Quick up-date

 Quite a bit's been going on, around the bungalow, and I've not been able to keep the blog up to speed, so to speak. The passage of Common Swifts continues to provide purpose for me spending prolonged periods, sky-watching, in the back garden. Numbers are rapidly declining, as you would expect, but I have recorded them every day this month thus far. 

On Wednesday, 18th August, I had a session out on the flatlands which was nothing to get excited about, due to the un-necessary weed cutting operation done by the EA. This particular drain doesn't require weeding, it needs dredging! There are times when I wonder why I bother paying this, piss-poor, anti-environment, gang a penny? What does my rod licence money actually pay for? I've only been checked twice, in eleven seasons, and I've paid in excess of £250 in rod licence fees over that period. Any how, I digress, the birding on that afternoon/evening was exceptional and these are my notes from that session

Marsh Harrier 1 ad female & 1 juv

1 Wheatear

3 Greenshank

17.35 hrs - juv Osprey hovering over the drain within 50 m of my swim before departing N 

I'd love to say that I'd captured this shot whilst out on the flatlands, but it isn't true.
This one was at Loch Awe in 2016

17.55 hrs - ad Med Gull east

Then the swifts started moving. This is what I recorded between 18.33 hrs and 20.30 hrs

7, 6,3,7,1,2,1,5,6,1,2,1,10,15,5,1,15,11,2 & finally a flock of 60+ feeding low over the newly mown field directly behind my swim

1 Sand Martin

3 Common Snipe 

Back out again, early doors, this morning I finally managed to catch a Tench, the species I've been targeting. At 4 lbs 6 oz, it's not much of a specimen yet it does represent the first one I've caught by design since the Tring days. 

Back home by 10.30 hrs, I recorded just four Swifts moving slowly NE at 11.47 hrs. Hedgehogs are nightly visitors to the feeding station with at least five different individuals noted recently. Once again, one of these wonderful animals has been colour marked, yet I am still unable to contribute anything to science as I can find no details for a database where I can report the sighting.

That's it, I'm up to date now.