30th August - mostly sunny, light NE, 22C

Willey; Red Kite over 0840h, checking the grass fields that were baled yesterday.

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Four Green Sandpipers and two Snipe.  Teal and mallard as before.  A Kestrel and quite a few Swallows high-0up.

Single Little Egret.

A Small Heath and Common Blue seen.

Three Boars seen in the pools area, I've not seen them before here, need to check with the warden the situation!

29th August - suuny spell/hazy sun, light W, 22C

WIlley; A Red Kite over the grass fields being baled behind the village pond, 1330h.

Bittesby County park area; afternoon.

Whinchat and Stone chat still present and c70 Goldfinches.

Two Kestrels, one a juv, hassling a Buzzard.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening

Three Green Sandpipers, two Snipe, Buzzard and kestrel, several Goldfinches and c30 Starlings, 19 Moorhens on the east pool area.  25 Teal.

28th August - sunny spells, mod SW, 22C

Willey;

Redstart in top hedge again.  40 Swallows on the wires mid-day, with others around too.  

Red Kite over Perkins area, 1100h.

Stanford reservoir; evening

Seven Common terns, two Common Sandpipers, Stock Dove two, Green Woodpecker on the dam.  A single Kestrel.

27th August - mostly cloudy, mod SW breeze, 24C eventually.

WIlley;

15 Swallows on the wires in the breeze, but more round the fields this morning.

Three Red Kites over W at 1100h.

Bittesby Country park; afternoon.

The Stonechat and Whinchat were still present in the same area as yesterday, along with c70 Goldfinches.

26th August - sunny intervals am, becoming cloudy, 20C, gentle-mos breeze SW

WIlley;

The four Redstarts were still present as found yesterday.

Lilbourne Meadows; morning

Five green Sandpipers on the (*shrinking) pools.  Two Little Egrets too.

Two Whitethroats in the thick hedge.  Kestrel Buzzard and Green woodpecker.

Bittesby Country Park; afternoon.

Th is new managed area is providing a lot of good habitat, we just need to see how it goes forward and what and where disturbance occurs.  A new lake area is also present, but likely will be disturbed as it has a path all around, however as vegetation grows it may offer some suitable habitat.  There are other large areas of sown flower and natural vegetation - this is great for the Skylarks, pipits, chats etc and again we need to see how this changes in the future.

A Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Common Blues and lots of Speckled Woods out today, as well as many Common Darters and a Brown Hawker Dragonfly.

Today, two Buzzards, two Kestrels, Pied Wagtail pair, Red Kite over, LBB and B-H Gulls dropped on to the lake.

c100 Goldfinch feeding on the thistles and a male Stonechat and female Whinchat.  Another chat may have been present too.

Mere Lane lake;

Swallows kept dropping in for a drink and wash, including a single House and Sand Martin.

A juv Reed Warbler and three Reed Buntings showed well.

Two pair of Little Grebes had broods of three and two respectively, these must be their 2nd (or 3rd) broods as they definitely had some earlier in the summer.

25th August - sunny intervals am, then cloud and some drizzle spells, breezy-gusty SW, 18C

Willey;

First on the fence lines around the top field I found four Redstarts, a male, 1W male and two females.  Great to see them passing through.

Additionally, Rob Lee found a male along the hedge opposite the sewerage works.

So, it seems we had a reasonable fall in the area, I wonder how many other are around the area?

Lilbourne Meadows; morning

Four Green Sandpipers, a yellow Wagtail.  Otherwise quiet, probably due to the wind.

Shawell Sandpit; afternoon.

c30 Ravens, 6 Red Kites, 10 Little Grebes, 5 Mute Swans, plus the regular water birds.

24th August - light/stead rain 0900h- 1230h, then a few showers and sunny intervals later, 19C

Willey;

Forty Swallows on the wires this morning.

Lilbourne Meadows; mid-morning

Two Whitethroats and a male Blackcap in hedge, a Tree Pipit briefly.

Three each of Green Sandpipers and Little Egrets, 20+ Pied Wagtails.

Pitsford Reservoir; afternoon

A single Great and Little Egret, 90 Lapwings, 2+ Common terns, two Sand Martins still visiting the nest bank.

Drake Wigeon, two Little Grebe, a few Pochard.

c50 Goldfinch and 10+ Greenfinch around the feed area and weeds,

Immature female Whinchat,

Shawell Lagoons; late afternoon

Not a lot, but a Grey heron was stalking from the overflow pipe.

23rd August - strong/gust SW pre-0900h, then becoming fresh to moderate during the day, 21C, sunny intervals

Stanford reservoir; afternoon

Ruddy Shelduck on the dam with the Greylags and Canada Geese, 10 Cormorants too.

The Black-necked Grebe was in Blowers L Bay, - found this morning by Chris Hubbard.

A Hobby was hawking insects, quite a few Dragonfly about today.  A Sparrowhawk flew silently past along the dam trees.  c20 House martins and a few Swallows.

Only two Pochards seen.  Five Common Terns, adults with their juvs,

Lilbourne Meadows; evening

Three Green Sandpipers, a Grey Heron, Shoveler (1) a few Teal, 21 Moorhens.

22nd August - Mlod-blustery SW, 23C, mostly cloudy am, breif sunny intervals pm

Willey;

First thing 40-50 Swallows feeding among the Sheep and in the lee of the hedges due to the blustery wind.

Mid-morning a Red Kiter and two Ravens over the Perkins fields.

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

No Lesser Yellowlegs again.

Two Green Sandpipers, two Shoveler with the Teal, c15.  A Little Egret and three Grey Herons.

c10 Pied and two Yellow Wagtails again.

A, Small Heath butterfly was also struggling against the wind.

A Kestrel on a post out of the wind.

Shawell Sandpit/landfill; evening.

c30 Ravens and four Red Kites.

A juv Caspian and Yellow-legged Gull with the Lesser-black Backed Gulls.

A Cormorant, not seen one here for awhile.  Five Mute Swans, several Little Grebes.

Shawell Lagoons; south pool.

94 Canada Geese.  A few Lesser Black-backed Gulls loathing pre-roost, included a begging juv LBBG to an adult.

21st August - mod SW, 20C, mostly cloudy

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

No sighting of the Lesser Yellowlegs today.

Two Green Sandpiper, two Yellow Wagtails and c10 Pied., Three Grey Herons

20th August - a few short showers am, becoming brighter sunny spells, mod W, 20C

Lilbourne Meadows; late afternoon.

Lesser Yellowlegs and three Green Sandpipers still on the east pool.

Two Grey herons, a Yellow Wagtail, a Kestrel, plus the other regulars.

19th August - mostly cloudy and very breezy at times, 19C

Willey; male Redstart again along the top fence line first thing.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening

Lesser Yellowlegs showing well on the east pool, along with three Green Sandpipers.  

Shawell sandpit; evening 

At least 30 Ravens this evening over the landfill side..

18th August - hazy sun, sunny spells, light SW, 22C

Willey;

No Restart seen this morning.

Ravens heard again several times, obviously visiting the local Sheep fields.

c25 Swallows on the wires at 1300h, despite others flying around and no doubt in the fields, the number does seem about half  that it ought to be, maybe reflecting the very poor early spring/summer weather affecting the first/second broods.

Lilbourne Meadows; late afternoon.

Lesser Yellowlegs, three Green Sandpipers, a Snipe, 2+ Yellow Wagtails.

17th August - sunny spells am, cloudy pm, light SW, 20C

Willey;

The Male Redstart still along the top field fence line.

Two Ravens again heard several times flying around the area during the day..

16th August - sunny, 23C, light SW

Willey; The Redstart was still along the fence line this morning.   During the morning one or more Raven was heard calling and flying over.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Two Little ringed Plovers, an adult and juv, were on the dam.  A Green Woodpecker was heard near the dam.  A Hobby flew along the Leics bank and a Treecreeper was heard.  Eleven Lapwings flew along the water towards the dam.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

The Lesser Yellowlegs showed quite well at times, also three Green Sandpipers and several Yellow Wagtails.

15th August - cloudy, mod-gusty SW breeze, 20C

Willey; a male redstart this morning along the fence line Long field/Hurls furlong hedge.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening

Much quieter than recently, 4 Green Sandpipers and three Swifts were of note.

14th August - cloudy, light NW, 20C, humid at times

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Linnet 2, Gadwall numbers seemed to have increased.  Grey Heron.

Steve Wright found a Purple Hairstreak on the Oak near the reed bed seat.  Another visitor claimed to have seen a Wall butterfly - this would be vert unusual and need confirmation.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening

Lesser Yellowlegs, four Greens Sandpipers, Shoveler 2, Kestrel

13th August - sunny, 23C, light SW

Willey; Raven heard calling from the Newnham Paddox area.

12th August - very hot, some cloud and thunder am, 29C, light WNW

Lilbourne Meadows; evening

Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpiper still present.

Also, 2 Dunlin, a Oystercatcher, 3 Green Sandpipers, 3 Little Ringed Plovers, a Snipe and Lapwings.

A Hobby over catching insects, c 40 Swallows,  Teal Gadwall and Shoveler.

A Large Magpie moth landed on the gate.

11th August - sunny, hot 27C, light ENE

Lilbourne Meadows; morning

An even bigger surprise this morning when M Alibone called to say he had a Lesser Yellowlegs on the western pool with the Pec  Sandpiper still present.  Fortunately it stayed during the day and many folks managed to get a view of it.

Also present, 2 LRP juvs, 2 Dunlin and Green Sandpipers.

Three Yellow Wagtails.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Female Ruddy Shelduck and Common Sandpiper.

Mixed Tit and Warbler folks.

Adult Yellow-legged Gull among the BHG, LBB and Herring Gulls.

10th August - cloudy am, sunny spells pm, 22C, light SW

Lilbourne Meadows; morning

The main sighting was the surprise discovery of a Pectoral Sandpiper on the western pool.  I have found one here before, but not guaranteed.  Unfortunately, restricted and obstructed views, but sometimes seen clearly.

Also, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Dunlin and Green Sandpipers.  Eight Little Egrets and a Grey Heron.

Yellow Wagtail, Little Grebe (ad and juv).

Shawell Lagoons; afternoon

Adult Yellow-legged and Caspian Gulls.

Shawell Sandpit;

c40 Ravens, 3 Red Kites, c100 Greylag Geese.  8 Mute Swans

c 40 Tufted Ducks, including a female with 10 ducklings.

9th August - cloudy am with mod-fresh W wind, sunny spells pm, mod W, 24C

Frolesworth; afternoon.

c600 Woodpigeons feeding on cultivated fields near Sharnford Tractors entrance.

Also, a Red Kite and Kestrel along the Ullesthorpe lane

Frolesworth Manor Lake;

Great-crested Grebe adult and juv, Tufted Ducks and Mallards, Coot 10 and 4 Moorhens.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

Three Green Sandpipers, three Little Egrets and a Grey Heron, two Little Grebes, Shoveler 4 and Teal 6.

A Yellow Wagtail.and Kestrel.  A few House Martins and Swallows over the pools.

c6 each Linnet and Goldfinch.

8th August - cloudy, drizzle/light rain at times, esp afternoon, mod-fresh SW, 18C

Stanford reservoir; afternoon

c20 Swallows, c30 House Martins and a Sand Martin low over the water in the drizzle.

Ruddy Shelduck, female in the narrows.  A juv Goldeneye with a few Tufted Ducks at the dam end (I have seven previous August Goldeneye records for this site).

Shoveler 4, Teal 1 and a drake Pochard.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening

Four Little Egrets and two Grey Herons.  Two green Sandpipers and a Little Ringed Plover.  A Yellow Wagtail.

Four Swifts along the bank and a few HOuse Martins and Swallows.

7th August - cloudy, 19C, mod SW

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon

Two Green Sandpipers and a Little Ringed Plover.

Three Grey herons, four Little Egrets

Seven Linnets, two Kestrels.

A few Swallows, House martins and a Sand martin.

Shawell Sandpit/Landfill; evening

Nine Little Grebes, eight Mute Swans, three Red Kites, 61 Coots, c40 Tufted and c35 Mallard.

Female Egyptian Goose still present.  Several Ravens.

No many Gulls around.

Shawell Lagoons

40 Lapwings at the south pool.

6th AUgust - cloudy, light rain early, clearing pm to sunny spells, 22C, light SW

Willey;  two Raven over this morning.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening

A single Swift over for a while.

The Kestrel family were hunting over the bank

Two Green Sandpipers, Grey Herons and Little Egrets.  Three Yellow Wagtails with the Pied.

Three Little Grebes (2 juvs), the Gadwall family are still together following each other around.  Six Teal, only one Shoveler seen.

Eight Linnets feeding and a few Goldfinch around.

5th August - Sunny spells, mod SW, 22C

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Osprey again, looking for fish.

Kingfisher, Grey Heron, Shoveler 1

Large White, Common Blue,Gatekeeper, Brimstone

Lilbourne Meadows - evening.

The field flood pools are drying quite quickly now, reducing the available muddy shore area.

A Green Sandpiper, Oystercatcher and Little Egret.  Stock Dove, Moorhen 14.

Five Yellow wagtails with the Pied.

4th August - mostly cloudy, light SW, 20C

Willey; very early hours a Tawny Owl was calling from the church yard trees again.

A Grey Heron again at Hurls Furlong pond first thing,.

Lilbourne Meadows; morning

Eight Little Egrets, two Grey Herons, two Yellow Wagtails with the Pied.  Six Teal, Shoveler.  A Little Grebe.

Four Linnets.  Kestrel female.

Theddingworth; mid-day

Three Red Kites over the hills/canal area

3rd August - Norfolk. A few sunny spells, mostly cloudy and some drizzle in off the sea, light, to mod NW, 19-24C

North Point Pools

One side completely dry at the moment.  Otherwise, typical birds present on the east pool, including three Green Sandpipers, a Marsh Harrier, a Great white Egret and a Spoonbill. A Kestrel

A couple of Wall butterflies along the central path.

Cley Marshes NWT

An incredible flock of 22 Cattle Egrets, including juveniles. A Spoonbill too.

A single Golden Plover, a Little Stint, two Snipe, Dunlin, two Curlews, a Black-tailed Godwit, four  Ruff, Avocets, Lapwings, four Green Sandpipers.

Titchwell Marsh RSPB

A good selection of birds on the Freshmarsh, including a moulting Curlew Sandpiper, Knot, Black-tailed Godwits, Snipe and Spoonbill