Following the chaos of the previous week, Monday was a much needed return to enjoyable East Coast birding, on the first decent autumn fall day. The light westerlies had finally given way to northerlies, with a window of opportunity in Scandinavia for restless migrants to depart soon after dark on Sunday evening. The Yorkshire coast was fog-bound, with a little drizzle in the air, halting further movement by incoming birds, which dropped in temporarily disorientated.
Sure enough, on arrival at Flamborough, the high-pitched calls of Redwings filled the air as I tumbled out of the car ready for action. A Kestrel eyed me with suspicion from a nearby twig. I returned the suspicious eye, but a check of the face pattern and claws eliminated Lesser...
Plodding down the track alongside Old Fall hedge, I continually pushed Blackbirds, the occasional Song Thrush and a few Redwings ahead of me. The winds had clearly been kind and the birds were fit, many heading off strongly west towards the deeper cover at South Landing. Nearing the plantation, and some really big flocks of Redwings erupted out of the tall trees heading inland. A few hefty Fieldfares chacked their way through the masses of their smaller cousins and I looked carefully for a Ring Ouzel. On the north side of the plantation, a flock of 16 Bramblings fed quietly in the Sycamores, gleaning a breakfast of aphids from the leaves.
Besides these hardy finches, there was very little in the way of small stuff, with all the arriving migrants the stronger flying thrushes. As I stood watching, a noise like rushing wind enveloped me. I looked up to see Redwings literally pouring out of the sky, falling vertically down into the welcome shelter of Old Fall. This was incredible and the kind of thing you dream for on an East Coast autumn day.
Flocks of birds were dropping in every few minutes, but others, having taken some rest and a Hawthorn berry or two, were quick to move on inland, despite the murk. After spending an hour and a half drinking in this spectacle, I had added a solitary Chiffchaff and a couple of Goldcrests in Old Fall but nothing rarer. I headed round the loop, spying a large pod of Bottlenose Dolphins lazily feeding off South Landing. Calling geese sounded like Barnacles and sure enough, 16 were heading over south, to my surprise; they must have been blown off course on the way over to the Solway. Little was happening on the outer head, with most stuff seemingly overflying until they spotted the cover of Old Fall. I bumped into some birders who had seen a Short-eared Owl come in off the sea, but it had headed off inland, so I paused to refuel in the cafe, before heading for a short seawatch.
At the Fog Station more Bottlenose Dolphins passed by close inshore and shortly I noticed Little Gulls feeding along the Flamborough Front, where the currents meet. At least 50 were present, including a flock of 20 resting on the sea. An Arctic Skua briefly harried one of the groups before powering off north. In an an enjoyable 90 minutes, I added a couple of Sandwich and Common Terns, four Manx Shearwaters, 30 or so Barnacle Geese, five Eiders, 32 Red-throated Divers and a few Common Scoters. A Brambling called as it flew in off the sea at eye-level, reminding me that birds may be arriving again. I headed off round the loop again. Clearly some smaller birds had arrived. Several Goldcrests were likely to be new in - a Woodcock definitely was, as it came in over Cattlemere. Three Chiffchaffs were in the hedge south of the plantation along with new Blackbirds and Redwings. I spent my last half hour watching the south side of the plantation. A very pale Chiffchaff looked promising, but moved on before I could clinch it as tristis. My totals for the day included 850 Redwings, 42 Bramblings, 120 Blackbirds and 52 Fieldfares.
I will be back at the end of the week to lead a guided walk for MigWeek - hopefully it will be as enjoyable as this!
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