28th Aug - sunny spells, light NW, 22CA

There was 36 Swallows on the wires this morning, with a few flying around, so we shall keep seeing them a little longer yet.

At Stanford reservoir this afternoon there was four Common Sandpipers on the dam, at least 12 Grey Wagtails were feeding on the overflow weir and a Kingfisher was present too.  The Canada Geese flock was at 64 today, with 30-40 Greylag Geese.  Gadwall were up to 12, only three Pochard and one Wigeon were present.

Two of the Four Common Sandpipers

A few Swallows and Sand Martins were feeding over the water, a Kestrel was perched atop of a dead tree where the Hobby often sits, a Sparrowhawk flew from the bushes and two Green Woodpeckers were near the dam.

Several Whitethroat and Blackcaps made themselves known.  Several roving tit/warbler flocks were in the dense Willows surrounding the waters edge.  When one flock reached a gap and had to fly through it to the next trees it always surprises me how many birds there actually could be in the flock.   I got only see a handful of birds in this flock , but when they past the gap and dived for new cover there was over 50 birds.  One wonders what gems were among them but not identified.

A few Bullfinch were see/heard, while the Goldfinch flock, ~35, was feeding on the game food area that contains a lot of Thistles.

Speckled Wood seemed to be everywhere, five Green-veined White and a Peacock was out.  Numerous Brown and Southern Hawkers were dashing around, plus one Emperor Dragonfly.

A Toadlet hopped slowly across the path in front of me.  After the recent rain some fungi have responded by fruiting too.