28/9/13 Migration central with 27 or maybe 28 species from the garden today.

With it being the weekend I don't need to go out so I decided to go into the garden to see what there was about after a change of wind direction (has been from the South West but changed to South East (France, Belgium area)) and no fog this morning, as the cloud was high, it seemed that there was going to be much improvement. I was hoping a few grounded migrants would be seen due to the change and I was massively surprised with the results.

At the start, in the morning, many of the small migrants were sighted such as meadow pipit and skylark with only 3 swallows being sighted but a lot of gulls were seen too. Then when I officially started the counting of the swallows, late morning- roughly 11:15 there were much less of the small migrants and more gulls, swallows and although goldfinches are small a lot of them were seen as well. With a final total of 27 (maybe 28) it was a great morning for bird watching and one to remember. What will happen tomorrow?

Todays sightings altogether:

Trees

• 2 robins
• 1 great tit
• 1 chaffinch male
• 2 blackbirds
• 10+ house sparrows
• Collard doves
• Wood pigeons
• Corvids
• Roughly 11 gold finches in total
• Starlings
• 1 Coal tit- quite possibly one was heard.
• 5 Blue tits- usually 1 but when this individual arrived back from feeding in a garden another 4 arrived with it. This has indicated a minor influx but because the feral pigeons kept getting scared the birds reduced to only 1 by around 12:00.
• 1 WILLOW WARBLER- juv was feeding in one of the trees. Unusual. First record from house and most likely grounded last night. Sighted in roughly the same area as the chiffchaff was heard but very lemon yellow and only sighted in the morning compared to the afternoon chiffchaff.
• 1 CHIFFCHAFF- in song. Did not see the individual but heard it. First of Autumn.

 Blackbird male

WILLOW WARBLER Juv (Or is it the chiffchaff)

Opposite house

• 30+ feral pigeons
• Wood pigeons
• Collard doves
• 40+ starlings

Flying over (Best day by far)

• Corvids
• Collard doves
• Wood pigeons
• A flow of common and black headed gulls
• A few herring gulls
• A few Lesser black backed gulls
• 1 green woodpecker heard
• 30+ Goldfinches- one large flock
• 5 Skylarks-Flew from a field calling together
• 8 Meadow pipits- Flew South.(1,1,1,5)
• 4 House martins- feeding together before flying north
• 5 Unidentified waders- 3 looked like they were DUNLIN but the other two were different.
• 510 SWALLOWS- Sighted in 75mins. Amazing meaning on average there was 6.8 per minute but this was just an average as half the time we had none flying over and other times roughly 2- 20 flew over together. (Highest record for me from house)

27/9/13 Garden sightings and other sightings nearby

Bird sightings from garden

The past two days the mornings when I've had the opportunity to look out in the garden hasn't really been the best for sighting huge numbers of birds.

• Feral pigeons
• Corvids
• Resident robin
• Great tit
• Highlight really was 7 pied wagtails with 4 meadow pipits all calling as they flew south.

Other sightings

• The first 2 Russian white fronted geese have arrived at Slimbridge WWT
• 2 BLACK TERNS- Cotswald water park
• COMMON SCOTER- Sharpness
• ARTIC SKUA- Awre

26/9/13 garden sightings and other sightings

Foggy throughout the morning causing a lot of birds elsewhere but no real birdlife sighted from the garden except from:

Flying over

• 5 house martins
• 1 meadow pipit

Other news in area+ yellow browed warblers
Unusual for sea birds to be sighted inland at Chew Valley but these birds got lost in the fog and got literally blown inland.

• 15 GLOSSY IBIS'S in Cotswold water park spooked and not seen after the first sighting
• 17 GREAT SKUA'S- Chew valley Lake
• 1 LITTLE GULL- Chew Valley Lake
• 1 ARTIC SKUA- Chew Valley Lake
• 2 SANDWICH TERNS- Slimbridge WWT
• 4 GREAT SKUA'S- Oldbury power station.
• 200+ YELLOW BROWED WARBLERS on the East coast.

25/9/13 garden sightings after 15:40- Birds of prey

Much like yesterday as it was foggy in the morning but came out very nice and warm.
An improvement from yesterday has been noticed with a few more birds being sighted.

Flying over

Peregrine adult- always distant

• 1 Peregrine adult flew over circling
• 1 buzzard or honey buzzard flew over high north
• 1 sparrowhawk female being mobbed by a jackdaw and started circling while being mobbed.
• Gulls- most herring with lesser black backed and common gulls.
• 5 house martins- my latest and seeming to be staying for longer.
• 3 swallows flew north feeding.
• 15+ Meadow pipits- calling as they flew south but two did turn back and flew North. Always very low and vocal so normally easy to see.
• 20+ jackdaws

Trees

• 1 Great tit
• House sparrows
• Magpie

24//9/13 garden sightings after 15:40

Not much but very misty in the morning and with the sun out in the afternoon it came out quite nice and warm but no real migration unlike the weekend which was very good for migrants of all species.

Highlights

• 3 swallows flew over together
• 6 house martins feeding
• 1 "new" dunnock in the tree
• 1 blackbird heard.
• A few gulls flying over

Highlights in Gloucestershire

• Yellow legged gull juv at SARA
• Honey buzzard at Painswick Beacon
• Wild common crane at Slimbridge WWT

Other highlights (Megas)

• EASTERN KINGBIRD- second ever for the UK with it being sighted in the same place as last years 1st ever.
• WHITE'S THRUSH- Fair isle Shetland 

A bit of migration today but not as much as yesterday. 23/9/13 garden sightings

15:40- 16:15 sightings from garden
Flying over

• Great black backed gull
• 8 common gulls
• 15 black headed gulls
• 5 rooks
• 2 cormorants- 1st of the Autumn flew north together
• 36 SWALLOWS- this means, on average, 1 per minute but they few altogether North after feeding with the house martins over the house.

Trees

• Great tit
• House sparrows

Sightings between 16:30 and 17:00

Trees

• 1 great tit- calling
• 1 blue tit- calling
• 2 robins- caling
• 11 goldfinches together
• 1 blackbird heard
• 3 wood pigeons
• 1 collard dove

Flying over (most migrants)

• 18 rooks- not migrants 23 altogether
• black headed gulls
• Common gulls
• 1 pied wagtails
• 3 goldfinches
• 3 Swallows- 39 altogether in the 65mins
• 5 House martins- feeding together before flying East- 20 altogether in the 65 mins.

Opposite house

• 2 collard doves
• 1 wood pigeon
• 30+ feral pigeons
• 10+ jackdaws

Migration, Migrantion and even more- 22/9/13 garden sightings

Today has been absolutely amazing for migration with loads to see. Although the weather was overcast there were still lots of migrants a little lower than usual meaning it was easier to count them. I went outside into my garden at 9:00 and came back in, to go to see the high tide, at 10:40. I had already seen 20 species of birds they were:

9:00- 10:40 sightings
In the trees

• A robin
• 10+ house sparrows
• 1 blue tit
• 1 great tit
• 1 Coal tit calling
• 1 male blackbird- returning resident
• 4 goldfinches
• Collard doves
• Wood pigeon
• 1 chaffinch

Flying over

• Corvids- rooks, carrion crows, jackdaws
• 1 magpie
• Several lesser black backed gulls
• 3 chaffinches
• 1 great spotted woodpecker- 1st of Autumn

Visable migration flying over

• Common gulls
• 2 pied wagtails
• 3 linnets- calling
• 10 meadow pipits- flock of 4,1,2,1,2
• 28 house martins- passing through higher with the swallows staying a little longer than the swallows feeding singly.
• 129 SWALLOWS- constant flow with groups ranging from 2- 15 being sighted. They were coming from the North West and heading down to the South East very low feeding on the flying insects at around tree height and just above the houses.

Opposite house

• 31 feral pigeons
• Wood pigeons
• 2 collard doves
• 4 jackdaws

After coming back from the high tide I decided to go out in the garden again and see how many migrants I could see.
12:00- 12:50 sightings

• A great tit calling
• A blue tit
• 2 robins singing
• Collard doves
• House sparrows
• Same birds on opposite house and trees

Goldfinch

Great tit

                                                                       House sparrow female

Flying over (plus visible migration)

• 81 SWALLOWS- 110 birds in 150mins
• 1 pied wagtail
• 3 common gulls
• 5 Skylarks- 1st of autumn (2,2,1) Noticeably higher fliers than the meadow pipits. 
• magpie
• Black headed gulls
• 26 Meadow pipits- (15+,2,7,1,1) A huge flock of 15+ flew over together calling going south. 36 in total after 150mins

Then after yet another get migration moment I came inside and had some lunch and watched from my window for any migrants. This time there wasn't a lot so I stopped watching until the evening.

12:50- 13:00 sightings

Flying over (visible migration)

• 4 meadow pipits- (4) A record 40 in total after 160mins
• 1 sparrowhawk came down very low between the houses scaring all the starlings and feral pigeons and I believe it caught something and flew off towards the school with it's prey.

18:22- 18:30

• 28 SWALLOWS- A record 232 altogether in 168mins.
• 2 common gulls
• 9 house martins- Overall 37 recorded.

Severn house farm- Berkeley Power station- Berkeley via fields.

Sightings:
Farm- Power station

• 7 swallows flew inland
• 1 Bar tailed godwit in winter plumage
• 5 oystercatchers
• 1 redshank
• 30+ meadow pipits again in flock

Power station to Scott Law (entrance to public footpath)

• 30+ common gulls
• 10+ pied/white wagtails
• 2 green woodpeckers
• 30+ starlings
• 10+ goldfinches
• 5 chaffinches
• 1 chiffchaff
• Corvids

Scott Law- Berkeley park via fields
This walk over the year has been very good for migrants with most of the British warblers being seen along the path. This excludes rarities such as the WILSON'S WARBLER which has been sighted for about 3 days until today in Cork. This is Britain's second ever record.  

• 2 robins calling
• 4 great tits
• 5 blue tits
• 5 long tailed tits
• 2 chiffchaffs
• 20+ goldfinches- winter flock
• Corvids- magpies, carrion crows, jackdaws, rooks
• Common gulls
• Black headed gulls

My 21/9/13 garden sightings Migration

After a few days of being overcast and with minimal birds being sighted the morning was quite cloudy but in the afternoon the sun came out and the birds came in mass. With lots of "new" birds today the autumn migration has just started and there's big hopes for tomorrow as it's suppose to be another good day with high pressure coming up from the south west meaning there should be more good birds.
 Our garden blackbirds go into the countryside after breeding for moulting and for feeding on the natural berries before coming back into the garden for the Autumn and Winter months. A Migrant blackbirds last year scored at least 6 different females, 5 males and several 1st winter males my hope is that we score high again and get a leusctic individual which would be good for photographs and a few to come into the garden again.   

My sightings today:

Opposite houses

• 40+ feral pigeons
• Collard doves
• Wood pigeons
• Jackdaws

Trees

• 1 blue tit
• 1 great tit
• 2 robins
• 15+ house sparrows
• 1 collard dove
• 3 gold finch
• 1 coal tit- 1st of the Autumn feeding and calling in the apple tree. 

Coal tit

Flying over

• Peregrine juv- same bird as yesterday flew through quite quick.
• 1 buzzard circling on thermals
• 300+ corvids- rooks, jackdaws and carrion crows.
• 20+ black headed gulls
• 3 lesser black backed gulls
• 10+ wood pigeons
• 5 green finches

Visable migration overhead

Swallow

Marsh harrier juv (awful record shot)

• 30+ common gulls
• 30+ house martins- My latest sighting. Sighted in the evening feeding altogether.
• 3 sand martins- latest sighting, not usually near the town with the house martins.
• 5 Meadow pipits- a flock of 4 and a single bird flew north west (1st of Autumn).
• 105+ Swallows- A stream of birds in the 13:00- 17:00 period when after around 14:00, the clouds cleared and swallow sightings increased rapidly.
• 1 MARSH HARRIER- juv got mobbed by herring gulls as it flew south east.

SARA Sharpness sightings Swallows

A bit of migration at Sharpness but sightings were:

• 1 great crested grebe in winter plumage
• 1 little grebe in winter plumage
• 1 grey heron
• 2 little egrets
• 10+ lapwings
• 10+ redshank
• 50+ common gulls
• Black headed gulls
• 3 great black backed gulls
• Lesser black backed gulls
• 10 mallards
• 3 meadow pipits
• 50+ swallows in half an hour flooding through with groups of 10- 15 going through over the lifeboat station along the canal and east over the docks constantly.

Severn house farm- Berkeley Power station bird sightings

Today there was a 10m high tide which was very nice to go and see as there was some hope for a rarity as Slimbridge WWT had 1 BUFF BREASTED SANDPIPER juv yesterday and also today. The major problem with Slimbridge's high tide roost for waders is that it's situated too low down so when we had this high tide today the waders where sighted but then as the "shaft" which they go on, goes underwater the waders fly north. With a buff breasted sandpiper in the flock I thought they might go south to the saltmarsh at Berkeley power station as it doesn't get flooded as much as the dumbles (the name of land where the waders roost).
So as I walked from the farm there was much excitement and I saw:

• 30+ meadow pipits- a huge influx of birds as they may have been grounded overnight but feeding metres away from me before taking flight
• 2 grey herons
• 30+ black headed gulls
• 20+ common gulls
• 3 great black backed gulls
• 1 pied wagtail
• 1 goldfinch
• Corvids
• 3 curlew
• 5 oystercatchers
• 20+ mixed flock of small waders. Mostly ringed plover and dunlin but will confirm the other odd ones by tomorrow.
• 7 mallards  

20/9/13 garden sightings

Minimal birds today except for a few birds of prey.

Flying over

• 1 great black backed gull
•  A few common gulls
• 1 gold finch
• 5 swallows high flying south this morning
• 1 buzzard flew low over the house
• 1 PEREGRINE juv - two birds stooped down and one disappeared behind the houses but the peregrine flew on a little further and started circling on a thermal before flying back over the house scaring all the feral pigeons.
• A few corvids

Trees

• 1 house sparrow- possibly 1 but wasn't able to check.

Opposite houses

• 1 wood pigeon
• 2 collard doves
• 40+ feral pigeons

My earliest and latest winter migrant sightings (updated 19/9/13)

Migrants			Arrival	Departure
Fieldfare			?	?
Redwing			?	20/04/2013
Smew			No sighting	02/04/2013
Golden eye			No sighting	16/02/2013
Pintail			24/10/2012	23/03/2013
Pochard			28/10/2012	23/03/2013
Wigeon			27/10/2012	26/05/2013
Scaup			15/08/2012	No sighting
Knot			15/08/2012	08/09/2013
Bar tailed godwits			15/08/2012	22/04/2013
Grey plovers			15/08/2012	No sighting
Green sandpipers			23/06/2013	09/04/2013
Sanderling			No sighting	08/06/2012
Turnstone			13/08/2012	26/05/2013
Golden plovers			?	23/03/2013
Bewick swan			28/10/2012	23/03/2013
Whooper swan			31/10/2010	no sighting
White fronted geese			?	23/03/2013
Tundra bean geese			no sighting	26/01/2013
Brambling			?	19/01/2013
Glaucous gull			no sighting
Iceland gull			no sighting
Short eared owl			No sighting	09/03/2013
Great northern diver			No sighting	02/02/2013
Waxwing			09/12/2012	01/01/2013
Ruff			29/07/2013	26/05/2013

My earliest and late summer migrant sightings updated to the 19/9/13

Migrants (Summer)			Arrival	Departure
Lesser whitethroat			27/04/2013	08/09/2013
Whitethroat			20/04/2013	31/08/2013
Garden Warbler			26/04/2013	24/08/2013
Sedge warbler			26/04/2013	13/08/2013
Reed warbler			28/04/2013	02/09/2013
Chiffchaff			20/01/2013	16/12/2012
Blackcap			19/01/2013	16/12/2012
Willow Warbler			20/04/2012	02/09/2013
Wood warbler			?	?
Swift			21/04/2012	24/08/2013
Swallow			01/04/2012	24/10/2012
House martin			14/04/2012-13	19/09/2012
Grasshopper warbler			21/04/2013	13/08/2013
Sand martin			06/04/2013	14/09/2013
Spoonbill			09/06/2013	15/08/2012
Garganey			07/04/2013
Cuckoo			05/05/2013	05/06/2012
Artic tern			27/04/2013	08/06/2012
Common tern			29/06/2013	17/08/2014
Sandwich tern			12/04/2013	04/08/2013
Little tern			no sighting
Hobby			19/05/2012	14/09/2013
Wheatear			28/04/2012	22/09/2012
Yellow wagtail			10/08/2013	08/09/2013
Nightingale			05/05/2013	no sighting
Red necked phalarope			19/05/2013	30/05/2013
Whimbriel			22/04/2013	30/07/2013
Little ringed plover			23/03/2013	08/09/2013
Common Sandpiper			06/02/2013	08/09/2013
Wood sandpiper			29/07/2013	23/08/2012
Turtle dove			11/05/2013	no sighting
Spotted flycatcher			22/08/2013	25/08/2013
Osprey			no sighting	27/08/2013