Fieldfares arrive en massse

31st October 2014 – hazy sun SSE4
Grounded Migrants
At least one Black Redstart continues to linger and further smatterings of grounded Redwing, Song Thrush and Blackbird were logged.
Diurnal Migration
Birds were again on the move with totals including: 1020 Jackdaw, 685 Starling, 680 Fieldfare, 150 Woodpigeon, 90 Redwing, 12 Carrion Crow, 10 Chaffinch, 8 Whooper Swan, 6 Stock Dove and 2 Swallow.
Wildfowl and Waders
The female Long-tailed Duck remains and 22 Barnacle Geese were logged. Waders included 11 Greenshank.
Miscellaneous
Additional sighting included Water Rail, 2 Raven and a Merlin.
Ringing
Another excellent months ringing saw the 3,000th bird of the year ringed with the total boosted by record numbers of Tree Sparrow. A total of 834 birds of 23 species were handled during the month and individual species totals were as follows (retraps in brackets): Tree Sparrow 221, Chaffinch 95, Blackbird 54 (3), House Sparrow 52 (7), Wren 52, Robin 48 (4), Goldfinch 41 (104), Song Thrush 26, Greenfinch 20 (2), Meadow Pipit 19, Goldcrest 18, Dunnock 18 (5), Blackcap 12, Redwing 10, Sparrow hawk 3, Blue Tit 3 (4), Yellow-browed Warbler 2, Chiffchaff 2, Reed Bunting 2 (3), Treecreeper 1, Magpie 1, Stonechat 1 and Lesser Redpoll 1.