Sunday September 9

 A fine sunny morning with only a very light south-westerly breeze. I was joined by Dave S and we started searching for migrants. Although very few Meadow Pipits were passing overhead, we didn't have to wait long for a patch year-tick to turn up. I heard the thin call of a Goldcrest, and Dave got onto the tiny bird as it made its way rapidly down a hedge.

Goldcrest

Although Goldcrests breed in conifer woodland in the surrounding area, it is not unusual for us to have to wait until the autumn for one to turn up on the patch. There just isn't the breeding habitat for them.

The same could be said of our next year tick. Barely five minutes after the Goldcrest, we heard the distinctive sharp "tzik" call of a Grey Wagtail, and managed to get onto it as is bounded away over the fields. My year list has now risen to 109, but there aren't too many more bankers left so I don't think I will equal last year's total.

We had two more interesting fly-over species; two alba Wagtails heading south looked rather pale and may well have been White Wagtails rather than British race birds, and Dave picked out a Sand Martin among the other hirundines. A small farm pond produced the Kingfisher seen a couple of weeks ago, and we later had good views of it on the main pool. The fence posts bordering the main pool supported four Whinchats, no doubt the birds seen by Matt on Friday.

The Flashes contained 33 Teal, and just one Green Sandpiper. Three Cormorants flying over added to the mix.

It is starting to feel distinctly autumnal in terms both of birds seen, and birds not seen. Although we were pleased to find a Sedge Warbler and two Reed Warblers, we saw no Whitethroats or Lesser Whitethroats all morning.

Finally I took Dave to see Haselor scrape. We saw two Green Sandpipers, the Common Sandpiper, and three pale backed, white flanked, juvenile alba Wagtails. If they weren't White Wagtails then I don't how you identify them. This race of Wagtails heads up to Iceland every spring and are readily identified in the Midlands through April. But if you believe the records, they never return in autumn! The fact of the matter is they are just a bit too tricky in non-breeding plumage for many birders to commit themselves, and I'm afraid I am as guilty as everyone else.