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On Tuesday 25 September I saw a wheatear in Medham. It was on the path and fence posts on Medham Farm Lane, about half way between the farm house and the cycle track. A stonechat could be seen through the same binocular sight! The wheatear is a new bird for our patch. It was a male in its autumn plumage. It was not there the following day, making me think it was passing through on its migration back to warmer climates for the non-breeding season.
Also this week I have seen dozens of swallows and house martins gathering to feed together, also in preparation for their migratory journeys. I suspected house martins were in our area, despite not receiving reports of any visible nests on people’s houses or other buildings. So this week has seen two new birds added to our list of recorded species.
Other nice birds this week were: a kingfisher in the creek at Medham; a flock of about 25 meadow pipits in the field next to Medham Farm Lane; a very close yellowhammer in one of the Pallance Farm fields, with a stonechat close by.
To the untrained eye, the two fields either side of Medham Farm Lane may look empty and barren, but when birds like wheatear, stonechat, meadow pipit, green woodpacker and goldfinch can all be seen there, they are actually full of interest. Go and check it out and tell me what you see!
Turning to butterflies, I saw a clouded yellow on Tuesday, very close to where I saw the wheater. This is a migrant butterfly: it is seen regularly in the UK, and sometimes breeds. It was a nice sight, and another new species for the butterfly list. (I think I saw a wall brown in a field further south, off the cycle track. This was out of our area, so I can’t add it to the list).

debbiepledge@hotmail.com

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