A Quiet Lunch

I worked from home today and had a very quick twenty-minute walk around the Pit Tip at lunchtime. Several Meadow Pipit were around and the odd Skylark too. A group of six or so Barn Swallow were hunting high and low over the grassland, and about ten or so House Martin were hunting high above the Plantation.

Siskins Return

This morning I had a quick check of the Pit Tip Top for any further sign of the Whinchat after hearing that Steve had seen two the previous morning. Despite an hour and a half of searching in the morning sunlight, I couldn't relocate them. There were still a few Skylark and Meadow Pipit around, and I heard a Green Woodpecker calling a few times. Other than that, there wasn't much about. The best I could find was a single Grey Heron heading ENE high above the fog and calling, two Chiffchaff calling and showing at the edge of the main Plantation, and two small flocks of Siskin along the western edge.

Whinchats Return

I was out looking for migrants again this morning as another Northern Wheatear was seen on the Pit Tip two days ago. Initially, all was quiet, with just a handful of the usual Meadow Pipit and Skylark around, and several ones and twos of Lesser Black-backed Gull heading over.
As I headed around the path towards the western end of the Plantation, two Mistle Thrush flew through to the west, and a wagtail species also flew over high in the same direction - the tail length, clinched its ID as a Grey Wagtail.

There was no sign of the Wheatear, but coming back over the Pit Tip Top I glimpsed a bird perched on top of one of the seed heads. It looked like a Whinchat... and it was. In fact there were two of them, and I got some good scope views, and half-decent phonescoped photos. Just before heading back I counted a decent number of Meadow Pipit as the flock was flushed by a dog walker - 22 birds! A great morning with migration now in swing.

Not Much to See

I had a quick walk around the Pit Tip Top this morning before the rain came in. There was very little to see, just a few Meadow Pipit on the main ride and the other usual suspects.

A Late Cluster of Warblers

This morning I went out to look for the two (or any!) Northern Wheatear that were seen on Friday afternoon on the Pit Tip. I didn't count on finding them, and I didn't find them. They've almost certainly moved on. Oh well- that's how it goes.

At the back of the Pit Tip Plantation a Red Fox was trotting across the path and down through the cow field, completely unphased by my presence. Heading down to Dawson's Corner three Grey Partridge were together in the cow field to the north. Dawson's Corner itself was pretty active with warblers. Chiffchaff were calling and one was singing, a male Blackcap was feeding on elder berries, and a Common Whitethroat was hanging about too. Along the hedgerow of the horse field, a low babble-like song caught my attention, and I got onto the Lesser Whitethroat that was singing it - a bit late in the year, eh?

At the Mill Lakes two juvenile Cormorant were on Tern Island showing off their white/pale breasts. In the middle part of the lake a single eclipse male Shoveler was being typically shy and swimming off after seeing me, and a female Ruddy Duck was knocking about there too. At least two pairs of Gadwall were present at the north end of the lake, and there were two female or eclipse male Teal around Mud Island. Heading back along the Sustrans path there was at least one juvenile Common Whitethroat moving through the trees near to the footbrdige, and whilst watching it a juvenile Goldcrest appeared.

Back at Dawson's Corner the warblers were still active, and a juvenile Chiffchaff was tagging on to a mixed Tit flock that also contained a single Coal Tit. Up on the Pit Tip Top a Sparrowhawk was sat in the trees of the conservation area along Front Line, and a dog walker flushed a group of eleven Meadow Pipit for me to count. Before heading home, I had a quick walk up Lamin's Lane in the hope of picking up the odd migrant, but it was all rather quiet. Three Mistle Thrush flew over heading for the woodland, a couple of Yellowhammer were on the wires, and a male Kestrel was hunting over Lamin's Plantation. Almost fifty species recorded, so I can't complain.

Quietly Content

Two Spotted Flaycatcher were reported on the Friends Forum, near to the Hatton Close entrance to the park. Almost certainly passing through, but there was a chance they were still around, after all, the Pied Flaycatcher was around for a few days. Anyway, I headed out at first light, and there wasn't much to see or hear along the path behind Warren Hill, so I headed out onto the Pit Tip, where it was also quiet. I did meet Carl (the guy who'd seen the Spotted Flycatchers) though, and he gave me all the details - they'd moved on. The only notable sightings on the Pit Tip were a pair of Lesser Black-backed Gull flying over, and a singing male Chiffchaff at Dawson's Corner and a further bird heard calling at the Sidings.

I didn't have too long before heading off to work, so I put in a quick visit to Bestwood Quarry. At the entrance a Great Spotted Woodpecker flushed into a nearby tree and remained out of view as a Sparrowhawk flew over. Heading down to my usual scoping spot, in front of the hillside, a scruffy looking Common Buzzard was being mobbed by two crows as it flew over from behind the hill towards Warrenhill Plantation. From the brief views, it looked to be a pale-phase juvenile.

I was about to head back when I heard alarm calls coming from further along the valley, and looked up to see a raptor in an odd flight manoeuvre. It was a small- to medium-sized bird, and seemed to be making a short vertical lifting flight whilst calling, up from one of the trees, or possibly from behind it. All I could make out was the underside - pale and streaked or barred, with an orange or rusty colour around the legs. I made my way up the path, nearer to the bird's location, hoping it might have been a Hobby. A Red Fox darted across the path from the approximate location of the tree that the bird had been near to. This, I assumed, was the cause of alarm. Reaching the level of the tree's top, there was no sign of the bird around the tree, but a Sparrowhawk was gliding lower down through the valley, and so I assumed that it was the same bird.

From the higher vantage point, I scanned the opposite hillside as the sun began to warm everything up. I located a single Common Whitethroat, and heard some more Chiffchaff calling. A small party of larger gulls flew over to the east, containing five Lesser Black-backed Gull and two Herring Gull, and a Common Buzzard was calling in the distance, but remained out of sight. A relatively quiet morning, but enjoyable nonetheless.

First in a While

Well, since I'd not been out for over a month I decided to make a good morning of it and visit most of the park - weather permitting. However, the weather wasn't very permitting, and it rained most of the morning, making life difficult for my optics and my not-so-waterproof left walking boot!

At dawn, there was little to see or hear on the Pit Tip Top. No Skylark, no Meadow Pipit, just a lowly Lesser Black-backed Gull flying over. Even the very common stuff was eluding me - except a load of Woodpigeon - but it's hard not to see one of those. Dawson's Corner was scarcely better. I could hear a couple of Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff calling, but never saw them.

The Reedbed was bare, except for a Wren on the Boardwalk and another Willow Warbler calling nearby. The two remaining juvenile Mute Swan were together on the lake, and a single Cormarant briefly flew around the south end. Duck-wise there were far more Mallard than are usually present, with around 250 birds seen. They were very flighty, and seemed to be working their way toward the south end, where most of the 20 or so Tufted Duck were. At the north end was a single Gadwall, and an eclipse male Teal. A Kingfisher calling from a perch on Mud Island, provided the best footage I managed to-date, and returned to the perched a few times throughout the hour.

The Leen Pastures and Broad Valley Stables were both very quiet, with nothing of note during a light rain shower. At Bestwood Quarry the quietness continued, and two Green Woodpecker flying over were the only new birds I picked up on. I sat down to try and scope the hillside, but it was silent and still. Looking up, something was flying over towards Lamin's Lane, it looked gullish, so I got the bins onto it before it disappeared. How glad I was that I bothered to look - it was a Curlew. My first for the park! Keeping my eyes to the sky, I also picked up a distant Sparrowhawk high over the back of the Quarry before I headed home.