Tuesday 29 September – Hawkesbury Upton

This is one of our most popular Cotswold walks so, on a perfect Autumn day, it was no surprise it attracted a big turn-out – 28 members. We set off from the Beaufort Arms car park in warm sunshine, soon noting Collared Dove on a rooftop, Jackdaw, Blackbird, House Sparrows and a flock of 30 Starling. As we walked past fields of stubble we saw a Kestrel flying from bush to bush – the first of three Kestrels seen – then a solitary Yellowhammer on a telegraph wire, its colours showing well in the sunshine. A pair of Pied Wagtail and a Meadow Pipit in a field were followed by a Buzzard atop a post, seemingly trying to disguise itself as part of the post. Three Skylark were singing lustily as they rose from the stubble and some of us saw a Hare jumping over a bale of straw. Half a dozen migratory Swallows were heading south. After coffee stop, the list grew steadily as we noted female Chaffinch, a singing Wren, Great Tit and Chiffchaff. A Comma butterfly was sun-bathing on a bush and a Robin sang its wistful autumn tune. Other notable sightings were a fly-over by four Greenfinch, a Goldcrest in an Ash tree, and a flock of Linnet. Total species, 30. Thank you, Peter, for leading and Nick for taking the count. John Beaven