Headon warren and WHD

Fairly productive morning. 06:30 - 12:30

Yellow wagtail 43 (28 with cattle; 15 flyovers)
Tree pipit 13 (10 over HW; 3 on WHD. Min.count; birds high up)
Whinchat 3 (1 HW, that became 2 on leaving; 1 on WHD)
Blackcap 12 (at least)
Redstart 3
Spotted fly 6

 

 

whinchat

 

 

spot fly

 

 

 

yellow wags

 

 

Tree pipits with a wheatear - had to settle with these pics as they were very flighty and prone to bombing off. But compared with a mipit they show a stouter bill, more striking head pattern, and finer streaking along the flanks.

 

 

 

 

 

Brading

Tuesday 22nd

Day started off considerably misty again, so decided against trying for vis mig.
Visited Brading instead. Quite a raptor fest all round : buzzards, kestrels, marsh harriers. And one smart hobby.

 

Jersey tiger - along the embankment f/p

Headon warren

Back to the Warren VP. Conditions were less than favourable for vis mig when I arrived: murky and misty. But with a forecast suggesting some improvement as the morning progressed, I went for a wander first instead.

The only thing grounded of note was a single yellow wagtail with some cattle - must've been more - so then returned to the warren and soon picked up tree pips going over; again with such variation in their direction it was perhaps difficult to say if they were all different birds and not just ones confused by the conditions. Overall at least twelve observations of tree pipits including one on the deck with mipits (de ja vu - put up and heard to call).

 

tree pipit record shot? - fluffed it with a manual focus setting inadvertently on

 

 

meadow pipit - back to auto focus

 

 

one of two present

 

juv Jay

 

 

Headon warren

14/08/17 Monday

Tree pipit 6 (first of the autumn) 1 heard, 2N, 2E, 1 grounded with mipits.
Wheatear 1
Spotted flycatcher 1
Swallow 3
Swift 1

15/08/17 Tuesday

WSW/sunny intervals

Tree pipit 1 SW
Meadow pipit 4 S
Swallow 5 S

 

Good views of sprawks over the warren - this one in a good ol' aerial dogfight. Yesterday one put up the tree pipit that had been feeding near the footpath.

 

 

juv

 

Brading NR

Yet to see the purple heron that's recently been seen out on the marshes. But nice evening for it. A smart barn owl hunting.

 

Purple haze - looking west from the old sea wall on the windmill side

 

Barney

Brading NR

Amazing vid

Context: if one of these passed St. Cath's it would be something

Luccombe Down

A.M

Back to island birding: walked up Shanklin down onto Luccumbe down for first time this autumn. Over head migration was nil - but early days in that respect. However, did flush a grasshopper warbler from the bracken.

Grasshopper warbler
Willow Warbler 14
Swift 3
Blackcap 5

 



Scotland assortment

 

When you're trying to look over the loch but someone wants all the attention

 

 

Ferryhills - and the 'new' Forth Bridge