Arrivals and Departures

Bird migration is in full swing as we move into late September and there were some notable counts of some commoner migrants this week despite the generally poor conditions for finding birds.

Wheatear by Mark Johnson (via #Birdtrack Flickrpool)

The obvious migration highlight of the week was the (very lost) Cory's Shearwater seen flying over Regent's Park in London during the week. Small numbers of shearwaters are recorded at inland locations in late summer and early autumn, in many cases recently fledged youngsters that have become disorientated. Large shearwaters such as Cory's or Great are significantly rarer inland and are usually found in the aftermath of particularly strong storms.

Lapland Bunting by Janice Sutton (via #BirdTrack Flickrpool)

Notable scarcer migrants on the move included Lapland Bunting, with up flocks of up to 90 birds reported from western Scotland and Ireland in recent days. A handful have also been reported in southern Britain so it is well worth listening out for their distinctive calls when out and about. The first Yellow-browed Warblers of the autumn have also arrived, hopefully heralding yet another bumper year of these charming Siberian sprites.

Yellow-browed Warbler by Stephen McAvoy

Significant counts of commoner migrants included 3,500 Swallows noted passing Christchurch Harbour, Dorset on the 14th September and just under 3,000 at Skomer, Pembrokeshire on the same day. Fair Isle, Shetland logged 232 Wheatears on the same day, with 150 Wheatears counted on Portland, Dorset the next day.

The Migration Festival at Spurn, East Yorkshire ended with a fantastic movement of over 4000 Meadow Pipits passing through on the Sunday, though the highlight of the weekend was undoubtedly the Kentish Plover found the previous day. A worthwhile event for anyone with an interest in bird migration so keep a space in your diary for MigFest 2017!

Stephen McAvoy