September 1st

Well I got a text mid morning for me to go join a long-time friend at my local patch. The text indicated that Chris had spotted two Pied Flycatchers which, would be lifers, for both of us in this area. The habitat in question is a woodland valley of deciduous trees complete with grassy rides. It is a 20 minute or so trip from my house but sod’s law proved the winner, in that I lost out on my sighting. What I did come across were many cousins of the aforementioned species, the Spotted Flycatcher. These birds have frequently passed through this area in late August and more especially September in recent years and were pretty much expected. The Pied, however was most unexpected. Never mind, the fact that I was unable to witness these stunning birds, the male of which, as imagined, is a black and white bird of robin size. They will most likely be on their way back to Africa in line with the next north-westerly wind outbreak. Here’s hoping I may land on a PiedFly before the season is out.