Dave and I started birding at 08.00 under cloudy skies but in thankfully calm conditions. It was immediately apparent that there was some passerine migration going on, particularly Thrushes. We logged a record total of 370 Fieldfares going west, along with 135 Redwings, 130 Starlings, and 165 Woodpigeons. Most of the movement was in the first hour.
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| Fieldfare |
Many of the Thrushes were landing in the vicinity of Stapenhill Wood, and it became a bit confusing trying to decide whether we were seeing new birds or brief stayers which were continuing their journeys after being flushed. I suspect our final counts were very conservative. Other birds heading over were small numbers of Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, at least three Bramblings, and occasional Redpolls and Siskins. We also noticed that Blackbirds were more in evidence than usual, and logged about 20.
The watery parts of the patch were a bit disappointing. 17 Teal were flying about, and 78 Greylag Geese were on the flash. We saw two distant ducks flying off and considered they were probably Wigeon. The pair of Mute Swans were still present on the pool.
A couple of species which have been scarce lately put in a welcome return, as we counted three Bullfinches and at least 12 Tree Sparrows near Netherstead Farm.
Dave had to leave at 10.00am, so he will be relieved to hear that my second circuit added only a single Goldcrest and about eight Long-tailed Tits to the morning's tally.
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