Sunday June 28

After a disconcerting amount of early morning rainfall, I arrived to find it pepping up. It showed no sign of abating when Dave arrived. So we had a bit of a soggy start.

One possible consequence of the rain was the sudden appearance of a large (for Morton Bagot) flock of Swifts, 62 in total, which headed south-west. We were not sure whether they were actually migrating or just reacting to the conditions. One bird which hasn't migrated, surprisingly, is the male Cuckoo which could be heard calling from woods to the south.

As well as the Sedge Warbler singing in the reed-bed, the reverend Reed Warbler decided to give up his oath and also started singing on this Sunday. He can consider himself defrocked.

By the time we reached the pool, the rain had stopped. The water level looked lower than ever, and the pool eventually contained three Green Sandpipers, three Little Ringed Plovers, and a Redshank. The Little Grebes seemed to be absent.

Green Sandpiper

With dull, slightly chilly, conditions persisting there were few insects on the wing and the visit rather petered out. A Hobby put in a brief appearance, and a Coot tried to hide under the algae on the dragonfly pool.

Up periscope!

Instead of heading home early, I suggested we check out a small conifer wood I now know to be called Morgrove Coppice. The Crossbills had headed south last week, and I was wondering if they had gone there. Well we didn't see any, but I was very impressed by the place. It's only 100 metres south-west of my self imposed patch boundary and consists of a stand of Scots pines and a few Larch trees. It also contained a very substantial tit flock which kept us entertained for much of the time we were there. I'm not sure who owns it, but its probably part of the Dorsington Estate land. A public footpath skirts its northern boundary and the rest can be seen from the road.

I am very tempted to extend my patch to include it.