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
Monday, 17 November 2014
Sunday, 9 November 2014
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.
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.
Sunday, 2 November 2014
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 .
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 .
Tuesday, 28 October 2014
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
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
Sunday, 26 October 2014
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 .
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 .
Friday, 24 October 2014
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.
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.
Wednesday, 22 October 2014
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.
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.
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