Patchwork Challenge

Hello from the Patchwork Challenge team!   July was again generally fairly quiet, but like June did, it delivered a few birds of pure magic. There were also clear signs of autumn migration already taking place, with a trickle of waders being reported as well as passerines, including a good spread of Redstarts. The best bird however being a stunning Blue-cheeked Bee-eater that graced Papa Westray for a short while before touring round other parts of Orkney.  August is nearly over due to my severely delayed blog post, however, it is still in an incredibly enthralling month. Large falls of warblers can occur just about anywhere, and now is the time to be looking for flycatchers and Redstarts, particularly on inland patches in areas where they are unlikely to be otherwise than on migration. Whinchats and Wheatears fall into that same bracket too. Wader passage has kicked into at least second or third gear now, with juvenile waders joining in the throngs moving south and west. This...