Plodding On...

A Friday evening Rosy Starling walk was in fact just a walk, but pleasant for all that. Although I was passed by hundreds of Starlings heading for Cogden en route, by the time I arrived they were nowhere to be seen. Either they dropped into the reeds early, or went elsewhere. The Red-backed Shrike is going to be a hard act to follow, and nothing has yet tried. Some pics...

Backlit juv Linnet. Quite neat little things.

Roe Deer in the evening sunshine. Birds of the day really.

This afternoon I did the long plod from Abbotsbury Beach car park to beyond West Bex village. It's a nice route, with miles and miles of shrikey hedges and lots of other lovely habbo. Despite the mid-June vibe to it all, there was plenty to look at. Highlight for me was a female Marsh Harrier at West Bex. Just a 4-second view as it went past a gap in trees, but it's the first I've seen this year. Also good to see was a distant family party of Lesser Whitethroats. So distant in fact - right across the far side of a field - that I confirmed the ID with my camera! Some more pics...

Marbled White. Quite a few on the wing now.

Lovely to see a summer-plumaged Great Crested Grebe on the sea.

At least 10 Med Gulls along the beach. Mostly youngsters.

Common Tern. Many flight shot attempts. Many failures.

One of two territorial Corn Buntings at East Bex

Pair of Stock Doves. Male on the left, with look of lust. Unrequited, as it turned out.

Freshly-minted Stonechat in the evening sun.

There are still a fair few scarce birds turning up around the country, and I haven't given up hope of another June corker, but in reality it feels like we are now on the turn towards autumn. For birders, that's July I guess. Am I right in thinking that many species have had a pretty good breeding season so far? If so I look forward to a nice flood of migrants coming through in the next few months.

I hope Ortolans have done well...