1st October - cloudy start, becoming a lovely sunny afternoon, light Easterly 18C

The day started with a Pied Wagtail sitting on the roof top, 'chirrupping' away for a long time.  Twelve Goldfinches flew in to the top of the Horse Chestnut next to the church and surveyed the area.  During the afternoon Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell and Large White were flying

A visit to the nearby lake during the morning produced a single Teal and Gadwall, both fairly unusual on this lake and a Snipe flew off out of the reed bed.  Numbers of Blackbirds and Song Thrush had increased from my last visit, feeding on the Hawthorn berries.  These maybe local, but we do have continental birds arrive here for the winter, so who knows if they are local birds or not.  A single Lesser Redpoll flew over and several Bullfinches were calling.  Several Chiffchaff were present in a Tit flock.

Several fungi were blooming, including an Earthball - what a brilliant name!

An afternoon visit to the local reservoir did not produce too much, until a Avocet flew in calling, circled around then flew off eastward.  A bird usually found along coastal pools and marshes, but there are some inland breeding sites now as numbers have recovered.

The other day I mentioned Hedgehogs, this evening Richard and Stella told me about their garden Hedgehogs, two have been visiting their garden and often feed under the bird tables, as indeed this one was this evening (with a little red-eye).  While watching a Tawny Owl was calling very close by.