Breckland Birder

Breckland Birder
Red Deer in Breckland, Norfolk Photo by Paul Newport

Tuesday 5 September 2017

Autumn arrivals

This morning I was working in the Wymondham area of Norfolk.  The conditions were grey with some light rain showers.
At one of my calls within a residential area of the town a young Chiffchaff was passing through gardens giving a "seeeo" or "cheeeo" call.  A short time later on Morley Road (heading towards Morley), a good sized flock of 200+ Starlings were seen in arable habitat.  A total of 3 Kestrels were seen on my journey home.

Watton Brook Valley at Little Cressingham (late afternoon)
Parking north of the Watton Brook on the hill which rises to The Fairstead, I initially walked back down the hill to overview the valley for migrants.  Whilst walking downhill a small gathering of House Martins passed over.  A Kingfisher flew upstream and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was also seen.  No migrants were visible at this time along the valley.
Looking back towards the high ground, specifically over a woodland canopy, 60+ Hirundines (a mixture of both Swallows and House Martins) swept back and forth over the treetops, their directional flight appeared to have a westerly bias.
Walking back up the hill and to my starting point, a small flock of 12+ Meadow Pipits flew over, then circled as if to settle in stubble.  These are my first autumn arrivals/passage Meadow Pipits I have seen on my patch, and are quite early too.

No comments:

Post a Comment