30th July - sunny spells, becoming cloudy and rain later, 20C, mod WSW wind

Willey; three Green Woodpeckers about this morning.

Lilbourne Meadows; morning

Little about.  Four Green Sandpipers, Green Woodpecker.

Shawell Sandpit; morning

Just the regulars, also a single Teal.

29th July, sunny intervals, mod WSW, 22C

Willey; c25 Swallows. mostly juvs, sitting on the telegraph wires 1630.

Lilbourne Meadows; morning

Six green and one Common Sandpiper, plus a Little Egret and Grey Heron.

Shawell Sandpit; morning

A juv Marsh harrier was found hunting.  It sometimes chased a Carrion Crow, sometimes dropping down over the water.  The Red Kites did not take too kindly too it and sometimes engaged with it.  This gave a great opportunity to compare their sizes, the Harrier being smaller.

Fortunately, it did rest on a bank for a while and I digiscoped a few record photos from distance.

The other good find was a female Shoveler with four mid-sized duckling, these disappeared in to the vegetation and were not in view for long.  The Shoveler is a scarce breeder in Leicestershire.

Little Grebes now seem to be doing well with two further broods, parents feeding chicks on the water and two and a four.  Plus a mixed group of six adults and juvs together and others could be heard too.

28th July - sunny spells, mod NW, 18C

Stanford reservoir; afternoon

A quick visit here.

Shelduck family a Common Sandpiper and Little Egret on dam

27th July - broken cloud, light SW, 23C

Willey;

50+ House Sparrows have been feeding on spilt grain on the street over the last couple of days.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening

Green Sandpipers 8, Yellow Wagtail 7, Stock Dove 1, Greenfinch 2, Shelduck 1, Teal 8

Shawell Sandpit; evening.

Single Red Kite, a Green Woodpecker, plus other regulars.

26th July -cloudy, until 1700h then rain, 15C, light SW

Lilbourne Meadows, evening in the rain.

Snipe 1, Green Sandpiper 6, Yellow Wagtail 4, juv Little Grebe

25th July - mostly cloudy, a few sunny spells, light NW, 19C

Claybrooke Cemetery.

Green Woodpecker.  No Spotted Flycatchers seen this year!

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Eight Green Sandpipers, a male Yellowhammer, plus other regulars.

Stanford Reservoir; evening.

Three Whinchats in wheat field on weeds.

A Black-tailed Godwit (found this morning by Chris), still present.  Two Common Sandpipers.

A female Pochard, four Shovelers.  Shelduck family present.

24th July - rain am, sunny spells pm, light N, 18C

Willey; am single juv House Martin over the houses this morning.  None nest here now.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

A Common Sandpiper, drake Pochard and Gadwall on the dam.  Two Ravens over.

A Little Egret, two Grey Herons.

Linnet two.

A Hobby.

A Painted Lady.   Several Cinnabar caterpillars on Ragwort.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

Six Green Sandpipers.  Teal 7 (family), c70 Starlings, two Buzzards.

On the open meadows - 12 Goldfinches, four Linnets, four Meadow Pipits.  Reed Buntings too.

23rd July - Sunny spells, mod SW, easing, 23C

Lilbourne Meadows; morning

Eight Green Sandpipers still, two Teal, a Little Grebe

Mere Lane Lake; morning

4 Little Grebes, including one juv, three Swifts over, Mute Swan pair with two cygnets., 11 Coots plus several chicks and juvs, Moorhen carrying food.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Four  Common Sandpipers, Shelduck family, single Shoveler, a Red Kite, a Little Grebe

Common Tern juvs flying well now.

Spotted Flycatchers, four, in outlet field corner, adults feeding two youngsters.

Butterflies included: Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns, a Small Copper, a Common Blue, Peacock, several Red Admirals, two Brimstone.

Need to identify the insect in the last two photos

22nd July - Light/steady rain miost of the day, 16C, light SSW

 Lilbourne meadows; morning

Eight Green Sandpipers and a Snipe (years first autumn record).

Brandon Marsh; afternoon.

A few Swifts, House and Sand martins around.  

Only two Common Terns around, I don't think they bred here this year?  Still three Black-headed Gull fledglings after food.  A Grey Heron.

155 Lapwings, an adult Little Ringed Plover and two juvs.   A female Gadwall with eight well grown ducklings.  16 Teal.

A Whitethroat and Garden Warbler, both with juvs following them.  Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers

21st July - broken high cloud, short showers pm, light NW, 18C

WIlley; Single Red Kite around the area most of the day.

Nine Swifts were feeding over the allotments field, Long Spinney and over the fields to the south early afternoon.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

Six Green Sandpipers, a Little Egret, c 50 Starlings.

A female Teal with five well grown young - I did see it about three weeks ago here when they were smaller.

c30 Lapwings.  Two Stock Doves

20th July - mostly cloudy, light NW, 19C

Willey; a Red Kite over the Allotments field grass that was being rowed up for baling this afternoon.

Stanford reservoir; evening

A Quail was heard this morning, fortunately still calling from a wheat field (Northants side) this evening.

Hopefully you can hear it in these clips.

Also, first Wigeon of the Autmn.

19th July - sunny spells, 19C, light NW

Stanford reservoir - afternoon.

Two Common Sandpipers, Shelduck family still, four Oystercatchers, Red Kite, Linnet - two, House Martins and Swallows.

18th July - sunny spells, light SW, light showers, 18C

Stanford reservoir; later afternoon.

13 Common Sandpipers on dam, also Grey, Pied and a single Yellow Wagtail.

A Sparrowhawk circled over, hassled by Swallows.

17th July - sunny intervals, a few short showers, 22C, gentle WSW wind

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

A Common Sandpiper - only my sixth record here since 2021, a Green Sandpiper too (55th record since 2021).

c30 Starlings feeding.  A Shelduck pair flew in, the female began feeding very actively and behaved like it had just come off a nest, so maybe we shall see a brood soon.

A Green Woodpecker was heard.

Shawell Sandpit/Landfill; evening.

A quick look here.  Five Yellow-legged Gulls were spotted sitting on the far bank.

Otherwise all the other regulars.

16th July - sunny spells and scattered showers, some heavy, 18C, light-mod WSW breeze

Lilbourne Meadows; morning.

Fairly quiet.  Three Yellowhammers, two Little Ringed Plovers and Redd Kite over.

DIRFT/A5 pools; morning

Two Egyptian geese still, three Little Ringed Plovers, 13 Lapwings and a Stock Dove pair feeding.

Stanford Reservoir; afternoon.

The female Red-crested Pochard still, Shelduck family, two Teal, a Common Sandpiper, a Yellow wagtail, six Grey Wagtails, Two Hobby

Several young Common Tern now left the nesting raft and flying and settling on the water..

20+ Swifts and c70 House Martins.

15th July - Gusty SW, showers, 18C

Stanford reservoir; morning.

Chris Hubbard found a juv Black-necked Grebe just off the dam, it showed well, although it dozed a lot when I was there   

A couple of Yellow Wagtails too.   Swifts 100+, House and Sand Martins and Swallows too.

The Shelduck family was also present at the dam.

Shawell sandpit/Landfill; morning

They have been pumping water into the sandpit area again, this has been disastrous for the Little Grebes as their nests get flood-out. Another new nest has been built hopefully this one survives.

70+ Ravens - loving the windy conditions.

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Quiet, two Little Ringed Plovers, a Grey Heron and Kestrel of note.

14th Ju;ly - Rain from 0900h until evening, a little over 1 cm. Light-mod SE, atypically cool, 15C

Lilbourne Meadows; early afternoon.

Little Ri9nged Plovers - 4 juvs and an adult.  A redshank and 4 green Sandpipers, a few Lapwing too.

c25 Starlings.  

13th July - sunny spells, light showers, light SW, 20C

Swift Valley; early evening

Green Woodpecker, Buzzard, Swift, Stock Dove, Song Thrush.

Butterflies included 10+ Purple Hairstreaks, Small Copper, Small and Essex Skipper, Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper.

12th July - sunny periods, 20C, light WSW

Willey; morning

I spotted a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk hassling a Buzzard over the corner field, also a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew to the pond trees.

A Green Sandpiper was flushed from the ponds edge during the afternoon.

Soar Brook Lake; evening

A Tufted Duck female with two duckling, a Grey Heron, a  Little Egret and a Little Grebe.  Three Oystercatchers still present and a Cormorant.  A Mallard duck also had two young ducklings on the water.

11th July - sunny intervals, light showers, mod SW, 20C

Stanford Reservoir; afternoon.

On the dam - 6 Linnets, two each Goldfinch and Greenfinch.   Six Oystercatchers, three Common Sandpipers, two Shelducks (could not see the youngsters though) Gadwalls and Tufted Ducks too.

Grey and Pied Wagtails in the spillway.

A female Red-crested Pochard (found this morning by Chris Hubbard), and a Shoveler among the Tufted and Mallards.   Also, a hybrid Pintail, has quite a pale chin and throat.  Not sure what the other parent could have been!

10th July - cloudy, showers around, mostly evening, light-mod S wind, 22C

Willey;

Red Kite again over fields, Perkins area, 1030h.

Lilbourne meadows; evening.  - pools very receded now.

Two Green Sandpipers.  A Grey Heron and Little Egret, one Teal.

Shawell Sandpit/landfill;

Five Swifts over.  The Tufted Duck family - could only see six not seven youngsters.

Three Red Kites, c 30 Ravens.

9th July - broken cloud, light S, 22C

Wells - North Point Pools.

A Spoonbill, 10 Ruff, a Green Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwits and other regulars on the pools.

Two Marsh Harriers.

Juv Stonechat and Whitethroat along the path.

Cley NWT;

Sandwich Tern off shore.

Marsh Harrier.  Egyptian Geese, Shelducks, Teals, Shovelers, Mallard.

Ruff, Avocets, Black-tailed Godwits, Bar-tailed Godwits, Redshank, Curlew, Green Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plovers (4) - one on nest.    Didn't find the long staying Long-billed Dowitcher. 

Spoonbill 10.

8th July - sunny spells, rain for a while at 1300h, clearing, 22C, humid, light S

Willey; the Pied Wagtails have fledged and left the nest under the 'pan-tiles'.

Shawell sandpit/landfill; morning

Highlights included a Tufted Duck with seven young ducklings, record distance pics below.

16 red Kites, a Yellow-legged Gull, Little Grebes (3 pairs) and juvs still present.  

Two adult Moorhens and a juv (not too frequent here, but looks like they may have bred).

A Grey Heron.

About 1220h, Carl was there and a female Common Scoter flew-in, it was still present and feeding at 1400h when I looked for it.  A very infrequent record for the area.

Shawell Lagoons; early afternoon.

Another female Tufted Duck with seven young ducklings.  Also, a juv Little Grebe.

Lilbourne Meadows;

Two Kestrels, one possibly a juv.

A Little Ringed Plover, Lapwings, one Oystercatcher, three Swifts,  and the Shoveler family.

7th July - mostly sunny, 27C, gentle S breeze

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Five Black-tailed Godwits, three Oystercatchers, a Common Sandpiper, Shelduck family again.

69 Mute Swans.

Lilbourne Meadows:

Three Green Sandpipers, Shoveler family still.  One Yellow Wagtail.

6th July - sunny intervals, light-mod S breeze, 20C

Willey; An adult Kestrel and juv over the top fields, juv calling to adult for food.

Stanford reservoir; evening

Two each of Common Sandpipers, Little Egrets, Grey Herons, a Red Kite, Sparrowhawk, c10 Swifts, several House Martins high far end.

Shelduck pair with six ducklings.

Green Woodpeckers -2 on dam and Great Spotted Woodpecker - adult and juv together.

One Little Grebe - juv.

5th July - sunny intervals, 18C, light WSW

Lilbourne Meadows; evening

One Green Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plovers- six, juv Little Grebe, two Swift.

DIRFT/A% Pools

Two Egyptian Geese

Shawell Sandpit/Landfill

Grey Heron, c 30 Ravens, two Red Kites.

Swift 5, Sand and House Martins, a Swallow.

Little Grebes, one still incubating.

Great Spotted Woodpecker heard in the spinney.

4th July - Cloudy, cool, 16C, light S, odds spots rain pm.

Willey;

A Pied Wagtail pair are busy feeding youngsters under the pah-roof tiles where they usually nest.

Stanford reservoir; evening

A look from the dam, 3 Common Sandpipers, 3 Green Woodpeckers, c10 Swifts and c100 House Martins.

Lilbourne Meadows;

Two Green Sandpipers, an Oystercatcher, a Little Ringed Plover, three Little Egrets and a Grey Heron.

c100 Starlings feeding on the meadow - very many juvs in the flock.

Four Teal.

3rd July - sunny spells, mod-fresher SW at time, odd short light shower, 17C

Stanford reservoir; evening.

Common Sandpiper -dam, c50 each Swifts and House Martins over the reservoir.

Lilbourne Meadows;

Four juv Little Ringed Plovers and two adults.

Two Ringed Plovers.

2nd July - cloudy am, sunny intervals pm, light-mod W-sometimes breezy, 18C

Willey;

A Red Kite drifted W along the long spinney, 0830h.

Lilbourne Meadows; morning.   The 'wet' meadow is drying quickly now, needs a refill!

Two Little Egrets, a Grey Heron, Shoveler and Lapwing families. Five Teal.

At least two Reed Bunting families, Skylark.

DIRFT; A5 pools

Two Egyptian Geese still with the Greylags.

Two meadow Pipits, possible one chasing after a parant.

Two Little Ringed Plovers.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Two Common Sandpipers, a Oystercatcher, six Grey Wagtails, c12 House Martins (nests on the Lodge), c 50 Swifts and a few Sand Martins feeding. 

Hobby feeding high.

Two Mistle Thrushes, two Linnets, an adult and juv Green Woodpecker and a male Greenfinch on the dam.

Butterflies - Ringlet, Peacock, Comma, Large White, Essex, Small and large Skipper, Red Admiral, possible Small Heath. Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper.