Sorry about the late update, but time seemed to have run away with me over the last few days. A quick update on a short walk on Thursday yielded The Snipe, but it flew off high to the north and I have not seen it since.
Saturday dawned with a cooler feel as the season should feel and a Mistle Thrush passed overhead south as soon as I left the house. Fieldfare passed west with 73 plus in two flocks and Redwing were in the hedges with 23 been seen ,there also were a few more Blackbirds than of late so maybe some winter visitors have arrived.
Meadow Pipits were passing over with a bit more vigour with 20 plus and Skylarks only numbered 3 and Pied Wagtails only 4 , so it was nice to see a small flock of 3 Bullfinch pass over , just ordinary ones not sadly the northern giants .
A call from high above again alerted me to a Golden Plover as it passed south west, again just a single bird maybe all the recent records relate to a single bird ? .A sign that winter is on its way was seen when a flock of 45 plus Lapwing landed on pasture ,the first flock of the season. The Reed Bunting was still in the usual place ,resting and feeding up before it moves on.
Starling continue to trickle south with 80 plus and the first Buzzard for a day or so was welcome .
So out early Sunday ahead of the big storm and it was very calm ,with no wind and a silent feel to the atmosphere .There were a few birds on the move and 100 plus Starling, 43 plus Fieldfare,17 Redwing over passing south to south west.
Meadow Pipits were more plentiful with 27 plus about and so were Pied Wagtail with 8 passing over or feeding in the fields , they were joined by 13 Skylark.
Another Mistle Thrush passed south and 5 Raven passed to the east calling as they went. Our bird of the day was a superb male Peregrine that went towards the river meadows .
3 Lapwing came in from high above the Malverns ,vis mig in action and a lesson that we should all keep an eye skywards at this time of year.
The best of the rest were a Buzzard, Stock Dove, a flock of 23 Black Headed Gulls and a small flock of 6 Linnet.
Tuesday 29 October 2013
Friday 25 October 2013
Thursday sunshine
A superb morning, with a slight chill in the air and mist in the river valley early on. The break in the weather appeared at first to have allowed some birds to move ,but this soon fizzled out after about an hour.
There were 2/3 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers about and 2 Green Woodpeckers made themselves known with their calls. Winter thrushes were thin on the ground and overhead today with only 3 Redwing and two groups of Fieldfare 4 moving high west and 15 over Tirley hill. There were also 2 flyover Song Thrush . About 200 plus Starling were in the area some flying over east to south west at height and others feeding on pasture.
Passage of Skylarks with 28 and Meadow Pipits with also 28 carried on ,but only 4 Pied Wagtails today.
In the pasture fields our visiting Snipe was still feeding in its usual place and a calling Golden Plover came from the north and passed over towards the river meadows . The first small flock of Common Gulls were feeding on sheep fields (5) , with them 8 Lesser Black Backed Gulls.
In the hedges were a Chiffchaff with roving Tit flock and a flock of 6 Bullfinch which was a great sight. Another Reed Bunting was found although I think it may be the same bird as the other day. A Jay confirmed that it is Autumn as it appears that this is the only time we see them here.
The best of the rest were 3 Red Legged Partridge, and 2 Stock Dove.
One final point I urge everyone to read the latest report from Birdlife Malta on the killing of our migrants as they pass over the hell hole that is Malta, the latest reports talk of the shooting down of 12 Eagles as a mixed flock of raptors passed over the islands .Boycott the island ,sign the petition , write to your MEP , we cannot allow this to continue ,it is not sport it is just pure vandalism. Help stop it now.
There were 2/3 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers about and 2 Green Woodpeckers made themselves known with their calls. Winter thrushes were thin on the ground and overhead today with only 3 Redwing and two groups of Fieldfare 4 moving high west and 15 over Tirley hill. There were also 2 flyover Song Thrush . About 200 plus Starling were in the area some flying over east to south west at height and others feeding on pasture.
Passage of Skylarks with 28 and Meadow Pipits with also 28 carried on ,but only 4 Pied Wagtails today.
In the pasture fields our visiting Snipe was still feeding in its usual place and a calling Golden Plover came from the north and passed over towards the river meadows . The first small flock of Common Gulls were feeding on sheep fields (5) , with them 8 Lesser Black Backed Gulls.
In the hedges were a Chiffchaff with roving Tit flock and a flock of 6 Bullfinch which was a great sight. Another Reed Bunting was found although I think it may be the same bird as the other day. A Jay confirmed that it is Autumn as it appears that this is the only time we see them here.
The best of the rest were 3 Red Legged Partridge, and 2 Stock Dove.
One final point I urge everyone to read the latest report from Birdlife Malta on the killing of our migrants as they pass over the hell hole that is Malta, the latest reports talk of the shooting down of 12 Eagles as a mixed flock of raptors passed over the islands .Boycott the island ,sign the petition , write to your MEP , we cannot allow this to continue ,it is not sport it is just pure vandalism. Help stop it now.
Wednesday 23 October 2013
What ! a midweek update
Yes that's right a week off and after a trip to Portland Bill on a Monday (complete washout, hightlite a Merlin ), it was back to the patch on Tuesday.
The weather is very mild and very windy ,the winds from the south and south west with biblical rain ,the ground is now soaked through and migrants are thin on the ground.
Meadow Pipits numbered 17 and Skylark 21 ,most looking like winter visitors. After our first Snipe of last week it was great to see another in the same field .
A Green Woodpecker flew through the rain as did 60 plus Fieldfare although there were only 10 Redwing . There was an influx of 200 plus Starling feeding in an old orchard ,most seem to be flycatching ! .
A bonus was finding a Chiffchaff near a farm pond the first I have seen for a week or so .Linnets numbered 30 plus on a stubble field , I tried to find a Brambling but no luck !
The best of the rest were 6 Stock Dove, Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
So I was out by 9am on Wednesday and the rain had relented although heavy showers still fell ,but at least the sun shone a little.
Birds seem to moving again and the first birds over were Fieldfare ,a flock of 22 moving south . The total in the end was 30 plus. Skylarks were moving with 55 plus over south along with a Mistle Thrush and 12 Meadow Pipits over .
There were another 2 Snipe on pasture along with just 3 Pied Wagtail. A commotion was caused when a male Sparrowhawk tried to remove the head off a Meadow Pipit, he missed but only just!.
The Linnet flock has built up to 80 plus on the stubble fields. We seem to be having a slight influx of Chiffchaff with 3 being found today ,1 being with a flock of 15 Long Tailed Tits.
Also seen were 4 Stock Dove ,2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker ,and a flock of 10 Goldfinch.
When will we get some "proper "Autumn weather.
The weather is very mild and very windy ,the winds from the south and south west with biblical rain ,the ground is now soaked through and migrants are thin on the ground.
Meadow Pipits numbered 17 and Skylark 21 ,most looking like winter visitors. After our first Snipe of last week it was great to see another in the same field .
A Green Woodpecker flew through the rain as did 60 plus Fieldfare although there were only 10 Redwing . There was an influx of 200 plus Starling feeding in an old orchard ,most seem to be flycatching ! .
A bonus was finding a Chiffchaff near a farm pond the first I have seen for a week or so .Linnets numbered 30 plus on a stubble field , I tried to find a Brambling but no luck !
The best of the rest were 6 Stock Dove, Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
So I was out by 9am on Wednesday and the rain had relented although heavy showers still fell ,but at least the sun shone a little.
Birds seem to moving again and the first birds over were Fieldfare ,a flock of 22 moving south . The total in the end was 30 plus. Skylarks were moving with 55 plus over south along with a Mistle Thrush and 12 Meadow Pipits over .
There were another 2 Snipe on pasture along with just 3 Pied Wagtail. A commotion was caused when a male Sparrowhawk tried to remove the head off a Meadow Pipit, he missed but only just!.
The Linnet flock has built up to 80 plus on the stubble fields. We seem to be having a slight influx of Chiffchaff with 3 being found today ,1 being with a flock of 15 Long Tailed Tits.
Also seen were 4 Stock Dove ,2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker ,and a flock of 10 Goldfinch.
When will we get some "proper "Autumn weather.
Sunday 20 October 2013
plastic everywhere!
So after a wet night, the really mild weather remains, the west wind in stark contrast from last week.
A glance upwards picked out a Cormarant flying south. A large formation of Canada Geese flying upriver followed by 2 Greylag got my attention, the latter being part of a feral population that lives on the river meadows and not "wild " as would be hoped for.
The Starling passage carried on from yesterday with 117 plus passing south west, also over were a flock of 29 Redwing that passed over to the west flying fast and in silence .
After a while a flock of 41 Fieldfare appeared from over Tirley hill followed by a small flock of 6 which landed on pasture.
Overhead the small passage of Pied Wagtails (9 ), and Meadow Pipits ( 8) carried on from the last few days . Skylarks were less numerous than of late with just 7 seen today.
The one bright spot in an otherwise poor day was a flock of 60 plus Linnet on a stubble field and a distant soaring Sparrowhawk .On a recently harvested field a large flock of feral pigeons were feeding ,so with the plastic geese and the plastic pigeons not a day for the purist.
Lets hope for better next week as I am on holiday !
A glance upwards picked out a Cormarant flying south. A large formation of Canada Geese flying upriver followed by 2 Greylag got my attention, the latter being part of a feral population that lives on the river meadows and not "wild " as would be hoped for.
The Starling passage carried on from yesterday with 117 plus passing south west, also over were a flock of 29 Redwing that passed over to the west flying fast and in silence .
After a while a flock of 41 Fieldfare appeared from over Tirley hill followed by a small flock of 6 which landed on pasture.
Overhead the small passage of Pied Wagtails (9 ), and Meadow Pipits ( 8) carried on from the last few days . Skylarks were less numerous than of late with just 7 seen today.
The one bright spot in an otherwise poor day was a flock of 60 plus Linnet on a stubble field and a distant soaring Sparrowhawk .On a recently harvested field a large flock of feral pigeons were feeding ,so with the plastic geese and the plastic pigeons not a day for the purist.
Lets hope for better next week as I am on holiday !
Saturday 19 October 2013
come on in 84 your time is up.
Yep after weeks and weeks finally I managed to find the no 84 for the patch this year. It came on Thursday when I flushed a Snipe from pasture , a nice way to get to 84 species so far this year . The rest of the week has been really quiet , with the weather becoming very mild and with southerly winds it has felt more like Spring than Autumn. The birds have reflected this with no Winter Thrushes at all and just the highlites being a calling Tawny Owl ,a couple of Ravens and a good number of Skylarks on Thursday with 40 plus being present.
So when I went out on Saturday morning I was not expecting to get much in return.
So the first bird was a Raven which called as it passed north. It soon became obvious that Skylarks were moving and in the end 45 plus passed over or were on pasture, that being said only I could only muster 9 Meadow Pipits a poor total. Pied Wagtail were about with 12 in various places but I could not turn any of them into White ,shame really.
A couple of nice sightings this morning were a Wheatear on a dung hill ,getting rather late now and a male Reed Bunting in a hedgerow another migrant . A small flock of 20 pus Linnet were on stubble and it was then that I noticed a small trickle of Starling passing south in the end about 100 plus were counted ,with them 5 Redwing passed over and 4 Fieldfare called as they did likewise. As I was near home a flock of 25 Fieldfare dropped onto pasture great to see ,I have a real passion for our winter Thrushes after seeing them in their summer home last year when I visited northern Finland last year.
4 Mistle Thrush were about and a small flock of 3 Bullfinch passed over .
The best of the rest were Kestrel, Buzzard, 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Stock Dove and a couple of flyover Song Thrush.
So when I went out on Saturday morning I was not expecting to get much in return.
So the first bird was a Raven which called as it passed north. It soon became obvious that Skylarks were moving and in the end 45 plus passed over or were on pasture, that being said only I could only muster 9 Meadow Pipits a poor total. Pied Wagtail were about with 12 in various places but I could not turn any of them into White ,shame really.
A couple of nice sightings this morning were a Wheatear on a dung hill ,getting rather late now and a male Reed Bunting in a hedgerow another migrant . A small flock of 20 pus Linnet were on stubble and it was then that I noticed a small trickle of Starling passing south in the end about 100 plus were counted ,with them 5 Redwing passed over and 4 Fieldfare called as they did likewise. As I was near home a flock of 25 Fieldfare dropped onto pasture great to see ,I have a real passion for our winter Thrushes after seeing them in their summer home last year when I visited northern Finland last year.
4 Mistle Thrush were about and a small flock of 3 Bullfinch passed over .
The best of the rest were Kestrel, Buzzard, 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Stock Dove and a couple of flyover Song Thrush.
Sunday 13 October 2013
Redwing passage
Sunday dawned grey , with light rain and a gentle northerly wind . I was not out as early as I should of been and after a quick scan of what had arrived along the east coast yesterday I was thinking that I may have missed out.
Redwings were still passing over with 233 plus passing over south to south west , all coming from an easterly direction and all in a hurry to get where they were going.
Meadow Pipits were few in number with only 7 plus been around today and Skylarks only numbered 12 today ,but Pied Wagtails put in a decent showing with 7 passing over.
A call from high above alerted me to a/some Golden Plover which were passing over high in the murk, but they were hidden in the low cloud base , these were soon followed by 9 distant duck in from high north , I soon realised that they were Wigeon, the first of the winter , they decended into the river meadows .
A "charm" of 21 Goldfinch were in the hedges but in the strong wind it appeared that most other small passerines were keeping a low profile
The raptor flag was carried by 3 Buzzard and a female Sparrowhawk which attempted to take the head off a perching crow. It missed but gave the crow one hell of a shock.
A very distant flock of 30 Thrush were hard to pin down but looked very like Fieldfare, another couple of Mistle Thrush looked like our winter visitors rather than transient birds.
The best of the rest were 2 Red Legged Partridge, and 4 Stock Dove.
So there was no Yellow Browed Warbler or even a Yellow Browned Warbler , sorry about the error yesterday must learn to read it before I push the publish button.
Redwings were still passing over with 233 plus passing over south to south west , all coming from an easterly direction and all in a hurry to get where they were going.
Meadow Pipits were few in number with only 7 plus been around today and Skylarks only numbered 12 today ,but Pied Wagtails put in a decent showing with 7 passing over.
A call from high above alerted me to a/some Golden Plover which were passing over high in the murk, but they were hidden in the low cloud base , these were soon followed by 9 distant duck in from high north , I soon realised that they were Wigeon, the first of the winter , they decended into the river meadows .
A "charm" of 21 Goldfinch were in the hedges but in the strong wind it appeared that most other small passerines were keeping a low profile
The raptor flag was carried by 3 Buzzard and a female Sparrowhawk which attempted to take the head off a perching crow. It missed but gave the crow one hell of a shock.
A very distant flock of 30 Thrush were hard to pin down but looked very like Fieldfare, another couple of Mistle Thrush looked like our winter visitors rather than transient birds.
The best of the rest were 2 Red Legged Partridge, and 4 Stock Dove.
So there was no Yellow Browed Warbler or even a Yellow Browned Warbler , sorry about the error yesterday must learn to read it before I push the publish button.
Saturday 12 October 2013
The week that was
Another week over and as normal I could only manage a couple of visits during the week but did see another Wheatear on a fence post and the first of the winter visitors with a flock of 18 Redwing which passed through on Thursday. Away from the patch whilst at football training watching my son I saw a flock of 7 Swallow belting southwards and a flock of 40 plus Pied Wagtail.
So having seen on the internet the massive arrivals of birds on the east coast on Friday and the prevailing winds on Saturday I was on the patch on Saturday early. As I stepped out I heard a Pied Wagtail pass over and a great surprise was a BADGER which ran up the lane amazing ,especially with the cull taking place locally.
We passed up the lane and realised it was quiet , just too quiet then we heard the hunting horns and lo and behold once again the hunt was out again cubbing but this time I just walked across the fields with Willow on the lead and stood and stared at them through my binos ,they realised I was not going any where and eventually moved out the area. They are breaking the law plain and simple.
The wind was a very strong northerly , and it soon became obvious that this had brought with it a bit of vis mig as they say. Redwings passed over from the east and 227 plus were counted in two hours as well as a single flock of 65 Fieldfare from high eastwards. Around 200 Starling were about and a total of 8 Mistle Thrush were obvious migrants including a flock of 6.
The Meadow Pipit passage has now dwindled at the moment only 4 been seen today , Pied Wagtail numbered 9 and 18 plus Skylark were on pasture.
The back up crew consisted of 30 plus Stock Dove, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 80 plus Jackdaw, and a couple of Buzzard. Lets see what tomorrow brings , a Yellow Browned Warbler would be nice although I have just seen that at Falsterbo in southern Sweden 250,000 Wood Pigeons passed over yesterday so something like that would be nice, still you can dream !
So having seen on the internet the massive arrivals of birds on the east coast on Friday and the prevailing winds on Saturday I was on the patch on Saturday early. As I stepped out I heard a Pied Wagtail pass over and a great surprise was a BADGER which ran up the lane amazing ,especially with the cull taking place locally.
We passed up the lane and realised it was quiet , just too quiet then we heard the hunting horns and lo and behold once again the hunt was out again cubbing but this time I just walked across the fields with Willow on the lead and stood and stared at them through my binos ,they realised I was not going any where and eventually moved out the area. They are breaking the law plain and simple.
The wind was a very strong northerly , and it soon became obvious that this had brought with it a bit of vis mig as they say. Redwings passed over from the east and 227 plus were counted in two hours as well as a single flock of 65 Fieldfare from high eastwards. Around 200 Starling were about and a total of 8 Mistle Thrush were obvious migrants including a flock of 6.
The Meadow Pipit passage has now dwindled at the moment only 4 been seen today , Pied Wagtail numbered 9 and 18 plus Skylark were on pasture.
The back up crew consisted of 30 plus Stock Dove, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 80 plus Jackdaw, and a couple of Buzzard. Lets see what tomorrow brings , a Yellow Browned Warbler would be nice although I have just seen that at Falsterbo in southern Sweden 250,000 Wood Pigeons passed over yesterday so something like that would be nice, still you can dream !
Saturday 5 October 2013
Unfufilled promise.
So in the week when work as usual got in the way of the birding and when in the brief visits to the patch giving me a male Peregrine swooping at a flock of Linnets ,male Sparrowhawk, overhead passage of Meadow Pipits , the final House Martins, Swallows , Raven and calling Tawny Owls I had a right to be allowed to think that the usual survey of the patch on a Saturday was going to be a busy affair.
Well it was a massive fail on that point , it being one of the quietest walks for some time. The main sighting was a large number of Stock Doves feeding on the recently harvested corn fields with well over 70 plus being seen. A few Autumn migrants were about with the first Autumn Jay heading south and an influx of 5 Mistle thrush and 5 Greater Spotted Woodpecker been seen . A flock of 27 Linnet passed south and a small passage of 6 Pied Wagtail ,16 Skylark passed over. Only 6 Meadow Pipits were seen today ,after flocks of 60 plus were seen all week.
In the hedges were 2 Bullfinch, male Sparrowhawk, and 4 Chiffchaff.
Lets hope for better tomorrow.
Well it was a massive fail on that point , it being one of the quietest walks for some time. The main sighting was a large number of Stock Doves feeding on the recently harvested corn fields with well over 70 plus being seen. A few Autumn migrants were about with the first Autumn Jay heading south and an influx of 5 Mistle thrush and 5 Greater Spotted Woodpecker been seen . A flock of 27 Linnet passed south and a small passage of 6 Pied Wagtail ,16 Skylark passed over. Only 6 Meadow Pipits were seen today ,after flocks of 60 plus were seen all week.
In the hedges were 2 Bullfinch, male Sparrowhawk, and 4 Chiffchaff.
Lets hope for better tomorrow.
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