A morning of full cloud cover with a moderate SW wind. Light was poor. Visibility was reasonable. Occasional rainfall. 12 degrees at dawn.
No significant movements of Thrushes as seen yesterday over Hethersett, however, at least seven species were seen on overhead passage. The following is my list of species seen at Houghton this morning with migrants highlighted in bold type.
1 Goshawk NE 0820
2 Golden Plover SE
6 Skylarks S
6+ Meadow Pipits (high) W 0815
70+ Starlings (40+30) W
Song Thrush
12+ Redwings
1 Blackbird (high) S then SE 0830
1 Chiffchaff
6+ Goldcrest
Treecreeper
1 Brambling S
1 Redpoll S
As soon as I arrived at Houghton 12+ Redwings 'fell' into Hawthorns in rain. The rain persisted for a while but then cleared for a while before returning later. It was during this drier interlude when I witnessed visible migration. Seven plus species were involved in these movements.
A Goshawk was seen drifting NE in a leisurely flight, it then turned more or less W and stooped into woodland scattering Wood Pigeons.
Two flocks of Starlings (40+30) passed over in a westerly heading. Interestingly, two years ago today, 20th October 2015, I was at Burnham Overy Dunes on the North Norfolk coast and witnessed a heavy westerly passage of thousands of Starlings all of that morning. Records today indicate high numbers of coastal movements of Starlings. Could my Starlings seen this morning at Houghton be of Baltic states origin.
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