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Tag Archives: autumn migration

241/366 Migrants : Spotted flycatcher

28 Friday Aug 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Spotted flycatcher

It’s over a month since I saw my first Spotted flycatchers for 2020, the family group I encountered on my visit to Slade Wood back on 21 July. But, now I’m seeing them much more regularly, in ones and twos, as they pass through my local area on their autumn migration. I spotted my first migrant on 5 August, then had to wait a week until my second sighting on the 13th but, since then, have seen them almost every time I’ve been to Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, with 2 on the 17th, 4 on the 18th, 1 on the 20th, 3 on the 22nd, 2 on the 24th, and 3 on the 26th. In fact, I tend to go to Cosmeston much more often at this time of year specifically to see what migrants I can find, and I look especially for these stunning little birds, as I love to watch their fly-catching aerobatics.

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237/366 Migrants : Whinchat

24 Monday Aug 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Clep yr eithin, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Crec yr eithin, Saxicola rubetra, Whinchat

The scientific name for the Whinchat is Saxicola rubetra which, apparently, means ‘small rock-dweller’, a reference to where this delightful little bird likes to make its home: saxicola is from the Latin saxum, meaning ‘rock’, and incola, meaning ‘dwelling’, and, also Latin, rubetra means ‘a small bird’.

200824 whinchat (4)

In Welsh, the Whinchat is Crec yr eithin or sometimes Clep yr eithin, eithin being the Welsh word for gorse (also known as furze or whin), where the bird is often seen perching; and crec and clep both meaning clap, a reference to the bird’s call.

200824 whinchat (1)

Here in south Wales, the Whinchat is a passage migrant, meaning I only get the chance to see it locally in autumn – it passes through in spring as well, of course, but, as it’s then in a hurry to reach its breeding grounds, it usually just flies straight over. Both the gorgeous little Whinchats in my photos stopped over at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park last week, feeding up before they set out on their long migration flight south, crossing the English Channel, western Europe, the Med, North Africa, and finally the Sahara Desert before arriving at their wintering grounds in central and southern Africa.

200824 whinchat (2)

According to the RSPB website, Whinchat numbers in Britain declined more than 50% between 1995 and 2008, though the reason for that decline is not known. I imagine the hazards of their long migratory flight might well have something to do with it. Safe journey, little Whinchats!

200824 whinchat (3)

I love this photo with the Greenfinch – just shows how small the Whinchat really is.

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233/366 Migration, migration, migration

20 Thursday Aug 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, British birds, Pied flycatcher, Redstart, Sedge warbler, Whitethroat, Willow warbler

While yesterday’s Clouded yellow butterfly was migrating northwards on the hot southerlies, our local birds were heading in the opposite direction, to their various wintering spots around the Mediterranean and in locations all over the African continent. They started heading south in ever-increasing numbers about three weeks ago – at least, that’s when I started noticing this year’s autumn migration. Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Swallows, Sand and House martins … for a lot of these little birds their long journey has already begun.

200820 pied flycatcher

The first noteworthy bird for me was a Pied flycatcher, found by a local birder at Cosmeston one day, and I just happened to be right there he re-found it the following day. That was 22 July, the day I also began to notice how many Willow warblers there were everywhere – I’ve been seeing good numbers of these lovely little birds almost daily since then.

200820 willow warbler

On 2 August, this Sedge warbler was a surprise find in the hedgerow on a local farm. With any luck, it will be well on its way to sub-Saharan Africa by now.

200820 sedge warbler

Also on 2 August, in that same hedgerow, I noticed a lot of Whitethroats, and they’re also passing through in small numbers every day now.

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200808 whitethroat (2)

I’ve seen a Redstart at Cosmeston a few times – these photos were taken on 4 August and 16 August in almost the exact same location. Might it be the same bird that has perhaps found the place to its liking and is trying to fatten up before flying onward?

200820 redstart (1)
200820 redstart (2)

In recent days, I’ve also been seeing some of my favourite migrants, Spotted flycatchers (several now seen) and Whinchat (just one so far) but I’m going to post separate blogs about those superb little birds.

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277/365 Lifer: Great reed warbler

04 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, Great reed warbler, Portland Bird Observatory

I’ve left the best till last. We saw a lot of nice birds during our long weekend at Portland Obs but this bird was the undoubted star.

It was late morning, on Saturday 28 September, and a few of us were standing in the Obs front garden, watching for a Firecrest that had been seen there, when keen-eyed Tim noticed a brown bird hopping about in a buddleja right in front of us. It looked like a Reed warbler but was too big, and our experts almost immediately realised it was a Great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus). The bird disappeared for a short time (John raced inside to tell the other birders, and I went in to grab my camera), then, luckily, it reappeared and proceeded to munch on some blackberries growing alongside the garden wall. Unfortunately, it didn’t linger long, soon disappearing along the side of the buildings.

191004 great reed warbler (1)

Several people had noticed the bird had a ring on one leg so this Great reed warbler must have been the same bird that had been caught and ringed in the Obs garden 10 days earlier. Amazingly, it had lingered in the surrounding scrub and bushes without anyone spotting it.

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The largest of the European warblers, the Great reed warbler is only occasionally seen in Britain – it breeds in Europe and Asia and overwinters in sub-Saharan Africa – so, this bird had somehow lost its way during migration.

191004 great reed warbler (3)

If you want to see much clearer photos of this cracking bird, check out Martin Cade’s photos and reports on the Portland Obs blog here (when it was first ringed) and again here (when the bird was re-found, during Saturday afternoon, in the Obs back garden).

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260/365 Stonechats

17 Tuesday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, birds, nature

≈ 10 Comments

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#365DaysWild, autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Stonechat

The Autumn migration flow of birds continued through Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, with several species reported: a Redstart, a Whinchat, a Spotted flycatcher and several Stonechats, two of which very kindly popped up in the hedge right in front of me.

190917 stonechat (1)190917 stonechat (2)

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243/365 Turn of the seasons

31 Saturday Aug 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, birds, nature

≈ 3 Comments

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#365DaysWild, autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Turnstone

The yellowing of the leaves on the tree outside my window, my sightings of migrating birds, the cooler night-time temperatures have all been telling me for a couple of weeks that autumn is on its way, something the calendar will agree with tomorrow. But, for me, one of the true indicators is the arrival of the Turnstones, back from their breeding season in Greenland and northern Canada.

190831 turnstone

The five I spotted on the Ely embankment this morning still show some of their summer colouring but those chestnut feathers will soon disappear as the birds complete their moult into winter plumage. Welcome back, my little friends!

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241/365 Spot fly

29 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

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#365DaysWild, autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, migrating birds, Spot fly, Spotted flycatcher

The day started cool, with a heavy dew and clouds hiding the sun, and I thought I wasn’t going to find a lot during my Cosmeston meander. I was wrong.

190829 spot fly (2)

Once the sun came out so did the creatures: two Green woodpeckers together on the grassy track ahead; two migrating Whinchats, my first this season; a Hummingbird hawkmoth that only hummed a little before landing on the dirt track in front of me – not something I’ve ever seen before; another magnificent Clouded yellow; and, today’s star, yet another Spotted flycatcher, my fifth at Cosmeston in the past week and the most confiding, allowing me to get quite close for photos. It has been a wonderful, and much needed, immersion in Nature today.

190829 spot fly (1)

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224/365 It’s autumn!

12 Monday Aug 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

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autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Spotted flycatcher

Willow warblers are peeping from every bush, Blackcaps are chacking, Swallows and martins are swooping low over the fields at Cosmeston for last minute snacks before they cross their first stretch of water on their way south and, today, at Lavernock, I saw my first Spotted flycatcher of the year. Autumn migration is well and truly underway!

190812 spotted flycatcher

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Lesser yellowlegs

04 Sunday Nov 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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American bird, autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, Black-tailed godwit, British vagrant bird, Dunlin, Greenshank, Lesser yellowlegs, RSPB Lodmoor, Tringa flavipes

Its name says it all really – the Lesser yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) is a slender wader, with long yellow legs, and the smudgy, less defined markings on the breast of this particular bird point to it being a juvenile.

181104 lesser yellowlegs (1)

The Lesser yellowlegs is native to the Americas, spending its summers breeding in the northern forests that lie between Alaska and Quebec and its winters on the United States’ Gulf coast and in parts of South America.

181104 lesser yellowlegs (2)
181104 lesser yellowlegs (3)

The birds we see here in Britain are vagrants, birds that have strayed or been blown off course during their migration. On average, about ten birds are seen in various parts of Britain each year and, amazingly, there was also a Lesser yellowlegs at RSPB Lodmoor when we visited during last year’s Portland trip

181104 lesser yellowlegs (4)
181104 lesser yellowlegs (5)

Two interesting facts about this bird from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website:

Both the male and female Lesser Yellowlegs provide parental care to the young, but the female tends to leave the breeding area before the chicks can fly, thus leaving the male to defend the young until fledging.

and …

The oldest recorded Lesser Yellowlegs was at least 4 years, 11 months old when it was found in South Dakota in 1965. It had been banded in the Lesser Antilles in 1960.

181104 lesser yellowlegs (6)

Back here in Dorset, it was great to get such close views of the Lodmoor Lesser yellowlegs and particularly to see it in close company firstly with two Greenshanks and a Black-tailed godwit (photo above), and then with the same two Greenshanks and a Dunlin (below). This really helped to see the relative differences in size, shape and plumage.

181104 lesser yellowlegs (7)

Heck, I even managed to get a short video of the lovely little thing. Enjoy!

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Scurrying Sanderlings

22 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Calidris alba, migrating birds, Sanderling, Sker Rocks

Watching these busy little birds scurrying back and forth along the beach at Sker last Saturday was the highlight of my day.

180922 sanderlings (1)

I had walked away a little from the group of birders I was with as I wanted to try to get better photographs of the waders moving along the water’s edge, and I’m so glad I did, as the birds weren’t as bothered about one person standing very still and silent as they would’ve been about 25 chattering people moving about, and so came up reasonably close to me.

180922 sanderlings (2)

Small flocks of Sanderlings (Calidris alba), and other small waders, were flying back and forth from the rocks to the sandy beach to feed, poking their heads right up to their eyes in the soft sand to probe for their preferred food of small crustaceans and molluscs.

180922 sanderlings (3)180922 sanderlings (3a)

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the name Sanderling is a combination of the fairly obvious ‘sand’ and ‘erling’, which probably comes from the Old English yrthling, meaning ploughman (from yrth earth and erian to plough). That certainly makes sense when you see these little birds in action.

180922 sanderlings (4)

Sanderlings are passage migrants that move through Britain in spring and autumn on their way to and from their breeding grounds in the High Arctic and their over-wintering sites in southern Europe and Africa.

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The birds’ plumage changes for the breeding season, becoming much darker, with shades of reddish-brown on the head, neck and back, and you can still see hints of that on some of the birds in my photos. Also, many of my birds seem to be juveniles, with quite chequered markings on their backs and very clean white under-parts.

180922 sanderlings (6)

One fascinating factoid I discovered when reading up about these birds is that they have only three toes on each foot, with no hind toe to provide balance, and this is the reason for their scurrying motion. If you want to see Sanderlings in action, I uploaded a very short video to youtube.

180922 sanderlings (7)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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