FRIDAY 11 OCTOBER
A very strong NE wind was blowing from dawn
with the skies clear again. I pitched up at IVINGHOE HILLS NR again early,
counting REDWINGS as they came over from 0732 until 1044 hours. Not quite as
good as yesterday's passage but still an impressive 2,586 birds logged in just
over 3 hours. A higher percentage of FIELDFARES though, with 105
today.
Rather surprisingly considering the weather,
it was raptors that were excelling - a juvenile (probably female) MARSH HARRIER
patrolling Gallows Hill for some considerable time, eventually disappearing from
view towards the Transmitter Field at 0915; a juvenile MERLIN that appeared from
the NE over Gallows and persisted in harassing Meadow Pipits for a period before
recommencing westerly migration; some 4 Eurasian Sparrowhawks (presumably all
migrants) and 5 high-flying and clearly migrating juvenile Common Buzzards, both
pale and dark morph causing confusion amongst observers. A single WOODLARK came
in high uttering its diagnostic liquid call-note as it went overhead and rapidly
SSW, along with 2 male Pied Wagtails, a handful of Meadow Pipits, a Jay and a
paltry 3 Chaffinches. Resident birds included a pair of COMMON RAVEN and up to 5
Red Kites.
With the onset of heavy cloud at around
1045, Redwing passage seemed to seriously tail-off and little happened over the
next hour. I relocated to PITSTONE HILL where 590 REDWING were most likely
reorienting birds flushed out from Inkombe Hole by ramblers.
MW and Francis Buckle had watched several
RING OUZEL fly towards STEPS HILL so with migration floundering, I decided to
'bash' the hills for migrants, utilising the upper path. Mike and Francis chose
the lower route and inadvertently flushed RING OUZELS out of the Hole and up
towards me - a total of 7 eventually being logged - all rather drab first-years
and favouring the blossoming Whitebeam trees in which to feed. Some 5 Mistle
Thrushes were loosely associating with them, whilst 5 or so Song Thrush were of
the grey Continental variety. A cracking flock of 5 BRAMBLING were also noted
but very little of anything else.
By midday, heavy rain had set in and I
concentrated my efforts on WILSTONE RESERVOIR (TRING). New in on the mud were 2
DUNLIN whilst 5 of last night's 7 BLACK-TAILED GODWITS remained in Cemetery
Corner. A flock of 227 Lapwing and just 2 EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVER were commuting
between the stubble field opposite the Cemetery and the reservoir whilst just 1
juvenile RUFF was to be found.
Still lots of wildfowl feeding (too windy to
carry out meaningful counts) with 4 RED-CRESTED POCHARDS together (see pix) and
22 NORTHERN PINTAIL noteworthy and 13 Lesser Black-backed and 3 Common Gulls in
amongst the loafing Black-headed Gull throng.
A single SCANDINAVIAN ROCK PIPIT was moving
between the Jetty and the NE corner of the reservoir, with 2 Common Chiffchaff
in the East Hedgerow. Little Egrets were down to just 7.
