Movements through the garden.

A good range of species seen in and passing through the garden today with some evidence of passage involved as well.
Several ever-present juvenile Goldfinches alighted in the trees, to the untrained eye, these youngsters may present a bit of an identification problem, however, the familiar golden wing-bar is always present in both adult and juvenile birds, this should help sort out the different age groups.
Good numbers of Greenfinches always in and out of the garden, although a common bird, always a delight to see, especially the 'green' males with their bright yellow wing and tail markings.
Several juvenile Blackbirds frequently visited our Rowan in order to feed upon the bright orange berries.
A good sized flock of Long-tailed Tits passed through the garden and with them a single Chiffchaff tagged along. Warbler species often associate themselves with mobile Tit flocks, it is always worth checking these flocks for something unusual.
Probably the bird of the day was a single Spotted Flycatcher which was seen in the garden for a while late afternoon...further evidence of passage being underway.


Spotted Flycatcher in garden 09/08/13



Spotted Flycatchers generally start to migrate around mid-August, as this species does not appear to breed in the immediate vicinity, and with no local summer records, it is fair to assume that this bird is one of the earlier passage birds feeding up for its long haul to the south of equatorial Africa.
Further common species present in the garden was Blue Tit, Great Tit, and a passing Coal Tit.