Soil Hill & Whiteholme; Week 30th August - 06th September

Soil Hill

The week started nicely with a typically seasonal scattering of Willow Warblers, Wheatears and the last few Whitethroats still lingering in the scrub. But even on the 31^st there were signs of change as I had my first Chiffchaff of the autumn. By the end of the week I could only manage to find a single Willow Warbler but managed six Chiffchaff. Autumn is already moving on rapidly. Among these commoner migrants there were a few other bits around. Surprisingly on the 1^st, and then subsequently on the 2^nd I flushed a Sedge Warbler at the bottom of the North Slope. There is a good chance this is one of the birds from the end of August, as the two Grasshopper Warblers had also lingered until at the least the 2^nd, but they could all have been new arrivals. On the 2^nd there was also an additional Grasshopper Warbler on the summit, which I flushed from the long grass. In my attempts to refind the bird I spotted its head emerging from the grass right in front of me giving me the eyes before it scuttled off to be left in peace. On the 4^th there were two juvenile Bullfinch on Ned Hill Track, presumably the survivors of the three that were there in August. On the 5^th a Whinchat was travelling along the dry stone walls at the bottom of the North Slope, but was always very distant. And finally on the 6^th I added to the weeks migrant total with a single Blackcap and a very fine Spotted Flycatcher.

At the end of the week the wind finally turned SW and as such there was a little bit of passage to enjoy. I managed 129 Swallows heading south on the 6^th, as well as a single Sand Martin and four House Martins. There were a few Grey Wagtails passing over throughout the week, and Pied Wagtails also began to pick up again. On a couple of days, I spotted Jays flying around as well, although always distant as they pass between fragments of woodland. Snipe numbers increased dramatically with a flock of 8 flying around on the 4^th. Who knows the true number, as many appeared to fly off towards the moors without returning! There was also a juvenile Curlew on the bottom field on the 31^st, with another heard calling on the 6^th. Presumably these are the last few birds heading off to the coast for winter. 

-Common Chiffchaff

-Spotted Flycatcher

-Common Snipe

-Vapourer caterpillar

Whiteholme Reservoir

I did visit Whiteholme a couple of times but there was precious little to report. On the 6^th there were a few birds but 10 Teal and a patch tick of two Goldfinch were the best I could muster. The female Goldeneye also remained in situ throughout the week.  

Species List:
Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sedge Warbler, Common Grasshopper Warbler, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Willow Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Common Blackbird, Spotted Flycatcher, European Robin, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting,
Whiteholme Reservoir: Eurasian Teal, Common Goldeneye, Common Kestrel, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Northern Wheatear, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, European Goldfinch,