Highlights from the past week have been surprisingly numerous, with quite a few patch ticks around.On the 13th I spotted a group of Canada Geese feeding on the fields near the marsh. This is my first record of them here, though I probably have seen them before in my armchair birder days.
On the 15th August I patch ticked Sand Martin with a nice individual blogging with the swallows on the west side of the hill. It moved off north though and I was unable to reconnect with it.
The 16th was a superb day. When walking along the west side I was pleasantly surprised to spot 2 Little Owls resting on the wall. It looked like an adult and a well developed juvenile. I was pretty thrilled with that, a patch tick!
On the 17th I had two really good birds, but neither of them were in the area that I record as Soil Hill. The first was a Spotted Flycatcher which was down the track left of the Koi Shop. It alighted on the wall in front of me, but we both recognised each other at the same time and it dived over the wall. I raced over to see where it had gone but it obviously saw me again and I had to watch it fly on up the valley away from me. The next birds would not have been patch ticks, so I did not feel so bad them not being on the site. As I was walking down Taylor Lane I heard a jangling finch call which I realised might be Twite again. I go them landed on the wire but they did not stay long and flew off, though they did bank back round and appear to come back to that area, though I was unable to confirm it. A quick refresh in the Collins App confirm my suspicions that they were Twite, possibly 2 of the 3 birds I had seen earlier in the year.
13.08.2015
Species List:
Soil Hill: Woodpigeon, Greenfinch, Swallow, Feral Pigeon, Meadow Pipit, Carrion Crow, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Magpie, Starling, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Common Gull, Stock Dove, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Canada Goose, Skylark,
15.08.2015
It was also nice to bump into Nigel Kerwin today, who showed me a new area of Soil Hill that I have never been to, so that will be something to keep an eye on in future.
Species List:
Soil Hill: Willow Warbler, Magpie, Swallow, Starling, Linnet, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Sand Martin, Kestrel, Blackbird, Whitethroat, Dunnock, Rook, Pheasant, Skylark, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Stock Dove, Meadow Pipit,
-Willow Warbler
16.08.2015
It was also nice to bump into Brian Sumner up there, who was arriving just as I was leaving. Glad you got the Owls Brian.
Species List:
Soil Hill:
Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Swallow, Stock Dove, Swift, House Martin, Black-Headed Gull, Common Gull, Kestrel, Linnet, Jackdaw, Little Owl, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Sparrowhawk, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Rook, Magpie, Wheatear,
-Wheatear
-Swift
-Little Owl
17.08.2015
Of note today were the Spotted Flycatcher (Plus Willow Warbler) down the track near the Koi Shop and the 2 Twite that flew over Taylor Lane. The Twite are probably still in the area so worth looking for. Perhaps the real highlight however, was when two Weasel kits emerged from the vegetation along the edge of Taylor Lane, ran past me and then started play-fighting in the middle of the road. It was incredible to see, simply superb.
Species List:
Soil Hill: Magpie, Starling, Kestrel, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Linnet, Swallow, Woodpigeon, Black-Headed Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Wren, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Whitethroat, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Stock Dove, Skylark,
-Weasels
-Twite
