Sunday June 16 - It's a time of year thing

 I don't think I've ever allowed this amount of time to elapse between posts, but finally I think I've seen enough to make it worth putting pen to paper, as it were.

The problem is the month, mostly. June is hard work for little reward if you're a birder. Pretty much everything is getting on with breeding, so unexpected sightings are, well, very unexpected. To compound the issue, this June has been unusually cool and wet, so insects are in short supply.

Also we're decorating. Nightmare!

Fortunately friends have been a little more active, and this week's prize goes to Tony. Earlier this week he caught the Redditch Ringing Group's first ever Cuckoo near the Purity Brewery at Middle Spernal. It was a fully-winged juvenile, maybe the offspring of one of the Cuckoos which made a brief appearance here in spring.

Juvenile Cuckoo - per Tony K

Meanwhile, at Morton Bagot the sum total of the last three visits has been a Barn Owl, and two or three pairs of Lesser Whitethroats confirmed to be breeding, while the juvenile Stonechat count has increased to three although they all seem to be from the same brood.

Juvenile Stonechat

These Stonechats seem to have moved from the ridge field to the hedge bordering scrapes, and have thus eluded the ringers so far. Gallingly we couldn't see them at all today.

One bird that I've not seen this year, only heard, was Grasshopper Warbler. Dennis and Marion visited on Thursday and let me know they had heard and seen one. I came down on a blustery Friday and dipped out. But yesterday Tony caught one, and today another. This late burst of song is quite typical for Grasshopper Warblers which have enjoyed a successful breeding season.

Today's Grasshopper Warbler

Dave and I heard it singing, but we were unable to see it.

The first returning wader was a Green Sandpiper which Dennis and Marion heard near the flash field on Thursday. There is a little mud there now, but the obscuring vegetation seems worse than ever. At least two or three Lapwings are now in residence.

A small number of newly emerged butterflies are now flying. This morning I saw my first Ringlets of the year.

As for moths, there seem to be more Yellow Shell in the grass around the patch than normal, but otherwise its a similar story to that of the butterflies.

Yellow Shell

I've only put my garden trap out once this month, catching 21 moths of 13 species. Several were new for the year, the best being my first Common Swift since 2019, and my third ever Varied Coronet.

Common Swift

Varied Coronet

Incidentally the other type of Common Swift, i.e. the bird of that name, has been increasing a little in numbers at Morton Bagot, but so far the best count is still in the low teens.

Hopefully the latter half of June will be good enough to encourage a resumption of normal service.