July bows out!

Cloudy, 23º, light SW.

A late and brief (60 mins) visit to the hill, a light shower passed through and it got quite breezy for a time.

No sign today of any Redstarts but around 15 Chiffchaff counted and present on both sides of the hill.

A flock of 30 Corn Bunting, 10+ Linnet and several Yellowhammer present, a couple of Common Whitethroat and a Blackcap seen and a Hobby flew north over the hill.

Good numbers of Lesser Blackback Gull and Rooks in the vicinity.

Given the weather there were not many butterflies around, however a few were noted; Small Tort, Small White, 2 Large White, 1 Red Admiral, 1 Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Peacock.

A lot of interesting insects around at the moment.

A Goldcrest passed through the garden this afternoon and a Grey Wagtail flew over.

 Pointing at the Hobby that just flew over and Loren got the shot.......just.

 14-spot Ladybird (Loren)

 Buff-tail (Loren)

 Snipe Fly (Loren)

 ? (Loren)

 ? (Loren)

 Small Tortoiseshell

Changes!

Sunny, 26º, light W.

Another warm sunny day and a couple of hours spent on the hill, fewer butterflies around today and slightly different birds except for..........!

3 Common Redstart still present, I am assuming the recent warm and stable weather conditions for the last couple of weeks are keeping them on the hill as well as adequate food. The ♂ & juv were at the western end and a ♀ halfway along the south face in the Hawthorns.

Just a couple of Chiffchaff present, 2 Kestrel still and adjacent fields that are being worked had c300 Lesser Blackback Gull, around the same amount of Rook and 8 Red Kite and Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer around in good numbers.

A few more Blackbird in the hedgerows at the moment taking advantage of berries that are ripening.

A Willow Warbler and a couple of Chiffchaff present around the pond, 2 Song Thrush and a Common Whitethroat and ♀ Blackcap nearby. 

Overhead 2 Hobby were hassling a couple of Red Kite that passed over.

Dragonflies; 2 Brown Hawker, 1 Blue Emperor, 2 Southern Hawker, 3 Common Darter.

Butterflies; Small Skipper, Small White, Brimstone, Peacock, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Holly Blue, Common Blue, Comma, Small Tort.

 Common Darter

 Common Blue

 Kestrel (Loren)

 Yellowhammer in song (Loren)

 Southern Hawker (Loren)

 Sloe Bug (Loren)

                                      Southern Hawker (Loren)

Same again!

Sunny at first then cloudy, 24º, light NE.

Initially a sunny afternoon then turning cloudy with negligible rain, it keeps missing us here.

3 Common Redstart still present on the hill along with 8+ Chiffchaff around the south face of the hill.

A flock 25 Corn Bunting moving around between one of the fields and the hedgerow and a couple of Yellow Wagtail on the wires, a few Swallow and Swift passing overhead and a handful of Lesser Blackback Gull in the area.

A Willow Warbler and several more Chiffchaff in the grounds of the Manor house around the pond, also Grey Heron and Green Woodpecker noted.

A nearby field where slurry is being sprayed attracted a flock of c30 Rook and 17 Red Kite.

Dragonflies; Brown Hawker, Blue Emperor, Common Darter, Azure Damselfly.

Butterflies; 1 Large White, Small White, Large Skipper, Small Skipper, 1 Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, 1 Holly Blue, 1 Common Blue, Small Tort, 

♀ Sparrowhawk mobbing one of the Crows in the garden this evening and the young Sparrowhawks still present nearby.

 Common Redstart

 Some of the Red Kites

 Small Skipper

 Small White

Cool Redstarts

Cloudy, 23º, breezy SW.

A slightly fresher, cooler day and a late visit to the hill.

One particular corner of the hill was sheltered and was very active with 3 Common Redstart (1♂, 1 juv & 1f/juv), 2 Common Whitethroat, 6 Chiffchaff, and 1 Willow Warbler all feeding in a 20 metre stretch of hedgerow.

Also noted were several Yellow Wagtail, 23 Linnet, 3 Yellowhammer, 2 Corn Bunting, 14 Swallow flew SW and 5 Swift flew south, 2 Kestrel, 2 Red Kite and 1 Buzzard, also 48 Lesser Blackback Gull with the corvid flock in the pig fields.

Dragonflies; 1 Southern Hawker, 2 Brown Hawker, 1 Blue Emperor & several Common Darter.

Butterflies; Small White, Large White, Peacock, 1 Marbled White, 2 Ringlet, Meadow Brown, 2 Holly Blue, Gatekeeper, 2 Red Admiral, Small Skipper, 1 Large Skipper and 2 Speckled Wood.

 Redstart

 Redstart

 Redstart

 Redstart

 Common Whitethroat

 Harvestman sp ? (Loren)

 ? (Loren)