Nick Watmough returns from his far eastern travels to peruse the pictures submitted to the sightings team, supporting the observer’s daily sightings.

“Photographing birds in the middle of summer during a heatwave is never easy. The temptation is to head off to Global Bird Fair to check out some new gear or send your camera away to get the sensor cleaned. Thankfully our regular contributors are a resilient bunch and the sightings pages for this period was filled with images of recently fledged birds, their diligent parents and the first returning waders
A couple of Common Sandpipers entertained Simon Willson and Martin Webb at the end of the week whilst on Thursday Steve Ford escaped the strong sun by heading for the depths of Croft Pascoe to photograph Spotted Flycatchers and their fast-growing fledglings. Adrian Lea’s portrait of a Sedge Warbler with a beak full of food reminds us that many species are making best use of recent insect friendly conditions to bring up second and even third broods. I also enjoyed Martin Webb’s nicely posed image of an adult Whitethroat perched on an umbellifer.
Ruper Kirkwood’s rather more extreme approach to avoiding the heat on land was an 18 km paddle around Mount’s Bay where he framed a lone Storm Petrel against some seafront cottages. A reminder as if we need it of the impending sea watch season.
Sadly, some remarkable images of the UK’s second Soft-plumaged Petrel that cruised the south-west coast on Sunday evening that were circulating online did not make it to the sightings page and as such could not be considered for POTW.
Meanwhile back on dry land a couple of images of less often photographed juvenile passerines really caught my eye – Alistair Swansons super cute Blue Tit and Martin Webb’s crisply marked Stonechat.

However, my selection for POTW is a falcon – Cornwall’s cliffs and stiff breezes make the county a perfect place for photographing hovering Kestrels – less frequently do we receive images of them on the ground. Consequently, I was really impressed with Martin Webb’s lovely head shot of a male Kestrel. The subject is captured against a soft subdued background and framed by some slightly out of focus foliage – technical excellence combined with imaginative composition.

Thanks Nick for a comprehensive summary and congratulations to Martin on capturing a great shot.