Soil Hill & Whiteholme; Week 16th August - 22nd August

Soil Hill

Although I have thoroughly enjoyed my time birding on Soil Hill this year, it has never felt like it ever reached the heights of last year. Although there has been some nice birds, nothing has stood out and there have been precious few days when the Hill itself seems to have been alive with birds and potential, as enjoyable as it has been.

This week however, the Hill has really felt alive. Despite a difficult breeze on most days and often foggy and drizzly conditions, the birding has been exceptional, with a good scattering of migrant species almost every day.

To kick start the week I flushed two Grasshopper Warblers out of the long grass at the bottom of the North Slope on the 16^th. These same birds were flushed every other day subsequently and on the 20^th they were even reeling from the brambles. Also on the 16^th were three juvenile Bullfinch along Ned Hill Track, but they did not linger during the week.

On the 18^th while trying to spot a calling Coal Tit in the garden on Taylor Lane, an immature Common Restart jumped out onto one of the conifers, sat for a few seconds and then dived back in. A subsequent search only got me another brief view in half an hour, so I called it a write off and went to check the rest of the site. On my way back I had another look and finally spotted the frequenting a small area of the garden where it would occasionally dive out of cover onto the lawn before returning. The message on the grapevine brought JJL up from Bradshaw and together we watched the bird feeding. Whilst we watched a Red Kite drifted over us heading west, which was a real surprise given the windy conditions. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was also calling in the same area but I could not spot it.

The following day on the 19^th, I was stunned to find that not only had the Common Redstart lingered, but it had now been joined by a second bird. When I passed at around 07:00 the two birds were frantically chasing each other round, but when I returned they had clearly drawn their lines in the sand, as each was operating from a separate end of the garden. Willow Warblers peaked for the week today, with nine, as did Wheatears with three. A pair of Collared Doves flew south over Taylor Lane, as did a Grey Wagtail, and a Sparrowhawk took out a Meadow Pipit in the field adjacent to the mast.

On the 20^th just a single Common Redstart remained and it was being rather elusive. But there was a lot of birds to get through. On Ned Hill Track I had a Tree Pipit fly north calling which is only my second here this year. At the bottom of the North Slope the aforementioned Grasshopper Warblers were attempting to reel, and in the same area was a juvenile Sedge Warbler. And then to crown it all off was a cracking juvenile Whinchat on the fence line between the reservoir and the neighboring field. As seems typical with Soil Hill Whinchats, it made rapid progress along the fence-line before flying off down into the valley, but it did spend a short time flycatching, allowing me to get a proper view of it.

In summary, a fantastic week for Soil Hill! 

-Common Redstart

-Red Kite

-Whinchat

Whiteholme Reservoir

I made two visits to Whiteholme this week. The first on the 17^th was a write off due to poor weather conditions but the second on the 19^th was much more productive. As I was arriving AT was leaving and he commented that there was a wader on the centre ‘island’ but it was too difficult without a scope. Since I had my scope with me we has a check and spotted an absolutely stunning adult summer plumage Grey Plover. This is my second here this year, but the vastly improved weather meant that I could actually take time to enjoy this bird, rather than get frustrating glimpses through the fog. In the end it stayed present, feeding away for the hour that I was present. 

-Grey Plover

Species List:
Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Red Kite, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sedge Warbler, Common Grasshopper Warbler, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Common Redstart, Northern Wheatear, Whinchat, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting,
Whiteholme Reservoir: Common Goldeneye, Red Grouse, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, Common Ringed Plover, Common Redshank, Eurasian Curlew, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Carrion Crow, Barn Swallow, Northern Wheatear, Meadow Pipit,