31st Aug - SUnny periods, 23C, light NE

Willey;

Eight Yellow Wagtails and a few Pied with the Cattle this morning.

Mid-morning c 10 House Martins over the fields feeding before moving off east.

Soar Brook Lake; early evening.  Water level about 4 feet low.

Two Little Egrets, three Grey Herons, 68 Mallards, 4 Tufted Ducks, four Cormorants, a Little Grebe.

A Red Kite and Buzzard over.

30th Aug - sunny spells, 21C, light-mod NE

Willey; only one Yellow Wagtail seen this morning with the cattle.

29th Aug - mostly cloudy, 21C, light-mod NE

Willey; only one Yellow wagtails seen with the Sheep this morning, still Pied Wagtails though.

We have a flock c35 Starlings around the over the last few days.  They go to roost in the conifers in the evening. 

Shawell Sandpit/Landfill; early evening.

Practically no Gulls as no landfill activity during the Bank Holiday.  However, 30+ Ravens were riding the wind seemingly enjoying themselves.

Two Green Sandpipers, a single Shoveler, seven Teals, 68 Mallards.

Several Pied and a single each Yellow and Grey Wagtail.

28th Aug - sunny spells, light NE, 23C, becoming cloudy late afternoon

Willey;  c10 Yellow Wagtails again with Sheep/Cattle.

Stanford reservoir; morning.

The main event today was the occurrence of the first Cattle Egret for the site.  Initially spotted by Chris about 0930h, it soon flew off.  Fortunately, it only went as far as the inlet fields where it was watched feeding around the cattle.

Two Green Sandpipers near the dam,  Plenty of Warblers in the bushes today, tricky to spot, but OK with patience. 

Eyebrook Reservoir; afternoon.

A nice selection of waders, a Pectoral Sandpiper, three Ruff, two Greenshank, two Redshank, one Green Sandpiper, two Dunlin, three Ringed Plover,  eight Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwings.

Two Ospreys dropped in for a short while, a Red Kite, Raven.  Two Pintails, a Shelduck. A Great Egret. Little Egret and Grey Herons.  Three Common Terns.

Three Whinchats and a Stonechat.   A Yellowhammer, a flock of Goldfinches.

27th Aug - Sunny spells, light NW, 24C

Willey; 

Still c15 Yellow Wagtails with the Cattle this morning.

During the afternoon a Red Kite flew over, low, heading general westward.

On the Blackberry brambles a Comma butterfly and two Hornets were flying around.

26th Aug - sunny spells, light light N, 24C

Willey; 10 Yellow wagtails this morning with the cattle and Sheep.

Shawell Sandpit/Landfill, afternoon.

Three Green Sandpipers and a Common Sandpiper.  Eleven Teal, three Shovelers,.  The Little Grebe pair still feeding the one chick, plus another lone adult.

One juv Yellow-legged Gull, a Common Gull and Great Black-backed Gulls increasing.  Many Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls.

Only three Red Kites seen, Ravens about still.

25th Aug - cloudy, with light rain during the afternoon, clearing later, light NW, 18C

Willey; c25 Yellow Wagtails again with the Cattle and Sheep this morning.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

It was great to see a mixed flock of Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins feeding - difficult to estimate exactly how many but a few hundred in total.   Also, two Swifts were with them.

A Green and two Common Sandpipers and an Oystercatcher..  20 Yellow Wagtails on the dam.

Plus all the regulars.

24th Aug - mostly cloudy, humid at times, light SW, 25C

Willey;

c25 Yellow Wagtails with the cattle and Sheep first thing.

Husbands Bosworth  Sand Pit; evening.

66 Mallard a good count for here.  Nine Little Grebes.

Theddingworth; evening.

Five Hummingbird Hawk Moths were watched in a garden, mostly on Valerian.  Could watch them for ages.

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23rd Aug - humid, sunny spells, light SW, 23C

Willey;

Tawny Owl heard again very early morning in the Church yard.

c15 Yellow Wagtails with the Cattle first thing.  Also, a few Swallows and House Martins over the Perkins fields area

20 Swallows in the wires, midday.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening;

c 60 Starlings feeding on the pastures.  A couple of Kestrels about.

22 Aug - sunny spells, light drizzle later afternoon, light SW, 22C

Shawell Sandpit/landfill; evening.

Few Gulls around this evening.

Three Green Sandpipers, two Common Sandpipers, Two each Teal and Gadwall.

A Grey Wagtail.   The Little Grebe still with a single chick, grown quite a bit since last week.  I think it may have given up incubating the rest of the eggs now.

21 Aug - sunny periods, light SW, 25C

Shawell sandpit/landfill; morning.

A Gren Sandpiper was busy feeding.  Two Gadwall still plus two Teal.

The Little Grebe chick looks stronger and often on the water, but one adult is still sitting on the nest. 

Four Grey Wagtails were present, plus other regular birds.

Shawell Lagoons;  morning.

Not too much present, a single Yellow Wagtail, and 7 Lapwings.2

Stanford reservoir, afternoon.

The two juvenile Black terns that arrived this  morning were still present, out over the middle of the reservoir.  Only one Common Tern seen.

Plenty of Gadwall, seven Shoveler, one Pochard and the drake Wigeon seen.  Three Little Egrets and several Grey Herons.

A Hobby was hunting near the Poplar trees.  A Kingfisher was heard as it flew along the bank.

Roving mixed flocks were seen, included Blue and Great Tits, Long Tailed Tits, Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap/.

Great Crested Grebes have several late broods, some having nested on the excess weed growth as the water level dropped during the hot weather.

Common Sandpiper at the outflow.

20th Aug - sunnyspells, mod SW, 24C

Husbands Bosworth sandpit;

Two Green Sandpipers and eight Little Grebe were noteworthy.

Pitsford reservoir;  afternoon.

A nice selection of birds to be seen today, with low water level helping.

A single Common Sandpiper, three Snipe feeding, six Little Grebes.

Five red-crested Pochards (two drakes), four Pintails were spotted (looking a bit nervous, probably not long in) - distant digiscope record photos, 

A Hobby were feeding at the north end, later a Peregrine flew in, a half-hearted attempt to catch a Black-headed Gull.

Plenty of Common Terns, which were joined by two juvenile Black Terns (a third was reported after I had left).

A Redstart was in the hedgerow which could be heard and seen occasionally.

At the duck trap 15+ Greenfinches were feeding on the scattered seed, also 10+ Tree Sparrows.

19th Aug - broken cloud, 23C, light W

Willey; 

A Spotted Flycatcher at the end of Pekins Spinney first thing and two Jays on the road verge flew in to the Long Spinney.  Six Yellow Wagtails were feeding around the Sheep in Perkins first field, 0920h

Shawell sandpit/landfill; afternoon.

A couple of Gadwall with the Mallard, a Common Sandpiper, others all the regulars. 

A Peregrine was flying high, being hassled by Red Kites, which it seemed to be 'playing' with!

Main news was that the Little Grebe (on a very exposed nest in the sandpit) now has at least one chick, which was being feed and sometimes on the water.  One parent was still sitting on the nest, so maybe another egg to hatch yet, we shall see.

Stanford res; evening.

Fairly quite, but two Snipe were feeding by the main reed bed, four Yellow Wagtails on the dam, as were 30 Linnets and c15 Goldfinch feeding on the grassy bank.  

Five Shovelers, male and female Pochard, 108 Lapwings. c20 Swallows.

18th Aug - sunny spells, 23C

Shawell Lagoons;

55 Lapwings.

Lilbourne Meadows;

Two Yellow Wagtails, Green Woodpecker.  No ' wet meadow currently - rain needed!

A5 Pools/DIRFT;

Three Little Egrets, two Cormorants, Lapwing c60.

Shawell Sandpit/Landfill;

Minimum 30 Ravens, a single Shoveler and Common Gull.

17th Aug - cloudy, mod NE, 18C

Stanford reservoir; evening.
A mixed flock of Hirundines, minimum c200 Swallows, c100 House Martins and c5 Sand Martins, with them were two Swifts.  Its worth noting that this year Sand Martins remained very scarce locally and have hardly been seen here at all..

A Common Sandpiper on the dam,  Four Grey Herons (like the low water level), six Teal, three Shovelers.

16th Aug - mostly cloudy, humid, 24C, until late afternoon then light steady rain. Light N

Willey; Tawny Owl calling last night from Church yard trees.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Spotted Flycatcher near the spillway, and c30 Goldfinches feeding on Thistle seeds.  A Common Sandpiper in the spillway.  Red Kite and Raven over.

A Long-tailed Tit flock included four Treecreepers, Goldcrest and Willow Warbler.

Eight+ Shovelers, three Little Grebes, six Lapwings plus the usual ducks.  A couple of Common Terns around, although none the other evening, so I expect they will be gone fairly soon.

15th Aug - high cloud, brief light rain showers am, sunny spells from mid- afternoon, 25C, light W

Croft Hill; early afternoon.

Two Spotted Flycatchers, occasionally taking Elder berries, three Blackcap and a Treecreeper.

Shawell Lagoons, evening.

A few Gulls, including an adult Yellow-legged Gull. A Snipe at waters edge.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

c30 Goldfinch feeding on Thistles seeds.   Male Redstart in hedgerow/fence line.

14th Aug - sunny, hot, 32C, light E

The weather forecast is for an end to this prolonged hot spell, and maybe showers at times from tomorrow, we shall see.   Everywhere is parched and brown, like these fields.

Willey;

A Sparrowhawk circled slowly over mid-afternoon.

I've not seen the Swallows gathering on the wires as regularly as I would expect too, I wonder whether it due to the exceptional heat?

Stanford-on- Avon;evening.

15+ Spotted Flycatchers in the same area as the other days, busily feeding from the tree tops.

Stanford reservoir; evening.
Main sighting was the eclipse male Garganey, found this morning by Chris, still present on the point.

A single Little Egret, a drake Pochard.  

A single Spotted Flycatcher on the wires near the dam and six Yellow Wagtails on the dam.

13th Aug - sunny, hot, 32C, light E

Shawell sandpit/landfill; morning.

A short visit here this morning, Carl was already there and soon picked out two juv Yellow-legged Gulls.

Otherwise jus the usual residents seen (Red Kites, Ravens etc), including a Grey Wagtail.  Little grebe still incubating, cant be far off now.

12th Aug - sunny, hot, 32C, light easterly

Willey, first thing two Green Woodpeckers and a Kestrel in the Perkins fields area.

Lilbourne Meadows; morning'

A flock of c25 Yellow Wagtails feeding on the dry 'wet' meadow.  A Kestrel too.

Shawell lagoons; morning'

Two Snipe were showing well at the waters edge.

11th Aug - sunny, hot, 31C, light NE

Shawell sandpit/Landfill; morning

Large number of Gulls over the landfill area, not much activity in the sandpit. 22 Red Kites, 10+ Ravens.

Two Yellow Wagtail.

Stanford on Avon; evening.

10 Spotted Flycatchers busy feeding in the trees.

Stanford Reservoir; evening.

C60 Swallows were in feeding, 12 Shovelers.

10th Aug - Sunny, HOT, 32C, light breeze

Ventured on a Twitch today to see the Cape Gull at Gratham Water.  It was reported present just before I left, however arriving an hour later it was not to be seen.   I decided to look at a few locations, there were plenty of rumours where it was or had gone - bit really no one actually knew.  Birders were desperately clinging to any of the few large Gulls present, usually sitting on a buoy a very long way off.

In the meantime a nice selection of other birds to be seen, a good number of Yellow Wagtails, Wheatears and a Common Sandpiper.

I eventually decided the railings at the water tower was the best place to stay, even after 2.5 hours in the sun I was optimistic it would return, as it has everyday since found.

Then, from out of know where it just dropped on to the railing, called a couple of times and just rested there, next to Lesser Black-backed, an adult Yellow-legged Gull  and Black Headed Gull.  Presumable it had spent the day out feeding somewhere, maybe on the fields.

9th Aug - sunny, hot, 28C, light NW

 No obs today.

8th Aug - sunny, not, 28C, light NW

Willey;

Two Raven flying over mid-morning calling.

15 Goldfinches this evening in paddock and old railway tree tops.

7th Aug - sunny, 26C, light NW

A5 Pools/DIRFT, morning.

Pools now very receded, only a small area remains.  c200 Greylag and c50 Canada geese.

Three Little Ringed Plover and a Common Sandpiper.  Two Yellow Wagtailsa.

Lilbourne Meadows, morning.

The wet meadows are currently dry.

Single Lapwing, three Yellow Wagtails and the male Redstart along the fence line. Juv Buzzard calling.

Shawell Lagoons; morning.

Female Ruddy Shelduck.  Two Common and one Green Sandpiper, c 50 Lapwings.

Green Woodpecker.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Adult Yellow-legged Gull with the Herring and Lesser Black-backed.  Three Little Grebes, three Shovelers, single Teal, Hobby,, Red Kite.  Nine Common Terns. Two Tree Sparrows at feeder..  Four Grey Herons.

Common Blues, Small Coppers were noted in numbers today on the wildflower bed.

6th Aug - mostly sunny, 23C, light NW

Shawell Sandpit/Landfill; morning.

Very few Gulls in the sandpit, but 1000+ over the landfill, to far to see again.

Four Little Grebes, a Hobby hunting high above, two Lapwing, Mallard and a single Teal.

In the wood, three Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler and Nuthatch.

5th Aug -p sunny spells, light-mod WSW, 20C

Its been the driest July for 80 years - and you can tell!

Brandon Marsh; afternoon.

Many of the peripheral marsh areas are very low in water or dry.  The grassland/meadows are crisp brown, which is disappointing as insects, butterflies appear  quite scarce.

Birds included a Little Egret, three Green Sandpipers, one Oystercatcher, c10 Teal, c 50 Lapwings, one, possibly two Hobbies, a male Sparrowhawk.  Several Common terns and juvs still.

4th Aug - sunny spells, light-mod WSW, 23C

Misterton; morning.

A surprise Hobby flew low over the lake area and grounds before departing.  Several Treecreeper feeding in the woodland.

Croft Hill; afternoon.

On hearing that there had been a fall of Spotted Flycatchers at Napton-on-the-Hill (Warks), I thought a look here may be interesting.  However, there was very little about, even few butterflies.  The hill is very parched, with little green vegetation and trees loosing leaves rapidly.  A Linnet pair, a Treecreeper calling and a Long-tailed Tit flock were noted.

Eyebrook Reservoir, late afternoon.

News came in of a White-rumped Sandpiper at the inlet, having yet to see one in the UK, I went to have a look for it.  Fortunately, it was still feeding on the mud and showing well, slightly smaller than the Dunlin that it mixed with.  

A few record photos were made but light and distance weren't too good for digiscoping.