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.