Invasion of the Scandinavians

23rd: Thick fog, poor visibility, and an excellent autumn day on the patch. The weather charts for this week - beginning Monday (yesterday) and continuing through until Thursday or Friday - have been looking very good for some time, and against all expectations, they've remained just as encouraging right up to the wire.

Otherwise engaged for yesterday, it could have been much worse; although there was an impressive influx of commoner late autumn species, two Yellow-browed Warblers were the pick, and hence a relieved exhalation with everything to play for going into today and onwards.

Come this morning, into the pea-souper, and into multitudes of birds, fresh-in from over the North Sea and beyond. While observing was challenging to say the least, it was a day to appreciate and soak up the overall experience. Hard to do justice to, but it was one of those days where the natural phenomenom of migration not only played out but took over, and it was a privilege to be here to enjoy the show.

The hedgerows, scrub and secondary woodland were alive with birds - swarms of Goldcrests feeding relentlessly and delicately through the shrubs and trees, allowing ridiculously close approach as only they can; rowdy flocks of thrushes, raining from the skies and weighing down the hedgerows; Robins hopping out at every few paces; and Bramblings, Chaffinches, Reed Buntings, Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs sprinkled throughout.

Goldcrests - hundreds graced us with their presence today

Meticulously sifting through the 'crests, although fruitless (so far) in the sense of finding a rarer gem, was a treat in itself; especially when it involved standing within the foliage, pishing gently, and being instantly surrounded by numerous doe eyes at point blank range, inquisitively staring back and wholly fearless.

Redwings and Fieldfares on the cliff edge

Onto Carr Naze, the grassy plateau crowning the Brigg, and into an almost otherworldy scene dominated by impenetrable fog, soundtracked by a combination of waves crashing from all points below and the constant wheezes, chacks and tseeps of myriad thrushes, funneling along the peninsula in squadrons hundreds strong, swirling in tandem with the fog and  descending onto all available dry land.

The best day so far this year for Robins, with dozens present across the coastal strip

Fieldfares and Redwings - comfortably four figures of each - dominated, with Blackbirds not far behind, and a healthy sprinkling of Robins, Goldcrests and Bramblings (plus odd chiffchaffs, Reed Buntings and Blackcaps), making a scene to savour, especially for the hour or more when, miraculously, I had the place to myself.

Fieldfare, Carr Naze - one of thousands today

Four Ring Ouzels and a couple of Mistle Thrushes made it a six-thrush day, but the rarity never materialised; which matter not a bit on a day with such pleasures. And there's always tomorrow, or Thursday....

Filey, 5th - 11th October 2012

Goldcrest

After a distinctly forgettable beginning to the month (no bad thing, being otherwise engaged for the most part), the 5th rolled around with no great expectations, but a full day in the field produced plenty of entertainment, especially for a clear day with increasing light winds. 

Goldcrests were liberally sprinkled throughout hedgerows, copses and scrub (with around 25 in total); migrant / dispersing Coal Tits and Reed Buntings remained onmipresent; redpoll, Brambling and Siskin were amongst the overhead migrants, while an impressive 24 Grey Partridges and at least 250 Skylarks occupied the top fields – a loose flock of the latter hosting the highlight of the morning, a smart male Snow Bunting.

 

Dotterel

The Dams was quiet, with the semi-resident Black-tailed Godwit and a few Redshanks the only occupants of the extensive mud, but an afternoon seawatch in light north-westerlies was surprisingly productive. A mixed feeding flock off the Brigg included Arctic, Common and Sandwich Terns, a handful of Manxies (with another dozen or so heading north), several Little Gulls, and a pale morph Pomarine Skua for several minutes; a Barnacle Goose and a further four Snow Buntings, in off and onto the cliff slope above the watchpoint, rounded off an entertaining sunny day.

monster Bullfinch

High pressure, light winds and clear skies dominated the following few days, with a few skeins of Pink-feet the pick of a quiet period; thick fog preceded the sunshine on the 8th however, when what will hopefully turn out to be one of the month's highlights briefly graced the muddy fringes of the Dams main pool (more to follow....).

 Pink feet heading south over the Wolds

More of the same conditions for the 9th and 10th, although with the light wind swinging to the north, the former date saw distinctly continental immigration, with a total of eight Jays, two Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Lapland Bunting and two putative northern-type Bullfinches amongst the new arrivals. The latter date produced little, besides a distinctly welcome (and locally very rare) Dotterel in a clifftop field.

So, considering the conditions, not nearly as dull as it might have been, with some pleasant days in the field and good birding in the process. However, there's no escaping the reality that, as the peak period continues to ebb away with unfavourable conditions dominating, the autumn has indeed been relatively muted thus far. 

 

But, there's still plenty of time left on the clock; more than half of October awaits, and as I write, a brisk east-south-easterly and accompanying cloud and rain have replaced the tranquility of the last ten days. Tomorrow? Pistols at dawn........