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| Stonechat |
I couldn't get motivated to go anywhere on Saturday the 12th of September, and as it turned out, I couldn't get motivated to do anything productive either, meaning it was a bit of a wasted day. I didn't want to waste Sunday as well, but carrying the scope and tripod out to Riverside Nature Park to scan through the gulls in search of Mediterranean Gull, against the light (given the tide times) just didn't appeal. For a number of reasons (not all birding related) my shoulders, neck and back were aching. I messaged Rohan to see if she was free, and fancied a trip up to St Cyrus to see the collection of waders (a few of which would be lifers for her) that have been frequenting a pool up there. However, there was no reply, so I decided to head up to the Law to see if there were any migrants on the move (Lainy had found 2 different Yellow Wagtails and a Whinchat the previous day at Westhaven/Easthaven). Given it was a bit of a later start, my expectations were rather low.
It was 0850 when I stepped outside. Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Robin, House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon and Starling got things underway. Magpie, Chiffchaff and Jackdaw were found on Main Street. A Song Thrush and Meadow Pipit flew over the crossroads a bit further up. A Wren was seen near the steps up to the Law, on the east side. The first returning skein of high-flying Pink-footed Geese were seen almost as soon as I was organised at the top of the hill. A Peregrine was perched on the southeastern corner of Cox's Stack and a Buzzard was heard. A Pied Wagtail and a Tree Pipit were heard within minutes of each other. There was relatively steady Meadow Pipit passage happening. A Sparrowhawk was seen briefly just after 0925. More geese then overflew.
Rohan replied to say that she had been sleeping and was just going to have a quiet day. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard from the north side of the hill. A small group of House Martins headed west. A Coal Tit was in the trees and a Blackbird was spotted from the front of the hill. While chatting to someone at the front edge of the hill, a pair of Canada Geese headed past. It was very much just more Meadow Pipits and 'Pinkies' over the course of the next half hour. I spotted a distant pair of Black-headed Gulls well out to the west. A Dunnock showed in the conifer on the west side. While chatting to someone else around 1035, I spotted a small bird atop an umbellifer-type plant. I was a bit surprised to see it was a Stonechat - most likely a young bird stopping off for a bite to eat. I got a few photos before it disappeared down the slope out of sight.
Long-tailed Tit, Grey Wagtail, Goldcrest and Swallow as well as a few further views of the Stonechat - including it perched atop the west side conifer, kept things ticking along. A quartet of Buzzards circled up overhead, with 3 of the 4 giving prolonged views and even indulging in some displaying. Small White and Red Admiral butterflies were noted around the hill-top. Another Sparrowhawk was seen out to the east, with a further distant Buzzard out to the west. The Meadow Pipit passage was still ongoing but the numbers had slowed a lot as the morning had progressed. I decided to see if there were any insects around at 1300. As it turned out, things were not unexpectedly relatively quiet though Speckled Wood was added to the butterflies list for the day. Birch Shieldbug and Parent Bug were lazing around on the Brambles on the west side by the allotments. There seemed to be some 7-spot ladybirds around too.
A few Field Grasshoppers were seen and a Silver Y moth posed reasonable well. Common Carder and Buff-tailed Bumblebees were in short supply unlike the numerous wasps. I found a Common Wasp biting its way through a grey tube, which may or may not have been man-made, for reasons unknown (except to the wasp itself). I got a series of photos and a couple of videos. Hopefully I'll be able to find out what it was actually doing. I finally gave up around 1530 and headed homewards adding Lesser Black-backed Gull on the way. This took the list for the day to 37 species of birds, 2 of bumblebees, 4 of butterflies, 1 of grasshopper, 1 of ladybirds and 2 of hoverflies, 1 of moths and 2 of shieldbugs (the insects will eventually get their own blog-post covering the day's sightings).
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| Peregrine |
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| Canada Goose |
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| Pink-footed Goose |
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| Stonechat |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Buzzard |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Magpie |
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Birch Shieldbug |
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| Parent Bug |
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| Birch Shieldbug (instar) |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Field Grasshopper |
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| Red Admiral |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Pink-footed Goose, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Tree Pipit, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Bees - Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Common Carder Bee.
Butterflies - Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Small White, Speckled Wood.
Blowflies - Common Greenbottle.
Grasshoppers - Field Grasshopper.
Hoverflies - Episyrphus balteatus, Helophilus pendulus.
Ladybirds - 7-spot Ladybird.
Moths - Silver Y.
Shieldbugs - Birch Shieldbug, Parent Bug.
