Deepdale Farm - 2nd September 2024

 After a weekend that's been windy, especially on the coast, we were tempted to get a short session in at Deepdale, our site closest to the sea, after a fall of migrants all along the coast on the previous evening. CL had been out birding and seen Redstart, Wheatear, Pied and Spotted Flycatcher and Whinchat so despite the wind being set to get up before long got 4 nets up on Hilly piece, and waited.

The first three birds out were a Willow Warbler and two Lesser Whitethroats, quality species and no doubt there due to the conditions that had caused the 'fall' on the 1st. As expected the wind got up very quickly and the nets were wind affected by 8:30am. We were packed up by 10am with only 8 birds but glad to have given it a try, despite the lack of any Redstarts or flycatchers.

One of two juvenile Lesser Whitethroats

An interesting fact about the Lesser Whitethroat is that it does not use the East Atlantic Flyway migration route, that extends from the Arctic Circle via Western Europe to Southern Africa, used by most UK summer passerines. The Lesser Whitethroat instead flies to Italy and then heads east to its East African wintering grounds, where it stays in a habitat very similar to that used by other UK migrants south of the Sahara.

Juvenile Willow Warbler

Total: 8

Chiffchaff - 1
Dunnock - 2
Lesser Whitethroat - 2
Robin - 1
Willow Warbler - 1