Ruffing around in t-shirt

Ruff & Green Sandpiper

Red Kite

Mistle Thrush

Orange-tip Butterfly

White Wagtail

Barmy weather

Goosander pair

Reed Bunting

Raven

Small Tortiseshell

The Hawthorns

Southerly winds & clear skies certainly helped migration pick up a gear this weekend with a variety of tern species moving north & the first Cuckoo, Turtle Doves & Redstarts reported.

Our find of the weekend was a Ruff on the pit which didn’t hang around long. It was roosting with a Green Sandpiper however when I posted the photo on social media there was a debate of whether it could be a Wood Sandpiper. I do know that there was a Green Sandpiper on the main pit as later on in the morning it took off from close by calling. The bird photographed certainly has characteristics of a Wood Sandpiper but by no means all of them. The Ruff was a good addition to the patch year list and was only my second record at site.

The first Reed Warbler had arrived in the reed lagoon and was very vocal. Three Red Kite were hunting very close to the north edge of the pits again whilst other sightings included Willow Warblers, Blackcaps, two Swallow, five Sand Martin, three Little Ringed Plover, three White Wagtail, two Oystercatcher & two Goosander.

Finally for the second time this week two pairs of Corn Buntings were discovered. I’ll try to post an update later in the year on if they manage to breed as they used to be abundant.

On Saturday I witnessed a Peregrine hunting the stadium pigeons during a visit to support the Saints against West Bromwich Albion. The Peregrine landed inside the stadium at one stage before flying right over the pitch & then over the stand.