Autumn In A Bird

I suppose it is winter now, we've had the first frosts, and we've even had a few snow flurries, which for us is unusual for November. Autumn seems to have slipped by without much of a fanfare, which is such a shame, as October is probably one of, if not the best, birding month of the year. Part of the problem for us, was not being able to access the reedbed and scrub at the Nature Park, because of a person or persons unknown, camping in the area we carry out our survey work. We lost the whole of October because of this, and it wasn't until the 8th November that the campers were removed. Being philosophical about it, that's how it goes sometimes. 

 

My blog posts seem to have slipped to become fortnightly, or even monthly, summaries, and I'm not sure how that has happened. And this post is no different, as I'm going back to the 27th October to kick things off. 

 

Gail and I started off at the Mount Park under five oktas cloud cover, with a 2 - 3 south-westerly wind, to see if there was any vis. After half an hour spent here, it was obvious very quickly, that there wasn't any vis, as all we had was a Grey Wagtail west.

 

We then headed to the Quay to have a walk from there to the mouth of the estuary. The first thing that made it into my notebook from here, was a lovely Red Admiral. Out on the mud in the quay were 68 Redshanks, and 27 Oystercatchers. When we got to the mouth of the estuary, we could see that at least a thousand Oystercatchers were feeding on Great Knott. 

 

There was little vis here as well, and all we had were 55 Jackdaws heading south-east, and a female Sparrowhawk that flew west across the estuary, that may, or may not have been moving. It was certainly heading in the right direction for this time of year over the peninsula. 

 

At the end of October, we had a walk around the Nature Park, and this doubled up as an opportunity to check if the tent was still in our ringing area. It was another grey day, and the wind was still fixed in the west. As usual, the soundtrack to the site was that of the explosive song of the Cetti's Warbler, and we had two singing birds. The vis was once again thin on the ground, with just a handful of Chaffinches, and Skylarks south.

 

This lichen, Parmotrema perlatum, was on the timber on the bridge across

one of the pools
 

 

Out on the pools were eleven Shovelers, two Little Grebes, 20 Coots, five Tufted Ducks, 14 Moorhens, 57 Mallards, 32 Black-headed Gulls, and out on the river 32 Wigeon. 

 

Black-headed Gull

 

Coot

Shoveler
 

In early November, in fact on the day that a certain percentage of the UK population, attempts to disturb wildlife by putting matches to gunpowder, in so called fireworks, allegedly celebrating some dodgy historic event that probably half of the people celebrating have no idea about, we had a walk down to the salt-marshes on the River Wyre. It was yet another grey day, but the wind had swung round to the south-east.

 

The public footpath winds its way through Hawthorn scrub on a raised bank, and at least 25 Blackbirds, a Song Thrush, and eight Redwings fed on the berry laden branches. We headed upstream, and past the reservoir that held 27 Tufted Ducks, a Coot, five Moorhens, three Mallards, a Mute Swan, four Little Grebes, and four Goldeneyes. 

 

Tufted Ducks
 

The tide was already up to the edge of the saltmarsh and filling the tidal creeks, and it flushed a Rock Pipit, and a Jack Snipe, with the latter being our first for the autumn. We were just in time to count 37 Wigeon, and 200 Lapwings, before these too were dispersed by the incoming tide. 

 

Wigeon and Teal in a flooded saltmarsh creek
 

On our walk back, the ever elusive Kingfisher was again heard and not seen, and from the scrub by the old railway line we had a Bullfinch calling, which is fairly uncommon in this part of the Fylde. We came across some Hogweed that was flowering, and as might be expected, it had a few insects on it. 

 

Hogweed
 

We had our first Fieldfares of the autumn the following day when we had a flock of 150 head south over the house.     

Continuing with the winter thrush theme, Gail and I had our last ringing session at the Nature Park for the year a couple of weeks ago. We were there early to get our nets up in the dark, with the aim of trying to ring Redwings in particular. 

We ringed 18 birds as follows (recaptures in brackets):

Redwing - 7

Long-tailed Tit - 1

Reed Bunting - 3

Goldfinch - 1

Greenfinch - 6

Blue Tit - (1)

Dunnock - (1)

 

Dunnock

 

Autumn in a bird, aka a Redwing
 
 

Whilst we were extracting the Redwings, Gail commented that they were like "autumn in a bird", because of the autumnal colours of their plumage; from reds through to burnt orange, with every shade of brown in between. I think Gail is right! 

 

In addition to the Redwings that we ringed, we had somewhere in the region of 77 Redwings, and 37 Fieldfares during the early morning, so not huge numbers. The vis was yet again quiet, with just handfuls of Lesser Redpoll (technically just Redpoll now), Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon, and Skylark over. On one net round when we walking into the reeds and scrub, we flushed a Woodcock which was our first of the autumn. 

 

We found two species of fungi in our net rides, but we could only get them down to family; Gallerina sp., and Trametes sp.  

 

Gallerina sp. (above)

 

Trametes sp. (above)
 

As you would expect, insects are getting scarce as we move into winter, but on warmer days I have had a few queen Buff-tailed Bumblebees on the wing. 

A few days later, we were back at the Quay and the Wyre estuary. In the car park is a large clump of Ivy, hanging over the fence from a neighbouring garden, and it was still full of blow flies, hover flies and wasps. It's such a good late source of nectar. 

The tide was dropping, and a few waders were dropping in on the freshly exposed mud including 31 Redshanks, 22 Black-tailed Godwits, and a Knot. Out on the river were six Little Egrets, eight Oystercatchers, and three Curlews. 

Fog rolled in about half an hour after we set off, causing the temperature to drop, and quieten everything down as if under a blanket of cotton wool. A Common Drone Fly on some Yarrow certainly wasn't for moving in the now cool, and damp conditions. 

 

Common Drone Fly
 

As we headed back to the car we came across a Ruby Tiger caterpillar hurriedly making its way across the quay. Caterpillar food plants include Ragworts, Plantains, Dock, and Dandelion, of which there are plenty at the quay. 

 

Ruby Tiger caterpillar

 

This is the gorgeous moth that the Ruby Tiger caterpillar will become.
 
 

Our feeding station is up and running now at our good friend's farm near Nateby, and we are just topping it up about every 6 - 7 days at the moment. Tree Sparrows, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Blue, Great, and Coal Tits are all busily feeding away. On one of our visits we had a flock of 180 Golden Plovers fly over heading south, and it made me think that Golden Plovers always seem to be in a hurry! In a field gateway in the bottom of the hedge we came across some Sulphur Tuft fungi, but it was past its best. 

 

Filling the feeders up at the feeding station (above)

 

Greenfinches with their heads in the feeding ports

A Sulphur Tuft's eye view of a Sulphur Tuft
 

As I have mentioned numerous times before, I love looking at all my notebooks that I have going back to 1977, and I like to randomly get one of the shelf and have a delve in. On this day (25th November) in 1984, I was at Marton Mere Local Nature Reserve (LNR), and some of my counts really stand out. These include 57 Tufted Ducks, 60 Shovelers, three Ruddy Ducks, 35 Pochards, and 20 Grey Partridge! Nothing unusual, but boy have things changed!  

Defiant Blooms Amidst Autumn Colours

I love the colours of autumn, both the defiant blooms of late flowering plants, and the yellows and reds, as the leaves change colour. The colours are so rich and deep, against the backdrop of the monochrome days of the approaching winter. It almost feels like a last hurrah before the days shorten, and the temperatures drop. 

 

Once again, it has been nearly three weeks since I last posted, and Gail and I have been out, but unfortunately not seeing a great deal. We have been trying! We have been regularly checking the cemetery and the coastal park for things like Yellow-browed Warblers (they're everywhere this autumn), and other  migrants, without any luck.   

We had our first Redwings for the autumn over our garden on the night of 3rd October, and since then they have been regular on suitable nights. I haven't run my garden light trap since the night of 3rd/4th October, when I only caught four moths of four species; Red-green Carpet, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Setaceous Hebrew Character, and Diamond-back Moth. The Red-green Carpet was a new species for the garden though, so that was nice. 

Just under a fortnight ago, we had a walk along the Wyre Estuary from the Quay, and lots of defiant blooms were being very showy, and contrasting nicely against the reds and browns of autumn. It really was glorious to see their bright, colourful flowers putting on one last show, and providing a late nectar lifeline for flying insects. 

 

Smooth Sow-thistle

 

Common Carrot

 

Common Toadflax

 

Dandelion

Ragwort

Red Clover
 

The rose hips were bursting with colour, splashes of a deep rich red, against a sepia background. They were also bursting with juicy, plump loveliness, that the Greenfinches will find irresistible. 

 

Rose hips (above & below)

 

Out on the mud of the quay were few waders, just 26 Redshanks and eight Oystercatchers. Close to where the boats are moored, we heard a Kingfisher calling, and it shot past the boats and perched up on a raised mound of mud that was slightly drier. I managed to get my bins on the Kingfisher briefly, and could see that it was a female, but before I could raise my camera it was off. 

 

Not the best shot of a Redshank, but I like the reflection within a shadow!
 

Further along the quayside amongst the Elder, Hawthorn and Rowans, two Dunnocks were full of migratory excitement. They were constantly calling, perching up on the top of the vegetation, or on the fence, and looking skywards. It wouldn't be long before they built up the courage, and threw themselves into the air for a short migratory hop. I have seen this many times before at this time of year. One bird I watched took several attempts at take-off, before flying round in circles, climbing at the same time, and then heading south. 

 

Excitable Dunnock number one

 

Excitable Dunnock number two

On the river were six Little Egrets, and a Rock Pipit lifted off the saltmarsh giving its thin call. A few Meadow Pipits and Grey Wagtails went over heading south.

 

Five days ago, I headed to the coastal fields at Larkholme for an autumnal wander. As I got out of my car a male Peregrine went over heading south, and I thought, "that was a good start", but the 'Peg' would turn out to be the highlight.

 

Along the embankment behind the sea-wall were some gorgeous autumn colours belonging to Sea Sandwort, and Sea Milk-wort, and a few defiant blooms of Sea Campion.

 

Sea Sandwort

 

Sea Milk-wort

Late flowering Sea Holly
 

I didn't have anything going over on vis, as it was a bit murky to the south and east, and I suspect the 32 Meadow Pipits in one of the wet fields were being held up. A male Stonechat added a splash of colour to the monochrome of the dunes, and a female Sparrowhawk was a bit ambitious with an attempt at a Jackdaw. 

 

Back at the sea wall after my walk around the farm fields, two Wheatears were on the sea wall, and a lovely Red Admiral motored past. 

 

Wheatear
 

On Monday, Gail and I had a walk down to the Wyre Estuary along the public footpath through the 'Hawthorn tunnel' as we like to call it. A group of 18 Blackbirds were feeding on Hawthorn berries alongside a Song Thrush, and five Redwings, and the Redwings perhaps indicated a Scandinavian origin for the Blackbirds. 

 

Always on the look out, and most certainly always listening, for Bearded Tits at this time of year, we had two Cetti's Warblers giving their explosive song from some of the areas of reedbed. 

 

As we got down to the river, Pink-footed Geese were heading west in small groups, and we had nearly 400 over. A few Jackdaws were heading south, and we had 180 in total. 

 

Pink-footed Geese
 

Walking past the reservoir, before we got to our spot to 'scope' the river, we could hear Kingfisher calling, but sadly it would remain unseen. Out on the 'res' were eight Tufted Ducks, seven Coots, six Moorhens, and five Little Grebes. 

 

Little Grebe
 

As the tide ran in, it was corralling and flushing waders and wildfowl, and we counted 616 Lapwings, 270 Wigeons, 62 Redshanks, and 195 Teal. Out on the river a few Gulls gathered, including 270 Herring Gulls.

 

Some of the 616 Lapwings
 

The incoming tide also pushed a few passerines off the saltmarsh in the form of, 14 Skylarks, six Rock Pipits, and 21 Linnets.

 

On our walk back to the car we admired the seed heads of Teasel, and a lovely late flowering specimen. 

 

Teasel (above & below)

 

 

We haven't managed a ringing session for a couple of weeks, mainly because the days that we have been available, the weather hasn't played ball. However, at the moment the weather forecast for the weekends looks okay-ish, so we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Two Days Two Projects

Last weekend Gail and I completed two BTO projects over two days. We had a ringing session at the Nature Park on Saturday, under the project title of Bird Ringing Scheme, then on Sunday we completed a Gull roost survey on the Wyre Estuary, under the Winter Gull Survey (WinGS).

 

When we arrived at the Nature Park before first light on Saturday morning, we had 3 oktas cloud cover, with a light north-westerly breeze, and by about 0945 the wind had swung round to the southeast, the cloud cover increased to 7 oktas, and we had the occasional shower. This change in the weather would make a difference to the numbers of birds that we ringed. 

 

As we put the nets up, a few Starlings exited their roost, but numbers have dropped right off now to only a couple of hundred birds. Cetti's Warblers serenaded us with their explosive song, and we could hear Pink-footed Geese all morning, but we did not see a single one! The willow scrub and reedbed at the Nature Park is very low lying, and the ground between our ringing area and the estuary rises, so we can't see the estuary even though it is only 350 metres to the east. Where our net rides are located, is 4 m above sea level, and the grassland between here and the estuary rises to 8 m, before dropping down again to 4 m on the saltmarsh.  

 

Cetti's Warbler
 

The 'vis' was slow with only a handful of Chaffinches, Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, and Woodpigeons heading more or less south.  

As mentioned above, the cloud cover increased during the morning, the wind swung round to the south-east, and by about 0945 we started to have a few light rain showers. The next net round we had after this, produced a Chiffchaff, and ten Linnets.

 

Chiffchaff
 

We ringed 35 bird as follows:

 

Wren - 3

Long-tailed Tit - 3

Chiffchaff - 1

Robin - 2

Blackcap - 1

Blue Tit - 2

Cetti's Warbler - 4

Linnet - 12

Greenfinch - 7

 

Linnet
 

The only other interesting record that we had was that of a Jay, and I'm not sure if we have ever recorded Jay at this site before. It might just be shaping up to be a bit of a Jay autumn.

 

On Sunday afternoon/evening we completed a Gull roost survey on the Wyre Estuary as an autumn supplementary visit as part of the WinGS project. The aim of the autumn survey is to monitor Gulls at post breeding aggregations, and capture seasonal peaks of species on passage from breeding to wintering grounds. 

 

We had an enjoyable couple of hours counting Gulls, and just immersing ourselves in an estuary as it moves into dusk. The sights and sounds as it slowly got dark, calling Curlews, Redshanks and Oystercatchers, and the backdrop of the Lakeland Fells turning an inky black as the sun set, punctuated by the strobe effect of Walney Island lighthouse. 

 

We didn't count anywhere near as many roosting Gulls as we did during our count back in January, which was to be expected, just 42 Black-headed Gulls, 3 Common Gulls, 5 Great Black-backed Gulls, 186 Herring Gulls, 2 Lesser  Black-backed Gulls, and a stonking adult Med. Gull.

Stood in the garden this afternoon giving Jake and Woody (our house cats) an outing, another male Sparrowhawk just missed my head as it came over our neighbour's garage, shot between me and our shed, and through our scrubby hedge and into our neighbour's garden. Lots of alarm calling House Sparrows could then be heard, the Sparrowhawk came back through the hedge, and was off. All of this in the fraction of a second!

Recenti-ish Bits and Bobs

For some reason, I seem to be struggling to write more than a couple of blogs per month of late, and I wish I could say that it is because I am spending so much time in the field, out from dawn until dusk, that I don't have time to post. But it isn't. I have been out when I can, but sometimes life has a habit of getting in the way of life at times, and this combined with some challenging weather has meant less time outdoors.  

 

Towards the end of August, armed with Britain's Plant Galls, Gail and I headed to local woodland, The Towers, which we can walk to from home, to try and see if we could find and identify some plant galls. We were partially successful, in that we found one species of gall, but natural history Guru, Fungal Punk Dave, has advised us that to identify which species, we would need to carry out some microscopy to see if the hairs were round headed, or pointed. Thanks Dave. 

 

A gall sp. on Sycamore 

 

We found a few invertebrates, in the form of a Tapered Drone Fly, nine Speckled Wood butterflies, several Anthomyia procellaris (a species of fly), and several Alder Leaf Beetles. In addition to the insects, we also came across the fungi Dryad's Saddle on some Sycamore, which we thought was quite spectacular. 

 

Anthomyia procellaris

 

Dryad's Saddle

Speckled Wood
 

A week later, we had an afternoon walk along the Wyre estuary from Jubilee Quay, and it was fairly cloudy, with a 15 - 20 mph south-westerly wind. Not the best weather for insects.

 

Eight Little Egrets along the shore was a reasonable count for here, and 84 Redshanks were feeding on the mud in the quay.

 

Surprisingly, we did have a few butterflies, and recorded three Red Admirals, two Small Whites, and a single Painted Lady. 

 

Red Admiral
 

Our moth catches from our garden light trap have been steadily dropping off, and I have totalled below our captures across all recent sessions:

 

Light Brown Apple Moth - 4

Ruby Tiger - 1

Large Yellow Underwing - 38

Double-striped Pug - 1

Eudonia angustea - 1

Square-spot Rustic - 1

Copper Underwing - 1

Garden Carpet - 2

Lesser Yellow Underwing -3

Common Rustic - 2

Setaceous Hebrew Character -4

Vine's Rustic - 1

 

As you can see, it has been quiet. 

 

At the start of September, I carried out a visible migration and sea watch from the farm fields at Larkholme. I had full cloud cover, with a 15 - 20 mph east-northeasterly wind, and it was a bit murky out at sea. 

 

There were lots of flying insects along the sea wall, hundreds of Crane Flies, plus lots of other smaller fly species, and this was attracting House Martins and Swallows. They were definitely on the move, heading south, but the number of flying insects was creating a good opportunity for them to feed, and they would stop-off, and fly low, up and down the sea wall, taking insects. I recorded at least 58 Swallows and 14 House Martins, but there was probably a lot more.  

 

House Martins and Swallows
 

Other than the hirundines, there wasn't much vis at all. I had a few grounded migrants in the form of six Wheatears and two Whitethroats. 

The sea was nearly as quiet, and the best bird I had was a Merlin! I picked up this small raptor heading south out at sea, and for a few seconds I wasn't sure what it was, and then I realised it was a Merlin. As it headed south it was being mobbed by several Sandwich Terns. I love stuff like that, migration in action! Talking of Sandwich Terns, they were the most numerous species at sea, and I had 36 heading south. In addition to the 'Sarnies' I had 49 Herring Gulls, five Cormorants, six Common Scoters, and an Atlantic Grey Seal. In addition to the 'sea' Merlin, I also had a Kestrel and a male Sparrowhawk on the raptor front, but both firmly over land. 

 

Earlier in the month, Gail and I had a walk out on to the saltmarsh on the Wyre mid-morning. The idea being to have a look for any waders on the river, but we made the mistake of not checking the tide times, and there was very little mud exposed, and consequently no waders! 

 

The Hawthorn tunnel (below in black & white)

 

 

Walking along the footpath through the Hawthorn scrub, or Hawthorn tunnel as we like to call it, we had two Jays, and we weren't sure whether we had recorded Jay here before. There is a lot more woodland generating in the area, so I suspect we shall be seeing more of them in the future. We had a couple of Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap on our walk down, and a couple of Common Darters were on the wing. 

 

When we set off on our walk we had six oktas cloud cover, but later in the morning the clouds cleared and it warmed up, and we had three Buzzards taking advantages of the thermals and heading south. 

 

Buzzard
 

I mentioned before about getting the tide times wrong, but this error did result in us having a decent count of Little Egrets, as they roosted along the bank next to the saltmarsh. We had 24, plus five Grey Herons. 

Out on the saltmarsh a few plants were still flowering, and we recorded Annual Sea-blite, Sea Aster, Sea Purslane, Purple Glasswort, and Sea Lavender. On some thistles on an area of former industrial land, we had a feeding flock of at least 40 Goldfinches, and along here we had two pairs of mating Common Blue Damselflies. On the walk back a Kestrel and a Cetti's Warbler made it into the notebook. 

 

Purple Glasswort 

 

Sea Aster

 

Male & female Common Blue Damselfly
 

A week later I was back at Larkholme under clear skies with a stiff, north-easterly wind, and it was very quiet. The best bird that I had on vis was a calling Yellow Wagtail south, with the addition of a handful of Swallows. 

 

The sea was even quieter, if that is possible, and the only record of note was a group 184 Herring Gulls on the sea. I walked the farm fields and didn't record any migrants, nor any insect activity, other than hundreds of Crane Flies! 

 

I recorded my first Pink-footed Geese for the autumn over my garden on 9th September. I could hear birds calling from high during brisk north-westerlies, but I couldn't see them, so I don't know how many there were. The following day I had 36 south over my garden, but at least I could see them!

 

About a fortnight ago we had a few days of strong winds, but there was a little too much northerly in the westerly, and along the Fylde coast a north-westerly wind is generally very poor for sea-watching, it needs to be between south-westerly and westerly. However, I thought I would head to Rossall Point and have a look. I also need to say that it was after lunch that I headed up there, so I am making all of my excuses in advance. 

 

On my first scan, I picked up a Fulmar (one of my favourite birds) shearing west. "Brilliant" I thought, and I truly believed that I was in for a few birds, but after about an hour and a half, all I could add to the Fulmar was a female Eider! 

 

Luckily, there were a few waders to look at, and I had 22 Turnstones, 28 Sanderlings, a Redshank, two Ringed Plovers, and 83 Oystercatchers. Why I ignored my own council regarding north-westerly winds I do not know! 

 

A few days later I was back at Larkholme for some more punishment. A few Meadow Pipits were on the move and I had 50 head south, and I also had a Reed Bunting, three Alba Wags, a Chaffinch, 104 Pink-footed Geese, and a Grey Wagtail also head south. 

 

Meadow Pipit
 

As the tide ran in, a few Turnstones started to roost on the rock groynes, and I had 48 in total. Other waders were a single Oystercatcher, ten Sanderlings, and an honorary wader in the form of a Little Egret, as it dropped onto the beach!

 

Yet again the sea was quiet, with just six Cormorants, 78 Common Scoters, and two Gannets, plus some Shelducks. The Shelduck movement was quite interesting, and it comprised of family groups with a mix of adults and juveniles, some close in, and others a long way out. I had 40 head north, and 11 south, which is probably what I would have expected at this time of year.  

 

Shelducks
 

Grounded migrants were very thin on the ground with just a single Wheatear, and the only raptor I had was a Kestrel. 

On a warm afternoon about a week ago, Gail and I decided to have a look at Larkholme Grasslands Biological Heritage Site (BHS) to see if there were any insects on the wing. However, when we got there the local authority was carrying out some management work on the site, and I was impressed, because they were managing it near perfectly. The grass had been cut, and it was being turned, before a forage harvester was picking it up. The cutting and removing helps to ensure that there is no build-up of nutrients, and the turning after cutting makes sure that all the seeds drop out of the cut grass. The removal of the cut grass also prevents any build-up of thatch within the sward, leading to better seed germination and plant establishment. Well done Wyre Council, credit, where credit is due. They also leave areas that remain uncut, to provide over-wintering habitat for invertebrates and small mammals. 

 

So, insects were few and far between, but we did have a Red Admiral, three Small Coppers, a Common Blue, and a Large White. There were also lots of grasshoppers, and Fungal Punk, Dave, kindly identified them as Chorthippus brunneus, from the one in the picture below. Thanks Dave. A Kestrel was taking advantage of all the activity, and hunting over the cut areas. 

 

Chorthippus brunneus

 

Small Copper
 

In my garden that day, I was stood with a coffee in hand, and some House Sparrows shot into the Ivy and Willows, and then I felt something brush the top of my head. I looked up to see a male Sparrowhawk undertaking a sharp right turn, before perching up on my shed. It looked at me for a second, and then flew off! 

 

Last Friday, Gail and I had our first ringing session at the Nature Park for a while. We had clear skies, and it was flat calm at first, before picking up later in the morning. As we were putting the nets up a few Starlings were exiting their roost, but perhaps no more than about 500. 

 

We ringed 14 birds as follows (recaptures in brackets):

 

Long-tailed Tit - 3

Reed Warbler - 1

Cetti's Warbler - 2 (1)

Blackcap - 1

Grey Wagtail - 1

Great Tit - 2

Greenfinch - 3

Blackbird - 1 

 

The lovely lemon underparts of a Grey Wagtail

 

Long-tailed Tit

Reed Warbler
 

During the morning, Pink-footed Geese were arriving from the south (Ribble Estuary?) and then heading east. Most remained unseen, but we did see 211. Visible migration was slow with just a handful of Meadow Pipits, and a small handful of Grey Wagtails south. 

 

Pink-footed Geese
 

The winds have been north-easterly for a few days now, and there have been lots of Yellow-browed Warblers on the east coast, so on Sunday morning I thought I would check the Cemetery and Mount Park. It was a bit of a cold, grim morning to be honest, and the north-easterly wind was fairly strong. Not dissimilar to seawatching on this coast, it is better for eastern migrants if the wind is between easterly, and south-easterly. As a consequence, I didn't record a single migrant, other than perhaps the eight Robins. 

I headed over to the Mount just as it started to rain heavily, but that wasn't the main problem, I couldn't park! I hadn't realised that there was a triathlon event that morning and the sea-front and associated car parks were closed, and I couldn't park anywhere around the hillock that the Mount sits on! It was time to head home for a coffee! 

It's not looking great weather-wise for the next week or so, with a westerly airstream back in charge, but we'll wait and see.