On switching on my phone this morning I had received a text message from TMH informing me that he had found 2 juvenile Whinchats at 7:45am this morning at Stanklyn Lane paddocks. I couldn't pop down to see these birds until later in the day as I was completing a job application that I wanted to get handed back in today.
When I arrived at approx 2:30pm the 2 Whinchats were still present at the paddocks. Also of great interest though was the increased number of Swallows (mainly juveniles) that present and perching on the fence wires. Today I counted 24 Swallows at the paddocks (8 more than the previous day). Also present at the paddocks were 6 juvenile Goldfinch and a Chiffchaff was in the hedgerow opposite.
As the patch had already been covered I decided to spend some time looking elsewhere locally to see if I could find some more passage migrants.
Woodrow:
On turning into Woodrow Lane I decided to check the paddock near the road junction. This turned out to be a fortuitous move as I picked up 3 juvenile Yellow Wagtails with 4 Pied Wagtails. The other areas of Woodrow however were very unproductive, so I headed over to nearby Tanwood.
Tanwood:
Tanwood has been one of the more productive local areas for migrants this autumn passage with both myself and Terry recording a good mix of birds here. Today was no exception and I soon observed the seemingly ever present ♂ Common Redstart flicking down from the hedgerow and back in typical Redstart fashion.
Even more exciting was picking up a cracking Lesser Whitethroat that was also flitting about at the front of the same hedge. This is the first Lesser Whitethroat that I have seen this autumn and it was a welcome sight indeed!
Whinchat (juvenile) - 24th August 2012
Swallow (juvenile) - 24th August 2012
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Another Whinchat here today too Jase, they are certainly on the move now!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Warren...migration is picking up pace now. 1 Yellow Wag, 1 Wheatear and 2 Whinchats still at Shenstone today
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