A fresh juvenile Willow Warbler peers down from a hawthorn bush
WILLOW WARBLERS WHISTLING IN THE HEDGEROWS, A SIGN THAT SUMMER IS SLIPPING AWAY in Ribchester. As well as their subtley different calls, their bright orange feet, lemon-washed underparts and long wing points distinguish them from chiffchaffs, which usually reappear after the midsummer quiet a little later. Species diversity is still quite low in early August but other signs of autumn today included the first cormorant for weeks, a couple of Little Egrets and a major movement of 102 lapwings, flying downstream ahead of the thunderstorms to the east. There is no reason for them to linger. Typical birds of the riverbank were still around today including kingfisher, Grey Wagtail and Common Sandpiper by the school and several flocks of Sand Martins as far as Red Bank. Two jays flew over and landed in the hedge by Lower Alston Farm and several Gatekeeper butterflies were at Red Bank.
Willow Warblers are a very welcome feature of the early autumn around the village
Willow Warbler, a more typical view
Lapwings heading west, downstream towards the Ribble Estuary
The riverbank of the Ribble at Ribchester is quiet again with just a few fishermen now that the paddling and swimming day-trippers seem to have gone