Thursday April 3 - Alcester area

 I spent this morning birding the southern edge of my Circle. I started at Hoo Mill on the river Alne just east of Alcester. I suppose I was hoping to bump into a newly arrived migrant, but only Chiffchaffs and a singing Blackcap fitted that bill. However, a flock of 60 Fieldfares also count as migrants.

However I did locate the three Parakeets which have been present around here for several years. John Coombes, upon whose patch I was gatecrashing, had managed to establish that they formed a bizarre inter-species menage a trois, consisting of two female Alexandrine Parakeets and a single male Ring-necked Parakeet.

Alexandrine in front, Ring-necked behind

Ring-necked Parakeet

The Alexandrine Parakeet is considerably larger than the Ring-necked, and has a purple shoulder patch, but no ring around its neck (a male would have a ring). Only the Ring-necked Parakeet is countable as a tick because the species has been naturalised (breeding in the wild) for several decades. Alexandrines are still treated as escapes although they too occasionally breed successfully in the UK, so maybe one day they'll get upgraded.

A less obviously naturalised species (but still introduced) is Little Owl. My one "reliable" site is in the Alcester area. I'd visited it three times this year without success, and tried again on the way down to Kinwarton, again failing.

However it was a case of fifth time lucky when I called in on the way back and blow me it was there. Initially sitting in branches on the east side of its tree it then chose to drop to the ground allowing me to snap a distant record shot.

It's not clear why Little Owls are in decline. It's been happening for decades. The most likely culprit is a shortage of one of its favourite food supplies, moths. They seem happiest in isolated trees in fields, just the kind of habitat where larger moths are in decline due to overuse of pesticides. Other possible reasons are the expanding Buzzard population (proposed by one old Warks birder who reckoned Little Owl corpses were regularly found in Buzzard nests), or maybe nest competition from Jackdaws and Stock Doves, both of which have increased in numbers in the last thirty or forty years. 

There is a school of thought that over-zealous photographers (toggers) may have played a part. I'm not at all sure about that (and I didn't get near at all, as you can probably tell from the poor quality photo), but just to be on the safe side I'll be keeping the exact location to myself. Although I should say its pretty well known to birders in Alcester.

Wednesday April 2 - Mappleborough Green

 I had the opportunity to get in some pre-breakfast birding this morning, and chose Mappleborough Green as my destination. I just about made it for dawn, but once the sun had risen it became tricky to see the flash pools against the light.

This could have been a great visit, but I suffered the frustration of unacceptable views of two potential star performers. More of that later.

Very much in mind was Little Ringed Plover. They are pretty reliable here, but didn't give themselves up easily. Initially I saw one flying around the ploughed field next to the northern flash, but eventually three appeared at the back of the flash itself.

While I was watching them, my first Willow Warbler this year sang in the distance. Again, this was a half-expected arrival. Also on the flashes were 57 Teal, a Green Sandpiper, and a Shelduck. Several Fieldfares and Redwings were a reminder that not everything has yet headed to northern climes. 

Finally I was slightly irritated when a Chat-shaped blob flew off one of the fence posts and disappeared over a hedge (maybe Stonechat), but very frustrated indeed when I got onto two probable Hawfinches as I looked back towards Mappleborough Green from the flash. They made it to my notebook, but then my conscience kicked in and I added a "?". The problem was distance. They looked big and short-tailed, flew with a slow bouncing flight, their wings flicking, possibly showing white. For a moment I thought they would land in trees by the A435, but they kept going and were lost. I think I'm going to have to throw them away.

Birding is always full of probables and possibles and you need to be hard on yourself when drawing the line.

Tuesday April 1 - Preston Bagot (and a late twitch to Earlswood)

 I have to admit that I have a slight aversion to birding on April 1. If you did find something good, you can just imagine the eyebrows being raised. "Oh yes, April Fool, very good." Having said that, I cannot remember a birding April Fools joke, and I'm pretty sure I've never stumbled on anything earth-shattering on that date.

But people have though, and genuinely. The classic which comes to mind was on April 1 2005. An old friend of mine, Roger Broadbent, was birding along the canal near his home at Ingestre in Staffordshire when he came across a Belted Kingfisher. I mean bloody hell, hardly any British records, a North American species of Kingfisher on a canal in Staffs? On April 1? Do us a favour. I was at my desk at work when I got the call, and had to be persuaded it wasn't a joke. Fortunately I had a boss who would let me take time off at very short notice, so I dashed home to Redditch, shedding items of clothing as soon as I got through the door and changing into birding attire before jumping back into the car and heading for Staffs. Lyn later said the sight of strewn clothing when she got home from work was quite alarming.

I got there in time and saw it. It was a Friday. Many who had waited for confirmation plumped for Saturday and missed out. By then it was heading for Aberdeen where it was found a few days later, I'm not making this up, by Roger's son who was a student at Aberdeen University. 

That's a good reason for loving birding.

Anyway back to today. I had picked Preston Bagot, an area of pleasant rolling countryside at the eastern edge of my circle, it consisted of field after field of pasture nibbled almost to the roots by sheep. Very little of any consequence popped into view.

Plenty of Chiffchaffs though, and the light was fantastic.

Chiffchaff

Blackthorn hedge

Nuthatch

Stop Press: Just after I'd finished blogging the Whatsapp pinged. Joe Owens had found a couple of Little Gulls at Earlswood. This is a species I have seen every year since I started the extended patch, but only ever on a single day each time. I needed to see them.

So fifteen minutes later I was at Engine Pool, Earlswood, and to my relief so were the Little Gulls. They were both adults and were feeding on the wing with a dozen or so Black-headed Gulls. Seeing them was the easy bit, photographing them much trickier.

These are my best efforts, plus one of Joe in the background.

Sunday March 30 - Morton Bagot

A fine sunny morning with a rather brisk north-westerly saw me back at Morton Bagot hoping to add something new to my year. I had a nice little shopping list of potential new arrivals; Willow Warbler, Wheatear, and Little Ringed Plover being most in mind.

But as the morning wore on I was left to simply log Chiffchaffs, reaching a respectable ten or so. Fortunately the flash field was reasonably impressive. Top billing went to a count of ten Avocets, comfortably my largest ever count here. The supporting cast was decent; two Little Egrets, a pair of Shovelers, a pair of Shelducks (not two males this time), at least 24 Teal, and eight Lapwings. They were nice to see, lending an almost Mediterranean feel to the day, but I was slightly disheartened by the absence of any new migrants.

All the Avocets were paired up, so there was no chance of a single shot of all of them

Three-quarters of the way round I met up with another birder. John had come up from Long Marston where his usual patch sounded pretty good. He also hadn't seen any new migrants this morning, and went off to the flash field to see the Avocets etc.

I continued to my car from where, as luck would have it, I spotted a new summer migrant. And it wasn't one of the likely ones I listed earlier. Instead it was a high flying hirundine which was battling its way north against the breeze. I soon realised to my surprise it was a House Martin. So that's not only my earliest for Morton Bagot, but by one day my earliest ever in the UK.

This also means I have seen all three common hirundines before the end of March for the first time (I forgot to mention a visit to Earlswood on Thursday morning when I saw three Sand Martins and a Swallow).

The times they are a changing.

Saturday March 29 - Twitching Upton Warren

Many years ago I was as regular a visitor to Upton Warren near Bromsgrove as I now am to Morton Bagot. Although my allegiances have shifted, rather like a footballer who won't celebrate scoring a goal against his old club, I still have a soft spot for the place.

So when a rare bird turns up there, I am sorely tempted to go. Today the reserve played host to its first ever Ring-necked Duck, an American species unlikely to turn up within the confines of my new circular patch. Actually this duck, a drake, is almost certainly the same as one which has been putting in regular appearances at Grimley, near Worcester, since the turn of the year. It could be argued it's getting closer.

Anyway, I went to see it. My first visit to Upton Warren since I twitched a Spotted Sandpiper there two years ago.

It's the front one

I was relieved to find enough space in the small car-park and also in the Lapwing Hide (as its now called). Since my last visit, the reserve has acquired signposts telling you where each hide is located. It couldn't have been simpler.

Ironically my Upton Warren list remains on 202 because I forgot to amend it when the powers that be lumped the Redpolls into a single species.

Fairly similar to Tufted Duck, the best features are the prominent white rings at the base of and near the end of the bill, the lack of a tuft (although some male Tufteds show this), and the grey flanks with prominent white fore flanks.

Here's a test. Which one is it?

Not so easy when it's further away. Try looking closely at the second "Tufted" from the left.

Meanwhile back in the Circle, on Friday my wandering took me east of Henley-in-Arden and proved unexpectedly fruitful when a raptor flew approached from my right. I briefly lost it behind trees but then it re-emerged as an adult Goshawk. It then disappeared behind more trees but I was encouraged when loads of Jackdaws flew up in panic, and then the much larger Gos came back into view before continuing to the north.

Unfortunately I am obliged to be extremely vague about the actual location even though there was no suggestion that this bird was displaying or doing anything territorial. Egg-collectors have a lot to answer for.

Last week the weather was warm for the time of year, but the only butterflies I saw were Brimstone and Peacock, the latter in the garden. Annoyingly the "preferred" date for this week's garden moth survey coincided with a dip in the overnight temperature to zero. I put the trap out anyway and was pleased to find it contained 17 moths of three species this morning. They were 14 Common Quakers, two Hebrew Characters, and my first Brindled Beauty of the year.

Brindled Beauty

Moths are tougher than you'd think.

Tuesday March 25

Today I went for a wander around Blackwell Golf Course near Tutnall on a pleasantly mild, mostly cloudy morning. There are no scarce birds to report, but the camera was employed as a lovely male Sparrowhawk perched in the trees above me, and later on a Mistle Thrush proved irresistible.

I was of course hunting for migrants, but only recorded the numerous Chiffchaffs which are now just about everywhere.

Yesterday I tried Mappleborough Green for the first time this year, but apart from 53 Teal, a Shoveler, and a Shelduck I had not much to show for it. Disappointingly it appears that Lapwings have now abandoned the site.

Fortunately, this morning a quick stop at Cobley Hill (looking for Wheatears) produced three breeding pairs of Lapwings, while the Wheatear quest got me an actual year tick when I paused to look at a promising ploughed field half way along Grange Lane. The Peregrine, which was flying steadily towards Alvechurch, filled a gaping hole in my year-list. It was somewhat unexpected here.

I'm having more issues with Blogspot. So if there are no more posts, that'll be why.

Sunday March 23 - Mostly Morton Bagot

 Today began with an opportunity for a dawn visit to another Little Owl site, this time in the Weatheroak area. Once again I arrived at the tree and failed to see any Little Owls. This particular trail may be cold, I had sussed out the spot earlier this year with the help of another informant. Unfortunately no-one seems to have seen the bird this year. I'm afraid that the local Little Owl population, once perfectly healthy, seems to have declined to the point that it may not be sustainable.

This morning's plan was to also visit Earlswood, given the overnight rain. Unfortunately I hadn't banked on thick fog, so I diverted to Morton Bagot to renew my acquaintance with the local ringing group. I arrived shortly after they had set up and in time to watch them capture a Chiffchaff which they had last detained in 2023.

Unfortunately I had to head home after thirty minutes and neatly missed a Great White Egret which they all saw flying towards Studley.

Time to draw a line.

I returned to Morton Bagot for 09.00 and was joined by Dave. The ringers were still present but planning to pack up their stuff. Dave and I left them and walked straight into a female Hawfinch sitting on the top of a hedge 100 metres beyond where the ringers were trapping.

I dutifully texted them and returned to see if anyone wanted to see it. Unfortunately Dave reported it had flown off just as I reached them. Also present in the field were a pair of Common Toads caught in the act, as it were.

The weather remained misty and murky, the wind a light north-easterly. Things looked very promising as we made our way to the flash field. A Little Egret and a flock of at least 53 Meadow Pipits distracted us before we got there.

Once in position we immediately saw the six Avocets counted by John Chidwick yesterday as well as at least 19 Teal, several displaying Lapwings, and a Green Sandpiper. I had seen a Sparrowhawk flying across the field behind us and it may have been that which caused all the birds to fly around in panic. In amongst the melee I spotted a Swallow which Dave also managed to get on before it disappeared. This was about a week earlier than my previous earliest, although I notice that Earlswood has also recorded one this morning. Spring really is getting earlier.

As we made our way back we found more evidence of birds pausing their migration. A flock of 180 Starlings and at least 28 Fieldfares, 15 Redpolls and 25 Goldfinches. It is likely that all were in the early stages of a return to the north-east.

Today's weather has been responsible for the arrival of Kittiwakes, Sandwich Terns, and maybe much more on Midland reservoirs today. I've just heard that an Osprey has flown over Earlswood, but you can't be everywhere.

Quite a day.

Saturday March 22 - The new approach still going...just

 I'm still managing to get out early, but am starting to realise I'm not twenty-five anymore. I can get up alright, but six hours later all I want to do is sleep. Poor old soul.

Anyway, I made it to a site near Alvechurch early yesterday morning, and successfully ticked off a pair of Oystercatchers which have returned again for another breeding season. This is the only place I can guarantee seeing them, although they often wander and I may well bump into them at one of my other sites.

After that I set off for some more exploring. This time it was an area of farmland just north of Tardebigge. The highlight was a superb field of rough grassland which hosted at least ten singing Skylarks, plus a few Reed Buntings and Meadow Pipits. I only hope the developers don't decide to build houses on it. 

Most "green" fields around Redditch are either sheep pasture, horse paddocks, or intensively farmed arable, all of which have limited wildlife value but seem to be protected for their agricultural worth. The places which need to be kept are the less economically valuable fields like the one described above.

Moth-trapping also requires an early start. In our garden my careful neglect of the ivy and honeysuckle flowing over the shed has at last reaped the reward of a pair of Blackbirds building a nest in it. Unfortunately it is right next to where I site my moth trap. Consequently I was up early this morning trying to process the trap quickly enough that I didn't disturb the Blackbird too much, whilst at the same time trying to avoid my trap becoming the Blackbird version of bed and breakfast.

It had been another mild night with just a little rain, and that resulted in a catch of 33 moths of seven species. The best of the bunch was the garden's first Shoulder Stripe. This is apparently a fairly common moth associated with wild roses. We only have the domesticated variety which maybe why I'd never seen one before.

Shoulder Stripe

The majority of the moths were the usual Common Quakers, but also included Small Quakers, an Oak Nycteoline, Brindled Pug, and my first Early Thorn for four years.

Early Thorn

But now it's time for my next nap.

Wednesday March 19 - A new dawn

 Today I trialed a new approach. My birding is very much centred around my caring responsibilities but after a typically underwhelming bit of birding/exploring from mid to late morning yesterday (Web Heath being about as unproductive as you might expect), I had the opportunity to do something different today.

I was out in the field at dawn and back home for breakfast. I know it doesn't sound a big deal but I've missed early starts and a slight change in Lyn's routine now gives me that opportunity.

I even had a plan. That was to travel to the only place I have seen a Little Owl locally in the last three years, tick it off, and come home. The only snag was that the Owl didn't know what was expected of it. I didn't see it....again.

However, the morning was salvaged when I decided on a detour. Last month I had visited the pool at Kinwarton Dovecote hoping to see Little Grebe and Cetti's Warbler. They had been absent (or maybe not showing). This morning it was different.

The Little Grebe swam into view, and then disappeared as they do. While I patiently waited for it to reappear, a Cetti's Warbler announced its presence with a single burst of song. There was little prospect of seeing it, and it didn't even sing again, but I'd got what I needed and went home content.

Morton Bagot - Sunday March 16

 The cold weather persists, and a visit to Morton Bagot was pretty quiet.

The nearest thing to a highlight came on the drive there. I spotted a pair of Red Kites landing in a sheep field.

But at least the blog has let me upload a photograph of one of them.

Dave joined me and we met Mike Holley who was just leaving, have been present since 06.30. He hadn't seen much and said that the flashes had been frozen. This probably explains the absence of the pair of Avocets and Shelducks seen by John Chidwick yesterday.

Mike had seen a couple of Stonechats, and we went on to see one of them, plus two Green Sandpipers. a few Snipe, Lapwings and Teal.

I'm pleased to report we saw two Lesser Black-backed Gulls and three Black-headed Gulls. Nothing too taxing.

Earlswood Lakes - Friday March 14

 Sometimes birding can be really challenging no matter how many years of experience you can claim. Today I resolved to return to Earlswood to sort out this Herring/Yellow-legged Gull once and for all. The plan was to see and photograph it in flight, and if possible see what colour legs it had. 

It was a bit of a rollercoaster. To start with I established that the two Herring type Gulls on Engine Pool were the same as the birds I had focussed on earlier in the week. They insisted on swimming around for at least half an hour, offering me nothing that would help. If anything the difference between the mantle colour of the two birds looked just as minimal.

Finally they took off, one after another, and I got some shots. The first thing I noticed was that the wing-tip on the potential Yellow-legged Gull did not show enough white in it to support the argentatus theory which I was quite sold on. Depressingly it looked more like argenteus, the British race of Herring Gull.

After about another hour I was walking back to the Malthouse carpark pretty much convinced I had messed it up, and it was just a slightly darker than usual Herring Gull which inexplicably had a more pinkish-red orbital ring than it should have. 

Then I seemed to get a break. The other Gull was standing on the little rubble island, and as I edged forward the "Yellow-legged Gull" swam in and started to paddle. Its legs were definitely yellow (ok a rather greenish yellow) but bang on for Yellow-legged Gull. I admit I was elated. Problem solved, it was indeed a Yellow-legged Gull.

But there was a fly in the ointment. The amount of black visible on my admittedly distant photographs was too little. When I got home I read everything I could but everything  said that Yellow-legged Gull should always have a black band on P5 (the fifth primary counting outwards from the secondaries) and as far as I could tell my gull didn't have that.

Would you believe, my computer has chosen this moment to stop loading any more photos. 

So I'll sign off by saying birding is very difficult and I don't know what I've seen today. I'll post some photos onto my BlueSky account.

@mortonbagotbirder.bsky.social

I now have an answer. I had more or less come to the same conclusion but Alan Dean replied to my request for his input and has confirmed it was a Herring Gull with yellow legs. The critical features were the pattern of P5, the size of the white spots on the closed primaries (too large for Y L Gull), and the extent of red on the gonys (not bleeding onto the upper mandible.) It's been a very interesting and instructive event.

Herring Gull with straw yellow legs (not a Yellow-legged Gull)

Earlswood Lakes - March 11

 The weather has turned cold, and all thoughts of spring shelved. Having been to see my sister in Tidbury Green (hoping her Ring-necked Parakeets might put in an appearance) I was well placed to visit Earlswood.

By the time I'd got about half way around Engine Pool I had nothing much to show for the decision. I had noticed that a "pair" of Herring Gulls which had landed on the water on the other side of the lake seemed to be slightly different in the shade of their upperparts, but not enough to interest me more than that. But later I would get a second chance.

In the meantime I walked around Terry's Pool where I noticed a moth struggling in the water of the moat surrounding the pool. I gallantly grabbed a small stick and managed to rescue what turned out to be a Small Quaker. 

Also present around the lake was the pair of Wigeon on Mereside Pool (it will be interesting to see whether the female remains loyal to what I assume is the resident male come the summer), a couple of duelling Kingfishers, I didn't see them well enough to determine whether they were the same sex, and a singing Treecreeper.

Back at Engine Pool I found that the two large Gulls I'd seen earlier were still present. After a lot of deliberation and no opportunity to see their leg colour, I concluded they were an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a fourth calendar year Herring Gull.

It may be that the former will later land on a raft and prove to have pink legs. The size of the white primary tips did worry me a bit. But here is how I plumped for Yellow-legged Gull:

Seen against the light it looked almost like a LBBGull

The same bird (on the left) with the light behind me looks hardly darker than the Herring Gull

The eye-ring was red. Supposedly eliminating Herring Gull

Another shot of the eyering.

Back-lit shot of the two together, YLGull on right this time.

PS: I am grateful to Mike Wakeman for correctly pointing out that argentatus Herring Gull, that is the Scandinavian race of Herring Gull, can also show a red orbital ring. This calls the identification into question so I plan to return to Earlswood on Friday to try to relocate the bird and this time see it in flight or get a view of its legs to resolve the issue. I have withdrawn the identification of it as a Yellow-legged Gull pending the chance of a better view.

Sunday March 9 - Morton Bagot

 A fine sunny morning deserved some good birds, and it delivered. The Avocets have returned for another year, more or less bang on time. I'm not quite sure why they keep coming back because there is nowhere for them to breed here. Perhaps the feeding in the nearest flash is too good to resist.

As you can see there is virtually no muddy edge, but despite this they shared the flash with two Green Sandpipers and a small number of Teal.

I was rather hoping for an early Wheatear, but the only migrants apart from the Avocets were one or two singing Chiffchaffs dotted about the site and a male Stonechat.

There was nearly some moth news because I kept seeing an orange and black moth which refused to land. I'm fairly sure it was an Orange Underwing.

The Garden Moth Scheme started for the year yesterday, and I awoke to find 19 moths of six species nestled in and around the trap. They were all familiar from previous years, but for those who are interested, the full list was: March Moth 1, Oak Beauty 2, Small Brindled Beauty 1, Chestnut 1, Common Quaker 12, Hebrew Character 2.

Small Brindled Beauty (second for garden after one last year)

Chestnut (a common moth which I missed last year for the first time)

Thursday March 6 - It's a marathon, not a sprint

 It's amazing how joining Patchwork Challenge has unleashed the competitive instinct in me. I had told myself I would not change my approach to local birding. I would continue mapping the distribution of the birds within ten kilometres of my house and joining the competition wouldn't change a thing.

But then I drew a part of a square kilometre in the Alcester area, most of which fell outside the circle. As this meant it would only take half an hour to cover I reasoned I could spend the rest of Tuesday morning checking out potential ticks in that general area. Perhaps it served me right that I drew a complete blank: no Cetti's Warbler, no Little Grebe, and no Little Owl.

I did in fact add one species to the list, the humble Chiffchaff, one of which I heard singing along Coughton Fields Lane. 

Today I returned to the area determined to get back to mapping birds. It's now March which for me means I can start counting birds as breeders instead of winterers, although I must admit a lot of the birds are probably not yet on territory.

No ticks were added to the year list but I rather enjoyed getting back to "normal" birding. It was also sunny, so the camera got an airing.

Chiffchaff (the same one as on Tuesday)

Chaffinch (singing male)

Singing male Yellowhammer

Some minor discoveries included a fly-over Red Kite, and a small party of Reed Buntings Chaffinches and Redpolls which were attracted to a damp patch in the road, but unfortunately were disturbed by the local postman who drove passed just as I was getting to grips with them. The only Redpoll I photographed was rather washed out and had white wing-bars (all consistent with the feather wear you can see in Lesser Redpolls by early spring), but as the Redpolls have now been lumped into one species I no longer need to care whether it was Lesser or Common Redpoll.

Redpoll

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Sunday March 2 - Spring in name only.

 I've spent much of the week out of "birding" action. Friends were visiting and needed to take priority. Only on Friday did I finally get out, choosing Preston Bagot at the eastern edge of the circle. It was good to get back into the field, but the birding was steady. The highlight was a flock of at least 45 Siskins.

Now at least it's March. Meteorological spring has sprung. This morning it got off to a good start when the two local Hawfinches flew over as I headed to get a paper. In glorious sunshine I could see the white tips of their tails as well as the more obvious white flashes on their underwings. It was just a shame it was only a naked eye view.

Morton Bagot failed to deliver anything new for the year, but we searched for signs of spring anyway.

As far as the birds were concerned it was just a case of ticking off the usual species. Tawny Owl, 26 Lapwings, 42 Teal, 28 Meadow Pipits, a fly-over Yellowhammer, a Little Egret, and a Green Sandpiper stood out. The latter was the first I have actually seen (as opposed to heard) this year. Unfortunately it was never very close.

The water in the flash pools was largely frozen, but thawed in parts. The only insect brave enough to be on the wing this morning was a Buff-tailed Bumblebee, the traditional first of the year's queen bees.

As for wildflowers, we saw none. Although of course Hazel catkins were out, and are technically flowers.

So no Chiffchaffs, Wheatears, or Sand Martins for me yet, but they've all been reported elsewhere in the country this year so it shouldn't be long.

Sunday February 23 - Morton Bagot

 Spoiler alert: since announcing I would be taking part in Patchwork Challenge my year list has remained steadfastly static. That doesn't mean that the birding has been bad though, quite the contrary.

Things got off to a dodgy start when I heard that an Egyptian Goose had settled in to roost on Engine Pool (Earlswood) on Friday evening. I was there the following morning, hoping to add it to the list. But sadly it had disappeared overnight.

My first moth-trapping session of the year also ended in failure when, on Thursday evening, the trap's light mysteriously went out overnight. The bulb seemed to be working alright, so I tried again on Friday evening. More of that later.

The big birding highlight came as I sprawled on the sofa watching England failing to beat Australia in the cricket. I glanced outside and noticed a "Starling" on top of a tree beyond the Close. It didn't look quite right so I grabbed my bins and discovered it was in fact a female Hawfinch.  My camera was to hand and I took a series of shots in perfect light.

This morning I joined Dave and Andy G at Morton Bagot under grey skies. We hadn't gone far when a Hawfinch flew over us. This time there was no photo opportunity.

In contrast to last weekend the visit was quite rewarding. In addition to the Hawfinch we also saw a male Stonechat (the first since one in January), two Red Kites, 35 Lapwings, a Shelduck, a Little Egret, a better than usual flock of 16 Redpolls, and as I was leaving, a flock of 40 Fieldfares.

So some signs of wintering birds starting to move and breeding birds returning to re-establish territories. 

Regarding the moth-trapping, Thursday produced one micro on the kitchen window before the light failed Common/Banded Brindled Brown Agonopterix heracliana/A ciliella (a species pair which cannot be easily separated). Friday night gave me five more moths of four species, the best (by dint of being one I don't see every year) being Dotted Border.

Dotted Border

Pale Brindled Beauty

It's probably fair to say that whoever came to give these moths their names, they had a relaxed approach to what constitutes a "beauty". 

My plan for this year is to rejoin the Garden Moth Scheme, so I'll only be mentioning moths here if they are scarce or new for the garden....he said!