Weekend Round-up

My niece Fran visited this weekend so yesterday I only managed to do some garden birding which worked out well HERE with the highlights being a first-winter male Redstart and Spotted Flycatcher, 6 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff and 3 Goldcrest in the lane with 18 Siskin, 35 Mips, 10 Pied Wag, 9 Yellow Wags and some hirundines over and a Kingfisher darted through, a Peregrine went over and 5 Golden Plover also flew over towards Medmerry. Kingfisher was a garden tick so now on 111 HERE. 

This morning I met up with Ed Stubbs before I had to be back for family breakfast. It was good to see Ed and we also had a decent bit of birding along the North Wall the highlight being a fly-over Woodlark which was a Peninsula tick and my 200th bird for the Peninsula (182 for the year). We also had Spoonbill, Cattle Egret, Spotted Redshank, Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Wheatear and a group of 5 Raven flying north. 

After Fran went home this afternoon I popped into Mill Lane Marsh where a male and female Redstart were on the nearby fence posts and then I checked out Church Norton where 5 Curlew Sandpipers and a Little Stint were feeding out on the mud with the Dunlins and 3 Spoonbill flew over. 

The wind has shifted to the North-east today with cool night temperatures so I didn't put the trap out last night but on Friday night it was still pretty busy with quite a few migrants. 

First-winter male Redstart

First-winter Wheatear

First-winter Spoonbills (above and below)

Ravens going over 

Radford's Flame Shoulder- the first one in quite a long time . Certainly not as many around this autumn as last autumn. Also not so many Blair's Mocha's as last September. 

Large Wainscot- a NFY.  Latest on the score board is 548 for the year and 620 all time. 

Oak Nycteoline- not a common moth round here