Sunday September 29

A cloudy but mild morning with a moderate south-westerly wind sandwiched between an overnight deluge and heavy showers through the afternoon.

I would be lying if I said that on every visit I wasn't hoping to see a special bird, but this morning proved that Morton Bagot can be fantastic without rarities on show. The key is passage migration, and boy did we get it today.

An early omen was a single Yellowhammer which flew over Netherstead shortly after I arrived. Dave joined me and we noticed wagtails and pipits in the part flooded horse paddocks. We headed down there and soon counted around 60 Meadow Pipits, 12 Pied Wagtails, and two Stonechats.

One of the Meadow Pipits

Soon after we resumed our normal circuit we realised that hirundines were moving. A sudden rush of House Martins heading purposefully south-west started us logging them. With them were more Meadow Pipits, and a few Swallows.

Its hard to express how thrilling it was to see these birds whizzing past us in waves, we surely missed far more than we counted but our record breaking final totals were 650 House Martins, 150 Meadow Pipits, and 40 Swallows.

One of the House Martins

My bridge camera is not up to the task of documenting the movement, but I couldn't resist trying.

Slightly less captivating were the numbers of downed migrants in the hedgerows. Although we felt there were a lot of birds about; Reed Buntings, Goldfinches, Linnets etc, there were few definite migrants. The best we could muster was 11 Chiffchaffs and six Stonechats.

The main pool is a pool once more, but will no doubt drain away. The flash field is now a mixture of grass and water. 46 Lapwings flew off as we appeared, but there were no other waders. Teal numbers were barely more than a dozen, but Shovelers did try to impress. The count of 14 was a new site record for a species that usually shuns us.

Some of the Shovelers

Eventually the hirundine passage reduced, and the only other fly-over to mention was a Siskin (heard not seen as usual).

A memorable day.

National Moth Night - Winyates East

National Moth Night is an event spanning three nights (it used to be just one). Originally organised by the magazine Atropos, and now jointly run with Butterfly Conservation, it shifts its position each year to take advantage of the various short flight seasons of the over a thousand species occurring in the UK.

I have never felt knowledgable enough to take part, until this year. The arbitrary selection of the date has led to many wash-outs in previous years, it almost seems part of a tradition. This year is no exception; cool wet and windy. They were hyping it as an opportunity to target the Holy Grail of moths, a rapidly spreading former rarity called Clifden Nonpareil. I managed to catch one a fortnight ago, so was astonished to find another clinging to the side of the house this morning.

Clifden Nonpareil showing a bit of its blue underwing

Clifden Nonpareil

My total catch was 28 moths of 12 species as follows: 1 Ruddy Streak, 3 Common Marbled Carpets, 1 Light Brown Apple Moth, 1 Clifden Nonpareil, 3 Brindled Greens, 9 Large Yellow Underwings, 5 Lunar Underwings, 1 Light Emerald, 1 Flounced Rustic, 1 Lesser Yellow Underwing, 1 Square-spot Rustic, and 1 very worn Copper Underwing ag.

All of the above have turned up in the garden before, but the Brindled Greens were new for the year.

Brindled Green

I'm pleased to feel I have made a contribution to the survey at last.

Wednesday Sept 25

A grey morning with a very light northerly. Recent heavy rain has raised all the waterlevels, and the pool is briefly restored.

It was a fairly quiet visit. A party of 10 House Martins headed south, while four Swallows also drifted over. I couldn't see the Garganey, but it could still be present. The main interest at the flash field was an influx of Shoveler, the number now standing at 12. A single adult Peregrine powered over, and I later spotted it on a pylon.

Jay

Peregrine

A single Cormorant was the first of the year.

Today's frustrating experience was a ticking Bunting which flew out of the hedge and away into the distance. I suppose it could have been a Yellowhammer, but if I got on the right bird it looked Reed Bunting-like.

Bloody birding!

Sunday September 22

A mostly cloudy humid morning with the faintest southerly breeze. The forecast rain arrived at 11.00am, but by then we'd done rather well.

Dave was back from his hols, so the team was at full strength.  A flock of about 200 finches on wires towards Stapenhill Wood looked worth a look, but we decided to head for the flash field first in case there was something there. On the way we noticed 27 Lapwings and 21 Snipe flying around, and the reason became clear when we arrived. Overnight rain had brought the water-level up and mud was in short supply. On the other hand there were a lot of visible ducks.

Three Shovelers were on the near flash with 84 Mallard and 130 Greylag Geese. The furthest flash contained nearly all of the 48 Teal. I was going through them hoping for a Garganey when I found.... a Garganey.

Garganey

I think this is the first since 2016, and it was also the first to be found in September.

We strolled back, seeing very few summer migrants; ten Swallows, and about four Chiffchaffs, until we reached the raptor watch point, where the finches had been. The flock seemed to have dispersed, or was in the linseed crop. We saw a few Goldfinches, Linnets, and Greenfinches before we flushed a warbler sp. It was quite small and had no white in the tail, so I guessed at Chiffchaff. Dave waded in, and to my surprise, and his, found himself looking at a Grasshopper Warbler.  I joined him, but was only able to see a bird sp slip through the stems. As we edged forward we were distracted by a calling  Raven. I looked round to see that it was mobbing a Red Kite.

Red Kite and Raven

Red Kite

This was the first Red Kite since the spring, and like the Garganey, the first September record.

By this time the skies were darkening worryingly, so we abandoned our attempt to relocate the Grasshopper Warbler and headed for the cars.

Thursday Sept 19

A sunny morning with a very light northerly.

A curtailed visit for personal reasons, but the birdlife seems to be enjoying the balmy early autumn temperatures.

Highlights were a Hobby, a Sedge Warbler, a Whitethroat, and three Stonechats.

Stonechat

At least three Shovelers remain at the flash pools, and most of the twenty or so Lapwings were lying on the sun-baked mud.

A single Siskin flew over unseen, but calling, as a reminder that winter is coming!

Sunday September 15

A sunny morning with a very light westerly.

Birding was to prove a very frustrating experience this morning. The TV people are still camped at Netherstead, so I parked at the church.

A few Chiffchaffs and Meadow Pipits suggested passage was still taking place, and one Grey Wagtail went over, and I flushed a Whitethroat. The defining moment came when I spotted an "interesting" Buzzard flying over the former pool. Did I see a longish tail with a roundish tail tip? Was its head a little small? I was sufficiently interested to take some shots as it headed away towards Morton Wood.

My camera currently has a fault which means I can't check the shots in the back screen, so all I could do was head for the flash and scope the wood in the hope that whatever it was was perched up. It wasn't.

The Lapwings and Black-headed Gulls were rather restless, and the cause turned out to be a Peregrine which I saw flying away into the distance.

The flash pools contained four Shovelers, and just the usual ducks and waders. I decided to head home to see if the shots added anything.

All I would say is that the raptor's level winged glide is illustrated well, but I can't see anything else which supports an identification as Honey Buzzard, so I guess it was just a Common Buzzard.

Meanwhile, some ringing news. The team switched to Saturday this week and also tried their luck along the hedge west of the former pool in the hope of catching some buntings and pipits. They were very happy with their final haul of 119 birds, which included lots of Meadow Pipits and the first Linnets caught on Heart of England Forest land.

The full totals (re-traps in brackets) are as follows:

Blue Tit 45 (6)
Great Tit 15 (3)
Chiffchaff 3
Blackcap 1
Whitethroat 1
Lesser Whitethroat 1
Wren 2
Dunnock 1
Meadow Pipit 22
Greenfinch 7
Linnet 2
Goldfinch 2
Reed Bunting 17

Clifden Nonpareil

I put the garden trap out last night, and the first 15 moths pulled out of the trap this morning were all common and unexciting looking ones.

The sixteenth moth, clinging to the fence, was something completely different. A Clifden Nonpareil. This is a stunning moth and until a few years ago was a rarity in Britain, let alone the Midlands. It does seem to be undergoing a status change, global warming no doubt, and is turning up occasionally in local moth traps this year.

Clifden Nonpareil

Its the first I have ever seen, and is the equivalent of finding a Hoopoe in your garden.

Superb.

Thursday September 12

A cloudy morning with a couple of light showers. A light south-westerly.

I had a bit of a surprise on arrival as i discovered a BBC production company had commandeered by normal parking place, leaving me to decide to park at the church.

Naturally I enquired as to what they were filming, and it turned out to be an episode of Shakespeare and Hathaway, a sit-com which I must admit I haven't seen.

Back to the birds. There was another hefty tit flock to sift through, and I ended up with totals of nine Blackcaps and 14 Chiffchaffs. The flash field contained 33 Teal, seven Snipe, 44 Lapwings, 85 Mallard, about 100 Greylag Geese, and the Wigeon which has reappeared after going missing during the Alldayer.

The best birds for the day turned out to be in the horse paddocks at Netherstead, where two Wheatears hopped around the horses' hooves.

Wheatear

A very small horse was particularly fascinated by my new tripod.

The walk back added a flock of 40 Canada Geese heading south, and the first Stonechat of the autumn.

Sunday September 8

I wasn't able to visit the patch today, but Tony and the ringers did, and had another successful session.
They caught 137 birds of 12 species of which 16 were retraps. To me this is amazing because it shows the movement through the area of even common residents like Blue Tit. By this I mean that I might have been tempted to assume that the 60 + Blue Tits in the hedgerows today were the same as the Blue Tits they caught last week, but actually only nine of them were.

The full figures were (with retraps in brackets and the unbracketed figure being the total catch):

Sparrowhawk 1
Blue Tit 68 (9)
Great Tit 17 (4)
Chiffchaff 5
Blackcap 11
Whitethroat 2
Wren 5 (1)
Robin 3 (2)
Dunnock 1
Meadow Pipit 2
Greenfinch 8
Goldfinch 16

They also recorded a Barn Owl shortly after dawn.

I definitely should have got there earlier the day before.

Saturday September 7

This morning required an early start because it had been designated as the day of the autumn West Mids all-dayer competition. With Dave still away, and no ringers in action I was a solo team. I was also unable to arrive until 07.10, thus jeopardising my chance of recording any owls.

My first good bird of the day was a Redstart, but unfortunately I saw it fly into a hedge bordering the Henley road, and thus a kilometre short of the patch on my drive from home, so it didn't count. It wasn't long before I saw a decent bird which did count, as a Hobby flew low over Netherstead coppice. A little later I was pleased to see a couple of Song Thrushes, always tricky at this time of year.

A single goose flew over the ridge field some distance away. I thought I could see some white on its head, but as it turned south the upper surface looked grey and black chequered. I was thinking Barnacle Goose, but it just got further away, and I couldn't rule out hybrid goose. Very frustrating.

An absolutely massive tit flock went around the edge of the chat field, and I estimated 55 Blue Tits and 20 Great Tits along with smaller numbers of Long-tailed Tits, Chiffchaffs, and single Goldcrest and Willow Warbler.

I finally arrived at the Flash field, and quickly picked out a Little Owl.

Little Owl

The remaining incumbents were just the usual species, except that the Wigeon had gone. Mallard numbers are now up to 114, which suggests that there may be some shooting here once the season starts. I hope not. The only waders were 30 Lapwings, 10 Snipe, and two Green Sandpipers.

A trickle of Meadow Pipits were heading south, a total of 20 through the morning, while hirundines were in short supply until a flock of 36 House Martins went south, and 27 Swallows did likewise. A Kingfisher called from the Kingfisher Pool, and by the time I had returned home for a break at 10.30 I was on 52 for the day.

Forty minutes later I was back, parking at the church with a list of potential ticks in my head. Straight away a Grey Wagtail went over, and I heard a distant Raven. Then I started to get lucky, a Tawny Owl called from Bannams Wood. Down at the Chat field a couple of tackers turned out to be Lesser Whitethroats, and nearby a single Whinchat popped up.

Whinchat

I decided to walk across the weedy crop field in the hope of some buntings. This did produce 18 Reed Buntings and 22 Skylarks, but nothing new for the day until I scoped six Rooks on wires in the distance.

At the Kingfisher Pool a Roe Deer stood in my path, apparently ignoring me, its attention fixed on something over its shoulder. Eventually it became aware of me and it dashed off. I scanned for birds and spotted a disturbance in the water. To my utter amazement this proved to be an Otter, the first I have seen here. This was no doubt what had fixated the Roe Deer.

Otter

It came closer and closer, seemingly oblivious of me. It dived frequently, and on a couple of occasion it seemed to bring something to the surface and it would roll like a crocodile trying to pull chunks off its prey (as seen on the telly).

Eventually it was right under the bank, so close that I could hear it breathing out in long sighs after each dive. It finally swam out to the middle of the pool and dived before disappearing, having presumably caught my scent.

Two more birds were added, Starling and Nuthatch, before I returned home for lunch on 60 species with several "easy" ones still missing.

By late afternoon the sun was out, and the birds were hiding. Nevertheless it didn't take me long to add my last four birds; Sparrowhawk, House Sparrow, Collared Dove, and Chaffinch. I also had an exceptional sighting of six more Grey Wagtails flying south.

I also got my last butterfly tick of the year as I spotted a Small Copper in a hawthorn hedge.

Small Copper

So 64 species of birds in total, my most glaring miss being Coal Tit.

Bring on the next All Dayer.

Thursday September 5

A lovely sunny morning with a very light north-westerly and a good feel about it. I decided to park at the church for a change, and thought I had found a decent bird straight away as I spotted what I thought would prove to be a Wheatear on a barn roof. I took a hardly zoomed in shot in case it flew off, which is precisely what it did as I zoomed in.

Unidentified chat

I headed to the area where I thought the bird had gone, but could find only a Robin. At this point my focus shifted as Swallows called in alarm and I looked up to see a Hobby whizzing among them.

Hobby

My search for the chat sp failed to reveal anything and I was left to conclude that it may have been the Robin. Solace was provided by a Peregrine which powered across the road.

The rest of the visit turned up a nice selection of warblers, including 14 Chiffchaffs and four Blackcaps. A trickle of Meadow Pipits overhead was appropriate for the season, but the flash field turned up just the usual stuff; 32 Teal, 77 Mallard, 42 Lapwings, four Snipe, two Green Sandpipers, six Black-headed Gulls, and a Wigeon.

At Stapenhill Wood I spent a pleasant half-hour getting great views of Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, and tits before heading for home.

Chiffchaff

Long-tailed Tit

Tuesday September 3

After sacrificing the morning in favour of moths, I decided I would get down to the patch this afternoon.

Suffice to say it proved to be a rubbish plan. Heavy cloud put paid to any thoughts of getting my camera out, as did the total absence of any noteworthy birds. I am currently awaiting a replacement tripod, my current one having fallen apart spectacularly two visits ago, and today I found that almost all of the Teal, around 32 birds, were on the furthest flash for which I would have required a tripod.

The nearest flash contained four Green Sandpipers, nine Snipe, and eight Lapwings. The nearest thing to a highlight was an accumulated total of 12 Chiffchaffs, which isn't bad for an afternoon visit.

Its the West Midlands Alldayer on Saturday, so I hope things pick up.

Garden moth trap

Although I trapped 96 moths last night, only one was new for the year, and it was also a garden tick. The very large Old Lady was fluttering in the bottom of the trap dementedly when I first looked in, although it soon calmed down.

Old Lady

On release next to a fermenting apple, it ignored the gift and flew behind the shed to roost.

The best of the rest were two Garden Carpets, a Light Emerald (second of the year), and a Broad-bodied Yellow Underwing (third of the year).

Commonest by far was 51 Large Yellow Underwings, followed by 12 Square-spot Rustics, and nine Lesser Yellow Underwings.

Sunday September 1

Sunny with a very light westerly breeze. I was up early because I thought the ringers would be there again. Ironically, when I arrived I couldn't see their cars so spent an hour searching the hedgerows around Netherstead for migrants, seeing two Blackcaps, two Whitethroats, two Lesser Whitethroats and several Chiffchaffs before I discovered they actually were here (but further up the track than the usual place).

It transpired they had caught about 70 birds, but they all sounded like common ones so I took Tony (the leader of the group) to a place which I thought might prove more productive in a future visit.

He went back to the nets while I continued along the hedge bordering the former pool, and promptly bumped into a large flock of finches feeding on grain bordering a recently created stubble field. There were about 100 Goldfinches, ten Greenfinches, two Yellowhammers, a dozen Reed Buntings and a few Linnets. But then I did a double-take as a bunting perched up next to a Greenfinch. Surely it was a Corn Bunting. It disappeared into the crop while I pondered whether I could believe my eyes.

After ten minutes of no further signs I decided to edge forward. This had the desired effect as it flew out and I was able to confirm that the outer-tail feathers were brown. It landed on the top of the standing crops further up the field and I got a couple of record shots.

Corn Bunting

Corn Bunting (blurred but zoomed in)

I think this is the fifth record for the site (I've seen four), and the second for this time of the year.

Shortly afterwards I located a single Whinchat in the hedge. Other species worth a comment were a single Grey Wagtail heard at Netherstead, and the first Meadow Pipit of the autumn heard calling high over the chat field.

Whinchat

I moved on to the flash field, but only counted 28 Lapwings, four Snipe, a Green Sandpiper, 34 Teal, a Wigeon, 65 Mallard, 195 Greylag Geese, and a Kingfisher.

On the return journey I had a brief view of a juvenile Peregrine.

A pretty good visit.

PS Tony K has kindly sent me the final ringing figures: A total of 103 birds ringed, only nine of which were re-traps.
49 Blue Tits
13 Great Tits
4 Long-tailed Tits
1 Reed Warbler
1 Whitethroat
14 Blackcaps
4 Chiffchaffs
4 Wrens
1 Blackbird
4 Robins
2 Dunnocks
4 Goldfinches

The modus operandi used is to bait the traps with adjacent seed holders, while the habitat is basically hedgerow and copse. So it is not surprising that they catch a lot of Blue Tits. On the other hand it shows up how much I must underestimate the number of birds I see. I have never counted as many as 49 Blue Tits during a morning at Morton Bagot, and the ringers are just trapping in one small place.

The other impressive one is the Blackcap count. I have noticed similar disparities between Blackcaps seen and Blackcaps trapped at other sites. Clearly these skulking migrants are much commoner than casual observation might suggest.

Its all very interesting.