A few sketches from my holiday in Calabria, southern Italy at the end of August. Birding was a little quiet, but I was delighted to be able to watch bee-eaters from the balcony most mornings. They really are fantastic birds, and that call is so characteristic of the Mediterranean. The numbers built up gradually to 30, and then one morning they were all gone.
One interesting aspect of birding abroad is seeing familiar birds in unfamiliar settings. I watched a group of Long-tailed Tits in a baking hot pine forest behind a beach, they looked sleek and dark, with grey backs and black wings. Very different from the fluffy pink, white and black birds I'm use to seeing in my garden.

Migrants were few and far between with the weather being so good, but one morning a male Honey Buzzard flapped up from the cliff and sat in a fig tree allowing great views, until the thermals got going, and it disappeared.
Since I've returned the migrant count has remained low, but the weekend seems to promise some east winds at last, so lets see what they bring.