Sidi Fidi Gold

Grasshopper Warbler, over the last 30 years or so I've heard about 10 but never managed to see one, apparently they have the ability to throw their voice(or song) a bit like a ventriloquist, this combined with the fact that they sing deep within a hedge or bush makes them very difficult to see. Also, up until this year, I would say a Lesser Whitethroat, over the last 5 years or so they've become more abundant locally, I've heard them singing on numerous occasions but haven't managed to see one, but this year I've managed to see one on a couple of occasions.

I went for a walk this morning(usually go 2-5 times per week) I left the house at 5.10AM(couldn't sleep) and set off over the fields. The highlights of the walk were. A Hobby flying low over the wheat field and into the woods, I went into the woods and after about 100 metres in, I looked up into the tree canopy and saw 4 birds of prey flying about, I couldn't get a clear look but they were Hobby size, although they could easily have been Kestrels, I just couldn't get a good enough view. Anyway, whether they were Hobbies or Kestrels, you wouldn't get 4 birds together unless they were a family group, so they were probably 1 or 2 adults with 2 or 3 young. Another highlight was something I heard rather than saw, in the same wheat field I heard a Quail calling, they are very hard to see, its usually their call that gives them away, they sound quite exotic, a high pitched sort of fluid repetitive call, I thought I heard one in the same place about 3 weeks ago but it was only a short burst and by the time it grabbed my attention it stopped, I did however hear one yesterday, about 1 and half miles from where I was today, these are the first Quails I've heard locally. Other highlights were plenty of Yellowhammers, Linnets, loads of Goldfinches, a lone Reed Bunting, plenty of young, recently fledged Chiffchaffs, a couple of Buzzards a Red Kite and a Kestrel. Finally, Skylarks, isn't it funny how one week the sky can full of them singing, then as the breeding season nears to an end, nothing. Usually I see 15-20 singing, today I saw zero and that's the way it will be till September time when they start to flock together.

He's out lived 2 of the 3 "Fat Boys" then,

I didn't want to flood the obituary thread so I thought I'd put it on here.

Didn't Ray Clemence play there at a similar time?

Despite being a life long Leeds fan, growing up in the late 70s, Kevin Keegan was one of my heroes, playing football in the playground, everybody wanted to be Keegan, R.I.P. KK