Thursday September 18 - Morton Bagot

 A pre-breakfast wander around Morton Bagot this morning in cloudy conditions produced very little of note. The breeze was from the south, and there were a few migrants heading south into it over the two hours I was there; 23 Meadow Pipits and 6 Siskins. 

There were very few summer migrants hanging on; 25 Swallows and three House Martins circling the tree tops to catch any early rising insects, with about five Chiffchaffs and three Blackcaps in the bushes.

The flashes have virtually no muddy surround but held 51 Mallard, 24 Teal, three Green Sandpipers, and 14 Snipe. Most of the latter were again in the field by the nearest flash.

I wasn't tempted to get my camera out, but thanks to wildlife cameraman Andy Harris who follows my blog, I do have a brilliant photo to show. He got in touch with me after I posted my rubbish shots of the Goshawk from last weekend. Andy lives just beyond the south-eastern edge of my Circle, and had seen a Goshawk from his garden. He took four fantastic shots of it, and has given me permission to use them. This was my favourite.

Goshawk - photo by Andy Harris

I thought I'd show this because it illustrates how distinctive a juvenile Goshawk is. 

They remain broadly in this plumage for almost two years before moulting into adult plumage which is more Sparrowhawk-like. The key plumage feature is the streaked (not barred) breast which distinguishes it immediately from Sparrowhawk. Structural differences shown here are the rounded tail tip (cf square ended in Sparrowhawk), and the relatively long broad-based wings with bulging secondaries.

This area doesn't have a great deal going for it ornithologically, but it does ok for Goshawks.  Your best chance is February and March when the adults display, and early autumn when juveniles are on the look out for a new territory and can wander quite widely.

Finally, an abrupt change of subject. Yesterday John Oates saw two Little Stints at Earlswood Lakes. They were extremely flighty and soon disappeared to the south. I would love to have seen them, but there was no opportunity. It just goes to show that although things seem rather quiet at the moment, you have to stay vigilant. Anything could drop in.

Tuesday September 16 - Earlswood Lakes

 The day after the latest period of strong winds blew through I was at Earlswood hoping it might have left something in its wake. Upper Bittell had scored a Grey Phalarope yesterday (I understand its still there), so I was hoping for something similar.

Well, not for the first time I was to be disappointed. The highlight of a couple of hours was a newly arrived juvenile Little Grebe at the south end of Windmill, along with seven Teal (plus one on Engine), a couple of Ring-necked Parakeets, and the usual two drake Wigeon. There are still 30+ hirundines about, of which several were Sand Martins.

It should have been better though. After hanging around for fifteen minutes on the causeway, I decided there was nothing happening and headed off down the side of Engine. Mistake. While I was under the willows John Oates sent a WhatsApp saying that about 30 Barnacle Geese had just flown over from the north. I didn't even hear them. Wrong place, wrong time.

It set me wondering how many of the birds present on a typical visit I actually see. Clearly you can simply be unlucky when something flies high overhead while you're busy scanning in the wrong direction. But consider this: I had an email from Tony regarding the ringing at Morton Bagot on Sunday. His team caught 29 Blackcaps that weekend, 17 on Sunday. How many did I log? Three. 

So while I covered the whole site, a guy ringing in just one patch of bushes proved there were close to six times as many Blackcaps as I saw all morning. The issue here of course is cover. Blackcaps are secretive, skulking birds in autumn. Very easy to miss. I don't think I'm completely useless at birding, but it just goes to demonstrate that we must only see a small proportion of the birds actually present.

I'm off to hang up my bins. Cheerio.

Sunday September 14 - Morton Bagot

 I was up before dawn this morning. The ringers were due to be active at Morton Bagot, and they're always early. I arrived just in time for their first net round, which was lucky as it turned out.

Kirsten, a trainee, casually mentioned she had a Reed Warbler in her bag as we walked back to the processing table. This would be only the second one I had seen here this year, so I was very pleased to see that she was right.

Reed Warbler

I hung around for about half an hour, so was able to see several Blackcaps and a Whitethroat in the hand before I sloped off.

Whitethroat

My excursion to the flash field was not without its merits. The highlight was a Yellow Wagtail which called as it flew over the trees I was under in the gallery. I didn't see it. 

I counted 15 Snipe (mostly on the mown field next to the nearest flash), 38 Teal, 40 Mallard, two Lapwings, and four Green Sandpipers.

There was a little bit of overhead passage comprising two Grey Wagtails, a few Meadow Pipits, a few Swallows, and at least two Siskins, in addition to the aforementioned Yellow Wag. A single Whinchat was in the old dry pool field, but I didn't have time to check whether there might be more. Reed Buntings seemed to be more obvious than usual, and I counted at least six.

On rejoining the ringers I found they were looking very pleased with themselves, and they promptly pulled a Treecreeper out of the bag to process it. The species is fairly common here, but doesn't often blunder into a mist net.

Treecreeper

That should have been the end of my morning's birding as I had to go home to assist Lyn, but luck was to deal me another bird.

As I approached my car, several Jackdaws I was watching looked urgently alarmed. More took flight, and I guessed there was a raptor about. It turned out to be an immature Goshawk which approached across the dragonfly ponds before gaining height and heading away towards Clouse Wood. Immediately on seeing its streaked breast and rounded tail shape I swung my camera in its direction and managed two pretty disappointing shots before it was gone.

Goshawk

Goshawk

You never know quite what you're going to get with these hurried record shots. Unfortunately the first shot when it was closest missed any view of its underside completely, while in the second one it's too far away to detect the breast streaks.

It was about the size of a Carrion Crow, so probably a male. I think the pictures do convey the long, broad based wings quite well, and in the second one you can see the low slung belly they should show.

I think this is my first here this autumn.

Saturday September 13 - Upper Bittell (Red-necked Phalarope)

 Birds have no idea of your plans for the day. Mine was to empty my moth trap and put my feet up to watch the T20 Finals day. Then I got a message from Rob W. There was a Phalarope on Upper Bittell and they were pretty sure it was Red-necked.

This would be the first one there since the 1970s, just before my twenty year stint as a regular there. Upper Bittell is just outside my 10k patch, but I had to go and see it.

I arrived to find a couple of birders watching it. One of them, SMW, pointed out where it was. It was on the Perch Bank, the closest part of the shingle to the dam, but still a bit too distant for a photograph.

I took some anyway.

It's in this shot, but good luck finding it.

There it is.

Maximum zoom. 

Also present, but even more distant, was a Wood Sandpiper, several Ringed Plovers, Common Sandpipers and Dunlins.

Yesterday Lyn and I decided we should do something with the numerous apples falling from our tree. We made chutney, and there was some left over after we ran out of jars so the moths benefited.

A Large Yellow Underwing says thank you very much

Thursday September 11 - Morton Bagot

 A classic sunny, but breezy September morning when it's difficult to know where would be best to go. I opted to go back to Morton Bagot, but this time to park at the church in order to make it a slightly shorter visit.

The strategy seemed to pay off when I flushed my second Tree Pipit of the year from the first hedge I walked down. Unlike the bird scoped on Sunday, this one was close enough for me to hear its distinctive "speez" call as it took flight. This sighting was 200 yards away from where the previous one was, and as there hadn't been one here since 2022, it could possibly be the same individual.

After this bright start, things quietened down. A few Meadow Pipits headed south, and Swallows and House Martins appeared periodically, which also suggested ongoing passage. The flash was a bit disappointing. Most of the Teal were asleep or hidden from view, and I couldn't detect the Garganey. I also only saw one Snipe and four Green Sandpipers.

I eventually located a small group of chats, deciding on three Whinchats and a Stonechat, which was pretty much the same as on Tuesday.

Whinchat

If I'm honest its starting to feel like the start of the fallow period where summer migrants diminish in numbers every day, and not a lot replaces them. So different to birding on the coast or offshore islands where every day brings the promise of a rarity.

Tuesday September 9 - Morton Bagot (and a bit of weekend garden mothing)

 This morning was bright and sunny, so I decided to give Morton Bagot another look. It was immediately apparent, and unsurprising, that most of the warblers etc from Sunday had moved on. However I did get a rather soft Morton Bagot year-tick when I heard a Grey Wagtail call as it flew over.

There were still some Blackcaps and Whitethroats about, but the best find came when I spotted some Whinchats on the ridge which usually attracts them. Before long they started to fly towards the old pool field, and one seemed to lack the white tail base despite otherwise looking Whinchat-like. I tried to find it again, but all I could get on were Whinchats.

Moving on to the flash field I was pleased to find the gallery occupied by Martin Wheeler. I hadn't seen him at all this year, so it was good to catch up. He was hoping to see the Garganey, but was having trouble picking it out. After about half an hour's fruitless searching I discovered the problem. The Garganey was asleep with slumbering Teal in an awkward spot among the sedges. Fortunately it briefly woke up, allowing us both to identify it. The supporting cast was just a few Green Sandpipers and Snipe, while I could only count 29 Teal.

Martin was keen to see the Whinchats so I offered to accompany him to where I had last seen them. We duly spotted one without difficulty, and eventually another two. Then I saw my mystery chat again, perched on a tall piece of vegetation. It was between us and the sun, but through the scope I became more certain it was a Stonechat as I couldn't see white tail bases when it preened. Slightly worryingly the rump looked orangey. At one point the sun went behind a stray cloud and I got a better impression of it. It seemed to be a female Stonechat with a white throat and a bit of a whiteish supercilium.

I decided to get a better view with the sun behind us, and this time there was no doubt at all it was a Stonechat.

I would have like a bit longer with it, but my time was up and I had to get home.

Sunday night moths

I caught 62 moths of 15 species, most of which were Large Yellow Underwings. However, two of them were garden ticks. The one I was most pleased about was a Red Underwing. It was resting on the side of the trap late in the evening, so I managed to pot it and photograph it in the living room. It was so large, it almost didn't fit in the pot.

These are supposed to be common moths, but they are not all that attracted to light which is why, apart from a fly-through of a probable one last year, I hadn't seen one before. 

Another good moth found that night was a Cypress Pug resting on the window. This was only the third for the garden.

The rarest moth was saved for the following morning. While Cypress Pugs are getting commoner, the Hedge Rustic is becoming very scarce. So scarce in fact, that I'd never heard of it. The find thus owed a lot to luck. I could see it resting in the trap, and nearly logged it as an unusually dark Square-spot Rustic. Fortunately I decided it was worth checking with Obsidentify. That offered me Turnip Moth or Heart and Club as a fifty fifty, and I knew it wasn't either of those. I potted it and put it in the fridge to wait for the light to improve. When it did so I tried Obsidentify again, and this time it said 100% Hedge Rustic. So I checked the index of my field guide and found it did exist. 

It was a rather worn example, but just about fit with on-line images. The Moths of Warwickshire described it as rare in the county and declining. I suspect I've been fortunate to see one before they die out altogether.

Incidentally they are a moth of grassland, and apparently never spend any time in hedges. Another example of a dodgy name.

Saturday/Sunday September 6/7 - All day birding (Earlswood and Morton Bagot)

 Many local patch birders look forward to the Spring and Autumn West Midlands all-dayers which take place on the first available weekends in May and September, and I am no exception.

In fact, somewhat selfishly as a man with two patches nowadays, I wish it could be extended to an all weekender. Mind you, I don't have to organise it. All I have to do for the Earlswood team is turn up. 

On Saturday I joined the commander in chief (the man with the clipboard), John Sirrett, at around 06:00 am. Fellow team member Joe Owens lives there and had already heard Tawny Owl from his bedroom window at 02:00, and added the first Meadow Pipit of the autumn shortly after it got light.

John and I were joined by Joe at the south end of Windmill Pool where we stared at the acres of mud which up until Thursday had supported a Ruff, the two common Sandpipers (Green and Common), and two Little Ringed Plovers. Only the LRPs were here today. Nevertheless we did gain an unexpected prize when we heard some distant calling Siskins, again the first this autumn. Later another five flew over the causeway and we all saw them.

I won't labour species by species through the day, suffice it to say we ended up on 69 species after Matt Griffiths added Linnet as the final tick late in the afternoon. I understand this was one more than was seen last year.

The day lacked a great deal of onward migration, so it was pretty much a case of trying to see all the birds we knew should be there. Highs included sightings of the regularly visiting Hobby, Red Kite, five fly-over Shovelers, and two Little Grebes which were found on the "Night Heron Pond" by Tony Philp.

Lows were the apparent absences of Common Sandpiper, Mistle Thrush, Marsh Tit, Rook and Kestrel. My own personal nadir was a probable Spotted Flycatcher which I could see through the foliage in the Scrublands sitting in a hawthorn on the far side of a horse paddock. I'm afraid I fumbled the ball. Instead of waiting for it to move, when I would like to think it could have been confirmed or denied, I instead shifted position for a better view and maybe a record shot, only to find it had disappeared. I wasted quite a lot of time trying to relocate it, but with no further evidence either way I had to let it go.

Which brings me to Morton Bagot today. A chance of redemption presented itself when Dave arrived unusually early and texted me with news he was watching a Spotted Flycatcher. "Keep on it" I texted back as I jumped in the car. But it had disappeared by the time I arrived. All we could see were Blackcaps fly-catching from the hedge near where it had been. 

This threatened to put a damper on the visit, but it turned out to be a superb morning. The sultry conditions seemed to have produced a fall of migrants, many of which were leaping out of hedgerows in pursuit of flying insects, including a hatch of flying ants. The majority were Blackcaps, but they were joined by Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroats. A conservative estimate would be 20+ sylvia warblers and many Chiffchaffs. 

We found Tony Kelly manning his nets. He had chosen to target Meadow Pipits and had caught three or four. One flew out of the field as we chatted, but our attention was diverted to a Chat on the horizon. It turned out that there were five Whinchats on the bushes and tree-guards in the field. We abandoned Tony and headed for the flash pools.

On arrival we spotted a Tufted Duck, actually pretty unusual here these days. Worth a photo in fact.

Tufted Duck

That was on the Kingfisher Pool, but the arrival of a guy in a bulldozer meant it soon headed across a hedge to the nearest flash, while we crept through a gap in our hedge to get to the gallery under the trees.

From here we counted 45 Teal, a Shoveler (which made up for the five I'd missed at Earlswood), the Garganey (still present), and five Green Sandpipers. I actually saw the Garganey in flight for the first time, and confirmed it was indeed a drake.

Garganey

Shoveler

Having established there were no Glossy Ibises present, we started to amble back and found we had saved the best bird till last.

Reaching the old pool field we scanned the hedgerow behind it, and realised there were loads of warblers dashing about. I erected the scope and started to scan. One particular section was especially lively, and I confess I was hoping to pull Spotted Flycatcher back. However I found something better. A Tree Pipit was sat on the top of a strand of hawthorn, pumping its tail as they do. We took turns to look at it through my scope, but I'm afraid its distance from us precluded any chance of a photo. This was obviously the first this year, and actually my first here for several years.

At this point it started to rain. Time was pressing on, and I had to leave. Fortune had one more trick to play when I spotted a Garden Warbler in the hedge we were walking along. I think this is my first September record here. Unfortunately Dave missed it, while I failed to relocate his Spotted Flycatcher before I went home.

A final postscript. Mid afternoon I got news of a Ringed Plover (and fly over Dunlin) at Earlswood. I abandoned the cricket and drove back to Earlswood where I was disappointed, but not surprised, to find it had gone. I did at least see the regular Yellow-legged Gull which had not turned up during the all-dayer, and also three Little Egrets.

What a remarkable weekend it had been. We even got a fly past by the Red Arrows....not really. Maybe it was their support team.

An unexpected sighting at Morton Bagot