Friday September 20

I had a couple of hours to spare this morning. Cloudy with sunny intervals and a very light westerly breeze. Not bad conditions.

One or two birds caught my attention. An adult Peregrine on a pylon, a fly-over Yellow Wagtail and a late Whinchat. There was also plenty of overhead passage, with at least 81 Swallows and 28 Meadow Pipits heading south.

There are now five Mute Swans dotted about the site, but the flashes continue to disappoint, containing 57 Teal, a Green Sandpiper, five Snipe, and 125 Greylag Geese this morning.

On the walk back I had a nice view of this Southern Hawker.

Sunday Sept 15

We waved our friends goodbye at about 11.00am, and with one eye on the weather I set about the continuation of a little project relating to a wooden sculpture of a Teal created by Geoffrey Brown, our friend in Abergavenny, which he had given us when we visited him last month. This basically involved painting it in acrylics. I may continue to work on it, but this is it so far.

By 2.30 pm the rain had still not really arrived, although it was blowing a gale, and I decided on a quick dash down to Morton Bagot.

Wild weather never produces anything on the patch, but you always hope that one day it will. Sadly this afternoon all I gained were extra Teal (now 72), and 34 Lapwings. There was no sign of either the Little Egret or the Wigeon, while I could only see 10 Snipe.

Saturday September 14

With friends due at mid-day and staying over, and a dodgy forecast for Sunday, I switched to a Saturday morning birding slot.

Starting at Netherstead Farm, where there was a Tit flock at least 30 strong, I started amassing Chiffchaffs (eight) and Blackcaps (five), while a few Meadow Pipits reminded me that autumn was on its way.

There were still a few summer migrants about. I heard last week's Reed Warbler sub-singing, and saw a single Whitethroat and a Lesser Whitethroat while plenty of Swallows and House Martins were overhead.

The first surprise was a Little Egret at the main pool, which moved on to the flashes before disappearing altogether. I missed my chance to photograph it because I spent too long counting Teal (44) and Snipe (38).

However, a single male Wigeon was the first of the autumn and did get snapped.

There wasn't much else to see. A Grey Wagtail flew over, and a Green Sandpiper was still present.

Thursday September 12

Possibly my last evening visit of the year. Cloudy from the outset, and drizzling slightly as I left. The pool may have been undisturbed today as there were over 20 Teal on it.

I duly disturbed them, but they all ended up on the flashes, where I counted 62 Teal, 10 Snipe, and a Green Sandpiper. A Grey Wagtail called as it flew over.

Walking along the hedgeline I heard a Kingfisher -like call. As I advanced there were more calls and I had ticked it for the year before I actually saw it. A flash of turquoise in the gloom. Superb.

On the way back I counted 70 Swallows in a pre-roosting melee above the wood.

Sunday Sept 8

A fine sunny morning saw me hanging around the horse shed area at Netherstead Farm waiting for Dave to arrive. This was actually pretty rewarding because the area was full of birds, and in particular about 100 Greenfinches which were repeatedly visiting the tarmac surrounding the newly constructed horse jumping square.

A portion of the flock plus a Blue Tit

I am guessing they were collecting grit to aid digestion.

Dave arrived around 9.00am and we started checking the hedgerows. The first Meadow Pipit of the autumn flew over, and warblers included an unexpected Reed Warbler. I also photographed this toadstool. I don't know what species it is but judging by the black stuff oozing from it I am guessing the word Inkcap appears somewhere in its name.

The field behind the pool still contains at least four Whinchats, and the flashes revealed good numbers of Teal (54), and Snipe (15) plus two Green Sandpipers. We remain a little disappointed by the lack of additional wader, or even duck species.

The warbler count continued to mount as we returned, reaching seven Common Whitethroats, two Lesser Whitethroats, a Blackcap (plus about six unidentified tackers calling unseen) and seven Chiffchaffs. A Hobby flew distantly over Bannam's Wood, and two Grey Wagtails headed west.

The hedgerows are now full of fruit, and sloes are particularly bountiful this year.

 Potentially some Sloe Gin for Christmas 2014 perhaps.

Wednesday Sept 4

An evening visit in bright sunshine. At least two Whinchats remain around the pool.

There are actually two Whinchats in this picture. 

I met up with John. He confirmed that the Dunlin he had seen on Monday had gone. Walking back I was pretty sure I heard a Kingfisher. We retraced our steps, but there was no sign of it, so I'll pass on that one. Finally, a Sedge Warbler responded well to some pishing, but I failed to see a Lesser Whitethroat John had seen before I arrived.

Sunday September 1

A reasonably warm day with a light westerly breeze. I was birding with Dave today, although John Y turned up later. The first hour was a tiny bit dull. We found that the four Whinchats were still present, and I managed to photograph a male Kestrel.

The flashes and pool also failed to produce anything much, and we ended up wandering back along the line of the brook feeling a little glum. At this point the day brightened up. One of the best things about this time of the year is that you can sometimes run into a mixed Warbler flock. Ours comprised a dozen Chiffchaffs, three Lesser Whitethroats, Whitethroat, two Blackcaps, a Willow Warbler, a Treecreeper, and a Spotted Flycatcher. They were all too quick for me to get a shot, but it was a terrific interlude.

Shortly afterwards we found two soaring Hobbies. They never came close, but a call from John Y after we had left confirmed he had had excellent views of one of them over the main pool.

I persuaded Dave we should check out the south end where I had scoped a lot of small birds, mostly Greenfinches, this morning. Unfortunately it was a lot quieter, but I did see a Brimstone among the Small Whites there.

Memory Lane will feature another Sept 1st, but 17 years ago.