Back into birding

Well I think it's fair to say I've fallen rather behind with the blog - woops! So this is me catching up with the last couple of months or so...

So although my interest in butterflies peaks during June & July, birds aren't out of the picture for long. July, for some bird species is the start of autumn as post-breeding movement begins.

During July I headed up to my frequent stomping ground of the Grimsbury Res patch several times to see what was going on.

I soon, rather surprisingly saw my first five Common Sands of the year on 01/07! With my spring birding movements heavily restricted during lockdown, I just never caught up with one before then!



There were also a good number of gulls gathering at Grimbo during the month - probably largely due to the ban on fishing on site, due to the presence of some kind of algae or fish disease. It was a welcome return to gulling and soon produced several Yellow-Legged Gulls, including a one-legged bird, plus a Polish-ringed adult Black-Headed Gull (T2YX), rung as a chick near Gdansk back in 2018.

There was also a bird on 04/07 which while had a slight Caspian-look to it, it just didn't sit right (bottom bird). Welcome feedback from Ian Lewington confirmed that it was likely from a mixed-species colony and was pretty much un-assignable!!

A few Little Ringed Plovers were generally knocking about, while it was really cool watching the progress of the Tufted Duck family, with x4 healthy chicks fledging. A great breeding record for the res, most likely a result of lockdown, with a lack of mowing around the edge and a reduction in disturbance. It just shows what happens, if you give nature a chance to thrive!

Finally, a memorable moment on the morning of 11/07 as an adult Hobby appeared out of nowhere at the north end of Grimbo, to take a House Martin and cruise right past me, catching me totally unawares - an amazing encounter!