It has been pretty hard going at Selsey Bill over the past few weeks with little passage movement apparent. The Brent Geese seemed to have all moved off and the expected Sandwich Tern and duck species haven't materialised-sadly the dreaded phrase "it's still not happening" is ringing true a bit at the moment! That said I did luck into a few bits on the 27th March: a close Manx Shearwater, a Great Skua, a Fulmar and a Swallow all making an appearance, plus a distant duck that could well have been a Garganey but just a bit too far out to be 100% on that. A Short-eared Owl picked up by PB heading in-off was probably the best bird of the spring so far here, along with a couple of Red Kites and a pair of Ravens that paid short visits to the Bill tip.
Of "landbirds", I have struggled to add Little Ringed Plover to the Peninsula year list but was fortunate enough to eventually catch up with a displaying pair at Medmerry Stilt Pool; also mananged Blackcap and a Willow Warbler near the Ferry Pool and no less than two Wheatears at the Bill! At home we have three singing Blackcaps currently (I can hear one as I type this) and singing Chiffchaffs so hopefully they will all breed successfully here again this year.
The Red-crested Pochards were reported back on the Whyke fishing lakes on Friday but annoyingly the footpath here is still gated. I appreciate the reasoning behind this (fish theft) but it is actually illegal to block paths in this manner and with parking restrictions now being implemented at the Ivy Lake complex it's not looking good access-wise to the lakes for the casual birder. Parking is still available, for the time being anyway, opposite the Free School but as a parent here I say good luck with that in term-time! I suppose parking at Whyke and taking the footbridge over might be the best option going forward. The only thing of note here for me recently though were the pair of Egyptian Geese on the house lawn replete with ducklings.
A Lesser Black-backed Gull was on the roof of Covers builders merchants opposite the Whyke Lakes on Saturday and the gentle Mediterranean Gull passage continued over Oving all week.
Short-eared Owl in at the Bill:
