Hi

Well with yet more wet weather set in for the next few days, unfortunately this week's unsettled forecast is proving to be accurate!  I suppose it provides an opportunity of catching up with those inside jobs and yet another list that I never seem to get around to.  A perusal of Pitsford Res today located a south-bound Green Sandpiper calling and flying over the reservoir and a Common Sandpiper in the Scaldwell Bay that was apparently having great difficulty in finding somewhere to land and feed such is the water level!  Loafing large gulls have been conspicuous all spring and summer at Pitsford, and today there were a couple of Yellow-legged Gulls off the yacht club late morning (1st year and 2nd year).  Away from Pitsford and the regular Barn Owl was hunting again this afternoon in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.  There has been a single Siskin in the village (at Hanging Houghton) for the best part of a week now, but no sign of it today.  The Spotted Flycatchers have remained very inconspicuous in the village but one was calling well this afternoon.  For me Little Owls have been scarce this year and seemingly absent from many of their usual haunts.  However there is still one that terrorises the birds on the north side of the village and it has been regularly roosting in the holly bushes in my neighbour's garden and sitting on our chimney during the early hours.  A Little Owl call is enough to wake me from my slumbers, particularly so when it echos down the chimney stack!  My on-going study in to local Jackdaws continues and so far this year I have been fortunate to catch and ring an additional 16 birds in the garden.  Most of the birds around the village now bear rings to the point whereby new birds are reasonably easy to spot (which of course includes many of the youngsters which are fledged and mostly independent now).  One capture in the garden was interesting recently inasmuch that it was a ringed bird from Pitsford.  This bird was ringed as a nestling in a nest box in 2006 and found its way to our garden this spring.  It's obviously followed me or Eleanor back from Pitsford before and perhaps decided not to go back!