Hirundines

Yes- still getting a few through Marston.  Been walking the dog there, in-between visits to see Sharon in Hospital-she’s had a hip op. Yesterday (Sun.) I made a quick morning visit and there were eleven swallows feeding up over the site, they were still there when I left. Good numbers of fieldfares arriving and skylarks passing over, calling.

In the afternoon I treated Jim, my next door neighbour to his first visit to Marston. He loved it, I must say it was a pretty good visit by Marston standards. This time there were at least a dozen house martins and eight swallows. It’s very late date for house martins-the latest I’ve seen them-they, swallows and fieldfares were all in the air in the same field of view at one point. Rarely would you see those together. There were four stonechats, flycatching in the late afternoon sun. A green sandpiper, a couple of grey wagtails, the drake pintail and a couple of squealing water rails added interest. The lake Windermere neck collared greylag PZB is still about, doesn’t look like it wants to leave Marston. Why would it?

A handful of bramblings were in the willows on Sat.

Lily, trying to find me a Richard’s pipit.