Over the last few days there has been quite a bit of birding activity at the patch, although the birds have not really risen to the occasion.
On Friday I tramped around, hoping to accidentally on purpose flush a Short-eared Owl. In the event I kicked up nothing at all, but did at least see two Mute Swans, an adult and a juvenile, on the flash field. These were the first here for months.
I also kept a half-hearted tally of Woodpigeons flying south (578), as there was clearly some movement going on. I later learned that other localities recorded far more than that.
On Saturday evening Tony was back with his mist-net at the wagtail roost. He caught 19 Pied Wagtails and two Reed Buntings.
This morning it was the turn of me, Dave, and Andy Gooding to see what we could add. Dave started counting Woodpigeons before I turned up, so we carried on diligently all morning. Most movement was in the first couple of hours, and it was all southwards. Our final tally was a respectable 2,004 which eclipses any single flock that has been counted here. Most parties were under 150 strong, but Dave had a flock of 310 before I arrived.
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| Woodpigeons on the move |
It is my understanding that these are all British birds heading for the south coast, and that most of them continue into France and Spain.
The only other birds migrating visibly were 147 Fieldfares and a few Redpolls and Siskins.
We decided to walk through the marsh, flushing six Snipe and a Jack Snipe in the process. The latter was our first of the autumn. The flash field contained two Green Sandpipers, 15 Lapwings, a handful of Teal, 104 Mallard, and a Pintail which I believe was the bird seen a fortnight ago. Between us we counted two to four Stonechats, while Andy saw a Marsh Tit.
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| Pintail |
So all in all things are pretty much as you'd expect, and I'm tempted to switch tactics and start exploring other local areas for most of the winter to come.
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