Saturday 23rd May 2020

Good crop of Henbane on the Butts this year.

Windy morning made birding difficult. Migrants include 3 Spot Fly, 2 Wheatear, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler & Yellow Wagtail. On the move southbound 83 Swallow, 28 Goldfinch, 25 Swift, 16 House Martin, 2 Jackdaw & Grey Wagtail plus 91 Brents coming out of the river & heading northwards.

Monopis crocicapitella can be very common here and, despite what the literature says, is not difficult to tell apart from it's close relatives. On the other hand if one gets one of this group that is a bit of an "inbetweener" and is causing grief it could always accidentally escape to save guessing its identity.

Ringing: 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, 1 Spot Fly, 1 Willow Warbler.