Pittswood Birds

Early cloud and mist cleared by 07:30 hrs, giving a couple of hours of blue sky before more cloud rolled in for the remainder of the day.

The initial part of my patch visit today, around Migrant Alley, again produced a WHINCHAT, but that was the only passage migrant here today. SWALLOWS were very few, less than a dozen were seen in one's and two's as they fed over the sheep pasture. I had almost completed my circuit of Migrant Alley and was approaching the Greenhouse Grounds when I looked up to see a LITTLE EGRET (64) fly over, a good species to find for my patch and just the second record this year, the first being on the 22nd January.

At the Greenhouse Grounds there was a single BLACKCAP, a single WHITETHROAT and a single CHIFFCHAFF, as well as the Whinchat that had now relocated to the scrubby area from the paddocks. A few GREENFINCH, GOLDFINCH and CHAFFINCH were visiting the water in the drainage ditch, and at least 16 LINNETS were in the vicinity, plus at least 14 PIED WAGTAILS on the greenhouses.

I decided to visit the lakes just in case a new duck species had dropped in, the regulars were found on the water, those being MUTE SWAN, MALLARD, COOT and MOORHEN, as well as the not so regular CANADA GEESE and the even less regular KINGFISHER, but nothing new. I stayed in the area for a short while, checking the Scrubby Woods, but it was all very quiet, as it often is at this time of year, unless a mixed feeding flock happens to pass by  :-)

This is as close as I get to the Kingfisher here!

The Cygnet is growing rapidly

An adult is always in close attendance

I made my way back to Migrant Alley, for a skywatch, on the way I stopped off to see the LITTLE OWL at the old shack in the ashes lane Field, it was sat exactly where I photographed it yesterday  :-)

 Little Owl

When I arrived at my sky watching seat I received a call from a friend, he wanted to come over and join me at my seat and maybe find a flyover Osprey, plus get a Whinchat photo. No sooner had he put the phone down when with the first scan of the sky I saw an OSPREY!!! Blimey, two Osprey sightings in two days!! Was it the same bird I wonder, this one was too high for photographs, but I enjoyed good binocular views of it as it headed SW. It was the usual story when my friend arrived, I told him  ''you should have been here five minutes ago''!  He did at least get to photograph the Whinchat! As we chatted and watched the sky, we saw another 3 raptor species, which included 3 BUZZARDS, two SPARROWHAWKS and a KESTREL, a few HERRING GULLS also passed overhead, as did a GREY HERON, but no more was seen of the Osprey.

Another good day in the field then, the Little Egret takes the September list to 64, which is the 8th best September total for the 13 years, not bad considering it's only four days into the month, however, I still haven't found a Songthrush!