Sunday 9th September - Summer arrives

The week has been absolutely glorious weather - girls back to school - wall to wall sunshine- temperatures up to 25c, until a dramatic change late Sunday afternoon as I got the barbecue out for it's first outing this year !

Saturday afternoon I went down to Chichester where there had been a Red-footed Falcon at Ivy lakes for the past three days (or possibly three weeks). The bird was performing well when I arrived (although about 100yds too far for a decent picture - record only quality below). I spent the next hour or so watching it hunt dragonflies from a perch in one of two trees it commuted between, and it put on quite a display. There were lots of Dragonflies around so it had a plentiful supply but as a result it spent a minimal time in flight between it's sorties.

Leaving those with bigger cameras to the falcon, I went down to Pagham and walked from the visitor centre towards the Ferry pool. A Whitethroat and Blackcap were the only migrant birds visible, although a group of Sand Martins and a few Swallows were hawking over the Ferry.
4 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Green Sandpipers, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Curlew Sandpiper  with Lapwing and lots of Teal. were on the pool.

I then walked a little way up the west side with the tide rising . The newly ploughed fields had a small group of gulls, surprised to find an adult Little Gull with the Black-headeds' and 2 Med Gulls.
 In the harbour plenty of Little Egrets, 3 Greenshank, Grey Plover, 2 Yellow Legged Gulls. but no sign of any more migrants so headed home around 5ish



Red-footed Falcon - hunting Dragonflies.

It proved challening to take a picutre of the falcon

Nice view of tail feathers.

I'd spent a little 'coffee time' around the house just looking at what birds were around, which I hadn't really done since returning from Ecuador. Recorded 32 species in total, which isn't too bad, although nothing out of the ordinary. Bullfinch, Siskin, Goldfinch , Greenfinch and Chaffinchs. Great-Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit. 3 Chiffchaffs and 4 Blackcaps hogging and Elder bush (they could be migrants but probably local birds still lingering). An increase number of Swallows and House Martins were in the skies and a single Common Buzzard was the only raptor, with a vocal Tawny Owl.