New Photos.

 Ive had a few trips out over the last couple of months, but photographic opportunities have been a bit limited. It has taken a while to sort things out and get the photos onto the computer so here are a few of the better ones.

RSPB Frampton has been visited a couple of times. July had two pairs of breeding Black Winged Stilts with five or six chicks. I also managed to locate the eclipse American Wigeon.

The last visit to Frampton was in August over the bank holiday. Wader numbers were starting to build up, with several Curlew sandpipers, a nice Wood Sandpiper and a few Little Stints. The Convolvulus Haw Moth had been trapped earlier and had been left on one of the car park posts. We were hoping to locate the long staying Black Stork, but just like the one here a few years ago it didn't show.

Also on August Bank Holiday we visited Titchwell. Six hours failed to produce any migrant passerines apart from a car park full of warblers early on-nothing out of the ordinary. Bird of the day was the American Golden Plover, the first for quite a long time, though the Turtle Dove at Chosely Barns on the way home was notable too. Shame I never got a photo of it. 

Elsewhere I have been plugging away at Fairlands Valley with Tony Hukin, and sometimes Tom and Andy. We are rapidly approaching 100 for the year though last weeks flyover Linnet was surprisingly rare being the first for 12 years. The Spotted Flycatchers found over the Bank Holiday lingered for over a week and eventually proved fairly photogenic. The previous week I had a very long walk down to Frogmore as Alan Ford had reported several Spotted Flycatchers there and at the time I hadn't seen any in 2023, so i was a bit shocked while finishing the coffee and getting ready for the walk when I noticed one in my palm tree! Of course by the time the camera was out it had departed.

Aston end has been hard with few scarce migrants and it has only been in the last week or so when things started to pick up and I could record decent numbers. Lots of Chiffchaffs, a few Willow Warblers and large tit flocks were notable. A briek flyover Kingfisher near the flying club was the first here for many years-mind you its the first summer with water flowing along the Beane for a long long time. A bit further on two Whinchats played hard to get in the hedge up to Lords Farm. Three Lesser Whitethroat were also notable here.