Soil Hill; Week 17th June - 19th June

This was a short week, due to being away for the first half, but also very important. During my absence of around 10 days, the Soil Hill Sedge Warbler finally turned up. I had given up hope of the species returning this year, given that it was already the 6th of June when I left, but fortunately, he arrived and has continued singing since. Whether or not a partner will arrive now, we will have to wait and see, but it does seem a little hopeless in all honesty. The bird itself is very active, frequently displaying and remixing a nice selection of species from the Soil Hill area; Linnet, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting and a particular favourite of this bird, Oystercatcher. 

Other birds of note have been a couple of juvenile Stonechats on the walls at the bottom of the North Slope on the 18th, and the continued presence of good numbers of Snipe in the bottom fields. also displaying early in the morning. A juvenile Northern Wheatear on the 17th was my first ever here in June, which was unexpected. And on the same date, I stumbled across a beautiful Lapwing nest with four eggs.

On the 17th we left the Moth trap out in the garden, and while I can't face identifying all the brown and nondescript species, a Small Elephant Hawkmoth was certainly a treat, the first time we have caught one. 

-Sedge Warbler

-Northern Wheatear

-Northern Lapwing nest

-Small Elephant Hawkmoth

Species List:

Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Swift, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Owl, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sedge Warbler, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Northern Wheatear, European Stonechat, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting,