Farlington Marshes, 02/05/25

After the morning at Selsey, I had some much-needed rest. Then, in the afternoon, I went out to Farlington for a short while in the hopes of picking up a few of the species that had been seen there. Upon arrival, the first thing I heard was a Garden Warbler singing in a bush, but it didn't pop out at all. A few Greenfinch were about, along with a couple of Whitethroat. 

A Whimbrel was out in the harbour, and I headed over to the big pool to see if the Curlew Sandpiper was present. A few waders were obvious, including good numbers of Black-tailed Godwits, Avocet, and Redshank, and a single Greenshank was at the back, too. 

A Skylark was flying overhead, as were a few Swifts, but all that was on the marsh were a few Meadow Pipits, Starling, Canada Geese, and a Linnet that came rather close. 

I walked on round, towards the deeps, but all that I saw on the way were a few more Whimbrel and a Curlew. Near the deeps, a Heron was on the near bank giving some great views.

At the deeps, I couldn't find anything at all, other than a few Wigeon and a lone Brent Goose- no sign at all of the Wood Sand. A few Sedge and Reed Warblers were singing, the latter of which I managed to see flying in between the reeds- my first this year. Out in the harbour towards Hayling, there was a group of 6 Great Crested Grebes fishing offshore- only 4 are in this photo, the other two were underwater.

With nothing else present, I went over towards the bushes past the hut to look for some Lesser Whitethroats. I did hear quite a few, but didn't manage to see any, although some more Greenfinch were a bit closer. 

I continued up to the seawall and back to the large pool, to see if the Curlew Sand had turned up, but sadly it hadn't. Nothing else new was on the pool, other than two Barwits. At the back, right over the other end of Farlington, something had sent hundreds of gulls into a frenzy, quite an incredible sight!

Nothing else seemed to be there, so I started to head back to the car park, and had one more check around the bushes, and heard another Lesser Whitethroat, but all that was seen was a Blackbird a few  Common Whitethroats, and a Dartford Warbler.

It had been a nice trip, with a total of 59 species seen, but none of the ones especially hoped for.