Saturday 19 September 2015

and still they keep coming...

        By the time I got to Lockwood at 7-30 am, SF had already done a half-circuit and had picked up three Yellow Wagtails, 15 Meadow Pipits and a few Siskins going over at dawn. There were also plenty of hirundines with House Martins feeding largely up high and a steady beat of Swallows moving north-west again low over the reservoir. We had several hundred of both before Stuart departed - and certainly more Sand Martins (c30) than were around yesterday. But around 9 am the migration pretty well stopped completely except for the odd party of Swallows during the rest of the day which were just as likely to be going south as north. Whether this was the time or because the sun came out, the day warmed up and the insects and presumably the birds went even higher, I don't know.
       But the sunshine certainly led to more activity along the Lea on the west side of Lockwood with a few Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, a surprise Sedge Warbler (my first for months), a Lesser Whitethroat and two Spotted Flycatchers which fed from the willows about midway. I was quite pleased with the pictures from my pocket camera until I saw Jonathan's from yesterday.....
         They had typically disappeared by the time Lol joined me but he found another by the meccano bridge as we started down the path between No 1 and No 2. A walk round East Warwick produced little except for a couple more Meadow Pipits to add to the four I had on the bank at Lockwood earlier. With six more heading north later, it took to a healthy 25-plus recorded today. I also had my first Goldcrest of the autumn and perhaps my last Willow Warbler as well. No sign of any terns so autumn is moving on.
 @porthkillier

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