10th September

So we're well and truly into autumn now and with the change of weather to stronger more westerly winds, the Indian Summer part seems to be over as well. Not much has changed on the bird front with YELLOW WAGTAILS the main point of interest in amongst the cattle though there have been a couple of Lapwing which have been offering close views in the livestock as well. The Tit flocks have formed now: it's always great to watch one of these mixed flocks of small birds pass along the hedgerows and you never know if there might be something of more interest tagging along with them.

Young Lapwing in amongst the cattle

One of the highlights since my last posting has been the finding of a WHEATEAR (a year tick) on the patch. This species certainly passes through the area on both the spring and autumn passage but it's just a question as to whether anyone happens to spot it. Nicola Devine, who's photos have often been gracing this blog of late, spotted the photo below by fellow photographer Tony Steele. I'd not come across Tony before but his amazing shots (especially his macro work) from Burgess Field speak for themselves and his flickr album (see here) is well worth a visit

Wheatear in Burgess Field, courtesy of Tony Steele (c)

Apart from that it's been mainly insects that have been the point of interest. There are quite a few Migrant Hawkers along the Castle Mill Stream along with a few Common and Ruddy Darters and over in the Trap Grounds, Nicola Devine reports more of the same. Thanks to Nicola, recently I finally managed to see one of the BROWN HAIRSTREAKS that have been around in this gem of a reserve. As the trees are rather low it offers a great opportunity to get good views of what is often a rather elusive species that is only seen high up in trees. As a point of interest, Nicola also spotted the RED-TIPPED CLEARWING again on the Wild Marjoram in the Trap Grounds Meadow.

Trap Grounds Brown Hairstreak

So, going forward, what can we look forward to? Until the flood waters return it's going to be slim pickings I'm afraid though we may get something like a Redstart, Wheatear, Stonechat or Whinchat passing through in somewhere like Burgess Field or along the river if we're lucky. I'm also still hoping for a Hobby on the way south as well. With the huge influx of Wrynecks across the country dare we dream of one on the Patch again? One can but hope!