Sunday August 20

Sunny intervals with a light north-westerly breeze.

I was joined by Dave this morning, and the early signs were quite promising with plenty of common warblers around Netherstead and an unusually large party of 34 Black-headed Gulls circling in the distance, possibly catching flying ants. They seemed to descend towards the flash field, but had disappeared when we finally got there.

The pool contained the Greenshank again, but there was no sign of the godwit. Instead, the flash field continues to hold 13 Green Sandpipers, 11 Lapwings, a Snipe, a Little Ringed Plover, and just half a dozen Teal.

It was left to the return journey to produce the birds of the day. These were a distant Wheatear (my first in autumn for a couple of years), and a single Spotted Flycatcher which showed quite well in a flock of warblers and tits at Stapenhill Wood. A single Willow Warbler was also present in this flock.

Wheatear

Spotted Flycatcher

Good numbers of hirundines continue to hawk insects high in the sky, but our estimate of 100 House Martins and 30 Swallows was likely to be just a ballpark figure because they were so distant.