26th September - bright sunshine nearly all day, warm 18C

It was interesting to hear that Hedgehogs have been seen by both Anne and Tony, more so last year, but also this year.  So it looks like we have a small population in the village area, has anyone else seen them recently?

The day started with 12 Swallows on the wires, so some hanging on here. Last year I saw my last on the 24th Sept in the village.  The morning warmed quite quickly and five Buzzards spent a long time circling and enjoying the thermals above the village.

A visit to a local nearby lake produced a nice selection of birds, including the first record of a Wigeon on the lake for me and a Raven was heard overhead.  A flock of eight Bullfinch feeding was one of the largest I have seen for a while and a late Sedge Warbler gave alarm from the reeds.  Just then four birds flew into a willow, just being visible I could see they were Lesser Redpoll.  A Speckled Wood butterfly was on the wing.

This afternoon I thought I would try Shawell Lagoons to see if any of the rarer gulls were present.  Gull numbers were low, only about 400, the photo shows a few of them which included Lesser Black Backed, Black headed, Herring and three Yellow-Legged Gulls.

A flock of Lapwings flew past, and with them two Ruff, they had a good look but decided not to settle at the pools.  A little later a single Common Sandpiper was found feeding at the waters edge.  Twenty-one Tufted Duck and a single Wigeon were present too.