Saturday, September 28, 2013

Eastern Promise...


Mid week saw a huge arrival of Yellow browed Warblers into the UK. By Wednesday Northumberland was decked out with them, with massive totals - Holy Island 17, St Mary's 10, Farnes 9, Low Newton and Druridge 4, Hauxley 2 etc. I finished work early and visited the north end of my patch at Craster where Yellow brow habitat abounds without a sniff. The highlight here were a couple of juvenile Ringed Plovers that were new for the year, but passerines were almost non existant.

Since then, each morning I have listened out before work to see if I could get one calling in the copse next to our garden, but every day has been quiet.

Until this morning. I was out doing the moth trap when that distinctive quiet 'tssswissp' call came from a hedgerow sycamore across the back field behind our garden. Over I went, and the calling stopped. It seemed as though the bird had flown but then a flicker low down caught attention and there it was, a nice little stripey Yellow browed Warbler all the way from Siberia. It showed well in the morning sunshine feeding around the hawthorns in the company of two Chiffchaffs and a male Blackcap.

No matter how many of these you see ( here they are about annual) you can never be blase. The first and commonest of the sibes, lets hope their numbers continue to increase and arrive here each autumn.

This afternoon 3 Bramblings flew over calling, showing that the easterly winds are moving birds over us. If only we had some rain to ground them...

Now, where's that Richards Pipit?    

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice one, Stewart. Fingers crossed the infllux of YBW`s are the start of good things to come.

Warren Baker said...

.......checking all the bushes here Stewart......all five of 'em!

Stewart said...

Good luck chaps, one will be near you somewhere...