Purple Sandpipers

 Two Purple Sandpipers flew in and landed on the rocks at Grafton Road while I was looking (unsuccessfully) for yesterday’s single observer Sabine’s Gull. A big feeding flock of gulls offshore appeared to hold (to me) a Pomarine Skua later reported as an Arctic.. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Sooty Shearwater

 A Sooty Shearwater went west at the Bill this morning shortly after another good candidate had done likewise-the latter just a bit too far out for prolonged views though-no doubt on the other however. 

A Church Norton, the only bird of real note was a Wheatear on the concrete-still no Crimson Speckled for me despite a good look along the spit and no luck on the Pagham side later either! 😱

Brambling & Black Redstart

A Black Redstart was on the old metal gate at Selsey Bill this morning but vizmig was generally hard going with birds hard to hear over the chat!

Marsh Farm was good primarily for two Bramblings along the track from Spivey's but also for c.80+ Fieldfares and Redwings towards Fisher, lots of commoner small birds about too which was welcome.

Brambling & Fieldfares:

Bill/Norton

 A Hummingbird hawk-moth was at the Bill this morning but there was no sign of the Crimson Speckled moth at Church Norton, surely another will be found though, especially given the influx and current tropical temperatures..17C at night!!

Selsey Bill log below:

Selsey Bill

 A brief 30 minute seawatch yielded:

Church Norton

 An unproductive seawatch at Selsey Bill this morning with just a few Brent Geese of note…Leach’s Petrel wherefore art thou?!  😀

Update: 1000 Little Gulls west past Dunge! Where did we go wrong? (wrong venue for one i heard someone say) !!!

A look at Church Norton produced a few thrushes including a Redwing and “continental “ 1w Blackbirds and smaller birds such as Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Stonechat…and was rather pleasant after the rain. Also a suspicion of a Bearded Tit in one of the Severals but didn’t show again to confirm, but just in case one turns up there!

Ring Ouzels

The Bill at Selsey was again mediocre bar a Red-necked Grebe west and plenty of auks whizzing about; two Redwings over at altitude was the pick of little vizmig. At the Severals were two most welcome Ring Ouzels, including a smart adult male, and four Song Thrushes that flew off towards Greenlease Farm and a couple of Dartford Warblers. I was pleased with the Ouzels, good to see.

Seawatch/Marsh Farm

 A fairly uneventful watch from the Bill this morning (see below) - judging from other sites the finch sp. were more than likely Goldfinch. Marsh Farm was oddly quiet, not a thrush seen, bar a few Cattle Egrets and a Grey Wagtail.

RTD

 Very poor (in a somewhat truncated) seawatch at the Bill today, only a Red-throated Diver of note. Not much at Fishbourne Creek either except c.10 Reed Buntings and two Grey Wagtails by the sluice; a Goldcrest was by the car park.

Green Sandpiper

 A Green Sandpiper was on Honer reservoir this morning and c.15 Pied Wagtails were at the WTW nearby. Bird of the morning (!) was a Reed Warbler near Honer Farm-unfortunately did not respond to Blyth’s or Marsh calls 🙁 …for even such paucity i am grateful though..!

Selsey Bill

Nothing really going on at the Bill this morning bar an Arctic Skua chasing gulls offshore. A look a Church Norton could only muster a single Chiffchaff in the churchyard…ho hum indeed..!

Garden Tick!

 A flyover Cattle Egret was a “garden” tick in Oving yesterday, presumably one of the 30 that had been up at Colworth recently. Vizmig wasn’t all that over us but there were a number of Skylarks moving through.

Brambling

 A Brambling in at the Bill with five Chaffinches was new for year on Sunday and there was plenty of offshore movement  including ‘00s of auks…although the southerly winds didn’t produce the sought-after shearwaters…still time…

Barred Warbler

A not particularly inspiring seawatch this morning at Selsey (only a Brambling of note in off with five Chaffinch of note)- the day was saved, however, by a Barred Warbler at Climping, nicely done the finder (once I’d gone round the houses trying to locate the site!!) A Sussex tick for me so it was. 

Selsey Bill

A look at Selsey Bill this morning produced plenty of auks east and west, Kittiwakes and a Balearic Shearwater (possibly a couple more but not claiming those due to brief views). My sightings below…others saw more and less…

After that I went to Farlington for the Spotted Sandpiper but was turned away as having hurt my hip overworking and only being able to get around by bike, i was told I couldn’t cycle up to the spot. The moral of this story: don’t be autistically hypermobile and put your hip out! At least i did see the Buff-breasted Sandpiper a few days before at Medmerry.