Thursday, 17 October 2013

All quiet out on the Fleet...

I was right about this mornings weather and I did indeed have a lie-in but the wind seemed to drop a little after sunrise so trotted out to Clouds Hill in case something had happened over night. By something I mean an arrival of birds...

Well that certainly wasn’t the case! Not a single grounded migrant in sight or heard except for a single Ring Ouzel which was calling from some scrub near the access track. Saying that I really should include Song Thrush as a grounded migrant though. There seemed to be several around and I managed to count 7 at least and caught two in the few nets that I got open, the rest were closed due to the wind. This one was obviously a messy eater going my the bits of berry on its face! It had a lot more on the other side. 


This particular bird was aged as a 3, which means it was hatched this year. Note the four outermost greater coverts which contrast the inners. Nice and obvious unlike some species.



Overhead there wasn't much moving except for Skylark, which in the two hours 150+ went over. All were moving west. A pleasant surprise was amongst them was a single Woodlark which went over about 9:30ish calling as it went. Managed to get it in the bins as well. Only other birds of note were two Marsh Harrier and three Brent Geese which aren't that regular that far up the Fleet. Three Clouded Yellows were also notable, two of which came in off the fleet.


The wind seems to be a big issue from now on. Can’t see much ringing happening over the next week or so. Will be interesting to see what these southerly winds do. Hopefully a few nice moths but not sure what it will bring in terms of birds.

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