8th - 11th July 2025

Friday, 11th July: Hot, sunny and very dry, with little or no cloud and just a light E/SE breeze.

Elmer Rocks: A fairly early visit this morning to avoid the heat of the day and the many beach-goers. There were just a few Mediterranean Gulls about and many more Black-headed Gulls today, plus a Gannet and at least 16 Sandwich Terns that went west. More unexpected was a Grey Wagtail that flew east along the beach, almost overhead, then a single Teal which flew west offshore close in, followed soon after by a flock of 11 Shelducks that went east, quite some way out. Other species noted included a Little Egret on the beach, nine Oystercatchers on the rocks, a singing Blackcap and two Greenfinch at Poole Place and two Skylarks singing over a cereal field at Cudlow's, where they are probably nesting.

(above) Mediterranean Gull (right) with Black-headed Gulls at Elmer Rocks and (below) flock of 11 Shelduck heading east well offshore.

Thursday, 10th July: A very warm and sunny day with an almost cloudless blue sky, tempered by a light NW breeze, as nationally, we enter another period of heatwave.

Lidsey WTW area: On the small reservoir it was very quiet, with just three Little Grebes, two Tufted Ducks, several Coots, a female Mallard with a brood of young, three Pied Wagtails around the water's edge and a pair of Stock Doves likewise. Initially it was quiet at the WTW too, until a party of 35 Swallows appeared, often gathering on the overhead cables and clearly showing that birding autumn is underway. However, closer scrutiny of the flock revealed that a good number of the Swallows were juveniles, and also that two juvenile Sand Martins were amongst them on the wires, plus a juvenile Pied Wagtail also.

 Pair of Stock Doves on a reservoir near the WTW

  

(above) Swallows and two juvenile Sand Martins on the wires around the WTW and (below) two juvenile Swallows with a juvenile Sand Martin (lowest bird).

An early gathering of Swallows, with two Sand Martins amongst them, and also a juvenile Pied Wagtail (lower wire, next to bird with outstretched wings).

Bilsham farm: There were no waders present today on the reservoir, although the number of Little Grebes had increased to five and Tufted Ducks to 12, whilst the two female Mallard with their broods were still present. A few Swallows were flying over the water but it was quieter than my last visit, with the exception of gulls, where at least 50 Black-headed Gulls on the water were my first decent-sized post breeding flock, (and which included two juveniles) and there were also five Mediterranean Gulls, amongst the other regular gull species. The regular Yellowhammer, Whitethroats and a Chiffchaff were also recorded.

Mediterranean Gulls (centre) with Black-headed and Herring Gulls

Tuesday, 8th July: It was back to summery conditions today, with clear blue skies and just a little light cloud, though also with a fresh and slightly cool NW breeze force 4, taking the edge off the temperature along the coast.

Elmer Rocks: The morning was again dominated by Mediterranean Gulls, with many on the sea or resting on the rock islands, before the majority of them eventually moved off in flocks heading west. A reasonable count/estimate was of at least 350 birds, but totals could have been higher. Interestingly, the species may not have had a good breeding season this year, perhaps abandoning their continental nest sites early and heading for our south coast. I may have missed a few, but I only actually saw one fledged juvenile amongst the flocks today!

A total of ten Sandwich Terns were also seen, most heading west, as did a single Redshank and a Little Egret, whilst seven Oystercatchers were roosting on the rocks on the high tide.

 Elmer Rocks this morning: Just some of the Mediterranean Gulls on the rocks, and the sea, whilst (bottom) Oystercatchers were roosting on the rocks...note also the sleeping bird front left, which is actually a juvenile Med Gull and the only one I saw! 

Bilsham farm: A good deal more interest and activity on and around the reservoir today than during my last few visits, with early returning birds hinting that birding autumn is almost upon us. Two Common Sandpipers were feeding around the reservoir edges, whilst a striking Black Swan was a surprise, Tufted Duck numbers had increased to eight, and the family foursome of Little Grebes was again present, the young now growing fast.

A female Mallard with a brood of eight very small ducklings was new in, joining another Mallard with a slightly older brood. However, the new brood of little ones kept coming ashore onto the reservoir sides; this had not gone unnoticed by a Kestrel watching closely from the boundary fence - and before long it made a couple of quick swoops to try and take a duckling, but just failed, before the raptor was driven off by a Magpie. Around the hedgerows,  a Yellowhammer was singing again from its regular perch, a Chiffchaff, a Blackcap and two Whitethroats were heard, and other species included Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, Swallows, a couple of Jays and two Buzzards.

Black Swan on Bilsham reservoir and (below) Common Sandpipers

Kestrel watching from the boundary fence, and being driven off by a Magpie after an unsuccessful attempt to snatch one of the Mallard ducklings below...