Birding limited to intermittent skywatching from the paxton balcony in baking hot conditions assisted by increased cloud cover post lunchtime enabling overflying birds to be more easily sighted...
Not surprisingly given the warm weather a few raptors were on the move with a very juvenile and 5 adult Common Buzzards over south-east; an adult Hobby ripped upstream took an Emperor dragonfly which it then dismantled and devoured on the wing; a stratospherically high ringtail Harrier had the jizz of Hen Harrier but could not be identified beyond doubt; large larids were also flying high and mostly due south with c 120 during the afternoon and given their height and direction it was tempting to assume that these are part of the regular influx from the continent rather than more local movements; 6 Yellow-legged Gulls flew towards Grafham in the early evening; 5 adult Common terns flew south along the Ouse; c 80 House Martins which have been lingering locally are becoming more excitable and garrulous by the day swarming up in excitable pre-migratory flights; a returning Spotted Flycatcher was in the weeping willow at the end of the garden. Six species of dragonfly added insect interest to proceedings...
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