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.