A bird on the hide....

A good start to the day yesterday, when I arrived to open up the Tern hide there was a Wheatear on the roof. It was quite approachable and allowed a few pictures to be taken one of which is below. Wheatears are scarce but regular in both spring and autumn at Blashford, although this year seems to have been much poorer for them than last.
It is always good to see a Wheatear, they are very neat birds, but they are also conspicuous and so easy to spot, they also indicate a movement of small birds has occurred over-night and so alerts you to the possibility of other migrants. As it turned out other migrants seemed to be rather few, just a scattering of Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Blackcaps.

The most obvious migrants in the last few days have been martins, especially Sand Martins, over Ibsley Water, with well over one thousand birds at times, rather fewer House Martins and very few Swallows. All these hirundines have attracted several Hobbies, although I have only seen them succeeding in catching dragonflies.

Although this is a good time for wader passage there have been very few of late. On Saturday there were only single Common Sandpiper, Dunlin and a reported Little Ringed Plover.

A few wildfowl are starting to arrive with single Wigeon, Teal and Ruddy Duck and a few Shoveler all on Ibsley Water.

After a rather protracted break I will try and post regularly again, with most of the autumn still to go there will hopefully be lots to report.