TheFinancialBirder

Its is that daft time of the year when I get up at some ridiculous time of the morning to be at Selsey Bill at first light to watch birds flying past the Bill. But it was oh so worth the effort. Another glorious sunny day beckoned with light winds and anything possible could turn up. The usual suspects turned up hoping to see a Pom Skua or Black Tern and numbers of birders present must have been around the fifty mark! Early May is normally the best time to see the good stuff but earlier this week, 17 Pomarine Skua’s went through and Geoff Farwell had a good couple of hours yesterday afternoon too.
My month list total stood on 96 species and adding Lesser Whitethroat to my list last night at Farlington Marshes wetted my appetite. I surely had to break my 100 mark. The first hour started very well. I was the first person there until around 5.45am, two more birders then joined me. Though good numbers of Terns went through, Commic Terns were at a premium this morning with the biggest flock only totalling 14 birds. Sandwich Terns were the commonest Tern with a constant trickle going through. I finally got my first and only Little Terns with a small flock of three birds going through, heading east.
This spring is now starting to be an exceptional year for Little Gulls. Over 300 birds moved past Brighton yesterday and this morning, 19 birds flew past the Bill heading east, with the majority being summer plumaged adults. Even an experienced seawatcher like Alan, a regular here, gasped on the beauty of this delicate gull. With its bouncy flight, dark upperwing and dark hood, they were just a joy to watch. Superb.
An early morning Grey Heron flew low over the very calm water. Was it a migrant or just come off the Isle of Wight? Fulmars were seen with at least five seen by me at least. One bird circled us birders at an incredibly close range as if to try to make out what we were all doing!
On every Spring seawatch, Skua’s are the most sought after of species and this morning was to be no exception. Up to four Bonxies were seen with at least four birds seen on the water at first then flying east and west over the sea. Though they were not seen harassing any other seabird, they showed very well. Five Arctic Skuas’ were also seen, three dark phase birds and two light phase beauties, all heading east, close in. On the sea, five Great Northern Divers were seen swimming distantly together. Two more birds were seen flying east later in the morning, which were probably two of the five birds earlier. 55 Brent Geese were seen in total this morning with two small flocks resting offshore on the sand bar as the tide was going out. A flock of 36 birds flew east and the remaining Geese took off and joined them.
At least five adult Gannets were seen this morning, and waders included 7 Whimbrel, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits and at least 60 Turnstone. Singles of Razorbill and Guillemot were seen this morning also, which boosted my month total. Up to four Mediterranean Gulls were seen, all adults and two Kittiwakes were seen flying east, an adult and a juvenile. There is nothing worse than misidentifying a bird in front of a packed audience and this morning, several birders fell foul of this with some Mediterranean Gulls being mistook for Little Gulls! It really pays to be quite sure before you shout out names!
Very few passerines flew through. I did hear a couple of Yellow Wagtails but couldn’t locate them. A pair of House Martens flew low over the beach and a pair of Swallows flew back out to sea! A female Sparrowhawk was seen flying over the sand bar then headed off north, and probably bird of the day, a Hobby, was seen flying in off the sea also heading north. This made nearly forty birders leap to their feet hoping to get a look at probably their first Hobby of the year. It was my first bird of the year and I had to crane my neck to get a good view of this magnificent raptor. As usual, the ‘crack’ from the local Selsey Birders was excellent and had me in stitches at times. Though the birds were good, at times it was rather quiet but the variety this morning was superb. Therefore ,the banter kept everyone entertained during the quiet spells.
Some birders stopped off at the Ferry Pool this morning and saw a Cuckoo. Later in the afternoon, an Osprey flew north high over the Ferry Pool also. Nationally, a flock of 17 Glossy Ibis has taken brief residence at Slimbridge WWT, with another four birds present at the Lizard, Cornwall. Lets hope they make their way in this direction. There is an Iberian Chiffchaff in Norfolk as well as a Black Kite with another on the Scillies. An Olive Backed Pipit has graced someone’s garden in Hull today. So, there was plenty around for everyone to get to grips with.

Piczo