30th Aug - sunny spells, high cloud, mod SW, 22C

Willey;  25- 30 Swallows feeding over the fields first thing.
So, a lot must have left the other day.

Stanford Reservoir;  this afternoon, quite a few Whitethroats in the bushes, orgerwise birds hiding in cover very well.  18 Shoveler and 2 Teal near the dam with 4 Common Sandpipers on the dam feeding.
Butterflies included several Red Admiral and a few Speckled Wood

29th Aug - sunny spells, 20C, light - mod SW

Willey; A Painted Lady was trying to warm up this morning about 0830h.

Stanford reservoir; a Greenshank and 2 Green Sandpiper were on the field pool near the inlet.   At the dam end 2 further Green Sandpiper were roosting on the spillway overflow wall, while a Common Sandpiper was feeding in the spillway.   The number of duck have increase, including Shoveler to 11,  Pochard to 6 and Tufted Duck too.  These may not be large numbers, but are a sure sign of the autumn season getting closer.

28th Aug - sunny becoming cloudy, light showers rain later, 22C, light NW

Willey; only saw about 25 Swallows on the wires today - does this mean some left last night?

Cotesbach landfill; a look early evening, a Little Egret, 24 Teal, plenty of Mallard, 3 Shoveler, a single Pochard.  C130 Grey Lag Geese, only a few Gulls. A small flock of Starling flew off to roost somewhere.

27th Aug - sunny, high cloud pm, 29C, light WSW

Willey; full compliment of Swallows on the wires again today.

Middleton Lakes RSPB; I decided to do a 'twitch' this afternoon and head off here hoping to see the Wryneck that has been on view.  Fortunately it was still present and after some waiting it showed really well.  I managed some photos which shows the delicate plumage off well.

Other birds seen included a Hobby, Great and Little Egret, Grey Heron, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Lapwing, Green and great spotted Woodpeckers.

26th Aug - hot and sunny, 30C, light SSE

After another super day, with high temperatures and blue skies I an now chilling in the garden (with a drink) as the sun goes down giving a nice orangey sunset (yes the nights are drawing in) and its only 2000h, while Swallows are dashing round having an evening snack with some quite call from them.

Willey;
At midday there were 86 sitting on the telegraph wires with others flying around too.  To think most will be gone from here in the near future, and winter birds arriving.

I have noticed that the berry and fruit supply in the main looks rather poor locally, Blackberries, Sloes, Apples, etc, look very sparse, fortunately Hawthorn berries are looking pretty abundant.  So, this source of Autumn/early winter food may not last as long as usual.  Two self set Rowan are loaded with berries, several Blackbirds were eating them today, but I’m hoping they leave some and the berries will attract a Ring Ouzel later on.

A Hedgehog had become a road casualty on the main road last night😂

I spent sometime watching the thick hedges near the church and paddocks this morning.  A Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap all showed frequently and several birds involved. For the latter species. A Spotted Flycatcher made a brief appearance too, while a Yellow Wagtail flew over heading to the cattle fields.

Four+ Greenfinch and a couple Goldfinch were around. c25 Starling were busy hawking insects in the sky. A distance Sparrowhawk was circling accompanied by Swallows often having ago at it.  A Mistle Thrush sat atop the Holly tree panting in the heat.  Several Buzzards circling plus juveniles calling for food.

In all an interesting time just watching what appeared and happened.

A couple of amorous Hoppers in the grass field nearby.

25th August - very hot, 32C, sunny, light SSE

Cotesbach landfill; a look late afternoon.  24 Teal, plenty of Grey Lag and Canada Geese, a couple of Little Grebe (ad/juv), a hunting Kestrel and 2 Red Kites.  A Chiffchaff and 2 Willow Warblers in the spinney.

24th August - sunny and hot, 26C, light SSE

Willey; about 1900h a Yellow Wagtail flew very low over home, eastward, calling.

Croft hill; I was just about to head off here this morning when Carl texted to say he had found a Pied Flycatcher there, as it transpired there were a good number of records from all over the Country today.  When I arrived I headed off to the area and waited, Spotted Flycatchers, Linnets, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff were all seen before I caught a glimpse of the Flycatcher.
A Raven flew passed too.

Stanford Reservoir; whilst at Croft news from here was coming in and clearly there had been an exceptional fall of passerines, many Warblers, Spotted and a Pied Flycatcher, possibly 10 Redstarts and 3 Whinchat, also 4 Black Terns.  Needless to say I headed here later to try to catch up with these. The bushes were still busy with Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler, good views of a female Restart feeding and glimpses of 2 others, Spotted Flycatcher feeding in the orchard area.. The 4 Black Tern were still busily feeding over the water.  I didn’t  find Pied Flycatcher or Whinchats though.

The ringing group were busy here today and had a total catch of 528 birds, this included 163 Blackcap, 143 Whitethroat, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 70 Reed Warbler, 38 Sedge Warbler, 7 Garden Warbler, 6 Redstart and more.

Other birds included Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Red Kite and Buzzard. On the dam 10 Teal, a Gadwall and Shoveler plus 2 Common Sandpipers.

23rd Aug - cloudy and misty first thing, then sunny 25C, light SSW

Willey; 72 Swallows on the telegraph wires this morning.  All youngsters fledged yesterday, we had 4 nests succeed this year with good broods.
Mid morning 14 Mistle Thrush flew from the church lane field south over the church.

Stanford Reservoir; a meeting today to discuss potential building of scrapes on unused land, hopefully we can work this out with the support of SevernTrent Water.

The Garganey is still present feeding on the water near the hide during the afternoon.  A couple of Common Sandpipers, a single Shoveler near the dam and a Little Grebe near the tower.

A good number of butterflies around, at least 6 Common Blue and several Painted Lady., plus others. Dragonflies were noticeable too.

 Painted Lady

Red Admiral

22nd Aug- - mostly cloudy, light-mod SW, 20C

Willey; a group of fungi spotted this morning near a hedge under a Ash tree.

3 Yellow Wagtails first thing with cattle to the east of village.

Stanford reservoir; a look here this afternoon, the moderate breeze was keeping things hidden. On the dam a Green and 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 Gadwall and c100 Mallard.  A few Sand Martins and Swallows were overhead.  A Kestrel was hunting on the adjacent field.

21st Aug - sunny spells, light SW, 20C

Willey; about mid-day I spotted briefly a Redstart that popped out along a thick hedge a couple of times.
During the afternoon  a Goldcrest, Green Woodpecker, Nuthatch and two juvenile Buzzards were calling in the BH wood.  A Kestrel was hunting over the nearby fields, being harassed by Swallows.

Which got me thinking I have not seen any Hobby this August coming through the village area after the Swallows.

Quite a few Dragonflies and clumps of Fungi spotted too.

Cotesbach Landfill; a look this evening, fairly quite, nothing new. 7 Little Grebe again (3 ad, 4 Juv), 6 Teal, 1 Shoveler, 50 Mallards.  3 Swifts were noted feeding high, and a few House Martins.   Three Red Kites were still present.

20th Aug - sunny spells, light SW, 20C

Willey; Four young Swallows in a nest will fledge in a few more day.  At 1700h about 40 Swallows were on the telegraphs, with more flying around.

Croft hill; this afternoon I had a look around the hill, at first it seemed quiet, but with patience some birds were found.  The female Kestrel was feeding here again.  Two Chiffchaffs, Willow Warbler and Blackcap in one area. Near the upper entrance gate a Nuthatch was calling, a couple of Goldcrest too. Nearby 5 Spotted Flycatchers were busy feeding from the bushes, one, a juv, being given food occasionally.  A Lesser Whitethroat showed in the thicket for a while.

19th Aug - sunny spells am, showers pm, light SW, 18C

Cotesbach Landfill, a quick look early evening, 5 Shoveler, 6 Teal and 6 Little Grebe were of note. Just a single Red Kite.

Stanford Reservoir; two Common Sandpipers and a Juv Common Tern on the dam, 3 Gadwall near the hide.

18th Aug - sunny spells, 18C, mod breeze SW

Croft hill; a search here this morning produced 8+ Blackcaps, mostly eating Elder berries, a Lesser Whitethroat,  2+ Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs, 5 Linnet, 8+ Swifts, About 10 House Martins and a single Sand Martin. A Kestrel posed nicely for me on the tall hedge.
Painted Lady and Red Admiral Butterflies were about too.

 Linnet

Eyebrook reservoir; after lunch I decided to take a ride here, not been for ages, as expected the recent heavy rain meant no shoreline to speak of.
A couple of Osprey flew in then off northward, another single was seen a little later.  Red Kite, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel were also seen. No a bad haul of birds of prey.
Not many species of duck, a good number of Gadwall though and quite a few Lapwing in the long grass - no other waders seen though.  A couple of Common Tern, which did not appreciate the visiting Ospreys.

A small number of Linnet were around and a single Yellowhammer was seen. A good number of House and Sand Martins (100+ respectively) were feeding over the water and occasionally a few Swift  appeared.  A couple of Yellow Wagtails were with the cattle in the grass land.

17th Aug - mostly sunny, mod WSW, 22C

Shawell Lagoons; popped in here after lunch and caught up with Carl, he had already located Caspian and several Yellow-legged Gulls, mostly juveniles. Several colour rings were read, including N;AAR which is a Spanish ringed Lesser-Black Backed Gull.

Stanford Reservoir; a look here next.  The eclipse drake Garganey was still present near the dam. Also a Teal, a Gadwall and a Shoveler.  Several Grey Wagtail around the spillway again. A few Warblers were around, including a Cetti’s. A Kestrel was over the adjacent field, otherwise fairly quite today.

16th Aug - rain from mid-morning until the late evening, 16C, mod-breezy southerly

Another unseasonably wet and cool day.

15th Aug - sunny spells, light - mod WSW breeze, 20C

Stanford Reservoir; a walk along the northern bank from the inlet, rather quite, several Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Reed Warbler and Blackcap were with the Tit flocks.
5 Pochard, 2+ Gadwall and 2 Common Tern on the reservoir.

Other wildlife included several Dragonfly, Fungi and Grasshoppers.

Fibrous or Orange Waxcap?

Lesser Marsh Grasshopper

 Southern Hawker

Ruddy Darter

14th Aug - cloudy, then rain from 1100hish till 1600h, light S, 17C

Willey; 0700h, before the rain about 60 Swallows sitting on the telegraph wires along the road.

Stanford Reservoir; a quick evening look, not ideal weather for birds to be about.
Garganey still present.  2 Common Sandpipers on the dam.

13th Aug - sunny spells, light SW, 20C

Cotesbach landfill; a look here did not produce anything new, 5 Red Kites were seen.

Croft Hill; after lunch a look here. 3 Spotted Flycatchers - 2 adults and 1 juv. The juv still occasionally taking food from an adult. presumably bred locally, like in the nearby large gardens. A couple of Kestrels hunting, plus a few Linnet and Goldfinch, 3 Blackcap in the elder bushes after berries.

Spotted Flycatchers (juv lower bird)

Quite a few Butterflies and Grasshoppers were out.

Wood Grasshopper (TBC)

Brown Argus

Common Blue

Small Copper