Highlights: Icterine Warbler (above),14th; Roseate Terns, 7th; all four skuas; waders and wildfowl on the move, and migrant passerines beginning to filter through.
Common Buzzard
A brief bulletin this time on account of more important things going on at the second, hence just the main highlights described here. Plenty of action over the first half of August made for entertaining sessions both land- and sea-watching, and the stuttering trickle of late July steadily turned into a healthy flow of migrants over the fortnight.
Little Egrets
After promising south-easterlies overnight, top billing goes to an Icterine Warbler, unforthcoming but still good enough to give me a few seconds of its time in the Top Scrub on 14th (less than ten metres from where this spring's bird showed up in May); unfortunately that was that, and despite extensive searches, it wasn't seen again. Coinciding with the autumn's first small wave of continental scarcities on the East coast, it at least ensured we were in the mix.
Pied Flycatcher, Long Lane, 13th
Other migrant passerines began to materialise pretty much simultaneously, with a sprinkling of Willow Warblers, a handful of Lesser Whitethroats, an increase in Blackcaps and the first few Pied Flycatchers (including three in the Top Scrub with the Icterine on the 14th).
The sea has provided better numbers and variety of various species, with all four skuas putting in appearances - as well as regular Bonxies and Arctics (pictured above), a juvenile Long-tailed Skua ambled south on the 10th (our first of the year) preceded by two Pomarines on the same day, with another on 13th. Equal billing goes to two Roseate Terns on the Brigg on the 7th (conveniently scope-able from the 'front garden'), and as well as plenty of Manxies, two Sooty Shearwaters drifted south on the 14th.
hybrid Greylag x Canada Geese, Dams
A Garganey leading a small flock of Teal north past the seawatch hide, also on 10th, was the pick of wildfowl during the period; of raptors, pickings were slim, and the best was a Common Buzzard over the golf course on the 8th (although it's hard to avoid multiple Sparrowhawks, Peregrines and Kestrels presently).
Grey Heron
The first Mediterranean Gull of the season appeared on the country park with Black-headed Gulls for a short while on the morning of the 11th, and up to three Little Egrets (still not the commonest of species up here in the north) were together on East Lea and the Dams from the 9th.
The quality and quantity of waders picked considerably, both on the Brigg and on the (much-improved, mud-fringed) pools at the Dams; the latter site held up to seven Green and four Common Sandpipers, as well as odd Greenshank and Dunlin. The Brigg held a wide range of common species, including three Purple Sandpipers on the 8th.
Moorhen chick
The fortnight closed with the aforemention Hippolais and positive upsurges generally, still coming to pass as I write; hopefully the next post will follow in a few days time now things are really kicking in.
