23rd - 25th July 2015

Saturday, 25th July: A drier and brighter day with sunshine and cloud and a fresh W/NW wind....a welcome change from yesterday's downpour!

Selsey Bill: 0645 to 0900hrs  (Obs: SH/JA/IP/SR)
Shearwater sp. -  5E together (briefly, disappeared behind fishing boat)
Gannet - 40E, 25W 
Common Scoter - 1E, 6W
Curlew - 1W
Common Sandpiper - 2W
Auk sp - 1E
Sandwich Tern - 16 os
Mediterranean Gull - 1E
Swift - 3p
Sand Martin - 15W
House Martin - 3p

The 'Mile Basket' with framework which has recently appeared at the base... perhaps for repairs, or is the unthinkable going to happen with the removal of this long-standing marker used by generations of sea-watchers? (SH)

(1520-1715) (SH/CN)
Gannet - 10E, 3W

Wigeon - 5W

Tufted Duck - 3W

Whimbrel - 1W
Little Tern - 11W
Sandwich Tern - 8os
Common Tern - 25os
Sand Martin - 12W
 

Church Norton: A summer-plumaged Curlew Sandpiper and two summer-plumaged Knot were among a hundred or so Dunlin in the harbour at midday. Also several Whimbrel and Curlews present, but not the Hudsonian. (AB)

Early on there were c40 Sandwich Terns and a dozen Common Terns in the harbour, and several Chiffchaffs, Whitethroats and Linnets along the path to the beach, plus up to ten Swifts and a few Sand Martins over. (AH)

Sandwich and Common Terns (above), Chiffchaff & Linnet at Church Norton (AH)

Late this afternoon the two Knot, along with 150 Dunlin, were showing very well, but the Curlew Sandpiper was no-where to be seen. Most of the other birds seen earlier were still present, but also in the harbour were four Little Terns feeding towards the harbour mouth, around 25 Grey Plover, a dozen Turnstones and 50+ Sand Martins moving through. (AH)

Knot (above), Sandwich Terns, Dunlin & Sand Martin at Church Norton (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: There were 3-500 Sand Martins over the pea field between Manor Road and the farm, with c100 House Martins and Swallows and a single Swift there, too, until a Hobby appeared and they scattered to the four winds. The Hobby hung around for a few more minutes without any hirundines in view, disappeared and then re-appeared heading low east, carrying prey. (AH)

Hobby over Park Farm, Selsey (AH)

Ferry Pool: A Greenshank dropped in briefly, as did three Gadwall and a Teal, though none lingered, whilst there were also five Common Sandpipers together, a single Dunlin, c40 Black-tailed Godwits, c10 Redshank and several Stock Doves. (AH)

Gadwall and Teal (above), Black-tailed Godwit & Common Sandpiper on the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Easton Lane to the Stilt Pool - There were plenty of Yellowhammers, Linnets and Skylarks along the banks, though not many other passerines were seen, bar a few Sand Martins over, and there were c30 Black-tailed Godwits and a few Curlew near the poplars.

Around the Stilt Pool area there was plenty of evidence of a successful breeding season, including a number of juveniles among the eight or more Little Ringed Plovers, at least six Avocet families of varying ages, the Oystercatcher pair plus chick, the vigilant Redshank with unseen youngster nearby, and family parties of Tufted Duck, Shelduck and Mute Swan.

There were also a couple of Greylag Geese in with 20+ Canada Geese, whilst there were a dozen or more Sandwich and Common Terns feeding offshore. (AH)

 

Juvenile Little Ringed Plover (above), Avocet chick, Redshank & Yellowhammer at Medmerry (AH)

Chichester GPs - Drayton Pits: A fairly brief visit this morning didn't produce a great deal, the most interesting thing being the breeding wildfowl. Five female Pochard with their broods of varying sizes and ages were noted, plus now five broods of Tufted Duck, the latest such brood consisting of nine young. At least 12 other summering Pochard were also present and at least 80 moulting Tufted. A minimum of 10 pairs of Little Grebe were dotted around the lakes; at least 8 have confirmed young and the others probably do, whilst 3 pairs of Great Crested Grebes have also been successful. A pair of Green Woodpeckers appear to have young also, and several Reed Warblers gave short bursts of song while I was there. (OM)

Female Tufted Duck with eight of her brood of nine young, Drayton GPs (OM)

 

Friday, 24th July: An unsettled few days in prospect; to quote the Met Office South-East regional forecast for today "A cloudy day with outbreaks of rain, the rain becoming persistent and heavy at times by afternoon, giving some difficult driving conditions. Feeling cool with winds increasing and with gales likely around some coasts by evening. Maximum Temperature 17°C. "

I was pleased to receive a social visit at home today from Tony Marr - one of the original 'Selsey pioneers'  and now a well-known and respected figure on the national birding scene. Due to the inclement weather we didn't quite make it out into the field (!) but we spent a pleasant few hours reminiscing over the birding scene in Sussex and elsewhere and Tony was delighted to view my collection of the early Selsey Bill Bird Reports dating from 1959-1969, especially as he was involved in the production of some of them all those years ago. (OM)
 

 Tony Marr with yours truly, inspecting some of the early Selsey Bill Bird reports (OM)
 

Selsey Bill: (0740-0820) (AH)
Common Scoter - 8W
Dunlin - 1W
Sandwich Tern - 4E, 2W
Common Tern - 3W
House Martin - 12p

Common Scoter (above), Sandwich Tern & House Martins at the Bill (AH)

Park Farm Selsey: A huge flock of hirundines - mostly Sand Martins (3-400?), with smaller numbers of House Martins and Swallows (100 of each?) - were feeding over and settling on the pea field on the outskirts of Selsey this morning. Also a big flock of about 200 Starlings, mostly juveniles and about half that of House Sparrows were feeding on the field edges. (AH)

Sand Martins and House Martins at Park Farm, Selsey (AH)

Church Norton: Not much new this morning - still c40 Sandwich Terns and 10 or so Common Terns  in the harbour, two Little Terns were offshore, and waders included three Whimbrel, 20 Black-tailed Godwits, 10+ Turnstones, a Grey Plover and 100+ Dunlin. A Blackcap sang briefly in the car-park and c40 Sand Martins and a few Swallows went over west. (AH) Later, the Hudsonian Whimbrel was again reported (at 12.48) (per RBA).

Whimbrel at Church Norton (AH)

Ferry Pool: This morning a there were a Common Sandpiper, three Avocets, three Lapwing, six Dunlin, 24 Black-tailed Godwits and 40 Redshank on the pool, and 100+ Sand Martins went over south. (AH)

Common Sandpiper (above) & Dunlin and Redshank on the Ferry (AH)

Chichester GPs: At Westhampnett Pit, a single Common Tern, 40 Sand Martins over the pit and 50 House Martins around the cafe building. A very large Carp also breached! At Drayton, 30 House Martins, 20 Swallows and a few Pochard were of note. (BI)

 

Runcton: This morning a juvenile Bullfinch was on raspberry plants in my garden. Also, early this afternoon, a Raven flew over the road between home and Hunston. (CRJ)

Thursday, 23rd July: A surprisingly cool day for the time of year, with a brisk westerly breeze and a mix of sunshine and cloud.....becoming brighter as the day progressed.

North Wall:  There was a moulting Spotted Redshank and a Greenshank in White's Creek/East side this morning, together with 2 Common Sandpipers, 5 Lapwing, c.100 Dunlin, 20 Redshank,  20 Oystercatchers, 2 Whimbrel, 20+ Curlew and 8 Black-tailed Godwits. A minimum of five adult Yellow-legged Gulls were out on the harbour saltmarsh, with another distant adult and a partly obscured juvenile bird being good possibles, whilst 6 Great Crested Grebes were near the harbour entrance channel. A number of newly-fledged juvenile Swallows were perched along the sluice wall, being attended by the adults, but the Breech Pool was as ever full of water, with just a single Black-tailed Godwit and 6 Teal worthy of mention.  (OM)

 

 (above) Greenshank (foreground) and Spotted Redshank, White's Creek and (below) Spotted Redshank with Black-headed Gull (OM).

Common Sandpiper, White's Creek and (below) juvenile Swallow on North Wall sluice (OM)

Church Norton: The Hudsonian Whimbrel was still present this morning; also 100+ Dunlin, 12+ Ringed Plover and a Little Tern (C&ME).  This evening there were lots of hirundines around Park farm:  300+ Sand Martins, 50+ House Martins, 50+ Swallows and a few Swifts. Five separate  Green Woodpeckers were located, whilst offshore there were 20+ Sandwich and Common Terns and 2 Little Terns (S&SaH)

 Hirundines at Park Farm this evening and below, Sand Martin and House Martin/Sand Martin (SH)

Ferry Pool: A Green Sandpiper and two Common Sandpipers were on the pool this morning, along with three Avocets, three Lapwings and c50 each of Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank, mostly roosting in one big flock. (AH)

 

Common Sandpiper (above) & roosting Black-tailed Godwits and Redshank on the Ferry (AH)

Medmerry: Porthole Farm to Ham Farm - There were quite a few Sand Martins and Swallows on the wires along Ham Lane first thing, and a steady stream of both (say 200 of the former, 100 of the latter) moving through west during the morning. There were also several families of Whitethroat and one or two Yellowhammers around Porthole Farm and along the lane, but not much else.

 

Sand Martins (above), with juvenile Swallow & adult Swallow at Medmerry (AH)

There were still several families of Corn Bunting around the barley field at Ham, and numerous Skylarks, but again not much else on show, particularly down towards the breach, though two Green Sandpipers flew over westwards and there were one or two juvenile Lapwings about. there was also a Painted Lady along the bank. (AH)

 

Corn Buntings - adult, with juv & juv on its own (above), Skylark & Painted Lady at Medmery (AH)

 

20th - 22nd July 2015

Wednesday, 22nd July: Cloudy and dry with some brighter periods and a fairly fresh SW wind....

East Head: Snowhill Creek to Ella Nore - The Osprey that has been on Thorney Island for the last few days flew round the south of the island, viewable from Snowhill Creek at about 7.30am, and drifted off westwards with a half-hearted gaggle of gulls trailing it.

Very little on the creek, bar a few young Lapwings and a few Linnets, plus 20 or so Swifts over, but there were a few birds in the harbour, including 100+ Common Terns and a few Sandwich Terns, mostly feeding out in the channels, a couple of Black-tailed Godwits, and at least 100 Redshanks and Oystercatchers. There were two Whimbrel and a few Curlews, plus a Common Gull and a few Lapwings off Ella Nore, and good numbers of Swallows were feeding low over the paddocks along the lane. (AH)

Whimbrel (above), Sandwich Tern, Common Gull, Swallows & Linnet around Ella Nore (AH)

North Wall: At last some waders on the east side of the harbour, with three Greenshanks, a Spotted Redshank and a Common Sandpiper in White's Creek this morning. (PC)

Ferry Pool: Still pretty quiet, though there was a Green Sandpiper present this morning, along three Avocets, c40 Black-tailed Godwits and c60 Redshank, along with three juvenile Shelducks. (AH)

Black-tailed Godwit on the Ferry (AH)

Park Farm, Selsey: there were at least 200 Swifts this morning over the buildings and adjacent fields, with at least 100 Sand Martins and probably similar to slightly fewer of House Martins and Swallows. (AH)

Swift over Park Farm (AH)

Medmerry: Lots of youngsters this morning on the stilt pools –

10 just-fledged Avocets plus 4 more three-quarter grown chicks, a pair of Shelduck with 8 well grown young, a pair of Oystercatchers with one chick about half-grown, 3 fledged Black-headed Gulls, 2 broods of Tufted Ducks (4 and 7), the Mute Swan pair with their 7 cygnets...And, after many attempts, I finally got a glimpse of a young Redshank (about three-quarters grown) near the sluice/outfall – there may be others there but I could only see one plus an agitated adult. There were also several Little Ringed Plovers (adults and juveniles), 5 or 6 Common Sandpipers and a couple of Dunlin (PH).

Tuesday, 21st July: Cloudy at first, soon clearing to give a fine and sunny day, with a moderate SW breeze.... more like summer again.

Those who visit the Warner Lane/Crablands and Northcommon Farm areas may like to be aware of some development proposals from Bunn Leisure which are likely to have a very detrimental affect to the wildlife there. Under Planning Application 15/01819/FUL to Chichester DC, there are plans for 200 more caravans (yes, additional to Medmerry Toe-end!), offices and car parking......and objections must be in by 23rd July, just two days time. If you care about such things, get writing or e-mailing....

Selsey Bill: (0745-1030) (C&ME)
Gannet - 48E, 14W
Common Scoter - 7W
Whimbrel - 1W
Sandwich Tern - c20os
Common Tern - c10os
Swallow - 8W

Park Farm, Selsey: This evening there were 300+ Sand Martins busy feeding at high and low level, with some seen drifting out to sea. There were also a handful of Swallows, House Martins and Swifts among them, with a Sparrowhawk drifting hopefully around the area. (S&SaH) 

Church Norton: The Hudsonian Whimbrel was showing well again at 11.10am this morning; later also 100+ Dunlin, 30 Black-tailed Godwits and 'milky' the leucistic Curlew (C&ME)
This evening there were at least 300 Dunlin in the harbour, plus up to five Whimbrel, 50+ Curlew and 40+ Black-tailed Godwits, along with a few Turnstones. There were also at least 60 Sandwich Terns, including many young, along with 20+ Common Terns and three Mediterranean Gulls. (AH)

Juvenile Sandwich Tern (above) & Dunlin at Church Norton (AH)

Ferry Pool: Very quiet early on - just two Avocets, six Black-tailed Godwits, a Lapwing and three juvenile Shelduck. (AH) Later  on there were c.90 Black-tailed Godwits present (C&ME).

North Wall: There were three Common Sandpipers in White's Creek this morning, along with a couple of Black-tailed Godwits, c40 Redshank and c20 Curlews. Nothing at all on the Breach Pool, bar the usual Reed and Sedge Warblers, plus a few Reed Buntings and Goldfinches, and there were plenty of Swallows about. (AH)

Common Sandpipers (above), Reed Warbler, Goldfinch & Curlew from the North Wall (AH)

Pagham Spit: There were still a dozen or so Little Terns around the spit, still bringing in food and seeing off the big gulls, and a similar number of Sandwich Terns coming in through the harbour mouth, mostly carrying fish. There were four Turnstones and several pairs of Ringed Plovers around, and there were a few Linnets and Skylarks present, too. (AH)

Little Terns (above), Sandwich Terns, Ringed Plover & Linnets along Pagham Spit (AH)

Monday, 20th July: A damp and miserable start, if mild, with a westerly breeze and drizzle in the air....

Ferry Pool: Just a single Common Sandpiper, eight Black-tailed Godwits and four juvenile Shelduck this morning, plus 20 or so Swallows feeding over the cattle at the back. (AH)

Juvenile Shelduck on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: Still at least 50 Sandwich Terns, including many juveniles, and a few Common Terns in the harbour, plus a few Whimbrel and Black-tailed Godwits along with 20+ Curlews. Along the path, and out of the wind, there was a large loose group of young birds, including several Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs in among the Blue Tits and Great Tits. Also both a Chiffchaff and a Blackcap briefly sang. (AH)

Juvenile Blackcap (above), Chiffchaff & Whimbrel and Curlew at Church Norton (AH)

Selsey Bill: (1715-1830) (SH)

shearwater sp - 1W Manx/Balearic type, but distant and lost in poor visibility

Gannet - 8E, 8W
Sandwich Tern - 7os
Common Tern - 3os
Little Tern - 2W