
This is one of a pair of Woodchat Shrikes that were interacting together and are therefore probably breeding in the locality. There have been more numerous this year than I remember from previous years.
Last summer I recall being surprised by the abundance of Pied Flycatchers, which until then I had seen only occasionally . Hopefully this increasing trend is continuing and they are already showing up in some numbers this month.




A single Curlew Sandpiper could be picked out from the crowd as it was in its lovely russet-coloured summer plumage. There was also a pair of Wood Sandpipers wading around with the Redshanks, but surprisingly no sign of the Black-winged Stilts today, I wonder where they went?
it is not often one is treated to the sound of three great songsters almost simultaneously, but while I was listening to the song of a nearby Blackcap, a Nightingale started up from the overhead power cables, and then both were drowned out by a Cetti which suddenly let rip from the riverside scrub. Quite a chorus. | Here´s another look at the superb Collared Pratincoles. These birds are officially classed as waders but unusually amongst this class they hunt their insect prey on the wing, just like hirundines or bee-eaters. They are fast and highly skilled flyers. |