Saturday October 12th - Winds , rain and normal weather

On Thursday there had been a mass movement of Redwings into the country with coastal sights reporting counts of 40,000+. I saw over 100 pass over the garden late Thursday evening, with the thrushes dispersing inland and the first 2 Fieldfare of the year.

Unusually I had a couple of hours on Friday free as we were expecting a delivery which I needed to be at home for, so I had a quick trip up to Blackdown, it was dry but the wind was atrocious, a force 6 or 7 northerly, which made me think the visit would largely be a mistake, the first few hundred yards just involved the Oak trees throwing there mass of acorns at me. I did however see 4 Crossbill (albeit in flight and very quick !) a few Redwing, Meadow Pipit and Siskin, a single male Stonechat, a Buzzard and the same Raven I saw at home last week (based on the same missing secondary on it's left wing), returning home the Firecrest I saw lat week was again glimpsed in the hedge outside the back door.

Saturday looked a better day with at last a change in the winds but in a few hours the prediction swung from an extremely promising strong South Easterly to a less strong and less promising North easterly, but my mind was already made up that I was coast bound.

Early rain passed and the wind actually died down but there was a fair movement. Med Gulls (9) lingered offshore and 5 Sandwich Terns passed through with a westerly passage of Brent Geese with over 300 passing through in small family groups. A close Arctic Skua and 5 Razorbill flew past and Common Scoter Shoveler and Teal were the only duck and Swallows (8), House Martins (2) and a Wheatear were the only outbound migrants.

Meadow Pipits were constantly passing over and several groups of Linnets flew in from the sea, then a Brambling flew over calling and the best bird being an inbound Short-Eared Owl, flying in off the sea and maintaining a steady height as it progressed inland,. I called in at Pagham on the way home where a Kingfisher and 5 Blackcaps were the only real interest.

Elsewhere a huge movement of Ring Ouzels had been recorded with peak counts of over 200 birds at single coastal sights in East Sussex and Kent but none in the West but there had been up to 20 on Blackdown which was a bit annoying, but they weren't there in yesterdays wind !

Standing on Blackdown looking south - Woolbeding is the dark green middle peak just right of centre - just to prove you can see one from the other - the house is in between, somewhere over the first ridge of trees.