Awesome August

There's a really nice diversity of bird migrants at the moment so yesterday and today I got to Church Norton at dawn to explore. August is such a great month for high diversity and abundance.

Yesterday HERE  in the continuing brisk south easterly the main spectale was about 600 Sand Martin and 100 Barn Swallows over the Norton Fields, with 61 Yellow Wagtail going west and Wheatear and Whinchat. Later in the day the hirundines concentrated and Andrew estimated about 2000 Sand Martin and 500 Barn Swallow in the fields (some great pics by Andrew HERE and HERE). 

Today, it was completely calm and indeed the hirundines had taken advantage of the change in weather and seemingly all departed. However there were still lots of migrants around HERE with highlights including a juvenile Osprey hunting the harbour at high tide (179 for my Peninsula year), an incredible 138 Yellow Wagtail with 118 counted on the deck in the Norton fields at dawn, a Golden Plover in with the wagtails, 4 Wheatear, 3 Spotted Flycatcher, Garden Warbler, 15 Blackcap, 12 Whitethroat, 3 Willow Warbler and out on the mud there was the autumn's first juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, the juv Little Stint again, 12 Knot, 3 Greenshank, a Green Sandpiper over Greenlease Farm, the first Barwit in a while and the autumn's first pair of Wigeon were in the harbour with 3 Pintail and 6 Teal. 

As I've been leaving the house before dawn I've just been flicking through the moth traps but not too much to report with background level of migrants. The trap was full of 1000s of beetles this morning. 

Juvenile Osprey at Church Norton. Aged by barred secondaries. 

Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlin

Yellow Wagtail- the migrant of the moment with birds constantly calling over head from more or less everywhere on the Peninsula . Listen to the calling of the 100 +  birds on the deck below. 

Spotted Flycatcher in a swarm of flies. There were three birds together hitting this swarm.

The first returning autumn Wigeon for the harbour (there were a few past the bill yesterday)

Pintails 

Adult Golden Plover 

Whitethroat. A noticeable increase in warblers today although there were relatively few Willow Warblers. 

Eleven Grey Herons were in the harbour including a group of six that came in from the east. There was a flock off the Bill recently too so presumably migrants.

I think these are Bradycellus verbasci (the apps and me are not sure). There were literally thousands of them in the traps. 

Yellow Wagtails in Norton Fields. Over 100 birds present

Some distinct variation in calls in this sample and birds calling with a Golden Plover (below)