8th to 9th June

June 10, 2015

8th to 9th June

Its getting quieter as the westerly winds set in but we can hardly complain-the last few days haven't exactly been birdless! We suggested the Veery might re-appear and on 9th it did just that being re-found in a mist-net again at Holland gardens mid-morning before typically vanishing for the rest of the day. Quite where its been during the interim will remain a mystery but proving much more obliging were the 2 (male and female) Nightjars also at Holland gardens on both dates. Both have been showing well perched out in the on the walls or on garden paths and while we don't exactly have the right breeding habitat for the species, there's plenty of moths so we'll be keeping a good eye on them as stranger things have happened! Most other sightings came from the 8th when a female Red-backed Shrike spent the day at Ancum willows, there were 2 Black Redstarts, 5 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Carrion Crows and a singing Mealy Redpoll. Non-passerines included the Pink-footed Goose again, 2 Barnacle Geese, a first-summer Little Gull, 20 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 28 Bar-tailed Godwits and 4 Woodpigeons. Meanwhile the female Hen Harrier was seen both dates, a Peregrine on 8th with the only other thing left to add from the 9th being an unseasonal Jackdaw.