On Saturday afternoon the second family of spotted flycatchers popped out of the nest box that has been their home over the last few weeks.They spent the afternoon in the trees around the back lawn of the Gatehouse , calling and being fed by their parents.On Sunday they appeared to have moved away from the direct area,but they should be around the reserve for a while longer before they head off on migration back to Africa.We think that three youngsters left the nest, so with the previous family of four, seven spotted flycatchers have successfully been raised here!
Another nightjar ( we had two sightings during late June/July) was seen on a couple of occasions around Galley Hill on Saturday, as well as two tree pipits and the pipits were sighted on Sunday as well. This is great news,as both birds are species that we hope to attract back as breeding birds to the heathland restoration project at The Lodge in the future.