Sunny intervals with a light westerly breeze.
There were several good signs regarding passerines comprising seven Whitethroats, three Willow Warblers, three Chiffchaffs, and two Lesser Whitethroats by the time we reached the flash field. Here the water-level remains too high for waders, so we only saw 15 Lapwings and three Green Sandpipers. It was better for ducks, the main problem being that they were able to hide in the vegetation, so 10 Teals were an absolute minimum, and a single Shoveler was a new arrival.
 |
| Shoveler |
Things improved on the walk back. To begin with we noticed a distant silhouette of a Whinchat at the top of the strip field, and eventually confirmed the presence of three birds.
 |
| Whinchat |
They were difficult to approach, and we faced a similar problem when we reached the raptor watchpoint by Stapenhill Wood. Not a raptor, but a pipit on wires in the distance. Given the date, we were optimistic it would be a
Tree Pipit, but even through the scope it was hard to be certain.
 |
| Tree Pipit |
It took off and briefly landed in a hedge before disappearing. We headed for the ridge field and wandered through the long grass without luck until Dave decided to check the other side of the hedge where he flushed it and fortunately it flew over me calling several times. Definitely a Tree Pipit.
So at last there are signs that the migration season is truly under way.
No comments:
Post a Comment