Today it was super bright blue, with a light breeze, so again the car park field was my only destination. Little happening at first, just 1-2 Blackcap calling 2 Chiffchaff, 2-3 Meadow Pipit over, then something caught my eye in the brambles below to the left of the 'big Hawthorn'.
I couldn't see what it was at first, but scoping realized it was a juvenile Stonechat, my 125th patch year tick. One more for me to match 2008, four more for 2009, then all my year lists have been 133, or more since. Last year we had one on the 22nd at LFGP NE corner.
Brian arrived and we watched it for several more minutes, but when the Stonechat flew over our heads at 10:02, we thought it had gone, only to find it on the wires briefly, but then it perched high on the top branches of the scrub in the middle compound, allowing some of my best ever Stonechat photographs...minus my iphone adapter for keeping it more still.
Finally it flew to the landfill where we watched it on the scrub left of the farm buildings then it went out of view, presumably left!?
During the next 30 or so minutes, Alan joined us and we had a Hobby, 200+ House Martin, small groups of Meadow Pipit, 2 Siskin and as I was getting back into my car got one of Brian's 2 Coal Tits he had before meeting up with me.
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