Hello Most of our effort this past week has been spent on St Mary's and with an excursion on to the lovely island of Bryher yesterday. Passerine 'summer' migrants are still in reasonable numbers with plenty of Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Swallows around with 'winter' migrants slowly gathering pace as flocks of Meadow Pipits swirl around the fields and there are waders on most of the beaches. Most days we have found small numbers of Spotted Flycatchers, Grey Wagtails, Whinchats, Stonechats, Wheatears and with an occasional Pied Flycatcher, Tree Pipit, a single Lapland Bunting and so far just one Yellow-browed Warbler. Raptors on the island include a female Merlin that has urbanised itself and sits on chimney pots in Hugh Town picking off House Sparrows; also there are several Kestrels on the islands and a couple of Sparrowhawks and any number of Peregrines. The bays and buoys are home to Sandwich Terns and Mediterranean Gulls and of course birds such as Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Song Thrush, Blackbird and Starling are common and often seemingly everywhere! Back in the county and Eric enjoyed his birding at Thrapston Pits on Wednesday where he estimated two hundred Cormorants were looking for fish and logged four Little Egrets, a pair of Egyptian Geese, up to twenty Chiffchaffs, four Cetti's Warblers and plenty of insects in the warm conditions which included Small Copper butterflies. Jacob was at Pitsford Reservoir also on Wednesday and saw a Rock Pipit, and a Mandarin Duck. Finally congratulations to Dave Jackson who won Birdguides photo of the week with a cracking photo of a fishing Black Tern at Pitsford Reservoir. Well done Dave! Regards Neil M
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