Little Stints and Big Swallow passage

Despite a backlog of admin I needed to do, I got my priorities right and abandoned my post in the matrix and headed out into the field for an impulsive days birding. It was the first nice weather day in weeks with a warm southerly breeze and a mid-morning high tide so I headed over to East Side . Fortune favours birds-above-work and indeed I had 87 species of 7125 individuals with highlights including the first 2 Little Stints of the year locally (2 juvs), 8 Curlew Sandpiper (in the roosting flock of 450+ Dunlin and Ringed Plover) a flock of 12 Ruff circling, a late Little-ringed Plover, 2 juv Black Tern, 4 Spoonbill, my first Golden Plovers of the autumn, 3 Spotted Redshank, 2 Greenshank 2 Yellow-legged Gull, singles of Whinchat and Wheatear and some morning vis-mig including 39 Siskin, over 100 Mips, a few Yellow Wagtails and Reed Buntings and most impressive of all was the immense passage and congregation of hirundines - I estimated about 5000 Swallows by mid-morning with birds moving south all morning and gathering in the fields west of Norton and south of the Breach Pool. At one point a Hobby was mowing through them and three Marsh Harriers were circuling in the thermals with them too. Ebird list HERE.

It was a pretty epic day on the whole Peninsula today with thousands of migrants around- see the Selsey Peninsula blog for the full news HERE. 

I'm now on 182 for the local patch year list HERE. The Peninsula is on 212 for the year (which Ian says is the annual average for the whole year so we are ahead of target) and Bart, the lead lister is on 201 with a record to beat of 208 so looking good this year for a possible recording breaking year- fingers crossed.  

Juv Curlew Sandpiper- one of eight birds present including at least one adult 

Two juv Spotted Redshank with Little Egret

Juv Little Stint 

Spoonbills

The first Golden Plovers of the autumn. There were also 16 Pintail, 30 Wigeon and 60 Teal in the harbour - won't be long now for the first Brents to appear. 

The wader roost at Pagham spit is getting pretty impressive with about 245 Dunlin and 225 Ringed Plover present. I only had 2 Knot

Mid-autumn is now officially here with the arrival of Lunar Underwings at the beginning of this week and last night there were the first Sallows- Sallow (above) and Centre-barred Sallow (below). The trap is about 80 per cent Large Yellow Underwing at the moment (about to 100 individuals). 

Obsidentify couldn't make it's mind up if this was a Neglected Rustic- will wait to see what the CMR says. 210925- the man from Del Monte says no- it's a Square-spot Rustic.