Sunday 24 August 2014

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.