Sunday September 20 - Morton Bagot

 After a cloudy start, the sun came out and the day warmed up.

My attempts to find unusual birds were again largely unsuccessful, although I did manage a new "latest date for Morton Bagot" when a Sand Martin was picked out from a small flock of House Martins and Swallows which were hawking insects over the field next to the Morton Brook. Although it was quite close at one stage I failed to manage even a record shot. The previous latest was 16 September 2011.

Other birds present which I didn't photograph included 28 Meadow Pipits, six Blackcaps, nine Chiffchaffs, a Grey Wagtail, three Green Sandpipers, and at least six Shovelers.

To be honest I got a bit bogged down examining plants and finding invertebrates. Even then there was nothing new, but I did at least photograph some of them.

Garden Spider

Hairy Shieldbug

Small Copper

Dragonflies on the wing included at least six Willow Emeralds, a Common Darter, and a Migrant Hawker. The last hurrah of summer perhaps.

On my way off the site I met Tony and Leigh who had dropped in to do a bit of Meadow Pipit trapping now that HOEF have mowed the grass in the favoured field. They had also been present pre-mow on Friday for a more traditional hedgerow mist-netting session. I was in time to see the first Meadow Pipit they caught.

Meadow Pipit - Tony & Leigh

Their full weekend results were:

Great Spotted Woodpecker 1

Skylark 2

Blue Tit 37 (18)

Great Tit 8 (4)

Sedge Warbler 1

Blackcap 11

Chiffchaff 7

Robin 2

Wren 2 (2)

Dunnock 2 (2)

Meadow Pipit 5

Goldfinch 21 (1)

As always, the figures in brackets relate to re-traps, suggesting resident birds. So at this time of migration none of the warblers and pipits were re-traps, strongly suggesting short-staying migrants on the move. 

I'm off for a short break next week, so hopefully I'll have something different to report next time.