Sunday October 2

A quiet morning, in every sense. After yesterday's heavy rain, this morning was sunny and pretty calm, with just a very light north-westerly developing.

It is too early for the Scandinavian migrants to turn up, which just left a few British migrants to search for. So we saw five Swallows heading away (two of them were going north!), and counted four Blackcaps and six Chiffchaffs in the hedgerows. Although both of these species winter in the UK, they almost never do so at Morton Bagot, so it is safe to call them departing summer migrants.

Chiffchaff

There was an increase, to five, in the numbers of Stonechats, one or two Redpolls and Siskins were heard, and at least 27 Meadow Pipits flew south. About 50 Linnets in the ridge field now outnumber the Goldfinches, some of which may also have headed for the coast.

Despite the pheasant shoot which I assume took place yesterday, wildfowl numbers at the flash field were holding up well, with 36 Teal, eight Snipe, and five Green Sandpipers still present. There was even a new wader in the form of a single Lapwing, the first for nearly a month.

The resident species included at least eight Magpies (surprisingly close to the very modest site record), a Song Thrush put in an appearance, and two Mistle Thrushes flew south.

The last of the summer's dragonflies are the Common Darters, now looking drained of colour and a bit sad as they desperately search for sunny spots to prolong their lives. Our only butterfly however was a beautifully fresh Red Admiral, not yet ready to start hibernating.

Common Darter

Red Admiral

In a couple of weeks I expect to see the first of the true winter migrants arriving, adding new zest to the birding year.