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Whinchat (c) JR |
Autumn always comes early for birders with the surge of passage migrants
heading south. It starts as a trickle in mid July but by mid August has become a
steady flow. It has been particularly noticeable on the moor this year.
Wader passage has been steady with two Green Sandpipers and a lone
Black-tailed Godwit present in front of the first screen on Saturday and two
Greenshanks there on Sunday evening. There are variable numbers of Snipe feeding
in the same areas but it is impossible to guess whether they are resident post
breeders or the beginning of the winter influx.
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Blackwit, Green Sand and Common Sand (c) JR |
It was clear this weekend that the large roaming flocks of mixed tits and
warblers have either moved on or dispersed. There are still individuals both
adults and juveniles to be found. Most of the warbler species were seen this
weekend or in the case of Cetti’s, heard from several different locations.
The hotspots this weekend were all on the edges of the reserve, namely
around Lower Farm at Noke, out at the Pill and in Long Meadow. At Noke all week
there have been good numbers of Yellow Wagtails, several Wheatears and a
smattering of Whinchats.
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Wheatear (c) JR |
The latter species seem to be fewer and farther between
than in previous years, but this is a subjective judgement and there are many
factors that govern how many come this way, how many stop a while and how many
just keep going. The Wagtails have been most obliging feeding on the close
cropped sheep pastures where they can be seen really well and often flying up
onto the wires if spooked. There is a huge variation in colour and pattern
between adults and juveniles and between male and female. Some birds are still
in moult further complicating the matter. There have also been a few juvenile
Pied Wagtails feeding amongst them and a single Green Woodpecker.
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Wagtails and Wheatear (c) JR |
Out at the Pill on Saturday there was a flock of at least fifty Yellow
Wagtails that I only became aware of when they were flushed by a Sparrowhawk.
The bird then alighted on a post and was mobbed by the flock for a few minutes
before they flew off towards Greenaways. There were a further three Whinchats
and a couple of Wheatears in the same area. The Wagtails are probably roosting
in the reedbed as they have done in previous years.
Long Meadow is hosting both Redstarts and Spotted Flycatchers as well as
the regular resident Yellowhammers and Linnets. There were at least five
Redstarts there on Sunday and probably the same on Saturday. The best way to see
these stunning “fire flirts” is to find a quiet spot to stand in, perhaps with a
bush behind you and patiently wait and listen. They will usually give themselves
away by their quiet “huweet” contact call. They ambush insects from low down in
the bushes and if you are still and silent they can come very close.
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Fireflirt (c) JR |
Herons and Little egrets continue to exploit the abundance of small fry in
the lagoons and a number of Grey Herons can be seen standing like motionless
sentinels out on the freshly mown grass. I can only assume that they are waiting
to spear some of the small mammals that must have had a good breeding year in
the much dryer than normal fields.
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Patient Heron (c) JR |
Having not seen any for a while it was good to spot some Common Lizards in
the area prepared for them by the first screen. With migration getting into full
swing who knows what will turn up next perhaps a Crake of a rarer heron, we will
be looking.
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Common Lizard (c) Tom Nicholson -Lailey |
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