Thursday 22 October 2015

Thursday October 22

With a slightly restricted morning in prospect, I split the visit into two sections. From Netherstead I ambled around, seeing a Grey Wagtail, a Stonechat, and 60 Linnets. I then drove the Church Farm and did a circuit of the northern end.

The weather was coming from the west, and was cloudy and a little breezy. There wasn't very much passage going on, but I did see 47 Starlings heading west. I also finally got a photographic monkey off my back as I at last managed a photograph of a Goldcrest.

Goldcrest
These tiny, zippy little birds have defied my attempts to focus on them with my bridge camera for over a year. If I ever find a Firecrest here, there's not much danger it will be proved with a photograph.

Thrush passage was much less dramatic than last week, but many are now feeding in the hedgerows. I logged 61 Fieldfares and 85 Redwings.

Fieldfares
Redwing
A few Lesser Redpolls and Siskins flew over, while the flash field produced five Green Sandpipers, 26 Snipe, 10 Teal, 45 Greylag Geese, and six Lapwings.

Yellowhammers vary quite a lot from bright males to dull first-winter females. This is about as un-yellow as they get.

Yellow(ish)hammer
Unless its a Pine Bunting of course!

No comments:

Post a Comment