Fowlmere

A walk around a misty Fowlmere with the boys. Not too much to be seen: A family party of Willow Warblers being fed, a Kingfisher, a Swift, and a Hobby.

Fowlmere

A Hobby and a Shoveler was about all I could muster on a quiet stroll.

Baird's

Baird's Sandpiper by Tom

A juvenile Baird's Sandpiper (third day) was at the pumphouse pit, Paxton. Tom did the sketching as usual.

A Spotted Flycatcher was also noted as well as eleven Little Egrets.

Fowlmere

A walk with Tom at lunchtime in unusual conditions: Sunshine. Not much to see, but twelve species of dragonfly and a freshly killed Stoat.

Upon leaving we witnessed the most amazing cyclone / dust devil that uplifted a large amount of straw several hundred feet in to the air.

Privet Hawk-moth

A very impressive Privet Hawk-moth caterpillar was found during a lunchtime walk near Ferry Meadows, Peterborough.

Breeding Garden Birds

Haven't seen the Swifts for a while, and assuming they've all left. Disappointingly, they didn't bread this year. Will miss the screaming parties over the garden, particularly as there hasn't been much chance this summer to sit outside and listen to them (yet another day of heavy rain today.)

Birds that did attempt breeding actaully in the garden were:
Wood Pigeon - still nesting.
Collared Dove - still nesting somewhere close, but not in garden; previous brood or broods failed?
Dunnock - second brood; first brood probably failed.
Robin - feeding young earlier in year, but no juveniles seen.
Blackbird - fledged.
Blue Tit - no breeding this year (though pair very interested in nestbox at one point); family party visitng feeders regularly.
Great Tit - pair abandoned nest; family party ofen seen on feeders.
House Sparrow - nesting attempt made, but probably aborted.
Chaffinch - there is an obvious resident pair, but cannot find the nest, possibly outside the garden.

Cley Sea-watch

With strong westerly winds and squally showers, myself and Tom decided on a spur of the moment sea-watch at Cley. Dropping Michelle and Sam of at Holt, we arrived in the rain at 2:30pm, and watched for four hours. The first two hours were extremely dull, with no birds of any note at all. It then livened up a bit and we finished the day with the following total of birds actually over or off the sea: Red-throated Diver - two summer plumaged birds (possibly same individual) close offshore. Gannet - many. Common Scoter? - a flock of seven ducks west. Cormorant - many. Oystercatcher - many. Grey Plover - one west. Knot x c.18. Bar-tailed Godwit x 12 Whimbrel. Curlew/Whimbrel x 2 Redshank x 12 Greenshank x 4 west. Turnstone - many. Arctic Skua x 8 (5 dark, 3 pale), including one pale bird swimming close offshore. Pomarine Skua x 2 (dark), one close in west, the other east. Kittiwake - west. Black-headed Gull - many. Common Gull x 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull - many. Herring Gull - many. Greater Black-backed Gull - many. Common Tern - many. Sandwich Tern - many. Gull-billed Tern? - a very good candidate flew west at c.5pm! Guillemot - 35 (plus several unidentified Auks.) Feral Pigeon x 2 together, inland, from way off shore! Swift x 2 Swallow x 8 Pied Wagtail x 2 Common Seal

Fen Drayton

A single Little Egret was seen on a rather quiet late afternoon visit.

Ferry Meadows

A Wood Warbler was reported within easy walking distance of where I was walking. Unfortunately, by the time I got there it was no longer around. A few Willow Warblers and a stoat were seen whilst searching.

Brugge

In Brugge for a completely non-birding weekend. An amazing twenty-one birds were seen, including several Shags seen in canals in the heart of the city near my favourite bar, plus a male Black Redstart.