Although we are now firmly in the productive part of August, no-one seems to have told Morton Bagot. Maybe I'm just under-performing. Dave unfortunately couldn't join me today and I tried very hard to winkle something out on what started as a fine sunny morning. The south-west wind and cloud increased later, which certainly didn't help.
My best moments were at the scrape field. An adult Hobby powered along the hedgeline, and five Little Egrets dropped in. It was quite a good day for raptors. As well as the Hobby I saw a Sparrowhawk, three Kestrels, six Buzzards, and two Red Kites.
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| Common Buzzard |
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| Red Kite |
The flash field was disappointing again, just a handful of Green Sandpipers, Snipe, Lapwings, and Teal. It could be that more birds were sheltering from the wind out of sight. A Kingfisher called a few times, but I didn't manage to see it.
Passerines were also hiding away. I eventually spotted a Willow Warbler among the more numerous Chiffchaffs, but only saw three Whitethroats. As usual plenty of warblers tacked unseen in the dense cover, and I also couldn't pin down a sub-singing warbler which sounded as though it was either a Reed or a Sedge Warbler notwithstanding that the sound was coming from a particularly dry area of the forest which now covers the ridge field.
I should mention that I went to Earlswood Lakes on Friday but just saw the usual species, although I was pleased to count five Swifts and three Sand Martins.
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