Mobile flock of 40+ Mipits and 3 Wheatears today, but couldn’t find a single passage Warbler. The only other passage bird was a very amenable Spotted Flycatcher insecting from a prominent dead branch in the east side thicket.

The anticipated passage of Meadow Pipits started in earnest today with a flock of 26 at the top. Other migrants included two Tree Pipits which were good enough to sit together prominently on a bush to allow ID, three Wheatears and quite a few LBJ’s flitting about in the thickets on the sheltered east side. I watched this area for 20 mins but was only able to confirm two Blackcaps and a Willow Warbler, the others were probably more Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, the Willow Warblers are very easy to pick in their fresh almost Yellow newly moulted livery.
Didn’t go up the Knoll yesterday, but on a local drive migrant interest was - four Wheatears on Tealham, and a pair of Whinchats, in a field adjacent to Pill Road between Rooksbridge and Mark on Allerton Moor.

Been to the top of the Knoll every day since my last post and there has been small numbers of migrants present every day. There was a bit of a fall on Wednesday when the weather broke, three Wheatears, twenty or thirty Blackcaps and Willow Warblers plus several Chiff Chaffs. There have been small parties of Hirundines passing through every day, mainly House Martins, although some could be “locals”, two nests close to my home still had young until a few days ago.
I didn’t get to the top until 1200 noon today and there were lots of hikers, picnickers and dog walkers, despite this there were six Wheatears present, but subject to near constant disturbance. The only other migrants I could find were a Spotted Flycatcher and a Blackcap, however, whilst at the top my first migrant Meadow Pipit of the autumn flew in from the north calling, it made several circuits of the summit, obviously alarmed by the number of human beings and dogs opted for a landing site in some rough grassland lower down.
The Brown Butterflies have all but disappeared, as have Common Blues, but there has been a good emergence of Small Coppers which are now appearing on clumps of Ragwort as well as Fleabane. A few fresh looking Small Heaths also appearing as well as lots of Silver Y, day flying moths, in the long grass.

Bit of a fall today – 20+ Blackcaps, 10+ Willow Warblers and 2 Spotted Flycatchers, all in a 2 acre thicket of Brambles, Elder, Hawthorn and Sloes on the north side of the upper Knoll, probably many more as I was only able to actually see birds flitting about on the fringe of this area. No Wheatears today or yesterday and not a single Meadow Pipit so far, but expect that to change in the coming weeks.
Butterfly highlights were two very fresh looking Painted Ladies, the first I’ve seen since June. There appears to have been an emergence of Small Coppers, saw several in places I haven’t seen them before, and,  it looks to have been a good year for Speckled Woods which at the moment are the commonest species I’m seeing, even outnumbering Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers.

I’ve walked to the top of the Knoll every day since the 22nd hoping for migrants. Kestrels, a pair of Ravens and up to five Buzzards have been around every day. A pair of Sparrowhawks joined them a couple of days ago, one was interacting with a Kestrel, I’ve seen Juvenile Peregrines giving a Kestrel a hard time before but never seen a Sparrowhawk v’s Kestrel sparring match.
Until today little obvious migration, best being singles of Wheatear and Lesser Whitethroat. Today however there were three Wheatears on the top and a handful of Willow Warblers, Blackcaps and a Garden Warbler flitting around in the scrub on the West side of the Knoll.
Not much sun, so not many Butterflies, but Speckled Woods, Gatekeepers and Meadow Brown have been on the wing every day. Today, despite the wind and thin sunshine there were at least eight Wall Browns showing in the area of the Jubilee cairns. Lots of Common Blues when the sun does come out, but I’ve only seen one Small Heath so far. There are also good numbers of Small Coppers, these are exclusively occupying and defending clumps of flowering Fleabane.   

Walked to the top of Brent Knoll this morning hoping for some early migrants, the best I could muster was two very smart Willow Warblers and an unusual Pipit, also freshly moulted and with very striking and obvious supercilium eye stripe, beak was quite short and well streaked front and back so probably a Tree Pipit rather than anything more exciting.
Highlight was a family of five Kestrels using the updraft on the SW side of the “summit” to hold position and practice some startling aerobatics. Also, a Grayling Butterfly - never seen one here before.