Of birds and bees

         The end of August is quite a poignant time with the end of school holidays approaching and a noticeable  change in the seasons - the first cooler nights and mornings of heavy dew.  This year with its long heat wave has made the change to cooler climes even more notable but the sunshine has not gone away and September can be a glorious month. August is a pretty quiet month for birds. Many migrants have left us and are heading south, other birds are moulting their breeding plumages and keeping a low profile, skulking out of sight until their new feathers are in place. Migrants yet to leave us are busy building up fat reserves for the journey ahead - the days of display and dawn chorus are over until next Spring. Yet there are birds around, a bit more work is needed to find them. 
          A misty walk along the Medway early on Sunday morning did produce a few birds, nothing very special, apart from the Whinchat, always good to see.

A reed Bunting in moult and looking scruffy

Female Whinchat

Yellowhammers gathering seeds

A young Whitethroat

Female Blackcap

The Whinchat again

Green Woodpecker chasing ants

Whinchats are summer migrants that breed further north and are now moving south, a few always use Tonbridge as a stop-over. This year has been a good one for them with a good number of sightings. Always welcome.