24th May

Much quieter today, which was very warm, with the pretty much non-existent northerly doing nothing to cool things down. Two Common Terns were present at Bramley Park Lake in the morning, just the second record this year. It's likely they were the same pair as earlier this month, and courtship behaviour was witnessed. I still can't work out where they're based, and they soon departed west. Elsewhere, as mentioned, there wasn't much, though I managed to catch up with Steve C for a couple of hours. The winds look slightly more favourable in the coming days, and I'm tempted to head out tonight for some nocturnal migration listening (or lack of). Highlights as follows:

07:00-12:20

Bramley Park Lake: 2 Common Terns (07:05-07:10, flew W), 1 Grey Heron and 1 Chiffchaff.

Mill Pond: 3 Mandarins (♂♂♂), 2 Tufted Ducks (♂♀), 1 Blackcap and 1 Chiffchaff.

Thorncombe Street: 1 Little Owl, 4 Swallows and 2 Red-legged Partridges.

Winkworth Arboretum: 1 Mandarin (♀, with 3 ducklings), 2 Tufted Ducks (♂♀), 1 Little Grebe, 2 Blackcaps and 1 Chiffchaff.

Scotsland Farm to Juniper Hill to Nore Hanger: 1 Garden Warbler, 5 Blackcaps and 2 Chiffchaffs.

New Barn: 1 Garden Warbler, 3 Whitethroats, 2 Red-legged Partridges, 3 Buzzards, 3 Blackcaps and 1 Chiffchaff.

Hive Field (09:55-12:00): 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Skylark, 1 Sparrowhawk (♂), 10+ Buzzards, 3 House Martins, 10 Swallows, 3 Blackcaps and 2 Chiffchaffs.