Good passage of SPOTTED FLYCATCHERS

Calvert BBOWT; dawn- 161 Greylag Geese roosted/large gull roost just departing/ 72 Lapwing by 2nd hide/Great Crested Grebes feeding large young with large Crayfish.

Quainton Hills; improvement on yesterday with Willow Warblers/Whitethroat/Lesser Whitethroat/Chiffchaff in hedges mostly on tops. First migrant flock of 28 Meadow Pipit on Conduit hill/ adult Yellow Wagtail/c60 Goldfinch.

Four SPOTTED FLYCATCHERS on tops near aeriel field - 2 adults and 2 brown/spotty juveniles (Tim Watts)

LITTLE EGRETS reach new Site Record

Calvert BBOWT Lake; 1 Green Sandpiper/ 3 Pochard, 2 are 1st males back/ unusual sighting was a juvenile Yellow Wagtail on open area/fair few warblers in bushes/ Water level risen by 3" which unhandily has covered the new mud edge I just shaped to bring waders close to 2nd hide!

Calvert landfill; Private site; Little Egret numbers still rising and now 8. This is a record Calvert flock I think.They could be roosting in Cormorant trees on reserve but needs a late trip and difficult to observe. Also 2 Green Sandpipers/3 Common Sandpipers/ 4 Tufted Duck young - the first breeding success at Calvert for years./ c400 Lapwing.

Water level has risen dramatically here.

Hillesden Pools; 1 Green Sandpiper/1 Common Sandpiper/1 Teal/ 1 Yellow Wagtail (Tim Watts)

Migrant clearout

Hedgelines at base of North slopes empty!! Warblers etc that were here have moved on.

Tops also very quiet and took a fair while to locate a bit of activity, this was on top of West slopes. There was 1 female COMMON REDSTART,1 Willow Warbler and 1 Common Whitethroat (Tim Watts)

COMMON REDSTART new in at Calvert

Calvert BBOWT; 2 Green Sandpiper/1 Common Sandpiper/ c 800 large gulls, mostly L.B.B loafing on BBOWT lake/ 2 pochard/1 ad Little Grebe. Had look around scrub and saw 2 Lesser Whitethroat. I obviously didn't spend long enough looking as Chris Botterel located a COMMON REDSTART here at 9:30 a.m. We just about get one or two every year so must be attractive to them. I hope it utilises one of my posts I put in with them in mind!

Quainton Hill; 20 minute look at one spot at base produced 10+ Willow Warblers/2 Chiffchaff/ 4 Lesser Whitethroat in the small clump I staked out. Two juvenile YELLOW WAGTAILS on stony track (Tim Watts)

Hill Migrants

QUAINTON HILLS; again had limited time so just did one small area at base of North slopes. On intial slow scans nothing seen but looked good so sat ,waited and watched. A SPOTTED FLYCATCHER darted out of a largish Oak, then a female COMMON REDSTART.

No less tham 9 LESSER WHITETHROAT together in one hedgeline. Spotted something on overhead wires, this turned out to be a NORTHERN WHEATEAR ! Same one or another on horse paddock fence half a mile away. A single juvenile YELLOW WAGTAIL in with the Pied Wagtail flock and two Meadow Pipits.

CALVERT BBOWT: 2 GREEN SANDPIPERS and 2 COMMON SANDPIPERS (Tim Watts)

Hill migrants today

Quainton Hills: Had limited time but a quick look at a few spots was pretty good; East slopes; quite a few warblers and 4 SPOTTED FLYCATCHERS. Bottom of North slopes warblers included Willow/Lesser and Common Whitethroat and Chiffchaff. Also 1 SPOTTED FLYCATCHER and c30 Swallow resting on bushes. Conduit Hill; 1 juvenile Northern Wheatear. Tops near aerial mast; male and female COMMON REDSTARTS (Tim Watts)

Saturday at Calvert

Calvert BBOWT; 1 Green sandpiper/ 1 ad C.Tern/ distinct lack of warblers in scrub; Calvert landfill; No general access: 4 Little Egret, 1 of them constantly being hastled by another 3/ 1 Green Sandpiper/ 3 Common Sandpipers/ 44 Greylag geese/ 2 Juvenile Common Terns briefly in rain/ c 300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls/ 1 ad YELLOW-LEGGED GULL/ 6 British Herring Gulls (Tim Watts)