Well the last day of September it is and how quick this month has certainly gone, but its been great with some excellent sightings and new records for the patch, and with another hopeful hectic month in October I am certainly looking forward to thrashing out every inch that I possibly can. Today I was hopeful that yesterday's YBW birds may hang around and they certainly did with 3 Yellow-browed Warblers now present with one that Dave found in the Garden of Rest at 7:30am, and 2 which I located in the same place as yesterday, but once again they proved very elusive and spent most of the time calling rather than showing, in fact just the odd sighting or two was possible today in the 9 hours of being out, so you never know perhaps tomorrow third time lucky. Today wasn't heaving with stuff but there was a few bits on the move showing that more good days are just around the corner. The cemo produced an elusive Firecrest with 50 Redwings and 50 Song Thrushes heading mainly south/east, there was also a trickle of 110 Swallows west and 80 Meadow Pipits. Others noted were 2 Bramblings, a good record of 11 Sparrowhawks, 20 Chiffchaffs, 2 Blackcaps, 2 House Martins, 23 Mistle Thrushes, 4 Siskins, 4 Goldcrests, 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Kestrel, 7 Chaffinches, 1 Grey Heron south/east, 4 Green Woodpeckers and 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and 10 Linnets.
Sunday 29th September
A late start for me today as I didn't get on site until 1:30pm, and with more easterly winds I was desperate to see what may of arrived, the good news was that I only had to wait for 5 minutes when I heard and then saw the first of 2 Yellow-browed Warblers which showed in sycamore trees near the main entrance, I then contacted Mr Gilbert who came across and watched the birds for about 5 minutes on and off but generally elusive they were, as although they called on many occasions they were definitely playing hard to get. The rest of the sightings included 27 Redwings, 10 Song Thrushes, 11 Chiffchaffs, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 4 Siskins, 110 Swallows, 1 Little Owl, 1 Brambling, 18 Meadow Pipits, 2 Goldcrests, 6 Sparrowhawks, 2 Kestrels, 7 Green Woodpeckers and 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers.
Saturday 28th September
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| Golden Plovers |
Highlight of the day and not surprisingly only the 3rd record for the site was a Kingfisher which was originally heard calling and then seen heading west by the paddocks, certainly a great year tick nevertheless, today was certainly a lot more quiet but a Ring Ouzel put in a brief appearance over the cemo, also 82 Golden Plovers which spent most of the time around nearby fields, other bits were 4 Siskins, 18 Chiffchaffs, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Goldcrests, 21 Redwings, 163 Swallows, 170 Meadow Pipits, 2 Common Buzzards and 1 Little Owl.
Friday 27th September
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
It was another excellent day with plenty of different migrants and another great total of 54 species including the first Ring Ouzel for the autumn, and only the 2nd Redstart for the year which showed in the paddocks, most of yesterday's Spotted Flycatchers cleared out overnight but at least one bird remained by the Garden of Rest, and was joined with its close counterpart with a Pied Flycatcher in the Dusky Thrush area. An arrival of thrushes came through early afternoon and included 20 Redwings and 20 Song Thrushes, but the Firecrest put in a very brief appearance by the cement works. Other bits were 350+ Meadow Pipits, 2 Stonechats, 15 Chiffchaffs, 4 Blackcaps, 1 Willow Warbler, 6 Whinchats, 3 Wheatears, 7 Swallows, 12 Grey Partridges, 8 Common Buzzards, 4 Peregrines, 5 Sparrowhawks, 6 Kestrels, 7 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Corn Bunting, 25 Chaffinches, 4 Goldcrests, 4 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 1 Reed Bunting west ad 10 Linnets.
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| Common Buzzard |
*ITS ANOTHER PATCH RECORD* A quiet 2 hours first thing this morning certainly changed with the arrival and a new patch record of 1,100 Meadow Pipits which headed north/west during a 3 hour spell, this in fact was the turning point of a very productive day which included another 51 species. New autumn arrivals didn't disappoint with 14 Brent Geese heading south/east and 33 Redwings in the cemo including a rather unfortunate bird which was taken early on by a Sparrowhawk, there was 4 Spotted Flycatchers and a Turtle Dove by the paddocks, and the elusive Firecrest which was present with most of the 25 Chiffchaffs and 4 Goldcrests, other new arrivals were certainly arriving late on with a Tree Pipit over the Garden of Rest, also 1 Reed Bunting, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Golden Plover and 4 Common Buzzards. Other raptors included 9 Kestrels, 2 Peregrines and 1 Sparrowhawk. Other bits were 2 Blackcaps, 4 Grey Partridges, 3 Corn Buntings, 32 Linnets, 360 Black-headed Gulls, 328 Herring Gulls, 17 Mistle Thrushes, 2 Swallows, 6 Green Woodpeckers and 6 Jackdaws.
Wednesday 25th September
After another long search there was no sign of yesterday's Buff Breasted Sandpiper, so we both continued on as you do. The main highlight was a Firecrest which was in the cemo and the first bird of 2013, a wander to the paddocks produced 2 Whinchats and a Wheatear but it was quiet out here today with the others being 2 Bramblings, 1 Siskin, 1 Reed Bunting, 119 Meadow Pipits, 4 Goldcrests, 30 Chiffchaffs, 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Hobby, 2 Kestrels, 60 Linnets, 5 Corn Buntings, 3 Skylarks, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Little Owls, 3 Chaffinches and 7 Long-tailed Tits.
Tuesday 24th September
*NEW BIRD FOR THE PATCH AND WHAT A CRACKER* I once again met up with Dave and together we thrashed out the area for a full on 10 hours, but up until 1:50pm it had been pretty hard going, but yet again the most quiet of days can produce a moment of sheer quality. At 1:55pm we was walking in fields by the cement works when unexpectedly we disturbed a small wading bird which was obviously at the time feeding on the deck, it then began to call continuously as it took off and proceeded to fly above our heads, after having excellent views we couldn't believe what we had just found a BUFF BREASTED SANDPIPER (can this year get any better), the bird continued to fly around in a kind of jizz fashion very much Snipe like for a good 10 minutes, to which it showed very well sometimes at a distance but then returning and certainly looking to land somewhere nearby, we followed it as best as we could whilst keeping a very close eye on where it may eventually settle, at 2:05pm,it came lower down and was seen to land somewhere in fields by Shottendane Road but unfortunately after another long search trying to track it we could not relocate it. This is another superb and much unexpected bird and has now brought the patch lists to (195) only 5 short of the magic (200) mark. This is only my 2nd record for Kent with the other at Cliffe a few years ago. The rest of the day was spent in dream world so the other bits that were seen included 1 Mediterranean Gull, 50 Chiffchaffs, 14 Common Buzzards mainly arriving late afternoon, 1 Whitethroat, 7 Blackcaps, 1 Grey Wagtail (first this autumn), 3 House Martin, 2 Peregrines, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrels, 1 Little Owl, 7 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Golden Plover, 29 Linnets and 2 Meadow Pipits.
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| Lesser Whitethroat |
Wow what a day with yet another PATCH RECORD being smashed this time in the shape of 30,000+ HOUSE MARTINS and 25,000+ SWALLOWS which between 8:30 - 11:40am, headed off in their hundreds in a north/westerly direction, what a fantastic spectacle one which was thoroughly enjoyed whilst sitting down in the comfort of a few sandwiches and flask of coffee, I have never witnessed anything like it here before so for my own patch it certainly meant a little bit more. There was also an excellent patch movement of 80 Sand Martins but to be honest probably more which were unnoticed, after the morning of purely watching the skies Dave and I continued on and recorded another healthy total of 62 Chiffchaffs, also 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 13 Blackcaps, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Little Owl, 25 Meadow Pipits, 2 Corn Buntings, 4 Common Buzzards, 11 Kestrels, 1 Wheatear, 22 Mistle Thrushes, 4 Curlews east, 30 Meadow Pipits, 65 Linnets, 3 Sparrowhawks, 3 Chaffinches, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 5 Green Woodpeckers and 7 Jays.
Sunday 22nd September
Best bird of the day was a Grasshopper Warbler which was in the allotments, otherwise it was fairly hard going in the 9 hours of coverage, other bits reaching the notebook were 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 45 Chiffchaffs, 1 Willow Warbler, 10 Blackcaps, 56 Swallows, 40 House Martins, 2 Little Owls, 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Peregrine, 1 Sparrowhawk, 16 Mistle Thrushes and 1 Grey Heron north/west.
There was very little coverage today, birds noted in 2 hours were 22 Blackcaps, 42 Chiffchaffs, 4 Willow Warblers, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Hobby, 2 Wheatears, 11 Swallows, 25 House Martins, 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Peregrine, 22 Mistle Thrushes, 3 Jays, 5 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 66 Linnets, 5 Rooks, 4 Sparrowhawks and 1 Kestrel.
Friday 20th September
Today was a good one with another 10 hours of straight through coverage which in turn produced a nice selection of birds, best of all purely due to the numbers was 87 Chiffchaffs, which were pretty much present everywhere you went, there was also 1 Reed Warbler and 11 Blackcaps. The cemo produced 1 Whinchat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher and 2 Turtle Doves with the latter continuing a good year for the patch, raptors did fairly well with 5 Common Buzzards, 1 Hobby, 1 Peregrine, 4 Sparrowhawks and 2 Kestrels. Other bits included 1 Curlew in the paddocks, 1 Golden Plover, 9 Green Woodpeckers, 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 8 Mistle Thrushes, 10 Jays, 65 Magpies, 63 Meadow Pipits, 67 Linnets, 32 Swallows, 34 House Martins, 3 Little Owl, 30 House Sparrows and 2 Skylarks.
Thursday 19th September
A little on the quiet side with today's sightings being 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Kestrel, 14 Blackcaps, 2 Whitethroats, 31 Chiffchaffs, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 12 Swallows, 182 House Martins, 1 Wheatear, 5 Green Woodpeckers, 4 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 16 Linnets, 11 Mistle Thrushes, 2 Chaffinches, 2 Jackdaws and 9 Jays.
Wednesday 18th September
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| Robin |
After a long hard search there was no sign of yesterday's Wryneck, but there was still a few bits around to keep us interested, and hopefully with some promised high pressure just around the corner we look forward to some new arrivals. Today's sightings included a Hobby which was hunting around nearby fields also 3 Common Buzzards which headed west mid morning. Other raptors were 3 Kestrels, 1 Peregrine and 3 Sparrowhawks. Chiffchaffs once again dominated the warblers with 20 around the recording area along with 7 Blackcaps and 4 Whitethroats, a total of 4 Yellow Wagtails were by the paddocks and were the first seen for some time, the Spotted Flycatcher remained by the Garden of Rest and a lone Wheatear was by the allotments. Other bits on show were 3 Chaffinches, 20 Meadow Pipits, 60 Linnets, 1 Corn Bunting, 4 Green Woodpeckers, 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 11 Mistle Thrushes, 11 Pied Wagtails and 2 Goldfinches.
Tuesday 17th September
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| Wryneck now the 6th bird so far this autumn |
When watching inland such as my patch who would rightfully give up on westerly winds, well maybe they might not always be the best for bird migration here, but it just goes to prove that by still going out in these conditions it can produce a quality bird, well again it did and unbelievably it was another Wryneck the 6th bird recorded here so far this autumn, Dave and I flushed this bird from some longish grass in the cemetery opposite the cement works at 12:48pm, to which on occasions it did visit, the bird showed well on and off for 15 minutes, but then disappeared somewhere in the cemo to which we couldn't find where, quite remarkable, and this is also my 7th for the year after finding one at Fowlmead Country Park in August, but we will certainly look for this bird tomorrow. The rest of the birds wasn't to bad either with another Spotted Flycatcher in the Garden of Rest, and 3 Crossbills which headed west, birds of prey included a Marsh Harrier west at 10:40am, 5 Common Buzzards, 3 Sparrowhawks and 3 Kestrels. Chiffchaffs dominated the warblers with a scattering of 20 birds, with 4 Blackcaps and 2 Whitethroats making up the others. Good numbers of hirundines are passing through at present with another 250 House Martins and 110 Swallows with many heading in a northerly direction, the Little Owl put on a good show as did 2 Wheatears in the paddocks. Other bits were 13 Meadow Pipits, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Jackdaws, 30 Linnets, 3 Chaffinches, 11 Pied Wagtails and 10 Mistle Thrushes.
Monday 16th September
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
Today was certainly a nice day to be out with light winds and at times some pleasant sunshine, bird wise inland well it wasn't to bad considering were currently stuck in some prominent westerly winds. There was a few raptors on the move including 7 Common Buzzards including 6 birds north/west during the morning, also 2 Hobbies including a juvenile which was sitting distantly in nearby fields, 1 Peregrine and 4 Kestrels. There was a Sedge Warbler in the allotments with other warblers including 22 Chiffchaffs, 1 Garden Warbler, 15 Blackcaps and 4 Whitethroats. Others present were 137 Swallows, 2 Sand Martins, 40 House Martins, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 6 Wheatears, 6 Mistle Thrushes, 6 Green Woodpeckers and 4 Meadow Pipits.
Sunday 15th September
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| Swallow (Juv) |
Not much but sill a few bits around with a Marsh Harrier over the paddocks during the morning, also 1 Hobby and 1 Common Buzzard, there was also 9 Whitethroats, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 11 Chiffchaffs, 18 Blackcaps, 1 Willow Warbler, 174 Swallows, 4 Sand Martins, 16 House Martins, 4 Wheatears, 3 Golden Plovers, 80 Linnets, 8 Green Woodpeckers 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Skylarks and 8 Pied Wagtails.
Saturday 14th September
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| Swallows |
It can certainly be true sometimes there are no 2 days alike in birding and after yesterdays great performance this was something of an anti climax, but not all was doom and gloom when the Wryneck put in its only appearance of the day in the Garden of Rest for all of 10 seconds. The rest well here we go, 123 Swallows, 17 House Martins, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcaps, 1 Whitethroat, 3 Wheatears, 140 Linnets, 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 Peregrine, 55 Jackdaws (Excellent patch total), 10 Rooks, 5 Green Woodpeckers and 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Friday 13th September
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| Wryneck the 5th so far this autumn setting a new record for the patch |
* A DAY FOR THE RECORD BOOKS, FRIDAY THE 13TH UNLUCKY I DONT THINK SO*. Incredible that's all I can say, what another superb day Dave and I have just witnessed not only recording a new patch record of 60 species for the day, but also the 5th Wryneck for the autumn/year breaking the previous record of 4 birds, and with plenty of time to go there could even be more, along with that was the earliest record of Brambling beating the previous record by 3 days. Well where do I start its not always about numbers of birds but also the different species that can be recorded in a day, we bashed the place out for nearly 12 hours and yes the best bird was a Wryneck which I flushed out from the paddocks/Garden of Rest area at 11:35am, it showed very briefly for about 2 minutes on and off, by this time Dave was rushing round to the bird along with the heavy rain which was starting to set in. Unfortunately after this it went missing for a long time and with the heavy rain settling in for the rest of the day it did look pretty bleak for another showing, but at 1:30pm, it showed once again this time to both of us although the bird was pretty nervous and the above picture was the best I could manage in the very poor conditions, but hey it doesn't matter its a record shot of the 5th Wryneck of Margate Cemetery this year. The rest of the birds well today you didn't know where to look first it was that good and to be honest we didn't actually cover some of the areas in massive detail as time flew past (excuse the pun) and migrants were certainly dropping down at regular intervals almost anywhere. If we had a bit more luck with some other regular species the total could of been a lot greater, but will certainly settle for this one. Some of the other birds are as follows: 3 Garden Warblers, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 20 Whitethroats, 31 Blackcaps, 11 Chiffchaffs, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 350 Swallows, 350 House Martins, 2 Sand Martins, 1 Tree Pipit, 6 Wheatears, 3 Whinchats, 2 Hobbies, 3 Sparrowhawks, 2 Peregrines, 17 Meadow Pipits, 1 Turtle Dove, 4 Chaffinches, 1 Curlew, 9 Golden Plovers, 1 Crossbill, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Goldcrest, 250 Linnets, 8 Green Woodpeckers, 4 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 27 Pied Wagtails, 2 Common Snipes, 1 Skylark, 16 Mistle Thrushes, 1 Common Gull, 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 30 Ring-necked Parakeets.
Thursday 12th September
Wow what a day, Dave and I between us watched the patch for just under 11 hours and managed the magic milestone of 54 species (it has been coming), and just a couple off the site record, to do this you need a little bit of lady luck with the less so common patch species and today some of it came together. The day started of brightly with 6 Curlews and 4 Common Snipes over the paddocks and was soon followed with a Golden Plover and 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls heading north, it felt good today and we carried on into the allotments and recorded most of the 9 Blackcaps, also 10 Chiffchaffs, 8 Whitethroats, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler and 1 Whinchat with a second bird by the Garden Of Rest. Nearby there was 4 Wheatears, 5 Grey Partridges and 172 Linnets. Swallow numbers reached 200 mainly heading north and was joined along with 10 Sand Martins and 45 House Martins. Other bits recorded were 1 Peregrine, 3 Common Buzzards, 1 Kestrel, 6 Green Woodpeckers, 4 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 12 Long-tailed Tits, 7 Pied Wagtails, 3 Mistle Thrushes, 4 Rooks, 7 Jackdaws and 6 Skylarks.
Wednesday 11th September
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
Best bird of the day was a Pied Flycatcher which was seen briefly in the cemo, there was also a small arrival of 29 Meadow Pipits and 18 Skylarks feeding around nearby fields. There was very little in the way of warblers with just 3 Whitethroats, and singles of Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff, a Little Owl put in a brief appearance as did 2 Common Buzzards which headed west. Other bits included 3 Sparrowhawks, 4 Kestrels, 1 Grey Partridge, 1 Snipe north/west, 66 Swallows, 20 House Martins, 1 Wheatear, 6 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 60 Linnets, 6 Corn Buntings, 20 Mistle Thrushes and 8 Pied Wagtails,
Tuesday 10th September
The day looked good for migrants but turned out to be fairly quiet with another clear out of birds, best of all was 1 Peregrine, 24 Swallows, 3 House Martins, 1 Wheatear, 3 Whitethroats, 9 Blackcaps, 8 Chiffchaffs, 1 Willow Warbler, 4 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 10 Pied Wagtails, 20 Mistle Thrushes and 40 Linnets.
Monday 9th September
Today was a bit on the quiet side with the highlights being 16 Blackcaps, 14 Whitethroats, 10 Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk, 80 Swallows, 6 House Martins, 1 Sand Martin, 2 Little Owls, 7 Wheatears, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 4 Jays, 21 Mistle Thrushes, 15 Long-tailed Tits, 95 Linnets, 4 Green Woodpeckers and 22 Blue Tits.
Sunday 8th September
Today was another good one with plenty of birds to see, the day started off well with a good variety of warblers and included 2 Sedge Warblers, 14 Whitethroats, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 13 Blackcaps, 8 Chiffchaffs and 1 Willow Warbler, the paddocks didn't do to bad either with 13 Wheatears, 2 Yellow Wagtails and 21 Pied Wagtails. There was also a good selection of raptors with 9 Common Buzzards mainly heading west/north west, 1 Peregrine, 1 Hobby, 5 Kestrels and 1 Sparrowhawk. Others noted was 6 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 40 Swallows, 22 Mistle Thrushes, 80 Linnets, 7 Jays, 6 Long-tailed Tits and 14 Greenfinches.
Saturday 7th September
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| Jay |
Another great day in the making, I had to leave site just before 8am so Dave carried on for the rest of the day and recorded another Honey Buzzard which was seen heading low north/west over the paddocks/cemetery mid morning, it has been a record year for this species with about 14 or so birds found so far, he also noted 4 Crossbills, 10 Whitethroats, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 10 Blackcaps, 3 Chiffchaffs, 1 Hobby, 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Sparrowhawk, 11 Sand Martins south/east, 44 Swallows, 19 House Martins (the best count for some time), 11 Wheatears, 1 Whinchat, 3 Yellow Wagtail, 5 Green Woodpeckers, 72 Linnets, 18 Mistle Thrushes, 4 Jays, 26 Pied Wagtails, 1 Cormorant west and 14 House Sparrows.
Friday 6th September
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| Wryneck the 4th bird so far this autumn |
Star bird of the day and the 4th this autumn was a Wryneck which was present this morning between the garden of rest and crematorium, before heading off somewhere towards the allotments. The record for the site is 4 birds in a year and this has only been done once so hopefully one more within the next 2 months will set a new patch record. Dave and I also had just the 2nd record of Greenshank for the site which was heard calling over the cemo mid morning, and a Marsh Harrier that headed north/west at 10:20am. Most of the Whinchats had cleared out overnight with just 4 birds present, but at least 11 Wheatears remained in the paddocks. Warblers noted was 19 Whitethroats, 3 Lesser Whitethroats, 18 Blackcaps, 1 Willow Warbler and 1 Chiffchaff, the Little Owl put in a brief appearance as did the male Peregrine which headed west. Other bits included 4 Sand Martins, 32 Swallows, 6 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 20+ Mistle Thrushes, 3 Song Thrushes (best count for some time), 130 Linnets, 3 Jackdaws, 14 Pied Wagtails and 35 Ring-necked Parakeets.
Thursday 5th September
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| Whinchats (2 of 40) a record patch count |
Today was brilliant for one reason only, a new patch record of 40 Whinchats with 24 in the paddocks, and 16 between the garden of rest and allotments, with many of the birds arriving early afternoon, there was also 18 Wheatears and again many of these arrived at roughly the same time. It was certainly hot out there today but most enjoyable nevertheless, Dave and I also recorded 11 Whitethroats, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 7 Blackcaps, 7 Chiffchaffs, 20 Swallows, 20 Mistle Thrushes, 1 Jackdaw, 98 Linnets, 9 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 7 Jays, 12 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Peregrine, 1 Kestrel, 4 Sparrowhawks, 1 Cormorant north, 2 Skylarks and 60 Starlings.
Wednesday 4th September
Once again there was a good autumn count of Common Buzzards with at least 10 birds over the cemo, also 8 Crossbills that headed north/west early morning, Dave and I spent a good 10 hours on the patch and although it was a bit more quiet we also recorded 4 Whinchats, 9 Wheatears, 9 Whitethroats, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 17 Blackcaps, 2 Hobbies, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Kestrels, 14 Pied Wagtails, 7 Jays, 7 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 70 Linnets, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 17 Blue Tits, 8 Jackdaws, 8 Rooks, 75 Crows and 1 Great Black-backed Gull.
Tuesday 3rd September
Probably the most interesting sighting today was an excellent autumn count of 16 Common Buzzards that Dave and I had mainly over the paddocks heading in a north/westerly direction, there was also a few other bits which included 2 Tree Pipits, 12 Wheatears, 2 Willow Warblers, 3 Chiffchaffs, 12 Blackcaps, 12 Whitethroats, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Sedge Warbler, 60 Swallows, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 102 Linnets, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Kestrels, 5 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Jays and 1 Great Black-backed Gull.
Monday 2nd September
Today produced a good variety of migrants as well as the more common ones, most noticeably was 1 or possibly 2 Grasshopper Warblers that showed well on and off by the garden of rest early morning, in fact there was several species of warbler resulting in 2 Willow Warblers, 14 Whitethroats, 17 Blackcaps, 1 Chiffchaff, 3 Lesser Whitethroats and 1 Garden Warbler. The weather once again was superb with glorious sunshine and high pressure which amounted to 9 Common Buzzards of which 6 headed north/west at 1:54pm, also 2 Hobbies, 3 Peregrines, 3 Sparrowhawks and 3 Kestrels. The paddocks held 11 Wheatears, 4 Yellow Wagtails, 5 Sand Martins, 4 House Martins and most of the 192 Swallows, nearby there was an excellent total of 102 Collard Doves feeding with the local Wood Pigeons. Other bits included 1 Tree Pipit west, 1 Crossbill west, 22 Mistle Thrushes, 6 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 60 Linnets, 8 Pied Wagtails, 3 Long-tailed Tits, 300+ Black-headed Gulls and 25 Ring-necked Parakeets.
Sunday 1st September
I didn't get out today due to other commitments so Dave covered the area himself, and after a long search could not relocate the Wryneck so presumably it is now starting its long journey home, but saying that it wasn't a bad day with an overnight arrival of warblers including 19 Blackcaps, 1 Garden Warbler, 32 Whitethroats, 3 Lesser Whitethroats and 1 Willow Warbler, a Spotted Flycatcher was in the allotments with 6 Wheatears and 3 Whinchats in the paddocks. Other bits included 86 Swallows, 2 Peregrines, 4 Common Buzzards with 3 birds north at 12:45pm, 1 Kestrel, 4 Yellow Wagtails, 5 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 25 Linnets, 4 Jays and 256 Black-headed Gulls.
1 comment:
Beautiful birds and pictures ♥
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