Pied Flycatchers

I seem to be forever apologising for the long intervals between some of my posts and my latest excuse is that I have had no landline or internet since July the 6th... well not until yesterday when France Telecom finally got round to repairing my line.
Meanwhile, the sun has blazed down, my lawn has whitened and the poor birds have become rather desperate for water so I have kept my bird baths full.
The annual return passage of pied flycatchers through my garden began much earlier than usual this year and I have had up four at a time flitting around over the last week or so. They have been doing the usual things: calling incessantly, flicking their wings when perched and then momentarily dropping to the lawn to catch an insect before returning to a low branch.
Another early appearance was that of a wheatear on the plains this week. Like the pied flycatchers, this species does not usually show up until late August/early September.
Other birds of note have been the rock sparrows around Galvert which have numbered as many as eight and groups of up to twenty four black kites scouring the recently harvested grain fields.
Speaking of raptors, I was alerted to the cries of peregrines while walking through Angouleme a few weeks back and for a few moments watched an adult and a young bird flying around the spire of Saint Martial’ church where I assume they are nesting.
The stone curlews seem to have departed early but red backed shrikes and orioles have still been around during the last week.