Sunday August 16

A bright sunny morning with virtually no wind. Once Dave arrived we chose the village route, hearing a couple of fly-over Siskins and staring at a recently deceased Badger before heading across the fields away from Bannams Wood.

We reached the "bridle path" edge of the pool field and there saw a male Redstart with four Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps, and two Whitethroats.

Redstart

The walk around the pool was largely uneventful, apart from a good view of a Sedge Warbler and a fly-through Hobby. The Flashes contained 10 Green Sandpipers, eight Teal, and 57 Lapwings, but still nothing unusual. We turned north west and counted passerines along the hedge. Another Redstart, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Goldcrest, a Willow Warbler, 10 Chiffchaffs, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Whitethroat, and a Blackcap. Most of these birds will melt away over the next few weeks as they head south for the winter.

Jerking us back into summer, Dave spotted a small butterfly in the grass. We soon found another, and photographs were taken. These were Brown Arguses, a fairly local species which just maintains a toe-hold at Morton Bagot.

The upper-wing of the Brown Argus

The underwing of the Brown Argus

The remainder of the visit passed pleasantly enough, but with no new arrivals to raise the pulse rate.