Lutley Wedge 08/09/10 07.20am (9°c) High broken cloud 6/8 Wind Calm-Var W/NE1

Wheatear, Hobby and Yellow Wagtails Lutley Wedge 8/9/10

Another good day with plenty of signs of continuing migration. Good visible migration this morning, with more Meadow Pipits starting to move south, and also 2 Yellow Wagtails and 2 Tree Pipits passed over. 1 Hobby was seen hunting over the Top Footpath again, and 2 Cormorants flew high to the east. The record Wheatear passage continues with 2 Wheatear dropping into the stubble fields along Top Footpath at 08.50am and another 1 Wheatear in a ploughed field with 1 Whinchat at 10.10am. (Whinchat have been particularly scarce this autumn and this mornings was only the second sighting this autumn at Lutley)

Visible Migration:-

2 flava Wagtail >S

2 Tree Pipit

51 Meadow Pipit (32>S 16>E 3>in)

1 alba Wagtail >SE

1 Grey Wagtail>E

1 Whinchat

3 Wheatear

1 Hobby >E/SE 

23+ Swallow

25+ House Martin

2 Chiffchaff

5 Blackcap

47 Goldfinch (31>S)

90+ Linnet

1 Chaffinch >SE

Lutley Wedge 07/09/10 07.00am (12°c/19°c) Broken cloud 5/8, quickly clearing then sunny and scattered cloud. (Heavy thundery showers later p.m) Wind S2-SSE2/3

Rainfall radar U.K 22.30 6/9/10 

Classic 'fall' conditions overnight grounded a record autumn count of 11 Wheatears on the patch this morning, as a band of heavy rain moved NE across the U.K combined with a strong SE wind off the continent, with the rain clearing around 23.30. 
The first indication that Wheatears were arriving came with 2 seemingly moving quickly through the patch early a.m. At 07.30am a Wheatear flew low over the Top Footpath >SE, followed by another at 08.40am also flying through low >SW over the Top Footpath. This bird perched briefly on the roof of Grange Farm barns, before quickly disappearing. 
At 10.50am 3 Wheatears had 'dropped out' into a ploughed field near Grange Farm, and another 2 Wheatear were seen along the track down to Wassell Grove Pools briefly at 11.35am. Finally another 4 Wheatear were in a ploughed field at the far end of the Top Footpath at 1.00pm. This field had been checked earlier and had held only a single Wheatear. 
The clear impression i got was that birds that had been grounded overnight by the bad weather, had started to move as the weather front cleared during the morning bringing favourable conditions for onward migration. Some of these birds were then obviously 'dropping out' to feed in the first suitable habitat they flew over. 


Most of the Wheatears seen in today's fall, appeared to show a darker rufous plumage than typical Northern Wheatear, but with the current weather pattern favouring drift migration from the East and the prevailing wind coming from the SE this would seemingly rule out these birds coming from the NW i.e Greenland and Iceland (leucorhoa). They could however be nominate Wheatear from Fenno-Scandinavia and Russia which can also show a darker rufous fresh plumage (similar to leucorhoa) in the autumn. 

Wheatear Lutley Wedge 7/9/10

Wheatear Lutley Wedge 7/9/10 (one of today's more rufous examples)

Hobby Lutley Wedge 7/9/10

Common Whitethroat Lutley Wedge 7/9/10

Visible Migration/Migrant totals

11 Wheatear

1 Yellow Wagtail

1 Hobby (Hunting over Grange farm/Foxcote)

1 Sand Martin

120+ House Martin

32+ Swallows

11 Swifts

2 Lesser Whitethroat

8 Common Whitethroat

2+ Blackcap

2+ Chiffchaff

1 Herring Gull >E

45 Black-headed Gull >(S/W)

12+ L.B.B Gull

Also

190 Starling

250+ Woodpigeon

65 Greenfinch

70+ Linnet

Lutley Wedge 05/09/10 07.00am (12°c) 6/8 Broken high cloud (8/8 overcast with light rain later a.m) ESE 2-3

Ruddy Shelduck heading East Lutley Wedge 5/9/10

A Ruddy Shelduck flew over >E at 10.05am and was the first record for the local patch. 

(Ruddy Shelduck is in Category B on the British bird list, and is classed as a 'Scarce escapee or feral visitor and possible rare vagrant' in 'The New Birds of the West Midlands 2005'.) Whether todays flyover bird was a genuine wild vagrant or more likely a feral or escaped bird, i guess i'll never know, but interestingly the monthly distribution of sightings in the Midlands does show a peak in passage birds during late summer between July-September, tying in nicely with my sighting. The only other sign of visible migration this morning was 1 Yellow Wagtail >SW at 10.00am.
Visible migration 07.00-10.30am
1 Ruddy Shelduck >E
1 flava Wagtail >SW
1 alba Wagtail >SE
9 House Martin >S (130+ House Martin around Grange Farm)
6 Meadow Pipit (5 >ESE 1 >S)
8 Black-headed Gull >W
6 L.B.B Gull 


Also:-
16+ Swallow
1 Chiffchaff
1 Common Whitethroat
1 Raven >WSW
40+ Linnet
40 Greenfinch
150 Starling

Hasbury/Halesowen 04/09/10 7.10pm

Just 'off patch' 1 Whimbrel flew >SW over my garden at 7.10 pm whilst i was setting up the moth trap! 

Lutley Wedge 03/09/10 06.50am (10°c) Early a.m, sunny mostly clear skies overhead with some patchy mist/low cloud (Low cloud soon moving in from E/SE but cleared later am) SE/E1

Low cloud moving in from the east Lutley Wedge 3/9/10

Sand Martin Lutley Wedge 3/9/10

Wheatear Lutley Wedge 3/9/10 (the 7th this autumn) 

Very little evidence of 'vis mig' this morning as the low cloud drifted in from the East inhibiting passage. Just 4 Swallows headed south before the cloud rolled in, and 1 Cormorant flew through low >SW obviously dis-orientated by the murk, appearing out of the mist briefly before disappearing back into it just as quickly! 

The record autumn Wheatear passage at Lutley continued this morning, with 1 (juv) Wheatear dropping into the recently harvested fields near Grange farm at 09.40am when the skies had cleared of low cloud. 1 Hobby flew over >ESE at 07.10am, and when the mist and low cloud cleared an influx of 70+ Swallows, 60+ House Martins and 1 (adult) Sand Martin were around Grange Farm. (Sand Martin is an 'uncommon passage migrant' here so this mornings perched bird on the power line at Grange Farm was a good local patch record) 

Visible Migration 07.00-09.30am

1 Wheatear

1 Hobby >ESE

1 Cormorant >SW

2 Meadow Pipit >SW

2 Grey Wagtail >S

2 alba Wagtail >S

2 L.B.B Gull >W

1 Sand Martin

70+ Swallow

60+ House Martin

1 Swift

3 Blackcap

1 Common Whitethroat

1 Chiffchaff

   

Lutley Wedge 02/09/10 07.00am (9°c) Sunny with scattered high cloud. Calm-SE/ENE 1

Looking East/Sunrise Lutley Wedge 2/9/10

Wheatear Lutley Wedge 2/9/10

More migrants passed quickly through the patch this morning in the settled conditions, with 4 Yellow Wagtails flying through first thing and another Tree Pipit. 1 (juv) Wheatear dropped out at 08.30am, and perched on the power line near my visible migration watchpoint for about 10 minutes before flying off very high, firstly to the >E then re-orientated and flew >SSE towards Walton Hill. 1 Hobby again flew through >NE over the Top Footpath at 08.10. Hirundine migration was strangely non-existent with no Swallows moving this morning, especially after yesterdays passage in very similar conditions.

Visible Migration 0700-10.30am

1 Wheatear >SSE

4 Yellow Wagtail >SW (2 >SW at 07.30am) (2 >SW at 07.40am)

1 Tree Pipit

1 Hobby >NE

1 Swift >N

11 House Martin (8 >S)
21 Swallow

12 Goldfinch >S

16 Black-headed Gull >W

4 L.B.B Gull >W/SE

7 Chiffchaff

2 Lesser Whitethroat

10 Common Whitethroat

5 Blackcap

4 Meadow Pipit

5 Common Buzzard

Lutley Wedge 01/09/10 06.50am (8°c) Sunny with some high cloud, calm

Wheatear (adult female) Lutley Wedge 1/9/10

Under the influence of the high pressure there were plenty of signs of birds on the move this morning, with the first real push of Swallows moving south first thing. Most of the Swallows flew through quite high up, in the calm conditions. The first Meadow Pipits were starting to move south with several small flocks going through early on, as well as several Tree Pipits. A single Wheatear flew in over the Top Footpath, and high towards Wassell Grove. Probably the same Wheatear was seen later in horse paddocks near Foxcote/Wassell Grove. A Hobby flew over at 07.30am and chased what looked like a pipit low over the Top Footpath before heading off to the northeast.

Visible Migration 06.50-10.00am :-

1 Wheatear >SW

3 Tree Pipit (2 dropped out into the hedgerow along Top Footpath) (1 flew over near Wassell Grove >NE)

15 Meadow Pipit (10 >S)

121 Swallow (100 >S)

37 House Martin 

11 Swift

1 Hobby >NE 

9 Linnet (W/NW)

6 Goldfinch >S

1 Black-headed Gull >SW

4 Lesser-black backed Gull >(W/SW/SE)

Also:-
1 Garden Warbler (SLC)

3 Chiffchaff

3 Common Whitethroat

2 Blackcap
3 Raven (Flew NE over the Top Footpath)

Lutley Wedge 31/08/10 11.00am (17/22°c) Warm, sunny with scattered cloud S1/2

A quick look around the patch late morning produced :-

50+ House Martin

1 Sand Martin (in with House Martins at Wassell Grove Pools)

30+ Swallow

13 Swift (including 7 over Wassell Grove Pools)

1 Lesser Whitethroat (Wassell Grove Pools)

1 Common Whitethroat

2 Chiffchaff

Lutley Wedge 30/08/10 07.00am (6°c) Sunny, clear skies (scattered cloud later) NW/N 1-2

Common Buzzard (moulting adult) Lutley Wedge 30/8/10

Virtually empty skies this morning, with very few signs of any visible migration on a day that looked good for some raptor migration but sadly failed to deliver. 1 Hobby soaring high to the south at 09.52am was the highlight of an otherwise quiet day.

Visible Migration 0700-10.30am:-

1 Hobby >S

4 Swift >N/NW

13 House Martin >SE

1 alba Wagtail>W

3 Meadow Pipit >W

1 Chaffinch >S

10 L.B.B Gulls >W/NW/SSE

also:-

26 Swallow

5 Chiffchaff

4 Common Whitethroat

6 Blackcap

2 Raven (soaring high to the south)

8 Common Buzzard

16 Linnet

Lutley Wedge 28/08/10 06.45am (8°c) Sunny, clear skies. (Scattered cloud later a.m) W 1-2

Visible migration this morning proved to be fairly quiet, but interestingly in the fine clear skies some waders were on the move. Normally the best weather at Lutley for seeing waders flying over is overcast/cloudy conditions or low cloud/drizzle. 4 Golden Plover flew over >WNW at 07.00am, followed by 4 Common Snipe also flying >WNW at 08.03am. Also the first Meadow Pipit of the autumn flew over >W.

Visible Migration 06.45-10.00am

4 Golden Plover >WNW

4 Common Snipe >WNW

1 Meadow Pipit >W

26 Swift >W/NW/SW

2 Linnet >SE

2 Black-headed Gull >W

2 L.B.B Gull >SSE

Also

11 Chiffchaff

10 Common Whitethroat

2 Lesser Whitethroat

8 Blackcap

25+ Swallow

12+ House Martin

Chiffchaff calls (sonogram) 28/8/10 Lutley Wedge

Chiffchaff Lutley 28/08/10 by Lutley Birder

Lutley Wedge 25/08/10 07.50am (11°c) Early broken high cloud + sun/clouded over later a.m (heavy rain moved in from SW late pm) SW 1

Cormorants Lutley Wedge 25/8/10 

An unprecedented movement of Cormorants over the patch today with 11 Cormorants flying east at 09.10am, followed by an even bigger group of 18 Cormorants also heading east at 12.00pm. 1 Curlew flying west at 10.18am was the first this autumn.

Visible Migration:-

29 Cormorant >E

1 Curlew >W

13+ Swift (1>SE, 12>SW)

also:-

45+Swallow

8 House Martin

6 Common Whitethroat

1 Lesser Whitethroat
10 Blackcap

8 Chiffchaff

22/08/10 Lutley Wedge 07.45am (13°c) Scattered cloud and sun SW/W 2

A Whinchat dropped out near Grange Farm briefly this morning (the first this autumn), and yet another Wheatear was in the horse paddocks nearby. It's proving to be a good autumn for passage Wheatear at Lutley, and this mornings bird was the fourth through the patch already this autumn. A visible migration watch showed that Yellow Wagtail passage is getting under way, with 1 Yellow Wagtail flying over >SW  at 07.53am followed by another 2 >SW at 08.49am. Also 46 Swifts flew through, again heading into the WSW wind.

A good patch count of 9 Common Buzzards were soaring over Lutley Brook late morning.

Visible migration 7.45-10.45

3 flava Wagtail sp >SW

1 alba Wagtail sp >S

46 Swift >WSW

17 Swallow

20+ House Martin

1 Whinchat

1 Wheatear

Whinchat Lutley Wedge 22/8/10

Wheatear Lutley Wedge 22/8/10 

Yellow Wagtail heading > SW Lutley Wedge 22/8/10

Swift Lutley Wedge 22/8/10

Lutley Wedge 18/08/10 07.40am (12°c) Grey, cloudy+overcast first thing, sunny with scattered cloud later a.m SW-W 2

Cloudy overcast conditions again first thing this morning, had the desired effect and dropped in a few more migrants, and some late Swifts were still moving through to the west/southwest into the light SW wind. 2 Sand Martins early on and a trickle of Swallows were heading south, and a Hobby flew swiftly through late morning. An adult Common Gull (Scarce at Lutley) flew in from the ENE first thing, heading off to the southwest.


Visible Migration Lutley Wedge 7.40-11.40am :-
1 Tree Pipit >S (Flew over >S at 0850 and dropped out briefly, before flying off high >S)
1 Wheatear
1 Hobby >NE/E
2 Sand Martin >SW
37 Swallow  (+47 Swallows at Wassell Gove) 
23 Swift >W/SW
8 House Martin >W
10 Goldfinch >S/SW
1 Common Gull (ad) >SW
3 Herring Gull (1ad,2juv) >W


Also:-
9 Common Whitethroat
4 Chiffchaff

Tree Pipit Lutley Wedge 18/8/10

Wheatear Lutley Wedge 18/8/10

Adult Common Gull heading >SW Lutley Wedge 18/8/10