The warm August gave way to a much wetter September, with the final arrival of rainy conditions and strong east wings. Nevertheless, the daily visits to the Hill continued unabated and still birds were being produced. We did also spend some time away visiting other areas, mainly for tourism but also visiting friends, and this meant a few of our visits were in the afternoon or early evening, obviously changing the dynamic of the birding.
- The bird of the week appeared during a late afternoon visit on the 3rd, when a child riding an ATV on Ned Hill Track flushed out a roosting Tawny Owl. Fortunately, once the rider had moved on, the bird settled and we were able to get some amazing views. It understandably remained alert throughout our time watching, in stark contrast to the only previous time I have seen this species here, when the individual never opened its eyes.
The only true Mega of the week, or at least it was before this August, was on the 29th when three Yellow Wagtails flew over Perseverance Road together. I fudged my camera settings but Lia was able to get a brilliant recording of the birds as they flew off heading east. We checked the horse paddocks along the road, but didn’t find them anywhere.
The change in conditions has not slowed down the stream of migrants passing through Soil Hill this autumn. As the season draws on the composition of migrants begins to gradually change, and that has already begun to take place this week.
- The most abundant of the notable migrants this week was absolutely Whinchat, with sightings on almost every single day. Generally the birds were found at the bottom of the North Slope where they remained distant, but on the 04th there were also two at the top on the walls near the masts. The highest count of the week was 3 on the 30th. It remains difficult to judge the total number of birds this autumn, but from our observations I suspect that there have been a minimum of five new birds this week, meaning an absolute minimum of 13 Whinchat so far this autumn.
- The only Spotted Flycatcher of the week was actively feeding on Ned Hill Track at the end of the afternoon on the 02nd. It showed well at times in lovely evening light.
- The change in conditions had a dramatic effect of Tree Pipit observations this week, with just a single bird on the 29th. Notably, this bird was not a flyover but was instead seen feeding on the short grass above the Ned Hill Track, quite the behavioral difference from the usual migrating individuals.
- The local warbler squad remained on and off throughout the week, with Sedge Warbler still being seen until the 01st, while Grasshopper Warbler was only seen on the 31st. Blackcap was also seen on just one date, when an individual was seen at the bottom of the North Slope on the 04th.
- Willow Warblers completely dropped off a cliff this week, with no counts higher than four birds, and with my first blank dates since the spring. In fact, three on the 30th was the only date where more than one individual was seen. Conversely, Chiffchaff passage continued unabated, with multiple individuals recorded on every day this week peaking with four on the 03rd.
- A warbler I have generally left out of these summaries is Common Whitethroat, but numbers have already begun to drop as the autumn draws on and it has been most noticeable this week. With between four and six individuals were recorded until the 02nd, after which only a couple of birds were noted.
The general birding also continued to provide some goodies,
with the Grey Partridge putting in an appearance again with a single on
the 30th and the group of three seen again on the 01st. A
distant Collared Dove was seen flying north on the 31st,
which is the first I’ve recorded here since May. A rather dozy juvenile Common
Buzzard has been around most of the week, perching on various posts at the
bottom of the North Slope, where it takes the heat from the local corvids. And
on the 01st, a Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen flying south
from the Koi Farm Copse.
A distant Curlew was heard calling on the 29th,
but the individual eluded us. A small group of Lapwings has reappeared on
the Bottom Cattle Fields, seen on and off throughout the week with a maximum
count of 19 on the 03rd. These bird have presumably started using
the field again in , response to the wetter weather. Another species that will benefit
from the fields becoming wet again are the Common Snipes, which also
started to reappear more consistently this week with birds being seen on three
dates this week. Sadly there was no repeat of the impressive snipe arrival seen
last September, but as the fields become wet again hopefully the birds will
return in good numbers.
Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Grey Partridge, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Eurasian Collared Dove, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Little Owl, Tawny Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sedge Warbler, Common Grasshopper Warbler, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Common Blackbird, Spotted Flycatcher, European Robin, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Western Yellow Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit, House Sparrow, Common Chaffinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting,
No comments:
Post a Comment