Breckland Birder

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

Friday 7 September 2018

North Pickenham, Norfolk

Conditions:  A lovely early autumn morning, bright with a temperature of 6 degrees Celsius at dawn.  The wind was a light to moderate NW, increasing to moderate to fresh, occasionally strong NW by the afternoon.

Once again my focus this morning was for a search for migrant bird arrivals and to see, or hear, of evidence of visible migration.
I visited one of my regular sites on my patch with habitats comprising of well-stocked hedgerow corridor and a natural spring surrounded by lots of Elder and Hawthorn.
The only evidence of migration this morning was of a presumed passage Curlew heard calling (not seen) but on the move.
As expected for this date in September I was rewarded with some good numbers of Warbler species, most notably Blackcaps (12+), Whitethroats (8+), Lesser Whitethroat (1), and Chiffchaffs.  Non-migrants included Bullfinch (juvenile), Yellowhammer, Linnets, and Goldfinch
One particular Hawthorn was briefly rich in birds with 5 Blackcaps, Lesser Whitethroat, Yellowhammer, Robin, and Chaffinch.
Blackcaps (adult male and female) 7th Sept.
The true number of migrants present was surely much greater than the numbers provided here, for example, I was only able to see a small fraction of the habitat around the spring, therefore numbers of migrants were undoubtedly greater than shown here, especially given the wealth of fruiting Elder.
The Blackcaps seen today comprised all age groups from adult male (1) and female birds, and juveniles.  
As is always the case, the single Lesser Whitethroat seen this morning was a stunner with the dark grey head and ear-coverts strongly contrasting with the silky white throat.  This bird also had a hint of a white supercillium.

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