I had a couple of hours this morning before doing the Saturday sports runs, so I headed up to Blackdown, which is only 10 minutes away. Catching up with Wrynecks this autumn has been a problem for me. They are reported in very small numbers, typically from late August through to late September on the move South, and this year seems to be a good year for them. I hadn't made a specific effort to see a reported bird, but a couple of times in the last few weeks I've missed seeing one at Church Norton by minutes. With a report of a bird at Blackdown from Wednesday and again Friday, I though this must be luck so I headed there at 7am.
It was overcast and a little gloomy and a bit of drizzle for a few minutes. In 2 hours wandering around I had no sniff of a Wryneck, the Saturday curse stikes again, but I was the only one looking. Plenty of Chiffchaffs were calling along with Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrests, Coal Tit, 3 Stonechats, 20 Meadow Pipits flew over and about the same number of Swallows, and the best bird was a Wheatear - I hadn't seen one in the wider area before, but as I don't visit Blackdown very frequently wouldn't know whether this is unusual or not - perhaps I should.
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| Blackdown,, looking South |
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| Blackdown, looking North |
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| Wheatear |
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| Stonechat |
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