Miscellaneous Birding

I never got around to posting from Sunday, not that there was much to report, and then Monday morning was a bit of a wash out. So here’s a little of everything including a photo or two from Skiathos 10th to 14 September and a spot of garden ringing.

Sunday morning was intended to be an hour two at Conder Green but the way through the A588 at Pilling was blocked by road signs. Maybe there was yet another overnight accident on this most infamous of roads? So I “did” Fluke Hall and environs instead where things were pretty quiet.

The highlight was finding 6 Song Thrush in the same stretch of hedgerow at Fluke Hall Lane, at one point four of them in the same binocular field of view. October 4th saw the first big Song Thrush movement of the autumn on the continent, with over 159,000 birds seen (vismig@yahoogroups.com).

The Song Thrush has suffered such a catastrophic decline in the UK that it something of an occasion to see a few together.

Song Thrush

Meanwhile back at Fluke Hall signs other signs of Autumn woodland birds included 2 Jays, extra numbers of Blackbirds, and then four or more Coal Tits and a single Goldcrest in a mixed flock of titmice.

At the woodland edge and close to the sea wall I found the regular 2 Buzzards, a nicely building flock of Woodpigeon whose numbers are now close to 300 and a single Snipe. Likewise the Jackdaw flock is on the increase to 70+ birds while Skylarks on the stubble and along the sea wall numbered more than 60. There were good numbers of Pink-footed Geese out on the marsh, probably in excess of 4,000 birds.

On Monday it didn’t stop raining until 1pm by which time I couldn’t be bothered to set out birding so instead caught a number of birds in the garden, 11 Goldfich, 2 Chaffinch 1 Goldcrest and 2 Greenfich, one of the latter a corker of an adult male.

Greenfinches are not quite as scarce as Song Thrushes, but heading that way it seems.

Greenfinch

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

Goldcrest

Here’s few leftovers from Skiathos, a Yellow Wagtail plus a Red-backed Shrike that tormented me daily in the grounds of our hotel, The Ostria. The list of birds seen at The Ostria included Red-rumped Swallow, Barn Swallow, Bee Eater, Scops Owl, Little Owl, Buzzard, Spotted Flycatcher, Alpine Swift, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Yellow Wagtail and of course a daily Red-backed Shrike lurking along its favourite fence or fig tree.

Red-backed Shrike

 Red-backed Shrike

Yellow Wagtail

The Ostria - Skiathos

The Ostria is a lovely peaceful hotel set in landscaped grounds, and as the brochures might say were it in any of them, "close to all amenities". It is family owned and supervised on site by the delightful and welcoming Mathinou family - The Ostria Skiathos.

More birding from home and abroad soon on Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to Theresa's Fences and Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.