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| Dotted Rustic |
The busiest day of the autumn so far . . for observers, hitting double figures in anticipation of some good migration. And there was . . some migration. Several species we haven't seen often this year if at all, such as tree pipit, guillemot and gadwall were recorded. 182 swallows south was one of our bigger counts of recent weeks, which is worrying if not surprising, and 5 house martins join the handful of the species that we've seen all year. A few migrant warblers were active in the bushes, with keen eyes picking out garden warbler, common and lesser whitethroat and blackcap, representing the Sylvia warblers pretty well, and one willow warbler.
A kestrel coming in off the sea got some pulses racing as it seemed pretty dark in plumage from a distance and with bad light, but it was just the 3rd kes of the day, disappointing for those hoping for red-footed falcon or indeed dark morph Eleanora's . . .
Moths were reasonably busy due to the warm night. Dotted Rustic was last recorded here in 2014, and is now practically a rarity due to its continuing national decline.
Birds Ringed: Blackbird 1, Blue Tit 1, Starling 1, Whitethroat 1.