Not a very bright day, with heavy rain early on, so it was not surprising that only ten people turned up. Collared Dove, House Sparrow and Blackbird were seen around the Church, and as we walked down the Gang Wall path the first Chiffchaff was heard and later seen. A Sparrowhawk was seen by a few as it hedge hopped, and a mixed flock of Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit and Chiffchaff flitted past at the end of the path which had been protecting us from the rain. This now became heavy, so we put on our wet gear and battled our way across the fields with heads held low. We took a welcome stop at a convenient barn for coffee, as the rain eased and six or seven Greenfinch perched for a while on overhead wires. We saw swooping Swallows, House Martins and one lone Sand Martin over the railway line, with Goldfinch and Kestrel further along at the start of Wemberham Lane and then two Lapwings and a Grey Heron up against a far hedge. A very smart Red Admiral Butterfly was seen posing for a photo shoot and just after that we saw an amazing total of 30 to 40 House Sparrows pecking away in a chicken run. As we made our way back, we added Buzzard, Moorhen, about 30 Mallards, Starling, Dunnock and Great Tit to our list. A total of 32 species was noted. It was also a good walk for butterflies with Comma, Speckled Wood, Small White and lots of Red Admirals.
Geoff Harris
(Many thanks for leading, Geoff.)