Getting in on it
Locally it has been quite a productive week for birds - Beddington has had a Little Tern and Brent Goose; Holmethorpe a pair of Common Scoter and an Avocet; Canons Farm, not to be outdone, has played host to a male Pied Flycatcher. With a cool WSW wind, I ventured to the latter site this morning, but it was soon obvious that little was around. The Pied Flycatcher had moved on and with each scan of a hedgerow the use of the word 'migrant' became increasingly redundant. Then, at about 11.10, a familiar call came from up high, and there was a single silhoetted Whimbrel circling above me. This is a first for the farm. After a couple of minutes it drifted off north, but not before a couple of the local birders had also heard it. With a spell of sunshine I went onto Fames Rough, known primarily as a site for rare flora. The sheltered slope had at least 5 Dingy Skippers (below) and a single Grizzled Skipper on the wing, with a lone Small Heath nearby. When I returned in the lat...