Whilst not quite in the blink and you miss it league today was one of those days when you needed to out and about during the first couple of hours after dawn or all you got for your trouble was sunburn. The mainly clear sky didn't promise to have delivered much on the ground and what was about filtered away pretty sharpish; fortunately, the odds and ends that did drop included a nice highlight in the form of a
Barred Warbler trapped in the Crown Estate Field. Its back-up cast wasn't of particular quality but did include enough
Blackcaps and
Chiffchaffs that the trees and scrub were full of activity for a while. Far greater numbers rushed through overhead, with 1300
Meadow Pipits, 650
Swallows, 130
Siskins, 91
House Martins, 44
Yellow Wagtails, 16
Tree Pipits, 16
Chaffinches and 10
Grey Wagtails through in very quick time over the Bill; amongst their travelling companions were an
Osprey and the first signs this autumn of both
Skylarks and
Dunnocks beginning to get going. The sea didn't get going at all, with just 14
Balearic Shearwaters and 3
Arctic Skuas the best off the Bill.
The closer you look the more you find going on with a Barred Warbler's plumage - a subtly smart bird...
...although if you think today's youngster looked good then check out what an adult looks like in autumn - this is one from Kenya last November © Martin Cade:
