Monday 2nd September

I was at Shustoke early, but it was quiet, I scanned the Reservoir from the car park but apart from a couple of Gadwall it was dead, even the large number of gulls present recently must have been off foraging. I dropped down of the embankment having decided to cross the river and go round the back of Hoggrill’s End. The field on the other side of the river is starting to fill with Willow Scrub which held good numbers of Chiffchaff and a couple of Whitethroat but the hoped for Whinchat never materialised.

This year has been notable for biting insects and mosquitoes, I have suffered badly with bites and walking through this field, again saw me on the menu!

Again, as with yesterday Yellowhammer have proved elusive and I still haven’t seen one yet for Shustoke. I followed the Tamworth Road, then dropped down walking through the sheep paddocks, under the railway then along the southern perimeter of the Reservoir. Back at the car park I got the scope out and picked up a distant Peregrine and a couple of closer Common Sandpiper.

I returned late evening to search through the gulls which had returned and there were loads, but try as I might I could not find a Med Gull, although there were double figures of Herring Gull.