SH/AB/AGB/BI)

 Pomarine Skua passing the Bill....this one clearly came through the Solent (CG)

Black Terns past the Bill (BI)

Terns on the beach at the Bill: above - Sandwich, centre - Common and lower - Little (CG) 

 

Arctic Skua (above) & Sandwich Tern past the Bill (AH)

Displaying Little Terns (above) & Common Terns at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool: Just a solitary Shelduck on the pool this morning, later replaced by a Redshank, whilst in the adjacent channel there were still half a dozen Whimbrel. (AH)

Sidlesham village: A Red Kite over our garden just east of the B2145 at 1.20pm today. (A&YF)

North Wall: There was no sign of the Garganey this morning on the Breech Pool, though there was a Short-eared Owl displaying near Owl Point. (PC)
The Cattle Egret was again near Marsh Farm. (IL)

East Side: A Cuckoo was around the field by the paddocks and there was plenty of nest-material gathering being done by the Swallows around the stables.

A Common Sandpiper was in White's Creek and in the harbour there were three Bar-tailed Godwits, two or three Greenshank, half a dozen Whimbrel and Curlew and a mobile flock of c50 Ringed Plovers and c50 Dunlin, with a few Sanderling among them. (AH)

Cuckoo (above), Swallows, Common Sandpiper & Bar-tailed Godwit along east side of Pagham Harbour (AH)

Pagham Spit/Lagoon. There were 25+ Little Terns, 20+ Common Terns and 10+ Sandwich Terns feeding towards the harbour mouth, but not much on the spit beyond 40+ Linnets and a handful of Skylarks, Whitethroats and Ringed Plovers.

Three Gadwall on the lagoon were the only birds of note there. (AH)

Sandwich Tern (above), Little Terns & Linnet at Pagham Spit (AH)

Church Norton: The three Bar-tailed Godwits were viewable from this side of the harbour late afternoon, but not much else was in evidence save a few Whimbrel. (AH)

Peak counts of terns today were 27 Little, 20 Sandwich and 10 Common, both feeding and roosting in the harbour. Also a Hobby was in off the sea here. (IL)

Bar-tailed Godwits (above) & Whimbrel at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: A count of terns here produced three Black Terns, along with 6 Little, 3 Sandwich and 15 Common. (IL)

Thursday, 5th May: Another fine, bright day, but with the breeze round to ESE rather than the hoped for south-easterly....even so, it eventually did the trick.....

Evening update: 33 Pomarine Skuas and 39 Black Terns past the Bill, with movement continuing through to the evening....please make allowances for tired observers and a long day in the field if the blog should slip a bit! (OM)

Selsey Bill: A large gathering of viewers were eventually rewarded with a flock of ten Pomarine Skuas east just before midday, after a decidedly slow start! There were also some Black Terns and an assortment of commoner passage birds, but as the day wore on, the wind eased to the south-east and started to work its magic, with more Poms and an assortment of terns and waders..... no great numbers moving through but a steady trickle and some nice variety. It was also a day that drew out from the woodwork some of the more mature observers who were formerly regulars but are now scarce visitors! All in all, quite an enjoyable day......Full log below:

0510-1930hrs:  ESE2-3, then SE3 later. (Obs: JA/C&ME/CN then many obs....)

Red-throated Diver - 1E

Great Northern Diver - 3os

Diver sp - 4E

Great Crested Grebe - 1E

Fulmar - 3E

Gannet - 290E, 15W

Brent Goose - 37E

Shelduck - 3E

Common Scoter - 253E, 6W

Curlew - 2E

Whimbrel - 3E

Oystercatcher - 4E

Grey Plover - 37E

Dunlin - 54E

Bar-tailed Godwit - 9E

Sanderling - 46E

Ringed Plover - 25E

Knot - 1E

Little Tern - 26E, 25os

Black Tern - 39E

Common Tern - 123E

Commic Tern - 203E

Arctic Tern - 2E

Sandwich Tern - 167E

Kittiwake - 1E

Great Skua - 2E, 1os

Arctic Skua - 14E

Pomarine Skua - 33E (10,1,1,2,6,3,6,1,3)

Guillemot - 1E

auk sp - 2E, 9W

Swift - 6N, 6 area

House Martin - 2 area

Sand Martin - 1N

Swallow - 47N

Tree Pipit - 1N

Yellow Wagtail - 1N

 Record shots of Pomarine Skuas passing the Bill (DM)

 Sandwich Tern, Common Scoters, Great Northern Diver and Grey Plovers (DM)

Pomarine Skuas (above), Arctic Skua & Little Tern at the Bill (AH)

Below are some of the 'people highlights' of the day at the Bill.......(OM)

 Early morning and the Wall is already crowded.....over 40 observers visited today

The gentle touch...(excluding the lucky Steve Hooper)....Beryl James (standing), Mich Eames (front, pink top), and new recruits Tracy (green top) and Nikki (fair hair) at Ladies Corner.

A blast from the past as John Brame pays a rare visit....this former Pom King still holds the 'most Poms seen in a day' record and hasn't lost his touch as he saw more Poms today!

 Justin Atkinson (log-keeper) inspects John Faithfull's ear at close range!

 Old hand and cycling superstar Chris Janman finds a little down-time between counting Poms!

Bernie Forbes alias Mr Cool Shades Two-chins enjoying a sea-watch as usual

The evening shift (AH)

Ferry Pool: A Common Sandpiper was the only bird present this morning. (AH)

Common Sandpiper on the Ferry (AH)

Long Pool: There was a partial summer-plumage Spotted Redshank, three or four Greenshank, at least 30 Whimbrel and a few Grey Plover and Dunlin in Ferry Channel, with the usual selection of singing warblers along the hedgerows. (AH)

Spotted Redshank and Redshank (above) & Whimbrel in Ferry Channel (AH)

Church Norton: There were still 20+ Little, Common and Sandwich Terns around the harbour mouth, with a report from Birdguides of nine Black Terns over south. There was not much activity in the hedges, whilst in the harbour there were 20+ Shelduck and 30+ Whimbrel on the rising tide. A pair of Grey Partridges along the west side was a nice surprise, but about the only other species on show was Linnet, of which there were many. (AH)

Grey Partridge (above) & Linnet at Church Norton (AH)

North Wall: A drake Garganey was on the Breech Pool this afternoon, along with a White Wagtail and a Little Ringed Plover. Also, the Cattle Egret was present again in the fields immediately east of Marsh Farm. (AH/BFF/DM)

Garganey at the Breech Pool (DM)

Medmerry (west): This morning there were 8+ Whitethroats, 6 Yellowhammers, lots of Skylarks and some Linnets and on the way back what I thought was two dogs lolloping along the road toward me turned out to be a couple of Brown Hares - they seem much bigger when up close. (T. Roe)

Skylark (above), Avocet, Whitethroat & Brown Hares at Medmerry (T. Roe)

Wednesday, 4th May: A bright and almost still (perhaps too still!) start with a very light NNE breeze giving way to a modest southerly-easterly and intermittent cloud cover...with the promise of further south-easterlies to come.....

Evening update....close Pom past the Bill at 1842......

Selsey Bill: Despite the rising breeze from the south there was very little on the move this morning but, as ever, there were still a few bits, including an Arctic Skua, a Bonxie, a few Common Scoter and Sandwich Terns going east, a Merlin and a Peregrine seen tussling well out to sea and three Great Northern Divers offshore. However, the highlight of the morning, albeit non-avian, was reserved for the three observers that stuck it out until noon (C&ME/OM) and beyond, when a pod of at least seven Bottle-nosed Dolphins was observed fishing and breaching, finally coming inside the shingle bar and providing nice scope views for about an hour. Full log below......
0600-1300hrs:  (Obs: C&ME/OM/AH/CRJ et al)
Great Northern Diver - 1W, 2os
Fulmar - 3W
Gannet - 42E, 15W
Little Egret - 1W
Brent Goose - 10E
Shelduck - 1E, 3W
Red-breasted Merganser - 1W
Common Scoter - 45E
Turnstone - 3E, 7ob
Merlin - 1W
Peregrine - 1 area
Little Tern - 13E, 4os
Common Tern - 10E, 3W
Comic Tern - 37E
Sandwich Tern - 46E, 8os
Kittiwake - 4E
Arctic Skua - 1E (l/p)
Great Skua - 1W settled os
Razorbill - 1W
auk sp - 1W
Swallow - 4N
Chiffchaff - 1 gardens
Whitethroat - 2 gardens

Great Northern Diver (above) & Sandwich Terns at the Bill (AH)

(1645-1900hrs) (JA/SH/AH)
Great Northern Diver - 4os

Gannet - 75E, 1W

Grey Plover - 3E

Whimbrel - 3E

Pomarine Skua - 1E (18.42)

Arctic Skua - 1E (d/p)

Great Skua - 1E, 1os

Common Tern - 37E

Arctic Tern - 3E

Sandwich Tern - 7E

Little Tern - 5E, 4os

Pomarine Skua (above), Little Tern and Common Tern past the Bill (AH)

Selsey, Warner Lane Paddocks: A late morning visit produced a Buzzard, a Red-legged Partridge, 2 Song Thrushes, 2 Whitethroats, a pair of Blackcaps flycatching and two pairs of Linnets. (CRJ)

Ferry Pool: There was a Snipe by the road early on, along with three Whimbrel and a Shelduck, whilst in the channel opposite there were a couple of Greenshank and another dozen Whimbrel. (AH/OM) Later there was a Ringed Plover on the Ferry (CRJ)

Whimbrel in Ferry Channel (AH)

Church Norton: A Whinchat was along the first Several, the Cuckoo was heard but not seen in Priory Wood and a mobile Spotted Flycatcher was mainly behind the hide, but it seemed like something of a clear-out of passage birds occurred last night, though those that are here to stay - Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat etc were still in good voice.

In the harbour, on the high tide, there were at least 20 Little Terns and up to 30 Common and Sandwich Terns, initially feeding in the harbour mouth before settling on the metalwork and adjacent mud. (AH/OM/A&YF/PC)

Late morning the Cuckoo gave itself up and perched in the alder at the end of the track from the car park, before heading off north, the Spotted Flycatcher was showing well between the hide and the mound, whilst two Lesser Whitethroats and 3 Whitethroats were on the path to the beach and the Whinchat was still on the first Several. (CRJ)

Whinchat (above), Sandwich Tern and Herring Gull & Sandwich Tern at Church Norton (AH)

The gap in the spit is growing fast! (AH)

This evening there was a Greenshank in the harbour, along with c20 Whimbrel, c50 Ringed Plover and c120 Dunlin. (AH)

Greenshank (above) & Ringed Plovers at Church Norton (AH)

Medmerry: Ham Farm - A couple of Corn Buntings, Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers were around the banks, and a few Skylarks were singing overhead, though it was generally quiet, with just and handful of Dunlin and a couple of Sandwich Terns evident towards the breach. (AH) Also a Whinchat in the area (PH)

Corn Bunting (above), Reed Bunting & Skylark at Medmerry (AH)

Medmerry - west side: Stilt pools area: ca.40 Avocets, at least 8 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits dropped in, 6 Dunlin, 2 Redshank, 1 Oystercatcher, 2 Whimbrel over, 6 Little Terns and 2 Common Terns (PH)
A Barn Owl was out hunting in the area this evening. (GT)

East side and beach – ca.40 Grey Plover, 10 Ringed Plover, 5 Whimbrel and 100 Dunlin. A young female Peregrine had several attempts at catching a Grey Plover over the pools. The plover ditched 3 times and finally the Peregrine gave up and headed off to the north. (PH)

1st - 3rd May 2016

Tuesday, 3rd May: The day after the Bank Holiday and a lovely, sunny spring morning, though with the wind still from the west, gradually becoming more south-west later...

Selsey Bill: With conditions yesterday at the Bill largely concealing the considerable up-Channel passage recorded elsewhere further east, it was business as normal today. The bright, west to north-westerly  conditions made sea-passage light - with the highlights being five Arctic Skuas east, at least three Bonxies and a Hobby in-off. Three Wheatears, three Yellow Wagtails and a few hirundines came in off the sea early on, as well.  Full log below.....
0530-1330hrs: (PB/JF/C&ME/OM/AH/TR et al)
Red-throated Diver - 1E
Great Northern Diver - 1E, 1os
Great Crested Grebe - 1W
Gannet - 35E, 30W
Shelduck - 5W
Red-breasted Merganser - 1E
Common Scoter - 45E
Red-legged Partridge - 1 gardens
Hobby - 1N
Dunlin - 1E
Sanderling - 9W
Common Sandpiper - 1W
Arctic Skua - 5E (4 l/p, 1 d/p)
Great Skua - 2E, 2W, 1os
Little Tern - 4os
Common Tern - 14E, 19W
Sandwich Tern - 15E, 12os
Razorbill - 1os moved W
auk sp - 1E, 14W
Swift - 2N
Yellow Wagtail - 3N
Sand Martin - 2N
House Martin - 4N, 1 area
Swallow - 52N
Wheatear - 3N
Whitethroat - 1 gardens
Chiffchaff - 1N, 1 gardens
Blackcap - 2 gardens
Goldfinch - 8N

Little Tern at the Bill (DM)

Also 1715 - 1815hrs:  (SH)
Fulmar - 4W
Gannet - 8E, 6W
Eider - 1E
Common Scoter  2E 
Little Tern - 4os
Common Tern - 18W
Sandwich Tern - 16W
Kittiwake - 1W
Great Skua - 1os
Auk sp. - 1E, 3W  
Swallow  - 2N

Selsey, Warner Lane: Two Whinchats were again present, plus a Wheatear, several Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat and about three Blackcaps. A few Swallows were showing interest in the stable sheds in the horse paddocks and a Buzzard flew over mobbed by gulls. (DS/JD/DF et al)

Northcommon farm: Not too much to report from here; a few Chiffchaffs and Whitethroats, a singing Reed Warbler and a couple of Blackcaps repeatedly sallying out from the branches Spot Fly style to catch flies. Did they fool us - certainly not, (well, when we got closer that is!) (JF/OM)

North Wall: A Greenshank and 12 Whimbrel were along White's Creek, and a Short-eared Owl was hunting behind the Breech Pool this evening.  There is very little water on the Breech Pool -  what a waste of such a potentially good site! (JDW)

Ferry Pool: Four Lapwing, four Redshank and a Shelduck were on the pool this morning, whilst around the Tramway area there were a Spotted Flycatcher, plenty of singing Whitethroats and a few Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, and out in the harbour there were a couple of Greenshank and 30+ Whimbrel. (AH)

Lapwing and Redshank (above) & Whitethroat around Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There were three smart Whinchats in the horse field this morning, and still three Spotted Flycatchers about (one behind the hide and two by the concrete wall), plus a Garden Warbler, at least four Lesser Whitethroats, a few of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps and numerous Whitethroats, plus Sedge and Reed Warblers in the Severals.
There was very little bar 20 or so Whimbrel in the harbour, but a flock of 80-100 Dunlin were mobile along the beach and offshore c10 Little Terns and c20 Sandwich Terns were feeding. (AH/PB/A&YF)
In addition, a Cuckoo was calling and a Redstart was near the hide, and also a female Marsh Harrier was hunting over the north of the harbour. (BFF/DM/DIS)

 Spotted Flycatcher and female Blackcap at Church Norton (DM)

Whinchats (above), Spotted Flycatcher, Sedge Warbler & Willow Warbler at Church Norton (AH)

Fishbourne Creek: This morning there were eight Greenshank, eight Brent Geese and four Whimbrel present in the channel. (BFF/DM/DIS)

Medmerry (west): This morning there were a Whinchat and two Wheatears along the beach. (PH)

Not much to report this afternoon from the Stilt Pool area, with most birds present looking like they are settled in for the summer, including 4+ Little Ringed Plovers, 20+ Avocets, a scattering of Yellowhammers, Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Swallows, with the only passer-through being a lone Dunlin. (AH)

Little Ringed Plover (above), Avocet, Skylark & Swallow at Medmerry (AH)

Porthole Farm: There were two Grey Wagtails, a White Wagtail and 20+ Pied Wagtails and Reed Buntings on the settling tanks and several hundred Swallows and House Martins over, but nothing in the hedgerows. (AH)

Grey Wagtail (above), White Wagtail & Reed Bunting at Medmerry (AH)

Monday, 2nd May: Truly predictable Bank Holiday weather today, with a chilly and strong south-westerly giving heavy cloud cover and frequent drizzly squalls......

Selsey Bill: Unfortunately, observations were considerably hampered by misty drizzle and poor visibility for much of the morning. There was however a little bit of activity, including eight Arctic Skuas and a few Common Terns and Common Scoter going east and a few Fulmars, plenty of Gannets and Sandwich, Common and a few Little Terns going in both directions close in. Also a Yellow Wagtail dropped in on the Oval Field, a few Swifts and Swallows came in off the sea and a few Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Whitethroats and a Lesser Whitethroat could be heard from the more sheltered gardens. Also, a Grey Seal went west right along the beach. Full log below.......

0520-1200hrs: SW4-5  .....(Obs: JA/SH/PB/CN/AH/OM/BI/C&ME/CRJ)
Great Northern Diver - 1os
Great Crested Grebe - 1E
Gannet - 41E, 118W
Fulmar - 1E, 12W
Red-breasted Merganser - 3W
Common Scoter - 28E
Dunlin - 32W
Sanderling - 11W
Common Sandpiper - 1W
Whimbrel - 3E, 1W
Black-tailed Godwit - 1W
Bar-tailed Godwit - 3E
Oystercatcher - 4E
Red-legged Partridge - 2 gardens
auk sp - 7W
Little Tern - 9E, 4os
Common Tern - 10E, 46W
Commic Tern - 120E, 8W
Sandwich Tern - 16E, 31W
Arctic Skua - 8E (2 l/p 6 d/p)
Kittiwake - 4W
Yellow Wagtail - 1N onto Oval field
Swift - 9N
Swallow - 19N
Whitethroat - 3 gardens
Lesser Whitethroat - 2 gardens
Blackcap - 4 gardens
Sedge Warbler - 1 gardens
Chiffchaff - 2 gardens

Gannets (above), Yellow Wagtail, Sandwich Tern & Grey Seal at the Bill (AH)

Two views of the hardy band of observers at the Bill this morning - gathered around the bench to shelter from the south-westerly (OM) 

1230-1330hrs: SW5 (JA)
Red-throated Diver - 1E
Great Crested Grebe - 1E
Gannet - 20E, 8W
Brent Goose - 1E
Razorbill - 1E
Auk sp - 1E, 3W
Little Tern - 3os
Common Tern - 11E
Great Skua - 1W

Also 1550-1705hrs: (JA)
Great Northern Diver - 1os
Manx Shearwater - 1E, 13W
Gannet - 12E, 6W
Little Tern - 4os
Sandwich Tern - 6W
Kittiwake - 1E
Great Skua - 1E

Selsey East Beach: A modest garden tick this morning in the shape of a pair of Blackcaps. (SR)

Church Norton: The first Spotted Flycatchers - two, and probably three - of the spring were around the Mound and hide area this morning, but beyond a few Willow Warblers in the same areas, newly arrived migrants were hard to find, though there were still singing Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps present.

There were still 20+ Whimbrel in the harbour, along with similar of Ringed Plover, and there were 100+ small waders on the far side that were probably Dunlin. Also two Little Terns were feeding in the main channel and a couple of Sandwich Terns passed through. (AH)

Spotted Flycatchers (above), Willow Warbler & Whimbrel at Church Norton (AH)

Ferry Pool: Just two Avocets and a Shelduck this morning. (AH)

Avocet on the Ferry (AH)

Sunday, 1st May: Sunny, pleasant and calm at first with little or no wind, gradually increasing to about WSW force 4. Well, here we are then, the start of the merry month of May and all the high expectations it brings on the birding front......though judging by the glum faces assembled at the Bill this morning, you could be forgiven for thinking that spring had been cancelled this year!

Selsey Bill: A morning that started very slowly - much to the chagrin of the assembled observers - but gradually improved a little to eventually produce a half-reasonable variety of species. There weren't too many highlights, but an Arctic Skua and a Merlin having a dog-fight near the Mile basket, and a Hobby in off the sea high over the Wall were probably the best.....! However, that all changed late afternoon when three experienced sea-watchers lucked into a Cory's Shearwater passing......Full log below.....

0515-1230hrs: W1-2, then WSW4.  (Obs: JA/SH/CN/PC/SdeH/OM et al)

Red-throated Diver - 2E

Great Northern Diver - 3os

Diver sp - 1W

Great Crested Grebe - 4E

Fulmar - 3E, 2W

Gannet - 140E, 53W

Shelduck - 2W

Eider - 1W

Red-breasted Merganser - 2W

Common Scoter - 31E

Oystercatcher - 2E, 3W

Curlew - 1E

Whimbrel - 6E, 5W

Common Sandpiper - 2ob

Sparrowhawk - 1 over gardens

Merlin - 1N

Hobby - 1N

Red-legged Partridge - 2 gardens

Little Tern - 7os

Common Tern - 6E, 12os

Commic Tern - 186E

Sandwich Tern - 19E, 6os

Little Gull - 2E

Kittiwake - 1E

Arctic Skua - 1E

Great Skua - 2E, 1os

Razorbill - 1os

auk sp - 5E, 2W

Yellow Wagtail - 2N

Wheatear - 1ob

Swift - 4N

House  Martin - 1N, 2 area

Swallow - 39N

Whitethroat - 2 gardens

Blackcap - 1 gardens

Also an interesting report this morning from Chris Wilson - one of the Selsey fishermen - of a Pomarine Skua lingering around his boat at 9.36am, allowing him to take some pictures..... the only problem was it was 29 miles south of the Bill! (AH)

Pomarine Skua off a Selsey fishing boat (C. Wilson)

Also 1550 -1830hrs:  (Obs: SH/JA/CN)
Gannet - 26E, 3W
Fulmar - 5W
Manx Shearwater - 8E, 2os
Cory's Shearwater - 1E (1820hrs)
Common Scoter - 3E
Auk sp - 1W
Little Tern - 3os
Black Tern - 1 lingering os
Common Tern - 3E, 2W
Commic Tern - 7E
Sandwich Tern - 7E, 2W
Arctic Skua - 2E (l/p)
Common Gull - 6E
Swallow - 6N

Selsey, north: On the rough ground around Manor Road were 6 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcaps and a Lesser Whitethroat. Nearby at Park Farm there were 2 Lesser Whitethroats. (S&SaH)

Church Norton: There were two Garden Warblers to the left of the hide, a few Willow Warblers around the blossom, and in the scrub along the beach path and around the horse field there were a few Whitethroats & Sedge Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat, three calling Cetti's Warblers with at least four Reed Warblers in the reed beds. In the bluebell wood, there were a pair of Blackcaps, a Chiffchaff and two Speckled Wood butterflies, and a few Swallows overhead. (BI)

A later visit produced a female Redstart near the orchard, 20+ Whitethroats, 4 Lesser Whitethroats, 10+ Chiffchaffs and 4 Blackcaps. Two Buzzards and 2 Sparrowhawks, 20+ Swallows and 2 House Martins were also logged (S&SaH).
Also: 22 Ringed Plover, 18 Dunlin, (18), 30 Whimbrel (10 in the harbour and a flock of 20) and 10 Bar-tailed Godwits that flew in off the sea), 2 Curlew and a Redshank (PJ/BJ).

Pagham Spit: Late this evening two Ringed Plovers were feeding on the east side of the lagoon on the spit. (KJ)

Ferry Pool: Just two Redshank on the pool this morning, but there were at least 50 Whimbrel and a couple of Greenshank in the harbour from the Tramway. Also a Cuckoo and a Garden Warbler were heard nearby and there were plenty of Blackcaps and Whitethroats about. (AH)

Whimbrel (above), Blackcap & Whitethroat from the Tramway (AH)

Long Pool: A female  Redstart was in the bushes, and there were three Lesser Whitethroats along the pool, and plenty of song from Sedge and Reed Warblers and Whitethroats.

There were at least four Greenshank, 20+ Whimbrel, 40+ Dunlin and 10+ Grey Plovers at the end of Ferry Channel and half a dozen Swifts went over. (AH)

Redstart (above), Sedge Warbler, Whimbrel & Greenshank and Redshank from Long Pool (AH)