I am writing this in mid-August. It is the time of year when bird life is mostly quiet. As I walk around the village there is the constant cooing of both Wood Pigeon and Collared Dove, but other than that very little other sounds. The odd Robin clicking away from inside of a bush or the brief rattling of a Wren.

Of course, walk out on to the fields around the village and if you come across the large mixed flock of Rooks, Carrion Crows and Jackdaws then it gets very noisy indeed. They have all bred successfully this year and the adults with the new generation of birds move to suitable feeding grounds each day. Many of the fields have now had their crop harvested leaving the bare ground underneath exposed. There will be all sort of grubs in there that the corvids (family name for this group of birds) will be looking for.

A few Lesser Black Backed Gulls and the odd Herring Gull drifts over looking for similar food and will often land nearby. The adults of these two species are easy to identify – the Lesser Black Backed Gulls have black wings (hence the name) and Herring Gulls – much less common here – have grey wings. It gets a bit more complicated with the youngsters. They take 4 years to get to the adult plumage and in the first year or two are difficult to identify.

Both these gull species will be with us over the winter months feeding on the fields surrounding the village. As a bird watcher this can provide hours of entertainment working your way through a large flock of gulls – one bird at a time – working out which species it is and hoping for a rare gull mixed up with the more common ones. It happens occasionally and then I will talk about it endlessly. A likely rare gull here is the Yellow-Legged Gull – the continental version of our Herring Gull. The adults have yellow legs, whilst Herring Gulls have pink / flesh-coloured legs. If only it was as easy as that – juvenile birds are nowhere near so helpful, and the differences can be quite subtle.

A wonderful rarity that is possible in the UK, but probably not very likely here, is the Caspian Gull – you are looking for a bird that looks quite cross!! Now that’s a challenge – there are better ways of identifying them but the rather cross look is not a bad starter, as a likely candidate that needs checking out.

If you have managed to stay awake whilst reading through the above you will understand why none of my family will come with me if am going out looking for gulls. You need to be very patient to deal with it!

Going back to the harvested fields another bird flock found there that got me quite excited was a mixed flock of Lapwing and Starlings. There have been up to 30 Lapwing feeding in the fields behind Upton Manor. A few Lapwing do breed in these fields most Summers but to see a flock – and one of that sort of size feeding near here – is relatively unusual.

One of the most enjoyable moments of my current walks around the village is the part of the walk as I approach Vernham’s church. Stand in the churchyard and look up and there will usually be a flock of House Martins flying over you feeding on insects and chattering away to each other. It is almost as though they are having a conversation with each other.

In the field on the other side of the road – where sheep are currently grazing – a flock of up to approx 50 Swallows swoop and glide over the field. Again, looking for insects to feed on.

Both species will soon be heading off to their African wintering grounds.

And then not that far away a Barn Owl sits in its hole in a tree looking over the fields absolutely motionless.

I happily spend some time just standing in this area enjoying the sounds and sights. And slightly sad that shortly both the House Martins and Swallows will be gone.

But back again next Spring of course, having travelled thousands of miles – not all will survive that arduous journey.