Saturday 28 October 2017

Immature male Black Redstart, Ephraim Perfect; www.ephraimperfect.co.uk

A relatively quiet day, by recent standards. Most of the action was on land, wehre the standout highlight was our third Lesser Whitethroat of October. Like the other two, an eastern subspecies like Blythii was strongly suspected, but unlike the other two it found its way into the nets, and with a few feathers shed during routine handling, we can get DNA analysis to work it out one way or the other! A Black Redstart was one of the other new arrivals, while other scarcities were probably lingering from previous days, such as two Bullfinches, six Long-tailed Tits and a Mistle Thrush

270 Starlings and 45 Chaffinches were once again the commonest migrants, albeit in much reduced numbers, while a very small scattering of other finches included three Bramblings, one Greenfinch and four Lesser Redpolls. A Great Spotted Woodpecker, nine Skylarks, two Fieldfares, 47 Redwings, three Blackcaps, two Chiffchaffs, 12 Goldcrests, one Firecrest and one Jackdaw were the other notable migrants.

Out to sea Gull passage was again dominant, with 664 Black-headed Gulls, 607 Kittiwakes, and 22 each of Common and Mediterranean Gulls. Four Common Scoters, a Great Skua, 20 Guillemots and 195 Razorbills were the only other species on the move. Meanwhile the most interesting waders included a good count of 64 Curlews, plus three Lapwings, two Dunlins and singles of Snipe and Whimbrel
Three of 63 Curlew on the South End, Ephraim Perfect; www.ephraimperfect.co.uk

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