Wednesday was just a fantastic to be out , and with news of a HOOPOE just up the road and me being on holiday I was out and ready to add the above to the patch list, needless to say that did not happen !
In the hedges were 4 Blackcap, 4 Chiffchaff, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 6 Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and a nice female Bullfinch .
Swallows were more numerous than of late with 17 plus around but only 2 House Martin .Raptors were both male and female Kestrel and 3 Buzzards soaring overhead. The year showed the first sign of turning with the sighting of a flock of 10 plus Long Tailed Tits including a number of juvenile  birds .Other odds and sods were a Green Woodpecker, 4 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail (first for quite awhile),7 plus Stock Dove
 

Just a quick update ,its Tuesday and I have a day off , so it was a quick jaunt around the patch. It was a hot summer day and the usual suspects were around with singles of all the expected species and to be honest I was not going to put an update on but with the last birds seen being a family group of Lesser Whitethroats a quick update was necessary .

Windy ,cloudy and quite cool, another high summer day in Tirley , but sometimes the patch comes up with some really weird surprise" s and today was one of those days when at 8.30am I was shocked to see a Common Tern flying north towards the Malverns  over a wheat field , a great way to bring the patch list to 81.
In the hedges were 3 Blackcap, 6 Whitethroat ,a  singing Willow Warbler and just 2 Chiffchaff .
Overhead 8 Plus Swallow, 7 plus House Martin and a party of 7 Swift which drifted south west put in an appearance , also a family party of 3 Raven.
Birds of prey were 3 Buzzard and a pair of Kestrel at a nest site were welcome.
Skylarks are having a good year here this year with 5 singing today ,a male Yellow Wagtail flew over.
 The best of the rest were 4 Stock Dove, 2 Linnet and a Red Legged Partridge .
 The patch list now stands at 81.

Saturday was overcast , with rain and wind and the birds reflected the weather and my mood .In the hedges 4 Blackcap, 5 Whitethroat, 4 Chiffchaff and the Willow Warbler made themselves known.
Overhead not much was happening with just 7 House Martin , 1 Swift and 5 Swallow over,also a fine male Sparrow hawk .
Skylarks showed well with 7 being seen or heard it is a good year for them .I also found a Greater Spotted Woodpeckers nest with the parents feeding young .
The best of the rest were female Kestrel ,4 Sock Dove, 5 Greater Spotted Woodpecker (this included the youngsters), Red Legged Partridge, 2 Linnet .
Sunday I was out early as my son gave us the privilege of a "sleepover", The weather was better and so were the birds. Overhead there were 30 plus House Martins and 15 plus Swift ,also 8 plus Swallow were about.
 In the hedges were a whooping 10 Whitethroat, 6 Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaff and the still singing Willow Warbler .
A very smart female Yellow Wagtail was feeding around cattle, a calling  Cuckoo was nice to hear.
Two unexpected species were a Jay and then a Mistle Thrush  both of these are not birds that I see until early Autumn normally .
The Greater Spotted Woodpeckers are still feeding young and I saw 2 other birds around the patch . In the fields were 7 Skylark and 3 Red Legged Partridge and both male and female Kestrel.
The best of the rest were 6 Stock Dove, Buzzard and  at least 4 Linnet

It was back out on the patch again and really it was more of the same although the cold north wind I think most birds stay  in cover.
 In the hedges were 6 Blackcap, a good count of least 7 plus Whitethroat including a male and female carrying food, just 3 Chiffchaff also with one carrying food .
 Overhead there were 9 plus House Martin, 6 plus Swallow and 2 Swift, also a candidate for a late migrant in the form of a summer plumage Black Headed Gull heading north , not a bird I see in the summer months normally.
From the distant river meadows a Curlew was once again calling and our pair of Yellow Wagtails were out and about.
Skylarks appear to be having a good year with at least 6 being heard or seen.
The best of the rest were 1 Red Legged Partridge, 3 Buzzard, 4 Stock Dove 20 plus Lesser Black Backed Gulls Greater Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Herring Gull.
 The patch list remains stubbornly static at the moment on 80

Out on the patch this morning , although it was not as early as I had wanted as I over slept ! Quite warm with a few clouds but a nagging north breeze.
Overhead 8 plus House Martins and 5 plus Swallow were feeding, local breeders from the village, Swallow numbers are down on last year.
Bird song has diminished somewhat or at least today it seemed to have and in the hedges were 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap and 6 Whitethroat.
A great surprise was a Curlew calling from the river meadows and the local pair of Yellow Wagtails were about .There was also a healthy show of Skylarks with at least 6 singing . There was also at least 3 Linnet over and a few more Goldfinch than of late.
 Around 15 Lesser Black Backed Gulls and 1 Herring Gull passed over north .
The best of the rest were a female Kestrel, 2 Buzzard, 2 Stock Dove, Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
Later on after an unsuccessful stake out of last years Spotted Flycatcher area, 2 Birds were in the hedge right next to the cottage, so maybe they have just moved some where else, although it has not been easy to observe the usual haunt as the field is full of a herd of ASBO cows who are given to charging at you

With the pressures of work it has been nearly a week since I covered the patch. Having read the Portland website and seen they had 800 to 1000 Spotted Flycatcher yesterday and was hopeful that I would be able to find our pair, but they still have not reappeared this year ,that is a real downer .
It was a great day , quite warm so I was hoping for a few late migrants.
In the hedges today were 4 Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 7 Whitethroat , the Lesser Whitethroats seem to have moved on. .Raptors today were a Sparrowhawk, male Kestrel and a pair of Buzzard.
Overhead Swallows numbered 25 plus with 9 plus House Martin and a single Swift over.
It is good to report that we have a pair of Yellow Wagtail on the patch , great birds !  There were at least 4 singing Skylarks which is always good to hear.
The best of the rest were 7 Stock Dove, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Red Legged Partridge and a flock of 17 Lesser Black Backed gulls on pasture.