Migration news 6 October 2010

1530hrs Thurs 7th Oct. Thames Estuary - Leigh-on-Sea. Brent Geese in (estimated 2500) all jostling for Eel grass position as tide was receding and exposing more. Noisy and fantastic.

The Farnes have had some amazing migrants - Arctic redpoll, Richard's pipit and little bunting in recent days - their bird counts are very interesting to see.

https://farnephoto.blogspot.com/

Hi, just a reminder guys, Spurn Point is NOT in Humberside, its in good old East Yorkshire :-) also don't forget the 1000 and more Robins that came through over the weekend 2/3rd, Spurn point in East Yorkshire is a marvelous place for spotting, come and visit.

Aberlady bay, near Edinburgh, has 20,000+ pink-footed geese. i was up there last week and it's an amazing sight. more are arriving all the time.

there's also a few hundred Barnacles having a rest before they head to the Solway. loads of lapwings too.

Hi Guys, I've been out most of the day cleaning my Narrowboat in the beautiful sunshine near Napton, Warwickshire. I've been watching a visible migration all day!

Lots of Swallows, House Martins, Skylarks and Meadow Pipit on the move. A few Redwing too. Not bad for the land locked midlands :)

As a footnote it's just stated hammering down so I suspect a few birds may stall overnight and it's worth a walk around at first light.

It's all going on up there, overhead! For latest sightings of the Autumn bird migration and stunning skies, check out my blog at :-
https://lutleybirder.blogspot.com

Great stuff Craig, and many thanks for logging some of your sightings in BirdTrack. There's an upload facility just round the corner too, so if you're keeping an excel spreadsheet of your recent sightings it will soon be just a couple of clicks to upload them all in one go!

on the harewood estate 7/10/2010 west yorks.2 redwings and two flocks of greenfinch one of 40 and another of 60.both flocks were seen in a field of sugar beet.these are the largest flocks i have seen for a while in this area.1 swallow and 1 house martin.the house martin was being mobbed by half a dozen crow.goldcrest numbers were up as well.

Hi guys - I am currently in thre North Sea working on a seismic survey ship - approx 100 miles offshore from Yorks coast, in Dutch sector. We've been having some interesting sightings onboard, as flocks pass by and birds come down to rest.

Most of course will not ever be seen, but those that do give a snapshot as to what is happening. Currently on board we have chaffinches, bramblings, siskin - all of which happily are feeding on food I have put out - much needed.

There have been loads of meadow pipits - flocks of over a hundred, many of those die on deck, they will not eat. Over 50 found dead so far (how many in the sea?

Song thrushes, blackbirds, starlings - but as yet no redwings/fieldfare seen.

Sparrowhawk the other day chased, caught and ate a chaffinch - I saw it all. Kestrels have also predated small birds.

Great Grey Shrikes have also been on board - saw one of those predate a chaffinch too, and an hour earlier I had that shrike in my hand as I had to catch it when it flew indoors!

Osprey, heron, golden plover, dunlin, Swallows, pied wagtails, oystercatcher are some of the other species we have had over the last weeks.

I am keeping records of what I see, and will submit to BTO - along with a few photos.

Shore lark arrived today - it also has been feeding.

If anyone wants further details please email.

Hi all, I have only yesterday returned from a week in Spain where I watched with some amusement at first then after a short while this changed to amazement; Swifts, Swallows and House Martins on what I belive to be their migration. Firstly I saw flocks of Swifts 'Skimming' over roof tops mid morning, all flying from and in the same direction from inland towards the coast around 'Torrevjica' the roof tops are all Flat and covered in ceramic tiles which retain and reflect heat. The Swifts seemed to be 'bouncing' accross the roofs and using the heated air to 'aid' effortless flight being only approx less than TEN feet high. This was on one morning only (Monday 11th Oct) with Swallows and Martins flying in the exact same fashion over the next two days. I am unaware as if they were a british migration or from inland Spain as I am only have a very basic knowllage of these matters; but thought it might be interesting to those of you that are 'well up' on bird migration.

Hi,
I went to Titchfield haven today. Saw lots of swallows and martins, just before they go to Africa! Also, lucky enough to see a spoonbill.
alex

Saw my first winter redwing today, just the one bird coming low over my garden at 7:40am. This was in Bristol, I guess the Easterly winds made an easy passage?

That's right Clucker - the weather has been perfect for large numbers of thrushes (mainly Redwings and Song Thrush) to leave Scandinavia and cross the North Sea. In the mild, calm weather we've had over here too, this has made it easy for them to quickly filter inland.

The Swallows and House Martins could have been British or from continental Europe as they are moving south over a broad front at the moment (they dont use thermals so dont concentrate at Gibraltar/ Tarifa). THe Swifts could have been migrants or local birds, and may well have been Pallid Swifts which are commoner than Swift in Spain and very hard to tell apart. Suspect that the behaviour is catching insects over the warm tiles rather than migration movement as they migrate at great heights.

North Sea update from seismic ship:

I missed a huge flock of birds the other night - it occured at about 1.00am; some colleagues reported seeing a huge flock, maybe a thousand strong covering the sky around the ship. I wish I'd known about it as nobody identified what they were positively but another birder who saw them thinks they were pipits.

Many of the bramblings have moved on, as have the siskins, but chaffinches and some bramblings remain. Starlings come and go - they seem to rest for a couple of days, feed, and then fly on. Others replace them, but there are never more than a handful onboard at a time. Some chaffinches seem to be recognising me as a food source, as whenever I walk out on deck, some birds fly towards me and land inches away. The bramblings are also incredibly tame and will feed inches from me.

Interestingly, blackcaps which I thought were excusively insecivorous, have also been feeding on whatever is put out - obviously desperate.

A robin and great tit have arrived - another example of a species you don't often think of as migratory. Happily they are feeding well on the food put out.

There have been several song thrushes pass by, though none have settled or stayed. A few reed warblers, goldcrest and several wrens have visited the ship, but the best for me was a shorelark. I'd never seen one before and to see one at such close quarters was a real treat. It appeared to be looking for food, but was searching in an area where there was none. It would have been interesting to see if it would have joined the mixed flock in feeding.

In my lsat posting about the meadow pipits, I forgot to mention that the birds arriving in the night were so utterly exhausted, that they were landing anywhere - including on me! For a bird that is so shy of humans, I felt really priviledged. At one point I had a meadow pipit on my head, later on my hand, and another on my binoculars whilst they were around my neck! An amazing experience.

I am trying to find more information on the Warbler blown over from Siberian winds, as last week I took a photograph of one at Chewton Bunny in Hampshire. Chris this week showed a photograph on Autumn watch but failed to mention where it was seen.