Wheatear

Our last visit to Kent this year - both a relief, as the drive has become increasingly unpleasant with two crashes on the way there today, and tinged with sadness, as we have become quite fond of the site and the general area. 

For the first time since June the vegetation on the site was green, following spells of rain over the last few weeks. There were still plenty of skylarks around, some of whom were even singing but the highlight for me was seeing a good number of Northern Wheatear, who were feeding on the edge of the runway, presumably stoking up before flying south across the Channel to their wintering grounds in central Africa. 

The one I photographed is a female as it lacks a black stripe on the head, and has warm brownish feathers on its back, rather than the grey of the male.