Nocmig update - Wigginton, July to November '24

Whooper Swans - recorded on four different nights over the season

As regular readers will know, I moved to Wigginton - a small suburb in York, to the north of the city - at the end of June; you'll also likely know that, over the last four years, nocturnal migration recording (nocmig) has played a fascinating role in my ongoing love affair with bird migration. At Filey, of course, I was spoiled - for nocmig and pretty much every other aspect of birding - and I knew whatever nocmig results I'd get from here at the new place would be, well, likely of a somewhat less rich and varied nature.

 

Those expectations were further lowered by the realities of recording here: pretty much any circumstantial positive factor - being near the coast, near a waterbody, along a river valley, along a geographical flightline, in an isolated cluster of electric light, etc. - was lacking, and I was resolved to being content with whatever came my way.

 

That said, with a small garden (which we lacked in Filey) and with street noise on the right side of workable, it could be worse, and as with any local birding, it's all about context - the odd wader, pushes of thrushes, perhaps the occasional wildfowl record and the like would make for a worthwhile effort.

  

And so it's a real pleasure to report that this first season of recording here has greatly exceeded my expectations. I ran the recorder for three nights in early July - before we left for the U.S. - and clocked the (very familar) calls of Moorhen, Coot and Oystercatcher, and then began in earnest upon return for the last week of August. 

 

The first night of which (23rd) provided both Common Sandpiper and Tree Pipit - a strong start, which got much better on 28th when a noisy flock of Turnstones flew over our sleeping heads... wonderfully, the wader theme was to continue on 29th with Redshank, and then Bar-tailed Godwit and Whimbrels on 30th (and further Common Sand and Oystercatcher on 31st).

 

Recording resumed from 10th September, when both Curlew and Golden Plover were added to the wader list, as well as the first Meadow Pipit; the following night (11th) provided the first joyous yapping skeins of Pink-footed Geese fresh from Iceland, and the next (12th) both Spotted Flycatcher and Song Thrush, as well as three more skeins of Pinks.

 

A quieter few nights followed (a few more Meadow Pipits, Grey Herons, Pink-feet) before Dunlin became the next wader species to fall on 17th, and then Snipe on 21st... interesting pre-dawn movements of passerines - Skylark, House Martin, Song Thrush, Meadow Pipit - occurred on 23rd, before another memorable night on 27th:

 

There are few nocmig sounds quite as uplifting as the joyful bugling of Whooper Swans, and it felt like a real privilege to record them over our innocuous suburb, with lots more action on the same night - the first Redwing registrations (seven), nine Song Thrushes, two Robins, more Pink-feet, and an Alba Wagtail, as well as another noisy Barn Owl flyover, established as a regular occurrence by the end of the season:

 

After 15 nights in September, circumstances allowed for no fewer than 27 nights recorded in October, with the first week (and beyond) consisting of a handful of 'classic' autumnal species - Redwings, Song Thrushes, odd Robins, and more Pink-feet. A fine surprise on the night of the 7th came in the form of a Hawfinch - my first nocmig record anywhere - and a precursor to a healthy influx into the country over the following weeks. 

 

The second week of the month was quiet, but for Redwings keeping the car running - until 15th, when 733 call registrations hinted at what was to come. For the next week they continued to dominate, with other species including Skylarks, Robins, Golden Plovers, Dunlin and Blackbirds, with the first flock of Wigeon over on 24th, more Whoopers on 26th, before a quiet end to the month, dominated by blustery westerlies.

November saw every night analysed up to and including 20th (when I called time on recording for the year, but for maybe the odd calm night in December), and a change in prevailing winds and conditions early in the month kick-started an excellent period of thrush migration.

Registrations of Redwings in particular were far beyond what I'd anticipated, with peaks of 874 on 2nd, 1091 on 3rd, 1386 (the autumn record) on 4th, 1063 on 7th and 826 on 8th, and several other nights in the high treble figures - way more than I expected and a real thrill to record here in such numbers.

 

Other species clocking in during this particularly busy week included Song Thrushes (with peaks of 109 on 3rd and 92 on 4th), Blackbirds (peak of 278 on 4th), Wigeon, Grey Heron, Chaffinch, Fieldfare, Skylark, Golden Plover, Pink-feet, and Whooper Swan (more over on 10th and 13th, the third and fourth flocks of the autumn); most pleasingly, I didn't have to wait until late March to hope for the beeps of Common Scoters, with a flock (of males and females) over on the 3rd.

 

The latter part of the month was much quieter for both diversity and abundance (but for Redwings, which carried on until the bitter end!), but the autumn overall confounded my expectations and bodes well for the spring, which begins early in nocmig terms - roll on February, when the recorder will be back out in its plant pot....