last post for 2014

So this morning was the last chance to see if we could add to our species list for the year. Willow and I hit the patch at 9am ,my mouth infection was still horrible and still made me feel crap .
The early frost was thawing and the wind was picking up with the milder temps that were forecast arriving on time.
Winter Thrush were plentiful around the patch with 118 plus Redwing and 40 plus Fieldfare feeding on the thawing pasture land . Blackbirds were still around in numbers with 19 plus seen today on the hedges and in the fields . Just 2 Mistle Thrush were seen today and there were fewer Song Thrush than of late.
On the pastures there were 16 plus Meadow Pipits with 5 Pied Wagtails  feeding on the top fields ,along side these two were a nice number of Skylarks with 16 plus about this morning.
The Starling numbers on the patch still rise with up to 400 plus seen today. A really nice bonus for this morning were a small party of 3 Lapwing which fed on one of the top stubble fields .They were probably forced onto the pasture by the fact the river meadows had frozen over night .We usually see more as the winter changes to Spring with birds pausing briefly on there way north, if we lucky there are sometimes some Golden Plover as well .
In the hedges were a  Jay, and 3 very smart looking Bullfinch ,the male looking superb in the morning sun light . I could only muster a single Stock Dove today ,the rest seem to have disappeared.
The final birds of note for the walk were a small party of 6 Greylag Geese which headed towards the river.
On the raptor front were 2 Buzzard and a hunting male Kestrel.
So we end on 87 species for the year, 2 up from last year .Its only a small patch of nothing and that's why its great to see what passes through on its journey from or to who knows where . There have been plenty of high lights this year of course the Osprey in April must jump out but my favourite memory for the last year is when a holidaying birder from London asked if he could visit the patch .He had never seen a Redstart and that time we seem to be in a rich vain of form as far as these birds were concerned ,we eventually found a female but it was hard work and we had been tripping over them for the previous weeks , it was great to give this birder a lifer and it will stay with him forever as his first Redstart.  On the same walk we saw the first 3 Meadow Pipits of the Autumn and that was the same buzz for me ,the signal that the Autumn migration had started .
So thank you to all the birds that let me spot you as you passed through ,to the ones I missed I will get you next time, thank you to all you guys who have read this inane dribble and stayed the course ,you may have discovered the cure for insomnia .
If I have inspired you to leave a little space in your hectic life for some wildlife (not sex ,drugs and rock n roll ) then get out there and see what you might spot ,you will be surprised what you might find .I wish you all a Happy New Year and thanks for reading Tirley Twittering.
The new year beckons and I wonder what we will see this year ?

26th and 28th update.

As the old year spills quickly away there seems little hope that we will add one more species total of 87 for the year. But being the optimist I was out with Willow on Boxing day morning to see what was about. Of course I was not feeling on top form as I was in the process of attaining an infection under a cracked wisdom tooth , not much seasonal cheer in that department .
There were still good numbers of Blackbirds around with a massive 29 plus seen today .The other winter Thrushes still were over the patch with 31plus Fieldfare and 90 plus Redwing feeding on the hedgerows or on pasture. Just a single Mistle Thrush but still at least 7 Song Thrush also. There were also 2 Bullfinch around we seem to be enjoying a good run of these at the moment .
 In the top fields there were still good numbers of birds with a mobile flock of at least 30 plus Meadow Pipits along with at least 8 Pied Wagtails mixed in with them .
In the same vicinity were at least 14 plus Skylark and a good count of 16 Stock Dove ,the latter being a good count for this time of year.
The by now usual 2 Red Legged Partridge headed for the hills as we appeared . The other bird of note was a flock of at least 250 plus Starling feeding in the same fields , good to see some in numbers after a poor Autumn for them on the patch .
On the raptor front we managed a single Buzzard, a male Kestrel perched over a ploughed field and a female Sparrow Hawk which made a failed attempt at a Skylark .
The pastures are attracting a few passing Gulls and a small flock of Lesser Black Backed, Herring, Common, and Black Headed Gulls were feeding amongst the cattle.
The best of the rest today were a Green Woodpecker and a calling Jay.
The 28th dawned very cold after a hard frost ,the first of the winter too really bite. It was a clear blue sky that greeted Willow and I this morning and I had to wrap a scarf over my swollen cheek/ mouth to keep out the cold as I was in great pain with this flaming infection, I am beginning to wonder  when the drugs will kick in ,it cannot come soon enough believe me !
 The frost was heavy on the ground and the patch still held good numbers of winter Thrush with 77 plus Redwing, 48 plus Fieldfare, 4 Mistle Thrush, 20 plus Blackbird and at least 5 Song Thrush .
On the top fields there were still 14 plus Meadow Pipits, 4 Pied Wagtails and just 4 Skylark, all reduced in numbers perhaps there have been moved on by the cold snap. One bird has increased however with over 350 plus Starling feeding on the nearby pastures.
The gull flock today included 10 Lesser Black Backed Gulls, 1 Common Gull, 4 Herring Gull and 10 Black Headed Gull .
 On the raptor front just a couple Buzzard today was all we could muster.
An over flying Mute Swan was nice to see ( not something we see that often so worthy of a mention).
The best of the rest today were a Green Woodpecker ,a fly over Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Bullfinch, and 3 Stock Dove.
 However the best sighting by a country mile was a fine Fox that looked a picture of health as it trotted over the frost whitened fields, just superb and a large middle finger to local Fox hunt .  Lets hope they all got really wet and cold yesterday .
Out tomorrow to see whats about so expect another update.

23rd /24th update , A Christmas Cracker

With the Holidays about to start, it was the right thing to do and get out on that patch. It was mild, and windy with some rather unpleasant sheets of drizzle passing over. The patch has been quiet of late but today it perked up with some good numbers of the  winter visitors we see around at this time of year.
The main birds once again on the patch were the winter Thrush s with a good count of 280 plus Fieldfare along with 70 plus Redwing and another good number of Blackbirds with at least 25 plus been seen .There were also 3 Mistle Thrush and at least 7 Song Thrush.
In the tops fields there were at least 25 plus Meadow Pipits and a healthy 20 plus Pied wagtails feeding on a stubble field. It was good to see a small flock of 15 plus Chaffinch. In the field margins 3 Red Legged Partridges lurked. .There were a suprising number of Stock Doves about with 30 plus today far more than usual  .Skylarks chipped in with 15 plus today.
There are not as many Starlings this winter so a count of 150 plus was nice to see.
The hedges are quiet at this time of year ,and I found a good count of 4 Bullfinch today . Robins are back to the normal numbers. I am going to just mention a nice small flock of 6 Common Gull on pasture ,great birds which are often over looked .They are very demure birds ,a real northern bird and nice to see down here in the winter.
Overhead a Raven passed eastwards and a Green Woodpecker called .
Christmas dawned colder , so just a tad more seasonal .The first birds I saw were 2 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers which flew low over to the south .
As I walked the magic hedgerow a small bird came into view and it was nice to be able to report a cracking little Goldcrest , a great little bird to see on the patch at this time of year. The first Linnets were seen for awhile  with a couple in the hedges.
Winter Thrush s were still around but in much smaller numbers than yesterday. All  I could manage were 15 plus Fieldfare, 12 plus Redwing ,4 Mistle Thrush and still a healthy 16 plus Blackbirds .There were at least 7 Song Thrush present.
In the hedges today of note were 8 Long Tailed Tits and a female Bullfinch .
On the pastures today were 20 plus Meadow Pipits , along with 12 plus Skylark and just 6 Pied Wagtails .A couple of Red Legged Partridges hot footed over the fields when they saw me coming towards them .
The best of the rest were a Buzzard, 2 Green Woodpecker ,a Jay and just 6 Stock Dove today .
Any way thanks for reading this drivel and as we enter the last week lets hope for a Christmas Big one .

overdue update

Sorry its been a bit quiet on the blog front but the Christmas rush has made visits to the patch not as regular as they should have been .
The patch has slipped into the winter doldrums and there have been very few high lights apart from Tawny Owls which have been vocal and on Thursday a Little Owl which called several times .
 So Willow and I ventured onto the patch in the hope that maybe Santa may deliver something cracking into my Christmas Stocking as you who read this drivel know I have been or at least tried to have been a good boy this year. He did not deliver and the bird life was what I would of expected to have found at this time of year.
The winter Thrush count for today amounted to 52 plus Redwing, 25 plus Field fare ,2  Mistle Thrush ,the odd Song Thrush and around 19 plus Blackbird.
The only birds of note in the hedges were a passing flock of 10 Long Tailed Tits  ,and an assortment of Finches in one area with 15 plus Chaffinch ,10 plus Goldfinch and 4 Greenfinch all together .
It was quite good on the pastures however with 20 plus Meadow Pipits and a good count of 17 plus Pied wagtails feeding on the manured fields .There were also a small flock of 4 Stock Dove present.
The flock of Skylarks that winter with us only amounted to 7 plus Birds today ,a lower number than I would of expected.
On the raptor front a male Sparrow Hawk cruised over the garden and there were 2 Kestrel hunting the patch today. The Buzzard count got to 3 today .
The only other birds of note were 2 Jays calling to each other and the usual Green Woodpecker .
So it looks as if the patch is limping over the line towards the end of the year and unless we get some cold weather I cannot see us getting another species to add to our tally for the year

Back on the Patch ,and one that got away

Life has been getting in the way of the birding for the last couple of weeks and last weekend I went to see England play Australia so again I was not able to cover the patch.
The last couple of weeks has seen a male Peregrine over the patch ,calling Little Owl early one evening ,my first ever garden Jays (2), garden Bullfinch , and a liberal sprinkling of winter Thrushes .The feeders although busy have not brought anything unusual in as the weather has remained for the most part fairly mild ,that been said the last couple of days have been colder.
So Willow and I hit the patch as soon it was semi light ,it was milder with some lively showers moving through .It was obvious that we still had a good number of Blackbirds wintering with us with a final count of 26 plus seen today, but there was one bird that as it shot from my right made a call like a RING OUZEL,  it was not a Fieldfare, Blackbird coloured but I did not get a long enough view to positively ID it .It was gone in a flash and I have seen Ring Ouzel before but I cannot claim it as it was just too quick to get a firm bead on it .It could of been 88 but we remain on 87. It would be very late for a Ring Ouzel but they are still been seen as are other late summer migrants. The one that got away.
Winter Thrush were all over the patch and counts of 45 plus Redwing and 57 plus Fieldfare were nice to see, also present were 7 Song Thrush and 3 Mistle Thrush, have I seen all 5 species of British Thrush this morning ?  we will never know !
Along the hedges a female Stonechat was a good bird to see ,maybe she is wintering with us, others of her kind have since moved on. I managed to find 4 Bullfinch this morning ,including one very near the cottage again . Its also nice to report a Chiffchaff which was hwooeting away in the hedgerow, I could not turn into one of the Siberian variety ,it was just a Chiffchaff  but still a good bird to see. The number of Robins is back to normal levels and unless we get another influx I will not count them again.
The pastures were quiet with just 3 each of Meadow Pipit and Skylark (although I did see a flock of 9 yesterday) ,  Stock Dove numbered only 4 . There was a flock of 120 plus Starling  feeding on sheep pasture . Around the dung heaps 3 Pied Wagtails were feeding .
Overhead a Raven passed over ,and 3 Buzzards were floating about .Other Raptors seen were a male Kestrel and a superb Peregrine that made an unsuccessful attempt at some Woodpigeons
The best of the rest were a Green Woodpecker.
With the weather turning colder lets hope for the big one before the years end.

Hard Yards

Sometimes its hard to keep birding on your patch when just down the road at Ashleworth and Coombe there are birds aplenty  ,that has not been the case here this week ,it has been a very quiet week with the Autumn turning (well on the calendar anyway ) turning into winter. As such most migrants seem to have passed through so if we are to reach the magic 90 species this year on the patch we are reliant on birds moving due to the weather etc. , well the weather has just stayed the same , mild and wet , not at all like the hardest winter we are supposed to be having, that being said there has been a report of 3 Waxwings on the Gloster Birder so I am going to  keep scanning all those Starling flocks  .
So over the last week visits to the patch have been few and far between with work etc getting the way ,the only high lights in my brief visits were good numbers of Redwings with most days offering 3 figure counts ,lesser numbers of Fieldfares and an obvious arrival of Starlings onto the patch on Wednesday.
Willow and I hit the patch on Saturday around mid morning ,later than normal and I always feel that I will have missed something good.
The most prevalent birds were 57 plus Redwing ,20 plus Fieldfare and 21 plus Blackbirds most were feeding on the Hawthorn berries of which there are plenty. Other Thrush present were 4 Mistle Thrush and a nice sprinkle of Song Thrush some of which were singing . The influx of Starlings I mentioned seem to have disappeared with very few around . Other birds in the hedges were 8 plus Robin ,well down on recent counts and 2 Bullfinch well away from their usual haunt .
Overhead a soaring male Sparrow hawk was nice to see , and the usual 2 other raptor species showed with a lone Buzzard and a nice male Kestrel.
A couple of Jays passed over and 4 Raven menaced the patch passing low over gronking , I love them , great lumps of bad ass , almost saying "come have a go if you think yer hard enuff " .
 On the pastures it was very quiet with 5 Meadow Pipits and just 2 Skylark . It seems an age ago we were seeing large flocks of the former as they passed through. A lone Stock Dove and a Pied Wagtail made up the pasture brigade .
As I neared the outer limit of the patch I decided to walk on the very edge of the patch as the field in question has been under crops ,there is a nice area of Silver Beech and rough ground on the margins of this field and I was rewarded with a superb flock of 15 plus Lesser redpoll feeding on the birches, I really must look there more often ! .
The best of the rest for Saturday were 2 Green Woodpecker and a good count of 4 Greater Spotted Woodpecker  .
So Sunday dawned wet after over night rain and again super mild. It seemed to be a repeat of yesterday with nice flocks of redwings ,140 plus feeding on Hawthorn berries ,good grub for a hungry bird .Fieldfares numbered just 8 today and Blackbirds remained static at 19 plus .The latter seems to at around 20 plus birds wintering on the patch this year. 4 Mistle Thrush and around 6 plus Song Thrush made up the wintering Thrushes today. There were more Starlings about with 250 plus feeding on pastures and in the old orchards  .
 In the hedges 2 Bullfinch were pewing gently and 13 plus Robins ticked at each other .
On the pastures were 4 Stock Dove and 5 Pied wagtails feeding on the manured fields. A flock of 26 Linnet paused briefly before diving for cover, these are the first birds of any number for a few weeks . 5 Red Legged Partridge crouched beneath an hedge row ,they are very under rated birds ,so pretty when you look at them .
We seem to have got our gang of Ravens back with 4 over and around the patch. Lets hope they stay for the winter.
The best of the rest were a Jay, Green Woodpecker, 2 Buzzard and 1 Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
So after a quiet week we live in hope for something exciting and wintery.

White Ghost

Sorry for the late update, but I have been feeling under the weather so have not felt like updating the blog. Last week although generally quiet did have a couple of high lights the chief one being a superb Barn Owl which has been hunting along the field margins beside the magic hedge. Its also fair to say that winter Thrushes have arrived on mass with good counts of both Redwing and Fieldfares during the week .
By the time Willow and I managed to get out onto the patch Saturday it was mid morning ,much later than is normal and in truth I did not expect to see much given the migration season is all but finished .
In the hedges I still managed to find 11 Robins dotted about, the winterers having now settled in for next few months. A good count of 4 Bullfinch were seen ,their fan should be smiling for a while .
On the Thrush side 20 plus Blackbirds were about although a neighbour tells me he had counted a whooping 40 in a small copse next to his house the morning before so maybe they are still arriving .Their northern cousins put in a good show with 238 plus Fieldfare and 60 Redwing ,5 Mistle Thrush and a sprinkling of Song Thrush completed the set for the day.
On the pastures 21 plus Skylark were  nice to see ,although there were more around but I did not connect with them ,also seen was a good count of 12 Stock Dove on the stubble.
The only other birds worth a mention were a Green Woodpecker and a very vocal female Kestrel which was getting a good kicking from the local Jackdaws . There were a small number of Meadow Pipits with 5 been seen and 6 Pied wagtail bounced around the area.
A small flock of 9 Linnet seem to be wintering and a flock of 250 plus Starling were on pasture'. The final 2 birds seen were 2 Buzzards which sat  in a dead tree like the Vultures in Jungle Book.
Sunday dawned mild and grey ,still no frost .It appeared that Blackbirds had arrived overnight with 10 just on the lawn and in the end I counted 35 plus in the end ,there must be have been more around . Other Thrush seen were 102 plus Redwing and again 238 plus Fieldfare and 2 Mistle Thrush . Starlings stayed at 270 plus on the pasture , still  way down on previous years.
Other winter visitors about were 12 plus Robin dotted around in the hedges .
It was overhead which surprised me with 768 Woodpigeons moving east or south east, maybe I had missed more yesterday morning with the late start ,but it seems very late for a count of this size.
Just 3 Meadow Pipits moved over but not in any particular direction , so they must be wintering birds.
A Raven was heard ,the first for a few days and 2 Jay were heard but not seen . 16 Skylark were on the top fields and 3 Pied Wagtails were feeding in the same fields.
The usual invisible Green Woodpecker called and the local pair of Buzzards scanned the area. The final bird was the best of the day when a female Blackcap showed in the garden for a short while .A nice sighting for the time of year .
So lets hope we get some cold weather and then a few wanderers may appear on the patch

Northern invaision

Another week passes and in the last week there has been the long awaited arrival of Fieldfares .The first real numbers were seen on Thursday when with the east wind 200 plus passed southwards with a few  Redwing (20 plus),tagging along .I was woken on Thursday at 4.45am with a Tawny Owl calling from just outside the cottage.
On Friday it was not until 4pm until I got onto the patch after work but this turned out to be a great thing as at 4.15pm the 87th species for the year for the patch turned up in the form of a hunting Barn Owl which cruised back and forth along the magic hedgerow , a great bird , just stunning.
Fieldfares passed south even at that late hour with 220 over and 50 plus Redwing passed in all directions.
I had intended to hit the patch on Saturday but there was torrential rain  even with hail thrown in so it really was a quick jaunt but it was obvious that the rain had grounded a large number of Fieldfares and there were up too 600 plus feeding around the top fields ,to see these birds Willow and I had to get very wet and very dirty as the mud was very deep .It was only a few weeks ago it was as dry as a bone up there .  
So we were up and at em on Sunday and after all the rain the day dawned clear and there had been a frost. It was a lovely sight with a mist over the river meadows and the sun rising through it ,the Moon was also clearly visible and when flocks of Woodpigeons started to appear from north and pass over in a southerly direction I thought we were going to get another vis mig spectacular, as it happened 500 plus passed over in quick time but the passage then petered our as quickly as it had started.
I was ready for a mass Thrush invasion but was left a tad disappointed with totals of 74 plus Fieldfare, 25 plus Redwing ,4 Mistle  Thrush, 20 plus Blackbird and 7 plus Song Thrush which included some rather grey continental birds.
Around 100 plus Starling passed over in a westerly direction, we do not seem to have had the usual numbers this year.
On the pasture maybe a sign of cold weather to come with an influx of 53 plus Skylark including a flock of 35 plus , but only 4 Meadow Pipits today .The rest seem to have moved on. The freshly tilled field attracted 6 Pied wagtails down on the 22 that were around on Wednesday. A small flock of 7 Stock Dove were present .
 The invasion of Robins seems to have abated with a rather measly 10 seen dotted around ,but otherwise the hedges were very quiet with just a small flock of 8 Linnets been seen .
Other notable birds were a Raven ,the usual ever calling Green Woodpecker , a calling Jay (it was not seen ) ,2 Buzzards and a flock of 8 Magpie .
So we are at 87 for they year which is already 2 ahead of last year and we still have time to get to the magic 90 ,can we do it ? bring on a good cold snap and we may just get there.

late arrivals .Sunday Morning

Having Read that 22,000Woodpigeons had passed over nearby Painswick Beacon by 8.20am on Saturday morning Willow and I hit the patch at 7am. We were greeted with frequent rain showers but it was not as cold as I had expected .Needless to say we saw no Woodpigeon passage and overall the patch is still in its hiatus as far as exciting birds are concerned .
So the highlights for the proceeding week were a Lesser redpoll which visited the garden on Wednesday and a flock of 100 plus Redwing on the same day .On the same day there were a few Blackbirds liberally scattered about including some rather continental looking ones in the garden .  It was the first Autumn day to actually feel like it should although by the end of the week it was back to being all weird again ,far too mild for the time of year.
So the first bird we were greeted by was a Greater Spotted Woodpecker feeding on the fat balls in the feeders. As we left the cottage I heard the familiar sound of Fieldfare and as the walk proceeded 3 flocks of 6 , 35 and 76 appeared from the north ,its great to have them back and it now feels like Autumn proper .The other winter Thrush the Redwing numbered 84 plus birds appearing out of the murk and heading east towards the river meadows. There were Mistle Thrush passing south and 5 plus were seen passing over due south .There was a fair scattering of Blackbirds with at least 23 plus around, just a single Song Thrush this morning .We live in hope of a Ring Ouzel .
There were more Starlings of late no doubt some of our winterers having just arrived and at least 300 plus were feeding in the old orchards or passing straight over south west.
A flock of 23 plus Chaffinch dropped out of the sky from high from the east and the usual flock of 28 plus Linnet put in an appearance. The other bird that has put on a good show this Autumn,  the Robin numbered 24 plus .
On the pastureland 18 plus Skylark, which look like the wintering flock this year and just 8 Meadow Pipits put in a showing. It still looks as if Pied Wagtails are still on the move with a dozen moving around the patch .
The best of the rest were 2 Bullfinch, 7 Stock Dove and a calling Green Woodpecker .It will get better if the winds move to the East or North .

Where is Autumn ? Monday and Tuesday update

The weather is mental , so warm it feels like a May day and I was out with Willow at just after 7am, I was awoken at 6.10am by a very vocal Tawny Owl calling from just behind the house .As we left the cottage the shed door was wide opened and for a brief moment I thought that the shed had been forcibly entered but it was just that my youngest had left it wide open when putting his bike away .
Overall the walk was a quiet one in keeping with the general theme at the moment ,but there were a few birds moving overhead .Woodpigeons passed south but in truth I could only pick out 158 plus as they passed to the south. There were a few local birds feeding on stubble fields but I did not count them .
Linnets passed south in fair numbers with 40 plus ,and there was a constant trickle of Chaffinches passing south west with 40 plus seen in small flocks. Likewise 3Greenfinches and 12 plus Goldfinches did likewise, but I could not find anything else more exciting. 
On the pastures the wintering flock of 20 plus Skylarks wee still on station and a sprinkle of Meadow Pipits amounted to 10 .
We still have a few more Stock Doves than normal with 13 plus around the patch . In the hedges were 13 plus Robin and 6 plus Blackbirds both species showing a decrease over the last few days, some birds having moved on .
A single Raven was nice to see and 3 Mistle Thrushes passed over heading southwards .Still only very small numbers of Redwings with again just 7 seen today.
The best bird however was seen as I was going back into the cottage when a small bird caught my eye as it flitted about in one of the garden Beech trees , quickly getting the binos onto it I  confirmed it to be a Goldcrest ,a great bird for the garden.
The best of the rest for a quiet Monday morning were a Jay, Kestrel ,Green Woodpecker Greater Spotted Woodpecker ,3 Buzzard and just 4 Pied Wagtails .So you can see we are in the doldrums at the moment and until the weather changes then it looks as if it will stay that way.
Tuesday dawned clear and if anything even milder ! .The bird life proved to show a few subtle changes from Monday and a couple of patch gems were seen .
In the hedges were 19 plus Blackbirds and a whooping 20 plus Robins a jump in numbers from yesterday .A good sighting of  a fine male Yellowhammer was nice to see and a party of 3 Bullfinch flew over calling  northwards .Yet again a superb female/immature Stonechat graced the hedges ,we have had a cracking Autumn for these little gems.
Overhead a party of 4 Raven gronked its way south west , the best number for a while. Two flocks of Woodpigeons passed over to the south with just a small total of 40 birds this morning ,although I know others birders have seen large numbers this morning.
A single Mistle Thrush powered south looking as if he was on a promise somewhere and the Autumns first Lapwing moved serenely southwards .
There was a fairly constant westwards movement of Starling s this morning with 160 plus passing over maybe a promise of whats to come.
On the pastures  were 24 plus Meadow Pipits and there were more Skylarks than of late with 28 plus ,some moving over straight southwards.
A superb female Sparrow Hawk flushed 9 plus Pied wagtails and 28 plus Linnets off a field as it looked for breakfast. Other birds seen on the fields were 5 Red Legged Partridge and 10 Stock Dove.
A lone Jay headed south east and a few Redwing were dotted about with 13 plus seen today.
The best of todays other birds were 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, the usual Green Woodpecker and 3 Buzzard .
Lets hope things pick up soon

Scarlet Saturday

Willow and I were greeted by a scarlet sunrise just after 8am on Saturday as we hit the patch .After a day with out any Woodpigeon passage they were on the move again and in the 2 and half hours on the patch 625 plus passed due south the largest flock being 250 plus .They are a common bird but it is still a thrill to see these flocks of birds heading straight through due south bound for who knows where . Passage overhead was generally fairly limited but Linnets were much more plentiful of late with 81 plus passing over or feeding briefly on stubble before moving on .A small trickle of Chaffinches moved in the same direction but nothing of any real  note. Like wise Meadow Pipits numbered 30 plus ,some passing straight over south ,others feeding on pasture. The last bird to feature overhead were Pied Wagtails with 12 plus passing south west.
On the pasture were 5 Red legged Partridge ,the largest number for quite a while ,and there were still 17 plus Stock Dove feeding on one of the stubble fields . The winter Skylark flock at the moment seems to be at around 20 plus birds, perhaps more will arrive if any cold weather ever gets here.
In the hedges still only small numbers of Redwings are around with only 6 seen today where are they all?  .The other members of the Thrush family present were 2  Mistle Thrush, 6 plus Song Thrush and 15 plus Blackbird.
There was a an upsurge of Robins this morning with at least 21 plus sitting atop various hedges. With all this looking at the winter Robins it seemed only right when I found yet another 2 Stonechats this time a fine male and another female /immature .We have a great Autumn for these birds this year.
The usual haunt held a pair of Bullfinch ,calling softly from the undergrowth , the male showing its stark red breast , stunning birds .
The other birds worth a note were a single Buzzard ,Green Woodpecker and a Greater Spotted Woodpecker .
I am off work on Monday so I will be out on the patch early to see if any other migrants are passing through .

Thursday and Friday update.

So after the huge Woodpigeon migration on Wednesday , I was pumped about what was going to happen on Thursday so Willow and I were out by 8am , well you can guess what happened , I managed to count a whole 10 birds but I really think they were local birds and not migrants as I had hoped.
So having established that over head migration was not going to be like the day before Willow and I got down to finding what may have arrived over night .
In the hedges were 17 plus Robins, 16 plus Blackbird both were supplemented by obvious continental birds. It was great to see a pair of superb Bullfinch in the usual place, they seem to be here for the winter as are the 7 Redwing ,the numbers are really small and I am beginning to wonder when the large numbers we usually enjoy are going to arrive with us .A fine flock of 20 plus Long Tailed Tits was a great sight as they fed along the hedgerows.
The best birds seen in the hedges were 2 superb Stonechats which were feeding near a dung heap ,they really are glorious birds ,a bird of much wilder country than we have here ,where thanks to the local farmer most of the fields and hedgerows look like a landing strip .
Eventually a few birds got moving overhead with 20 plus Skylarks  over along with 39 plus Linnet over to the south . They were joined by 16 plus Goldfinch and 28 Chaffinch which moved south , so it seemed as if a few finches were on the move . The tail end of the Meadow Pipit passage goes on and 14 plus were on pasture or moved over south ,likewise Pied Wagtail numbered 16 plus .The last overhead migrant was a Mistle Thrush .
We still have 4 Jays on site the usual Greater Spotted (3) and Green Woodpeckers were about. A skien of 32 Greylag Geese moved from the river meadows over head heading inland to feed and 4 Stock Dove were in the usual haunts.
The bird of prey count was 2 Buzzard and a female Kestrel .
Friday dawned another grey and mild affair ,a slight  drizzle was in the air as we left the cottage, I have long since given up looking at the weather charts in the hope of a cold snap which might bring in something exciting.
So the hedges were still full of Robins gazing lustfully at each others winter quarters and I managed to count  15 plus this morning .There were a lot less Blackbirds today ,a big drop in numbers after the last few days. The small number of Redwings were still in the hedges with 20 plus been seen .A flock of  very distant presumed 10 Fieldfares would be nice as yet they seem to have not arrived hereabouts but they were so far away it was difficult to really get a firm Id.
There was a small passage of Woodpigeons this morning with 135 plus birds heading due south the largest flock being 71 birds. It only lasted half an hour and I was getting ready for another onslaught but it seem to peter out just as it got going , however a huge count of 45 pus Stock Dove on stubble must of been migrants perhaps brought down by the drizzle.
Finches on the move were 28 plus Linnet and 20 plus Chaffinch which headed west. On the Finch front a good count of 5 Bullfinch was had today ,so my Bullfinch fan should be happy for the time being at least.
Meadow Pipits numbered 33 plus with some passing over south others feeding on pasture . Skylarks only got to 12 plus this morning but I heard others passing over. Only 3 Pied Wagtails today after a run of good days.
The first Ravens for a number of  days were over the patch with 3 been seen today and a single Mistle Thrush was  on station  .
The best of the rest were 3 Jay, a male Kestrel ,Green Woodpecker and a Greater Spotted Woodpecker. Bring on the cold weather that's what I say.

Big Vis Mig

With a day off work and after the school run Willow and I where out on the patch by 8.15am just as the soon broke the horizon .The low cloud meant it was warmer than I expected given the weather forecast although it was colder than it has been of late.
It soon became obvious that there were large numbers of Woodpigeons moving over in a westerly direction  and in the two and a quarter hours I was on the patch I counted 1972 plus birds over with flocks of up to 300 plus ,there must of been more and I will have missed others that were out of my field of view, all the birds were coming from the north or east and moving west. As the morning moved on the flocks started coming in at a lower level as in the beginning of the morning they were at a high altitude.
Also coming in from the east were 80 plus Jackdaws and they just kept going west as did species 86 for the year on the patch in the form of 2 Snipe ! , great birds to see on the patch and it means we have surpassed last years total and its still only October .
Skylarks passed over with 31 plus but again I heard more passing over but could not pick them up out of the big blue , these birds headed due south as did 37 plus Goldfinch and 22 plus Linnet. A flock of 4 Cormorants came high from the east and kept going west, this was turning into a mega day .As it happens that was about it as far as visible migration was concerned but there were plenty of other birds around in the hedgerows and other areas of cover.
I managed to find 50 plus Redwing  and mixed in with them were 15 plus Blackbirds and 2/3 Song Thrush, but again no Fieldfares where are they ? .It was nice however to see 5 Mistle Thrush dotted about as they pass through southwards.
There were 15 plus Robins dotted about but I think I will have missed some whilst trying to keep my eye skywards. 
Not many Meadow Pipits today with just 12 plus on the pastures and there were 8 Stock Doves which passed over, as did 4 Pied Wagtails.
Birds of prey this morning were in good force with 2 Sparrow Hawk and 2 Kestrel and of course a couple of Buzzards in for good measure.
A male Bullfinch tried to look like a migrant by flying in from the north ,but who knows if that is true ? but a Yellowhammer heard calling as it flew over must have qualified as such .
The best of the rest were a flock of 9 Greylag Geese over, a Green Woodpecker and a Greater Spotted Woodpecker .
So a cracking morning with the patch delivering the goods, with massive Wood pigeon migration and species number 86 thrown in for good measure. No work tomorrow so watch this space.

warm weekend

What is going on with the weather ?  ,18 degrees at the nearly the end of October, some say its glorious I  say its a bit of a worry. As the rest of the birding world seems to be enjoying  an almost orgasmic October here on my little patch of no where it has been overall rather quiet .
Willow and I were out at around 7.30am ish on Saturday and it was almost T shirt weather, cloudy but very mild .
The most obvious thing was the overhead passage of Redwing over with a count of 200 plus over .but as yet no Fieldfares where are they ? they are running late this year . With the Redwings came 15 plus Blackbirds ,superb views of a Continental birds were had , the odd Song Thrush passed over . The last Thrush species seen were 2 Mistle Thrush that passed south . What I would give for a Ring Ouzel ? they have been every where this Autumn .
Other birds that passed over were 25 plus Linnet and a trickle of Goldfinches  with 16 plus straight over south . The usual Autumn migrants tried to make up the numbers with 45 plus Skylarks on pastures and passing over south and Pied Wagtails are still passing over 11 plus passing ,they all looked like Pied but maybe there may have been a White ,but the calls all sounded like Pied . 35 Meadow Pipits trickled through ,their main passage seems to be over for this Autumn , we will still have a few that will winter with us .
In the hedges Robins were decreased in number with just 7 today ,  maybe the winter have found their winter quarters .  A nice visitor was a Yellowhammer I heard calling as it passed over ,a  small population is around locally and we sometimes see them ,but not enough for me . For my Bullfinch fan I managed to pick up 2 birds in the hedges.  
On the raptor front 2 Buzzards and a female Kestrel were on offer and a couple of Ravens were the first for a short while.
The final 2 species worth a mention were a Green Woodpecker and a single Stock Dove . So a quiet period at the moment lets hope it picks up soon as I am getting jealous of what" s going on elsewhere.

Midweek Thrush

Well the title got your attention ! A quick midweek update as I think that the arrival of the first winter Thrushes is always worth a mention. the first Redwing passed over the house around 10am ,and then a small flock of Fieldfare (6) went north just after. So with that in mind Willow and I hot footed it onto the patch to see what else might of dropped in or was passing over.
Redwing eventually got to 35 plus but none stopped ,they seem to be heading in all directions really. No more Fieldfares were seen .Other thrushes were 12 plus Blackbird including a definite continental bird and 2 Song Thrushes dropped out of the sky.
In the hedgerows there were around 13 pus Robins this afternoon ,so some must of moved on (810 at Spurn Point yesterday !), .Our run of Bullfinches continues with a healthy 5 today and a really nice flock of 20 plus Long Tailed Tits was nice to see.
On the pastures a really good count of 41 plus Skylarks was had and Meadow Pipits were at 89 plus around the patch .100 plus Starling were feeding on stubble, as were 11 plus Pied wagtails.
The linnet passage continues on with 35 plus over along with 20 plus Goldfinch both moving south.
The best of the rest were a Jay, 2 Buzzard, 7 Stock Dove and a Cormorant over. Anyway just a quick update and I am off the latter part of next week but it looks as if I have chosen the wrong week with all the good birds arriving on the east coast this week, well you never know what might turn up next week .
I must mention the incredible 550 plus Ring Ouzels at Dungeness yesterday (YES THAT IS 550 !)

Fogbound

Having heard about all the great birds that were bouncing around everywhere I was chomping at the bit to get out on Sunday having missed out on Saturday due to family commitments .So when I opened curtains and saw a real pea souper it brought me down with a bump.
We went out anyway as you never know there could be a really salacious bad ass bird out there ready to been seen.
The first thing I noticed was there were Robins ticking away in the hedges and a count of 25 plus were logged. The last vestiges of summer hung on with 3 Chiffchaff and a male Blackcap that was feeding on elderberries.
The usual haunt held a Bullfinch and a couple of Jays were heard screeching from the undergrowth .
Overhead some birds still moved over below the fog bank with a flock 17 Linnet heading south .A rather unruly gang of Starlings fed briefly on Hawthorns ,they looked as if they were migrants and a count of 100 plus was made. Skylarks were heard overhead but in the fog I only saw 9 ,likewise just 20 Meadow Pipits but I am sure there were many more about, I just could not see them in the fog ! .A small flock of 6 Greylag Geese circled over ,lost in the fog calling.
Wagtails were on the move with 5 Pied Wagtails seen and then a flock of 12 which passed over south west ,one bird sounded and looked like a good candidate for a White but in the fog I could not be sure (would of been number 86 for the year) .
The best bird seen was a superb male Stonechat on a wire fence by some rough ground ,the second bird of the Autumn for the patch .
There had been an arrival of Blackbirds overnight with at least 20 plus seen in the hedges ,also a couple of Song thrushes dropped out of the fog.
The best of the rest were a Raven, Green Woodpecker, Stock Dove ,2 Red Legged Partridge .
The high light of the week for me was the late surge of 21 Swallow on Thursday ,the first birds seen for at least 2 and half weeks ,it was great to see the last of the summer "gang" before they left for the winter.  Good luck on your journey my old mates see you next year Amigos .Lets hope the next week starts with a bang ,maybe a Great Grey Shrike ? .

Fields of Gold

A truly stunning morning ,and the first frost of the Autumn . As the sun rose a mist hung over the meadows , just stunning. Although there had been a frost it was only slight so had no penetration  into the already hard ground.
In the bushes the Robin invasion continues with at least 25 plus seen today, they really are every where at the moment. The last embers of summer remain in the form of Chiffchaffs that continue to pass through with another 7 plus found this morning ,2 even sang for a short while . But it was the real Autumn birds that got the blood pumping this morning with a double whammy in the form of a pair of Reed Bunting and species number 85 for the year with a superb Stonechat on one of the hedges. I know there has been a large influx this Autumn and so its great to say they have reached even here.
On the pastures and stubble fields a nice flock of 50 plus Linnet were feeding. They will build up over the next few weeks as they pass through on the way south ,along side them were at least 118 plus Meadow Pipits which were feeding and some were passing over .
Skylarks have got going with at least 35 plus today ,some were on the pasture feeding but some passed over straight southwards. A slight disappointment were the 5 Pied Wagtail  that were on pasture,I had expected many more today. A fellow birder had seen over 80 plus over Painswick Beacon this morning.
Overhead a Cormorant  passed north and a fine skien of 45 plus feral Greylag flew out from the river meadows , 9 birds  fed for a short while on a stubble field. The other birds that passed over were a Grey Heron north to south  and a flock of 10 Stock Dove  .
 Raptors were 3 Buzzard ,a male Sparrow Hawk that was getting a good kicking from the local Jackdaws ,and like wise a female Kestrel that was suffering the same fate.
A Jay screeched deep from cover, so its nice to know that they are still around.  The usual Woodpeckers were around with 2 Green Woodpeckers and a single Greater Spotted .
There appeared to be a few more Finches passing southwards and the highlight was a flock of 4 Bullfinch that passed over south , a further 3 were seen or heard in the hedges ,so a good count of 7 were seen today, more than enough for my Bullfinch fan !
So today we reached the same total of species seen in the whole of last year and its only October ,so hopefully we will break our record. We still await the arrival of the winter thrushes and it cannot be long before they arrive.
The total number of species for the year for the patch is now 85.

Autumn Blast

So with a great gush Autumn arrived overnight ,the first spit of rain fell as Willow and I left the cottage, it certainly felt very different to the roasting September we have enjoyed .
The last week has stood out for the good passage of Meadow Pipits that have passed through with flocks over a 100 plus through out the week. I also managed to find Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps in the bushes and both Tawny and Little Owls have been vocal .
 So Saturdays walk as I say was a very wet affair with constant rain in the 2 and half hours Willow and I were out .
In the bushes Robins were still very prevalent with 19 plus been seen  , some must be continental in origin .I also managed to find 10 plus Chiffchaff and I have no doubt that there were more around lurking in the under growth .
A nice female Blackcap feeding on black berries was a nice bonus ,and a Bullfinch was heard but not seen .
On the pastures the rain had brought down the passing Meadow Pipits  and over 200 plus were on pastures and the stubble fields . The wagtail passage has finally got going with 10 plus Pied Wagtail  feeding on the stubble in the top fields. A small flock of 20 plus Linnet were also feeding on the stubble. Skylarks were feeding on pastures and the wintering flock is beginning to build with 22 plus seen today.
A rather soggy Red Legged Partridge ran across a wet field, and just 4 Stock Dove were feeding on the stubble with around 50 plus Wood pigeon. .
 Overhead 2 Mistle Thrush passed south and around 60 plus Starling were on the over head wires . Song thrushes and Blackbirds seem to be dropping in in ones and two s , I presume they were migrants but as yet no sign of Redwings or Fieldfares although I understand a few have been seen around fairly locally.
A Green Woodpecker was seen feeding near the magic hedge (which is not so magic at the moment ).
So with a northerly airflow from tomorrow Willow and I will be out looking for the first winter Thrushes in the morning ,wish us luck !
Oh I forgot a Jay flew over the garden as we arrived back at the cottage , just as I was thinking they had moved on.
   

Friday/Saturday/Sunday update.

   So after a entertaining trip to Spurn on Thursday (plenty of cracking birds including the Masked Shrike ) it was back to the patch, one thing is for certain we are no Spurn Point but we still see migrants come through our little patch of nowhere .
Friday appeared to be the day the local Swallows and House Martins left ,there were at least 80 plus Swallow and 40 plus House Martins feeding over the pastures until they all moved south  on mass  .Time pressure meant I could not get around the whole patch and I had the feeling that were more birds to be found , so it was a bit frustrating to say the least .
Other migrants that were on the pastures or passed overhead were 44 plus Meadow Pipits, 4 Jay , 16 plus Skylark and a flock of 50 plus Woodpigeons.
In the bushes and hedges were 8 plus Chiffchaff ,12 plus Robin but in the short time I had I failed to find anything else other than the usual resident birds.
Around the field edges were the usual Green Woodpecker, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, a single Stock Dove, a flock of 102 Starling and a flyover Pied Wagtail.
So Saturday dawned in the usual benign way ,the weather seems to be stuck in a real rut at the moment and although dry its getting quite boring really, bring on some colder weather that's what I say.
Walking around the bushes and hedges in the early sunshine I checked out the warmer more moist hidden areas of the patch and found 12 plus Chiffchaff feeding ,17 plus Robin and the Autumns first Goldcrest which was in amongst a flock of 15 Long Tailed Tits
Looking on Twitter parts of Gloucestershire were seeing large numbers of Swallows and House Martins passing over. Only a few Swallows passed over and all  we could manage were 2 flocks of 14 and 10 and a single bird, thousands were passing at nearby watch points but not here today !
2 Mistle Thrush passed high over to the south calling as they went over ,their northern cousins will soon be with us anyday now I hope.
Starling are now regular and numbers will build as the winter visitors arrive so the first of these flocks were seen today 80 plus on pasture.
Two other Autumn migrants were about with  Skylarks 12 plus over heading south and small parties of Meadow pipits just 12 passing over this morning.
There were more Finches around and perhaps just a hint of some Autumn passage with 25 plus Linnet over and a southward bound flock of 10 Goldfinch .A pair of Bullfinch were in the usual place both male and female seen together.
I have read that there are large numbers of Jays are arriving in the country due to an Acorn failure so that will go some way to explaining why we are seeing them passing over on a regular basis at the moment ,another 2 were seen today.
The usual Woodpeckers were about with a Green and 3 Greater Spotted.
The best of the rest were 2 Pied Wagtail , Buzzard and 5 Stock Dove . The day finished with a Little Owl calling from the hedgerow beside the cottage at 8pm
Sunday was a carbon copy weather wise and to a lesser or greater extent so were the birds. I was however woken at 1.20 am by a calling Tawny Owl so I was out by 7am as soon as it got properly light .
Checking out the hedges and bushes I found a healthy 13 plus Chiffchaff ,another 15 plus Robins, and 2 Blackcap.
The star bird of the day was a Peregrine Falcon that passed west at 7.15am , they are winter visitors to Ashleworth Ham so this could be the first of the winter birds or just a passage migrant. Other birds of prey were a fine male Sparrow hawk and a female Kestrel calling as she passed over. A couple of Buzzards were soaring high above the cottage at around 10.30am .
Other migrants that passed over were 3 very high flying Mistle Thrush which were seen appearing from high north and heading due south, just 7 House Martins heading south east and a fast flying flock of 4 Swallows which zipped past Africa bound.
Skylarks are now becoming much more noticeable with 21 plus been around the patch some passed south whilst others gave the appearance that maybe they are our wintering birds.
It is nice to report that Meadow Pipits were aplenty on the patch today some passed over but a nice flock of 45 plus were in the top fields this morning they really are a very attractive bird when looked at closely, their creamy breast and those streaks ,very striking birds .The final total seen were 78 plus .
Pied wagtails have started to pass over now and although only 3 did today ,more will follow as we get into October
Just 1 Raven today was seen but 4 Jays were on the patch again.
The best of rest of todays birds were a Red Legged partridge, Green Woodpecker, Greater  Spotted Woodpecker, Stock Dove .So it would appear that the patch is under going a quiet period but with October things will get better soon .

Wet Wednesday

Having looked at the weather forecast on Tuesday night and seeing that a band of rain followed by  a breeze from the north I decided to get on the patch early .So Willow and I were out at first light around 7.15am .A gentle rain was falling and it appeared that not a lot was happening when out of the murk a flock of Swallows appeared from on high , they had been caught out by the passing shower ,they landed on wires to rest and feed whilst the rain passed over. This made them easy to count, 95 birds with just 2 House Martin . After that Swallows passed over in dribs and drabs over the next two and half hours and a final tally of 225 plus passed south along with just 20 plus House Martins today. The latter been somewhat short of the count of 60,000 that passed over Sandwich bird observatory yesterday, what a sight that must of been !
The bushes and hedges seem to have a fair few migrants that had been  dropped onto us by the rain band ,a good count of at least 20 plus Chiffchaffs ( there must of been more around ), were supplemented by 19 plus Robin, singles of Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, plus at least 3 plus Blackcap. A really nice selection of birds .
Other birds seen in the hedges were a juvenile Bullfinch , a Yellowhammer ,  something that I have not recorded on the patch for ages so that was a nice surprise.
On the pastures the rain had brought down a fair few Meadow Pipits with a flock of 120 plus on a stubble field and 55 plus passing over in small groups all towards the south west .So we managed 175 plus after yesterdays poor performance .A  decent size group of Skylarks were seen with a flock of 17 on a fodder beet field.
Jays continue to make themselves known with 3 today including one that passed over due south. Maybe a few migrant Stock Doves were on the patch today with 15 been seen ,that's more than the usual count and should increase next month as the migrant Woodpigeons pass through .
After yesterdays raptor fest all I could manage  was a poor 2 Buzzard today ,a single Raven gronked its way over the patch .
The best of the rest were a skien of 40 feral Greylag Geese, 9 Canada Geese, Green Woodpecker, 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker , and 2 Pied wagtail .
So a nice selection of birds this morning from my little patch of no where , it really does surprise me what passes through here .
Bring on Friday morning !

Another day in paradise

Another day off work ,more sunshine and a cool start so we hit the patch again this morning.
The bushes and hedgerows showed a little more life this morning with another Lesser Whitethroat, 8 plus Chiffchaff and at least 3 plus Blackcap .The influx of Robins continues with 13 plus seen again today.
Overhead took most of the attention this morning with 102 plus Swallows feeding over the area, others moved straight south ,they were accompanied  by 100 plus House Martins most of the latter were at much lower altitude than the Swallows .
 2 more Jays moved to the south as did a solitary Skylark .Its raptors this morning who featured well with a dashing Hobby through at around 9.30 am, 2 Jackdaws were trying to  give a hard time but it left them for dead. 5 Buzzards were over the patch and at one point I was watching a soaring Buzzard along with a soaring female Sparrow hawk and a female Kestrel all together ,a great sight. The Raven count was 3 ,down on the heady heights of 6 the other day.
Other Autumn migrants were present albeit in smaller numbers than the other day with just 9 Meadow Pipits today ,again well down from yesterday ,but it just shows how quickly some birds move on. Another single Mistle Thrush was present today as were 20 plus Goldfinch.
A Wagtail passed south but it did not look right for a Pied so I am going to mark it down as an Alba Wagtail although I am not adding it to the species list for the patch for the year as I did not ID firmly . Woodpeckers today were 1 Green and at least 3Greater Spotted.
The bird of the day however was a stunning Greenland type Wheatear perched on wire fence in the top fields , a cracker of a bird .
So a nice bonus walk with a good selection of birds ,the resident birds seem to have had a good breeding season this year as have the summer visitors .
What will Wednesday bring ?

Sky full of Swallows

With a day off work and a clear blue sky a bonus trip onto the patch was in order .A distinct nip in the air this morning the mercury was 4 degrees c according to the car this morning  on the school run. I was on the patch by 9.30 and has been the case Swallows were moving over again in good numbers including one flock of 150 plus that paused for a short while on the telephone wires over the pastures. They soon moved on and over the entire two and half hours I logged 235 plus over but in all honesty I think this was a huge under estimation on my part, this Autumn really has been exceptional  for my little patch for this species this year.
Both species of Martins were seen today with 20 plus House Martins including juveniles still been fed by adults as they rested on the overhead wires and a single Sand Martin was in amongst the throng .
The other big player today was Meadow Pipits with 107 plus seen in three different flocks ,birds were also heard passing overhead .It is nice to report that the start of the Skylark Passage has started today with 10 birds passing south and west. Likewise a Pied Wagtail ,this bird did look maybe like a White but I am not sure so it remains a Pied.
The raptor count today was good with 12 plus Buzzard including 7 together ,try as I might I could not turn one into  a Honey Buzzard , but some birds must be on passage as this is well over the normal count for the patch. A female Kestrel cruised over looking fine in the bright sunlight.
The Raven were about again with 2 been seen including one which was soaring with a pair of Buzzards.
The hedges and bushes were a little more exciting today with 6 Chiffchaff including 3 singers, a very grey looking Lesser Whitethroat, a Willow Warbler and a Whitethroat ,all three species having not been seen for a few days ,so it just shows that birds are still filtering through the patch.
For my Bullfinch fan 2 were seen today in their usual hang out ,they disappeared and headed north.
The influx of Robins continues with 13 plus seen this morning, I have never really looked at Robins in the same way since seeing them arrive at Spurn Point one October morning ,the point was alive with them and its odd to think that so many arrive for the winter with us or pass through on the way to their winter quarters .
The number of Jays seem to be increasing all the time with 6 been seen today including 3 that headed due west without stopping. A Mistle Thrush was sitting briefly on the overhead wires ,I wonder if its  'our " wintering bird or just a passage migrant ? .
The best of the rest were 8 Stock Dove ,Green Woodpecker ,2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, and a southward bound flock of 9 Goldfinch.
I have to finish on a poor note however and report that the usual flaying of the hedges has now started , with some hedges now standing no more than 3 feet in height , quite why this done is beyond me and it destroys habitat for so much wildlife , you sometimes despair you really do .
On a more positive note the Maize has started to be harvested and that will hopefully bring in more birds such as Larks, Pipits , Wagtails and some nice Finch flocks.
Lets see what turns up !

Poor relation

As the rest of the country appears to awash with vagrants from the east and places in and around the patch seem to be getting morsels of decent birds ,we however appear to have been ignored by the birding gods
With the promised cold front arriving overnight Willow and I were greeted by a cool clear morning , optimism was high but as  we made our way around the patch it soon was crushed as I realised that the BIG ONE  had bypassed Tirley ,I  had my hopes set on say a Red Breasted Flycatcher but the closest I could get was an influx of at least 15 plus Robins on the patch.
Overhead the numbers were again provided by Swallows with 122 plus moving east in a two  and half hour period . Autumn is the time we see and hear Skylarks moving over the patch and a flock of 8 were on pasture and others were heard passing south in the clear blue sky. After last weeks large flock of Meadow Pipits today I could only muster 3 but again more were heard moving overhead ,although I think only in small numbers.
It might have been the start albeit in a small way of wagtails moving ,but with the rest of the west  enjoying large numbers we managed a whole 2 ,ah the joys of patch birding ! sometimes it is bloody hard work.
We usually see a couple of Ravens on our walk but today there were 6 on the patch .Jays screeched from the trees and 4 were seen today.
The bushes and hedgerows were quiet apart from 8 plus Chiffchaff dotted about.
Other birds seen around the pastures were 3 Stock Dove, Red Legged Partridge, a flock of flyover 9 Canada Geese (plastic birds),  and a Cormorant .The Green Woodpecker put in an appearance.
On the raptor list were a male Kestrel and 5 plus Buzzards .
So with a week off work lets see what I can find this week ,it can only get better as today was one of the quietest walks for a long while

Swallows on the move

With work getting the way I have only managed a few visits to the patch this week and to be honest I get the feeling that I may have missed out somewhat.
The overriding thing this week has been the overhead passage of Swallows and to a lesser extent House Martins with birds moving south overhead in good numbers all this week especially on Thursday afternoon when I managed in a 45 min period to log 600 plus Swallow moving south ,with them were a small number of House Martins.
The first good flock of Meadow  Pipits appeared on Thursday with a good count of 170 plus , numbers have since decreased again .
Its fair to say that the hedges and bushes are now much quieter but I still managed to find a Redstart , a few Blackcaps and still quite a few Chiffchaffs.
So on Saturday by the time I managed to get onto the patch it was in the afternoon, less than ideal but I felt that I had missed out in the week and who knows what might have been lurking out there !
It soon became obvious that Swallows were still moving over and 280 plus were logged passing south ,20 plus House Martins were tagging along. In all the years I have lived here this has been the best Autumn passage for Swallows .
Sticking with overhead theme up to 7 Buzzard were on the patch today ,try as I might I could not turn one of them into a Honey Buzzard . One of the resident Raven was touring the patch .
In the hedges were 7 plus Chiffchaff and a flock of 20 plus Goldfinch .It was the pastures that came up with the best bird of the day with a stonking Wheatear, it really looked as if it was a Greenland type. The flock of Meadow Pipits had decreased to just 8 today, the rest having moved on.
There were 3 Skylark today ,with no doubt more hidden in the grass, also heard was a Red Legged Partridge ,the first for what seems like ages.
Jays continue to trickle through with 2 this afternoon ,but just a single Stock dove was recorded .
The best of the rest were a male Kestrel ,Green Woodpecker and a Greater Spotted Woodpecker and the usual build up  of Wood Pigeons which really means that winter is on its way.
With a cold front pushing down from the north this evening it could be a good morning walk.

On the move.

 Another quick update , from not seeing any House Martins this morning  a large flock of 100 plus  along with 100 plus Swallow moved over the village at 2.30pm.
In my previous update I forgot to mention the week just gone. The big news is that just about everyone in the village has seen the Barn Owl that is hunting in the field next to the cottage, the only person not too  is of course yours truly. That would be number 85 for the patch this year ,so I am going to keep my eyes peeled.
The last week has been quite busy with calling Little and Tawny Owls on a nightly basis. I have still seen Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs in the hedgerows but very little else until today. Swallows and to a lesser extent House Martins have moved through .
The trickle of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks has continued but no great numbers yet although it is still early.
One more week at work and then I am off for a week ,so expect almost daily bulletins around that time.

The Stench of Death

Saturdays walk was ruined by the delightful hobby by the local law breaking local hunt as they pursued in the past time of Cubbing  .Against the law they send in a pack of hounds into a field whilst surrounding the field with riders to kill fox cubs .It amazes me how these people think they are above the law of the land .There were at least 50 riders including kids , just so friggin wrong  . As a result Willow and I had to cancel our walk .
It therefore came as a relief on Sunday morning then that there were no sounds of the hunt to be heard. It was grey with low cloud and maybe a tad chillier .
So the first bird I heard was a singing Chiffchaff .The magic hedgerow seem to have lost some of its magic but after some searching of the other spots there were some reasonable counts of Chiffchaffs with 12 pus seen . I managed to also find 4 Blackcap, 1 Whitethroat and a Lesser Whitethroat.
There were more small signs of Autumn to be seen with a party of 5 Mistle Thrush , small numbers of Meadow pipits with 6 been seen and 2 Skylark. Of note there seem to be more Song Thrush than of late with at least 6 birds , some to be arriving from high eastwards .
There were at least 3 Jays around today and a flyover Pied Wagtail passed south west. For the numbers Swallows stole the show with 129 plus passing east to south east. There were today no House Martins the first time in a long while none have been seen .
There are more Goldfinches of late with 45 plus on the patch today including a flock of 25 .  A Bullfinch was heard from the usual place, but I could not see it.
The log for birds of prey today comprised of a female Sparrow Hawk, male Kestrel and 3 Buzzards. The usual resident Ravens (2), gronked over the patch .
There are more Robins on the patch at the moment with at least a dozen seen or heard ,are they winters visitors already or are they the product of a good breeding season locally ?
Other birds seen today were a Green Woodpecker , 3 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Stock Dove  and a skien of feral Greylag Geese (23),  .With the weather set for the foreseeable future I can only hope that the big one turns up ,it cannot be far away with the likes of Wryneck seen  not to far away in Gloucester.  We just need one more species to match last years total of 85 and now that the bird feeders are stocked up and more and more birds are appearing the garden I have high hopes.   

After the lords Mayors show

A quiet benign morning ,with little or no wind ,grey skies and a quiet vibe. I get the feeling that things have slowed down somewhat after the relative rush of birds that my little patch has had recently.
As is the case at this time of year the main Warbler species that is passing through at the moment appears to be the Chiffchaff with 15 plus again today (down from yesterday),  I did manage to find a single Willow warbler today, the first for a few days. Also present were 2 Whitethroat ,and 2 Blackcap. So you can see its the quietest its been for a few weeks now.
However overhead a few birds were moving over ,if not in large numbers there are signs of the changing seasons . 2 Grey Heron moved north ,it would seem that they had roosted at the local fish ponds and 3 Cormorants passed over . Again a Pied Wagtail passed south west the forerunner of passage which gets going in October.   
Swallows trickled through with just 38 plus passing in all directions this morning and House Martins were still active around the local colony with 10 plus birds and another 2 passed high south west.
There are more Finches around at the moment and a fine flock of Goldfinch numbering 41 passed over and in the end there were  around 55 plus over in the entire walk .
It was also nice to see 9 Linnet pausing briefly and there were more Chaffinches of late .The finch compliment was made up of 2 Bullfinch . My Bullfinch fan will be pleased to know they seem to have taken up residence once again in the local vicinity.
Carrying on with the Autumnal theme I managed to see yesterdays Jay (or was it another one? ) ,  and today there were 11 Meadow Pipits on pasture but the Skylarks had moved on. The annual build up of Starlings has started and today there were around 220 plus around ,they are attracted by the fruit on the trees in some of the old orchards that we still have around here.
Raptors were a female Kestrel ,male Sparrow hawk and 2 Buzzard ,a couple of Raven flew low calling as they passed over.
We seem to be awash with Woodpeckers at the moment with 2 Green Woodpeckers and at least 6 Greater spotted seen this morning .
4 Stock Dove were last birds to make the log today .Just a small note yesterday I noticed that we seem to have had an influx of Robins onto the patch with at least 15 seen yesterday and it was the same today so it was not me just imagining it. I remarked to a visitor to the patch yesterday that one or two looked quite continental but surely its bit early yet for them to have arrived for the winter ?
Well lets see what next week has in store .

Blue Flash !

This morning it was an early start for Willow and I as we had a visiting birder from London with us this morning. I was hoping for one of those special patch days but in the event we managed to turn up a few nice birds but not the excitement I was hoping that migration may have produced.
After a very quiet start along the magic hedgerow a Blue Flash whizzed by and a very unexpected bird flashed by in the form of a Kingfisher ! what an earth it was doing so far from the river who knows  but it is the 84th species this year for the patch ,a good start for the walk .
 The magic hedgerow seems to have its peak for the year and was pretty quiet. We managed to find 3 Whitethroat, 1 very shy Lesser Whitethroat, a brief Redstart (which was a target bird for Dave ), and a great count of at least 21 plus Chiffchaff . Birds were spread out over the patch and not concentrated in the usual haunts.
 Overhead after a slow start Swallows passed south to south west with 66 plus over and House Martins passed quickly south with one flock of 45 plus ,then another of 30 plus passed south west over the cottage as Willow and I were drinking a well deserved brew after such an early start ,so the final count was 79 plus.
A flock of 12 pus Goldfinch went over ,a far cry from the other day .There are now plenty of Autumnal signs that are appearing thick and fast  and nothing more welcome as the first two small flocks of Meadow Pipits with 3 south west and a further 5 on pasture . A flock of 20 plus Skylarks arrived at 9.30ish . The raucous call of a Jay alerted us to its presence.
Raptors got into the act with 2 Buzzard and a male Sparrow hawk and 3 Raven gronked their way around the patch .
Woodpeckers were plentiful with at least 6 Greater Spotted and 2 Green bouncing over and around the patch this morning.
As we neared the cottage a Little Owl called three times and a Bullfinch was heard from a hedge .
So I hope my visitor from the big smoke enjoyed rural Gloucestershire and although not at its vintage best the patch put on a good show. My thanks to  Dave for his help in spotting and hearing what was passing
The patch list moves to 84 !

Warm Wednesday

Yes another update, it was a warm humid cloudy afternoon after work , and with an slightly easterly breeze it would of been rude not to venture out .
It appeared that it was  a good deal quieter than it has been but there were a good spread of species over the part of the patch that I covered . 
Overhead House Martins numbered 10 plus in the early afternoon and 12 plus later on ,it was the  same as Swallows with just 8 over early in the afternoon and then at 5.30pm a large number appeared with over 200 plus feeding over fields near the village ,some resting on the over head wires.
In the hedges although quieter there were still 2 Spotted Flycatchers and a Redstart .
As I wandered along the lanes it was  great to come across 3 fine Wheatears on the fence posts beside the pastures .
In the same area 2 Whitethroats appeared on a barbed wire fence ,so at one point 3 Wheatears and the 2 Whitethroats were all the same piece of fence .
Overhead a party of 3 Raven passed south west flying low over calling. Also seen were a Green Woodpecker, a passing Grey Heron and 2 Stock Doves.
With easterlies all week it could be a good week .

Get yer self a Hobby youngman !

Whats this a mid week update ?  ,  well just a quick one really as the 83rd species of the year graced the skies above the patch in the form of a long overdue Hobby which was feeding on Dragon flies . I had only been saying to another birder today that I had not seen one on the patch this year and bazinger ! one appears as if to order.
In the short mid work break the magic hedge held 2 Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler , 3 plus Chiffchaff  . 2 Green Woodpeckers and a Raven passed over /by. So the great Autumn carry s on and with Easterlies all this week the big one is on its way !

Creepy !

An early alarm call from Willow meant we were out on the patch by 6.45am.Clear blue skies with a slight north wind made me think that maybe birds would of moved on and in the event it seemed quieter but in the end , it was obvious some birds had moved on and had been replaced by another wave of migrants.
 The magic hedge was still producing birds but migrants were more evenly spread around the patch. The magic one did however produce the 82 end species for the patch for the year and it was an unexpected one at that, it came in the form of a Treecreeper , a rare bird on the patch so really good to see .
We appeared to have had a small fall of Chiffchaff with 11 plus seen today and more heard in the surrounding hedges , along with them came 2 Willow Warblers but there were more no doubt lurking in the bushes.
Other migrants seen on the patch were 2 plus Redstart  (its been really good Autumn for these birds, after a very slow spring ), 4 Blackcap, Whitethroat , and again a good count of 4 Lesser Whitethroat , this species has been passing through in good numbers this Autumn . I still managed to find 4 plus Spotted Flycatchers in two different localities , no doubt some being the local breeding birds and others passing migrants.
Overhead there were many more less passing migrants with just 28 plus Swallows trickling south wards and 45 plus House Martins , most were over Town Street Farm and gave the impression of being local breeding birds , gone were the Swallows from yesterday ,but it shows the passage of migrants heading southwards .
The best bird overhead was a passing Yellow Wagtail which called as it passed south east .A flock of 25 Goldfinch passed over heading towards a large thistle bank near the Church.
Walking across the pastures produced a single Skylark and a single Stock Dove.
On the raptor front the usual 3 species which appear to be in residence  at the moment showed with 3 Buzzard, male Kestrel and a Sparrow Hawk .
 A Green woodpecker and 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker made themselves known.
 So the species tally for the patch advances to 82 for the year and so far the Autumn has been good , I get the feeling we may be due for something really good to turn up ,if we can just get a nice easterly breeze ,well heres hoping

Migants on the move.

No that is not a reference to people hopping on trucks in Calais but to the avian visitors that are moving through the patch right now. The last week has been a good one and work has got in the way, however I have managed fleeting visits to the patch and the Magic Hedgerow has been in form with multiple sightings of Redstart (up to 5), Spotted Flycatchers(up to 5),  Multiple Lesser Whitethroats, Whitethroats, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps etc. Swallows and House Martins have also passed over in fair numbers for here abouts and we had a party of 4 Raven over as well.
So Saturday dawned and Willow and I were out and up at em as they say, having seen a Sparrow Hawk on the hedge next to the bedroom with a Blackbird kill I was fairly confident that it was going to be a good morning. In the end it was perhaps a little disappointing perhaps but maybe I have just been spoilt this week.
Walking along the hedges the birds were moved spaced out over the whole patch today but I managed to find 7 plus Chiffchaff, a good total of 5 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Redstart, and 3 Spotted Flycatchers.
The usual Woodpeckers were about with 1 Green and at least 2 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers seen.
Overhead at least 120 plus Swallows passed over or were feeding over the patch ,they were kept company with just 15 plus House Martin today .The major surprise was the number of Goldfinches with at least 125 plus this morning ,including a large flock of at least 80 plus , these birds will pass through in good numbers for the next few weeks if we are lucky. A nice surprise was the sound of at least 130 plus feral Greylag Geese as passed over ,plastic I know but still nice to see.
Raptors got in the act with a male Kestrel ,2 Buzzard and another Sparrow Hawk this one getting mobbed by a large number of Swallows.
On the field margins there were 7 Stock Dove,  and in one hedge a nice sight of a flock of 30 plus Long Tailed Tits . Another bonus was the sight of a flock of 30 plus House Sparrows feeding on stubble, a much rarer sight than it should be nowadays. The walk was brought down a bit with the unpleasant sighting of 2 gun toting guys who were about to start shooting crows etc very very sad .
Any way lets see what tomorrow brings.

Migration marches on

Out again early this morning, with the promised cold snap here I was wondering what might be about.
The first bird I heard was a singing Willow Warbler so it was obvious that birds were on the move .In the end I managed to find just 2 Willow Warblers but did find 9 plus Chiffchaff . Other warblers present were a Lesser Whitethroat , 7 plus Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap . As you can see certain species are getting harder to find and others are showing daily increases and decreases .
Overhead Swallows and House Martins passed over many heading south west with 100 plus of each been seen in the 3 hours I was on the patch .
2 flocks of Greylags heads towards Tirley fishing pits from the river meadows with 33 birds been seen .
Other Autumnal signs were a small flock of 3 Mistle Thrush and a small flock of 7 Skylark ,the first of many I hope this Autumn/Winter. A Pied Wagtail passed over to the south west  ,was this a migrant or one of the resident birds ?
A pair of Ravens gronked over the patch again today , they really are almost resident now , great birds to see .
Raptors were 2 Buzzard and a male Kestrel .
At least 2 Bullfinch called from the hedges again ,so the Bullfinch fan can be happy they are still around.
The rest of list for today was made up of a fly over Green Woodpecker and 2 Greater Spotted Wood pecker and a superb Brown Hare.

Martins on the move

Out again this morning and it was a lot colder and it has to be said a lot quieter . The most obvious thing was the large numbers of House Martins moving through , I estimated at least 180 plus feeding over the field with the magic hedgerow and there were still a few at the local colony ,with them were around 70 plus Swallow ,but they were moving through in groups of 10 to 15 birds and not stopping , all heading in a south westerly direction . Its pleasing to report a high number of juveniles of both species in the flocks so it looks as if it has been a good breeding season this year. Try as I might I could not find a single Sand Martin in the throng.
As for the  hedges themselves it was a lot quieter today and it was hard work in finding the birds this morning ,however I still managed to find 6 plus chiffchaff , 2 Willow Warbler (both very helpfully singing ), a Whitethroat, and a brief female Redstart and at the end of the walk 1 Blackcap.
For my Bullfinch fan they will be glad to know that I managed to find 2 birds this morning in the old apple trees.
2 plus Ravens gronked their way around the area . 6 Stock Doves showed themselves today where were they yesterday ?
Another sign that Autumn is now well on its way was the discovery of the  first Jay. They will pass through for a few weeks then disappear until the spring again.
The best of the rest were a Green Woodpecker ,Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Buzzard .
Tommorrows another day and with a cold front due to arrive tonight who knows what will appear ?  .

Still smokin

My little patch of no where continues to bring in the birds and with a day off work Willow and I were out on the patch at 7am this morning. It felt quite Autumnal this morning with a chill in the air and a gusty wind coming in from the north .
 On my way back from Portland Bill yesterday afternoon I noticed good numbers of Swallows feeding in the meadows near Wainlodes  with in excess of 100 plus so it came as no surprise as I reached the top of Magic Hedgerow field that there were a good number of House Martins 70 plus and Swallows 50 plus  feeding and passing over south west , I managed to find a single Sand Martin also ,I have no doubt that there may have been others but the birds were very active and very hard to get a good bead on them .
Overall it seemed as if there were a good number of migrants on the ground this morning with many of the birds been seen away from the usual hot spots .A  great count of at least 17 plus Chiffchaff was made and those were the ones I just saw ,how many more went undetected ? . I could only find 3 Willow Warbler but I have the feeling that I missed many more but apart from that slight disappointment the hedges were offering up some good birds .
I managed to find 3 Lesser Whitethroats , 1Whitethroat, 6 plus Blackcap , 2 Spotted Flycatcher ( after a slow start it has been quite a good year for this species), and best of all I managed to hear a soft bubberling of a migrant Sedge Warbler , it being only the second patch record for this species. This is a year tick for the patch and takes us to 81 species so far this year.
Woodpeckers got in the act with a Green Woodpecker and 2 plus Greater Spotted.
On the raptor front 3 Buzzards, a  female Sparrow hawk and 2 Kestrel put in an appearance .I tried my best to turn one of the Kestrels into a Hobby but it was a Kestrel .I am running out of time to see a Hobby on the patch this year, if I do not see one it will be the first time in a number of years that I have not seen one here.
There were 2 Raven feeding on the harvested Maize fields along with the other corvids ,you really see how large they are when you see up against Crows etc.
The first flock of Starling appeared today with 120 plus ,and a single Skylark lept up from grassland .I only managed 2 Stock Dove today .
 A fellow birder Steve French has remarked how many Goldfinches are around at the moment and it would appear that it has been a good breeding season locally ,you should check out Steves  blog Hartpury Orchard centre blog ,he like myself is a slave to patch birding its nice to know there are other lunatics out there and not just me.
The patch list goes to 81 for the year

Early Start

Willow and I were out by 6am today, it was grey ,blustery and quite Autumn like. As we left the cottage a Tawny Owl called one last time before retiring for the day.
We entered the field with the magic hedgerow and after a quite start the birds starting to show themselves. There were not quite as many but with the colder and blustery conditions they were keeping their heads down.
The bushes provide plenty of berries and insects along this uncut hedge. I managed to find 8 plus Chiffchaff, 3 plus Willow Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, a female Blackcap  and a Spotted Flycatcher.
Overhead the start of the House Martin and Swallow migration was obvious with a count of 85 plus heading south west and a further 20 plus still active around the local colony. Swallows passed in the same direction with 46 plus heading   most passing straight over ,just 1 or 2 seemingly being local birds.
 The first 5 Common Gulls of the Autumn flew south and A Pied Wagtail passed over .
As I walked over the pastures the first Skylark was heard passing overhead the first for a number of days. Also seen were 3 Brown Hares ,Willow was not that bothered knowing it would be futile to chase them as they were far too quick for her.
A lot more Stock Doves were around today with 7 seen today. As we neared home we managed to see a cracking male Redstart away from the usual location and a Bullfinch was heard pewing away in the hedgerow.
On the raptor front a female Kestrel ,a male Sparrow hawk and 3 Buzzards were present.
The best of the rest were a Green Woodpecker, Greater Spotted Woodpecker ,a flock of 40 plus feral Greylag Geese over . It was also noticeable that there were more Goldfinch present today with 20 plus ,a sure sign that Autumn is well and truly on its way .   

Its all yellow

After a week away with work I was keen to get back onto the patch to see what has happened since last week .The weather was fine still warm with a gusty wind .
The first bird I heard was a Greater Spotted Woodpecker and in the end 2 were seen or heard ,also about were a Green Woodpecker.
 Along the magic hedgerow today were a fair variety of birds but not quite the number I saw last week .Most of the following birds were seen in the afore mentioned apart the odd bird. Totals were as follows 8 Chiffchaff, 5 Blackcap, 5 Whitethroat, at least 3 Redstart ( I think maybe four but not quite sure ), and just 2 Willow Warbler today.
As I left the hedge I was really pleased to first hear then see 2 adult and 1 juvenile Yellow Wagtails passing over in a small flock ,were they the local breeders or were they passing migrants?   , I hope they were the former but if they were they have been very elusive this year.
Overhead the conditions must have been perfect for the local Buzzards as up to 8 were seen over the patch today ,also a male Sparrow hawk put in an appearance. There was no sign of the Kestrel today.
2 Raven passed south low the patch both strangely silent today.
I only managed 1 Stock Dove today , much lower than the normal count we are used too.
It seems to have been a good year for the local House Martins as they appeared very active around the local colonies today with at 25 plus around today . Swallows kept them company with at 22 plus ,they seem to have been local birds as none were passing over straight south or south west.
So a bit quieter than last week but still a fair return ,lets hope for the migration engine to really start cranking up over the next few weeks , we still have to find another 4 species if we are to beat last years total of 83 .

Hot spot

The patch has been running hot at the moment with Autumn migration really going along at a nice pace. The magic hedgerow has attracted Redstart , multiple Spotted Flycatchers, Lesser Whitethroats, Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers . There has been the first trickle of Swallow and Martins passing south and south west as well. The Thursday morning as I was getting up for work a Little Owl was calling ,a small compensation for getting up at 4.15am  !
So as Saturday dawned clear and sunny I was sort of optimistic that it could be a good walk. Stumbling bleary eyed out of the front door with Willow doing her pre walk two legged dance in front of me my spider senses were alerted by a Willow Warbler singing from the hedgerow just behind the cottage .It was game on then .
Into the first field and towards the magic hedgerow , yep lots of movement and darting little birds feeding on the Elderberries and insects . As I walked along the hedge line it was Chiffchaffs that were most evident and in the end I found at least 14 plus As I sorted through them I managed to see 5 Willow Warblers with 2 very helpfully singing .
Also darting about were 3 Lesser Whitethroat , 2 Whitethroat, 2 male and 1 female Redstart  now this was getting really good , after finding 4 Spotted Flycatchers I was thinking could it get any better when my attention was drawn to a bird sitting on a fence post at the edge of a fodder beet field, a quick glance and I was greeted by a superb Whinchat flycatching .Cracking birds and a real treat to see them on the patch .
 The sounds of House Martins made me glance skywards and a flock of 40 plus House Martins passed over heading down the river valley south . Swallows seem to have been local birds with 7 plus been seen .
Moving on away from the hedges a Mistle Thrush passed over ,as did the  usually invisible Green Woodpecker  .A Greater Spotted Woody called and flew straight over my head.
As I turned for home the soft call of a Bullfinch alerted to its presence ,but I did not catch a glimpse of it.
The sun was now fairly high up raptors started to appear , first a hunting female Kestrel ,then a male Sparrow hawk and then Buzzards ,first the usual mewing juvenile but then joined by 5 adults who together with a Sparrow hawk were soaring over the cottage together, an awesome sight.
The Raven is still hanging around and there were 4 Stock doves in the usual places.  
It was also nice to find a small flock of 15 plus House Sparrows feeding on thee edge of a maize field .
So the autumn is beginning to hot up and even in my little patch of no where you can see migration happening, so I suppose it does not matter where you are really if you keep your eyes peeled on your on area you will be surprised what you see .Patch birding is hard but worth the rewards when they appear  The Autumn has stared well so lets hope its just the start of a cracker.   

Magic Hedgerow

After breaking Willow s heart early this morning  when I opted for delights of Cleeve Hill and the  birds that inhabit our only upland area I eventually made onto the patch mid morning .
As mentioned yesterday the hedge that usually produces the most migrants again dished out the goods .If I had been there earlier what might I have turned up ?
Todays goodies were 2 Spotted Flycatchers ,with one very showy bird , Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Whitethroat,  a male Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat, and the Autumns second Willow Warbler .
Overhead 13 plus House Martin and 20 plus Swallows were about ,including one flock of 15 that passed straight over due south . The Autumns first 5 Black Headed Gulls passed south downriver.
Yet another Raven was seen today along with the constant mewing of a young Buzzard. The female Kestrel was still surveying her field that she has adopted as her own  .
 Once again the super natural Green Woodpecker called from somewhere.
 So a truncated walk today but it feels as if the patch is sort of purple right now with nice birds passing through .

Migrants on the move .

The morning dawned with heavy rain showers but still warm So after a quick of coffee and a bowl of Cornflakes Willow and I duly advanced into the rain.
 The first field we entered can be good for migrants along the hedgerows ,it is the highest field on the patch  and as such seems to catch any passing birds ,so with these rain showers about it would seem that this just may happen ,and guess what it did.
Along the hedgerow were up to 5 Spotted Flycatchers feeding in the light rain ,some were really close ,they really are great birds , also there  were 4 Chiffchaff, 1 Lesser Whitethroat feeding on elderberries along with 3 Blackcap  but best of all was a cracking male Redstart which pushes the patch total to 80 so far this year. Having missed the other one from a couple of weeks ago it came as a relief and its the first of the year for the patch as I was unsuccessful in seeing one in the spring (I have seen others but not the patch ).
Eventually moving on through the rain a female Kestrel was in her recently usual place and a couple of Buzzards were mewing .
 The invisible Green Woodpecker called but was  not seen and just 3 Stock Dove were seen the rest were no doubt trying to keep dry somewhere.
Overhead just 1 House Martin today and a trickle of Swallows amounted to 14 plus birds.
At the top end of the patch a Warblers contact call alerted me and after a bit of staring into the trees and hedgerow (Willow must think I am mad ), I eventually found the Autumns first  Willow Warbler feeding in the hedge, now that is a sign that Autumn has began for sure.
As I neared the cottage the churring of a Whitethroat allowed me just catch a glance as it disappeared into a hedgerow.
A party of 3 Raven were on the deck ,a nice change to see them on the ground instead of the usual overflying birds. Its easy to forget just how massive they are . Finally 2 Brown Hares darted away ,Willow was looking the other way at the time no doubt day dreaming about the upcoming breakfast.
So we can see that the great Autumn migration is starting ,the next few weeks will hopefully bring some surprise s and we have still plenty of time to see if we can surpass last years total of 83 species .
 The patch total now stands at 80

A Golden Sunday

Willow and I were out by just after 6am , me being having been woken by the gentle call of a Bullfinch outside the bedroom window .
It was a tad colder today although still warm , and the birds that were around had seemed to have moved on ,but there were a few new arrivals.
Overhead 12 plus Swallows whizzed around they all seemed to local birds .They were joined by 6 local House Martins and a further 8 birds that flew over at height in a single flock heading south west.
There were still 3 Kestrel on the patch ,one been seen to take a small rodent and devour atop a telegraph pole. . There were a least 4 Buzzards  ,2 being mewing juveniles calling constantly.
A Raven was herd distantly as was the usual invisible Green Woodpecker , also about were  4 Greater Spotted Woodies.
A single Cormorant  passed downriver heading towards the estuary ,after a paucity of records I am starting to see them again on a regular basis.
Along the hedgerows this morning were 5 Chiffchaff (still no Willows ) , 4 Blackcap and a good count of 6 Whitethroat. Here"s hoping that we get a good run on the warbler front this Autumn.
On the pasture were a Red Legged Partridge with 4 recently mobile chicks ,6 Stock Dove and 2/3 Skylarks.
 The Linnets have gone with just a couple of birds seen today.
The patch looked in fine fettle today with the sun shining on the golden Maize and the recently mown grassland ,it was a really beautiful English summers morning and a privilege to be out and about.

And so it begins

The start of the Autumn migration appears to be starting on the patch with the first few birds on the move been see. Over the last week in the village a Spotted Flycatcher was seen and a Lesser Whitethroat along with Blackcaps were seen feeding on the first elder berries. The hedges were full of the sounds of contact calls of warblers , Chiffchaff and maybe the odd Willow Warbler.
 So it was early Saturday that Willow and I ventured onto the patch, clear blue skies ,bright sun and not too hot as we were early enough to be the heat.
 The very first obvious birds seen were Kestrels with 4 been seen ,the newly mown fields are to their liking ,easier hunting I am guessing. Helping to carry the raptor flag were at least 4 Buzzards ,the juveniles calling to be fed but mum and dad ignoring them forcing them too hunt for themselves .
 In the hedges it appears that some birds are filtering through the patch with 12 plus Chiffchaff (could not find any Willow Warblers), , 4 Blackcap and a Lesser Whitethroat and its close relative a Common Whitethroat were all seen .
The Autumns first flock of Linnets were seen with a flock of 9 which paused briefly, the end total was 15 plus .
There were a few Swallows which seem to be moving south west with a flock of 6 flying high over ,the final count was 21 plus ,a few local birds but a trickle of birds passing over. Just 5 House Martins today , I just could not  seem to find any today.
A Raven was heard as was a Green Woodpecker ,speaking of Woodpeckers ,2 Greater Spotted were about today.
On the meadows there were still 6 plus Skylarks ,they seem to have bred on the patch this year and whats more have been successful . .6 Stock Dove were in the usual places and a Yellow Wagtail called from the fodder beet field were they have been for awhile .
A local Pied Wagtail sat atop a farm barn and a couple of Brown Hares were sat in the meadows .
As we made our way back to the cottage the gentle call of a Bullfinch alerted us  to its present , a great way to finish the walk .
So although it feels like high summer, for the birds Autumn has already started and the start of the great journeys they undertake  have started . The best time of the year has started so in the words of a famous Robbie  Williams song "come grab your binoculars and come follow me "