Thursday, 13 July 2017

13th July

The only ‘guaranteed’ bird I hadn’t seen this year was Spotted Flycatcher so when Jim and Sue rang to say they had one in their garden I shot round. There was no sign but after a slightly nervous wait it reappeared…



It was later seen singing in a tree in the rectory garden. This is my 100th species of the year – well behind last year (mainly reflecting the drying up/draining of the remaining wader habitat in the parish).

On Tuesday evening the Magic Garden was alive with Willow/Chiffs and I counted at least 20 very actively feeding in the trees around the lake. I presume these were migrants passing through and yesterday evening I only found a single bird.


More surprisingly I had a singing Reed Warbler. Was this a bird singing on passage or the one from earlier in the year?
Talking of warblers we have now received details of the French-ringed Blackcap trapped in the Garden in May. It was caught in October 2016 in Villeton, a small community in south-west France down towards the Pyrenees. 

Insects continue to fascinate/frustrate but here’s a couple of identifiable hoverflies. Great Pied or Pellucid…


And Episyrphus baltreatus…



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