Sunday September 30

Cloudy with a very light north-westerly.

Dave joined me for a visit which can best be described as quiet....again. The middle period of autumn between the departures and the arrivals. No longer present were the hirundines, while still hanging on was the odd Blackcap and at least four Chiffchaffs.

The only sign of winter was a single Siskin, which flew over. There are still plenty of Meadow Pipits around, we estimated about 60. The Flash field remains disappointing, no Green Sandpipers, seven Snipe, about 30 Teal, 202 Greylag Geese, and 45 Canada Geese.

Common Snipe

I need a holiday.

Friday September 21 & Sunday September 23

During a pretty stormy weekend I was unable to resist taking a quick look at the Flashes on Friday in case it had been the beneficiary of a Grey Phalarope visit (there being five at three sites in Warwickshire as a result of the storms). It hadn't.

Instead I was left to count 51 Teal, a Shoveler, five Green Sandpipers, and two Snipe.

This morning the rain again intervened, causing a later start and messing up Dave's plans for his first visit in three weeks. As the rain abated just after 10.00 am I arrived to find a new dawn effect as numerous small passerines hunted the insects now emerging into the drying canopy of the Netherstead Plantation. To be fair most were Blue Tits (about 30), but there were several Chiffchaffs and best of all a Spotted Flycatcher. The first two Siskins of the autumn flew south calling.

In many ways it was a typical late September day, characterised by frequent views of Jays, hundreds of other corvids (mainly Jackdaws), 100 Stock Doves, 80 Woodpigeons, 120 House Martins, a few Swallows, and 110 Meadow Pipits. The latter appeared in a large loose flock over the grassy field south of Stapenhill Wood. I decided to investigate the field and flushed the cause of the panic, a juvenile Peregrine clutching something small, presumably a Meadow Pipit, in its talons.

The hunter

The hunter with victim

The prey

The trans-African migrant warblers have now gone, but some of the shorter-distance migrants still remain, and I counted six Chiffchaffs and four Blackcaps as I walked around.

Meanwhile the Flash field contained the same species as on Friday, but fewer of them. The only one bucking the trend was Greylag Goose. The flock now numbers at least 240.

Sunday September 16

Cloudy but mild with a light south-westerly.

I'm afraid this was a pretty abysmal visit. There were no real highlights. The Flash field produced 212 Greylag Geese, 13 Teal, 25 Mallard, six Green Sandpipers, nine Snipe, and a heard-only Kingfisher.

A large tit flock at Netherstead was accompanied by a couple of Chiffchaffs, but I saw no other species of warbler all morning.

At least 20 Meadow Pipits were in the area, but they didn't seem to be moving, and with the exception of a single Swallow heading purposefully south, the 60 or so hirundines were just feeding on any insects they could find.

Speaking of insects, it was left to a single Common Darter to provide me with my one and only photographic opportunity.

Common Darter

Hopefully next weekend will be better.

Friday September 14

A cloudy morning with a light westerly breeze.

A wander around with the Richards, armed with several plastic boxes for blackberry picking, turned out to be quite productive (for berries and birds). As usual we made very slow progress, and there was ample time for a fully grown Common Toad to crawl out of the way.

Toad

There was some evidence of bird migration as a handful of Meadow Pipits and Swallows were heading south. A large tit flock was carrying one or two Chiffchaffs, while several tackers tacked unseen.

The flock of Greylag Geese has reached 210, and the flashes also contained the usual thirty or so Teal, four Green Sandpipers, and half a dozen Snipe. As we arrived at the watchpoint I spotted a small, rather long-tailed duck flying over and just had time to get the bins on it to confirm my suspicions that it was a female type Mandarin. It headed south-east before the lads could see it.

We wandered back, looking at crickets, butterflies, and the like before I heard the unmistakable call of a Kingfisher. My luckless companions were a few yards away and didn't notice the call.

Among other insects I spotted a small moth which turned out to be a rather late-flying Bramble-shoot Moth.

Bramble-shoot Moth

It might seem as though I was hogging all the wildlife, but I'm pleased to say that enough was seen by all of us to make it a successful visit.

A visit to the Miller & Carter at Matchborough for lunch produced another Kingfisher on the Arrow, and this time we all saw it.

Sunday September 9

After opting not to take part in the West Midlands Alldayer (partly because I'd thought it was going to rain all day - pathetic I know) I was on site for my usual Sunday morning slot. It was a rather cloudy start, but soon brightened up. A light to moderate south-westerly was not especially encouraging.

The early signs were not good, but a Sedge Warbler which flew from the hedge by the pond was likely to be my last this year. Hirundines grew in number through the morning ending up at about 100 split 60/40 in favour of House Martins over Swallows. My first 10 Meadow Pipits of the autumn flew over the pool field and landed in the weedy field beyond.

Warblers were hard to pin down and apart from a few Chiffchaffs and the aforementioned Sedge Warbler, I recorded just a single Lesser Whitethroat. A couple of other tackers failed to reveal their identity though.

At the Flash field 192 Greylag Geese dominated, but the furthest flash did contain a single Shoveler, standing out from the dross. I wasn't sure if it was new for the year, but it appears I did see one in March.

Shoveler with Greylags

Waders remain disappointing; just four Green Sandpipers and 21 Snipe, while the Shoveler was accompanied by 34 Teal. One oddity was a Little Grebe bobbing up and down in the deepest part of the nearest Flash; the first of those since the spring.

The sun came out on the walk back, and I found myself looking at insects. Small Coppers seem to be having a better year, I saw four without really trying. Several second generation Small Heaths were on the wing along with several Small Whites and a Speckled Wood. One patch of nettles was being devoured by a host of Peacock caterpillars.

Peacock caterpillar apparently unaware of the large Spider to his right.

Dragonflies comprised a few mature Common Darters and several Migrant Hawkers, one of which was kind enough to pose for me.

Migrant Hawker

I'll be back with the Richards on Friday, but judging by the bounty on offer today, we'll probably be picking blackberries.

Sunday September 2

After a brief sunny start a large cloud bank blocked the sunshine until late morning when the sun returned. An extremely light breeze, possibly south-east.

In ideal conditions it took a while to finally see a decent bird. The Greenshank flew from the pool and headed for the flash. When I got there, further calls indicated it was flying again, but this time I didn't see it. Fortunately, about 15 minutes later it reappeared and I got some rather distant shots.

Greenshank (with Teal and Mallard)

Other birds present included 41 Teal, 22 Snipe, and four Green Sandpipers. The Greenshank flew silently away after about 20 minutes, but I'm pretty sure it was heading back to the pool. A Little Owl called a couple of times, and a large tit flock was carrying Lesser Whitethroats, a Blackcap, and Chiffchaffs.

The grassland gave me a Roesell's Bush Cricket and many grasshoppers. I was dismayed, but not surprised, to find that I could not hear a stridulating Meadow Grasshopper. The sound of grasshoppers in the field must have been amazing. The joys of getting old!

Roesell's Bush Cricket

As I reached my car I spotted a bird under a farm vehicle. It turned out to be a young Wheatear, my first of the autumn.

Wheatear

It was remarkably static, allowing prolonged views, eventually coughing up a pellet.

Saturday September 1 - news from the patch

Chris Lane has got down to Morton Bagot this morning, and found the first Greenshank of the year plus a Redstart and a Yellow Wagtail.

A good start to the month.