Sibe Chiff

I found my second patch Siberian Chiffchaff of the year this morning, this one was quite showy, flitting around the brambles and roses by the new timber screen. When I first saw it, it wasn't calling at all but looked liked a classic tristis, the sun had just come out after the thick fog of early morning and the light was nice but I had no camera so I dashed back to the car for it, hoping it wouldn't fly off with the tits and the Goldcrest they were with. Thankfully, it was still there when I got back and I rattled off a couple of shots.

From the east - Sibe Chiff

A different light, but spoiled by a twig

It called, but not often and I managed to record a single call before my phone died. I use Voice Record Pro for iPhone and if the battery is low, it stops recording which is a bit of a bugger. 

This is my second Siberian Chiffchaff of the year after the one I found on 25th October. Sibe Chiffs aren't common on the patch, certainly not annual. They're a description species for the local records committee (rightly so) and I think most people need to have photos and a sound recording to get a record accepted so hopefully these two will pass muster (I didn't manage to record the bird last month so that may well get canned).

Other than the Sibe, it was pretty quiet on the patch, I had a look on the beach for Snow Buntings or even a Shorelark but all I found was the remains of an expensive firework party. 

The Lesser Whitethroat that was around at the weekend stayed faithful to the same place until Wednesday at least, I couldn't see it today. I never managed a photo of it, such a skulker, but I don't think it was an 'eastern' type. 

There's been a bit of VizMig this week with a few Crossbills and other finches over, some Tree Sparrow and Skylark passage and a few groups of Whooper Swans. 

October slips into November

 As October slips into November, Autumn slips into winter and we all slip back into Coronavirus lockdown the chance of finding an autumnal patch mega slip away too.

With a strong s'westerly wind today we had a taste of what's to come, winter birding at Druridge feels like a slog sometimes. Once the leaves and berries have gone from the trees there's nothing to hold passerines and it often takes a long, cold snap to bring much change. 

Making the most of the clocks going back and an extra hour of daylight before work, I've been out on the patch every morning before work this week. Mostly just checking the bushes with the occasional wander through the dunes north of the turning circle. It's been windy from the west or south-west since last weekend and gloomy so little to report and even fewer photos!

Monday

Still a lot of pink-foots with 1900 in the front field. A small influx of thrushes with Blackbird being notable in number (13) and a Great-spotted Woodpecker. Some finch movement with eight Crossbill going south, 12 Lesser Redpolls could've been local birds. Full list 

Tuesday

Two Ruff were on the 'Front Field' with 330 Golden Plovers and 180 Lapwing. 18 Whooper Swans flew south in two groups. These were the start of an obvious influx - I counted 67 over Warkworth Links later in the morning. 

Whoopers, south bound in a row

In the bushes near the turning circle I saw two Brambling, both males, my first of the year.  Full list

Wednesday

About 1450 Pink-foots flew south and five Whooper Swans. My first Fieldfares of the year in came in over the dunes, calling as they headed straight inland, they are such powerful thrushes, if these had been redwings they would've made immediate landfall after crossing the North Sea. As winter visitors arrived, summer stragglers headed south - two late Swallows and a Lesser Whitethroat flitted through the bushes with Long-tailed-Tits. Full list

Thursday

Finches were quite obvious this morning with at least 45 Siskin, 12 Lesser Redpolls, 90 Goldfinch and 11 Chaffinch in the bushes. 15 Whooper Swans landed on the big pool, the resident Mute Swan cob took immediate offence and spent 15 minutes chasing them around the pool, as soon as they settled somewhere he would fly at them, wings held out to make him look bigger, in the end the Whoopers had had enough and flew off south. Some Northumbrian welcome to our winter visitors that! Full List 

Friday

There were about 1300 Pink-foots in the Front field this morning. Three Fieldfare came over as I walked through the dunes north of the turning circle. There is still a big finch flock in the dunes with Reed Bunting and Tree Sparrows but I've not seen (or heard) the Twite with them yet that others have. They are mobile mind and the Goldfinches have moved more into the bushes, feeding on Alder cones. It was nice to bump into ADMc for a catch-up. Full list

Saturday

Janet and I had a good walk around the patch. 27 Fieldfares came 'in-off' including a single group of birds. It was very windy and we didn't see much more of note. Full list

Spindrift

It was so windy, it blew these people's feet off!

With reports of more Fieldfares and some seawatching, I went back in the afternoon for a look on the sea at high-tide. I started going through the Scoter flock and soon had my first Fieldfares - it was amazing to see them flying over the Scoters and following them until they made landfall. They were the first of 138 that I counted, they were still coming in when I left as darkness fell - Amazing! That was just what I saw, in two hours, looking in one direction in an eight-mile bay. How many must've come in?

There were smaller thrushes too, Blackbird and Redwing being identifiable until the decreasing light made them just shapes. A group of 14 Starling came in too, lower than the thrushes, flying just over the water. 

There were two Velvet Scoter with about 600 Commons and strangely 10 Shoveler on the sea, one drake, the rest of them looked like ducks and they had two Teal in tow. Otherwise 15 Red-throated Loons, two Kittiwake and handful of Auks were noteworthy. Full List

My best attempt at photographing in-bound Fieldfares.

Sunday

Janet and I braved the wind once more, between the bands of rain. The highlight was a Lesser Whitethroat. A November Lesser Whitethroat - you don't get many of them! This year has been far and away my best year for Lesser Whitethroats at Druridge, they bred, which is rare and autumn passage has been the best ever. Full list

Roe Doe. There are so many Roe Deer at Druridge now.

Pink-footed Goose on it's own. A rare sight!

This week on the patch

Internet problems have prevented any blog updates this week, back online now so here goes:

Monday

Monday morning was cold, but bright and sunny. There was some notable vizmig;

Pink footed goose - 954 south in several skeins

Skylark 23 (s)

Swallow 24 (s) including a group of 17

Tree Sparrow 4 (S)

Meadow Pipit 34 (S)

Linnet 15 (S)

Siskin 9 (S)

A couple of Chiffchaffs and the first Goldcrests of the Autumn were noteworthy

Some of the 953 Pinks that flew south

Tuesday - Ringing

Tuesday looked the best day of the week so I took a flexi-day from work and set some nets. The day started cold and I didn't get much early on as the birds stuck to the sunny edge of the bushes. A Lesser Whitethroat, three Yellow-browed Warblers and couple of Chiffs were with a tit flock. 

As it warmed up, the birds used more of the bushes and I caught a few Goldfinches then some of the Long-tailed Tits with two of the Yellow-brows and a Chiffchaff. A few birders were loitering around my car and watched me extract the first Yellow-browed Warbler from the bag and promptly let it go - how embarrassing. All ringers occasionally let a bird go, but not with an audience. Luckily there was a second bird.

I caught 40 birds, no photos though as I was ringing on my own.

Two Grey Wagtails flew south and a Great-spotted Woodpecker was about. 

Wednesday 

Patch-gold at the end of the rainbow?

Would there be 'patch gold' at the end of the rainbow?

Wednesday started bright but light rain set in. I walked north and back by the beach and got very wet. It was quiet, s couple of Chiffchaffs were singing and two Swallows went south.  The highlight was a Rock Pipit feeding amongst weed and detritus on the edge of a pool at the Dunbar burn formed by the big tides. My first Rock pipit since 2013 - a difficult bird on the patch that needs a build up of weed. Not quite patch gold - bronze mebbes?

Weed and detritus at the mouth of the burn - Rock Pipit habitat

Thursday

Thursday - the first day of October. It started cloudy but brightened up later, the brisk SW wind made it feel colder. A Ruff was in the Front Field with two dozen curlew.  A single Yellow-browed Warbler called from the 'Little Wood' and a couple of Chiffchaffs 'wheeted' from the bushes. A bit of vizmig was going on:

Pink-footed Goose 230 (S)

Wigeon 8 (In-off)

Skylark 22 (SW)

Tree Sparrow 4(S)

Meadow Pipit 35 (S)

Crossbill 12 (Over - seemed to be generally heading north)

Goldfinch 44 (S)

Siskin 9 (S)

Today (Friday)

A proper frost this morning - a crusty grass frost. A little arrival of Song Thrush and Goldcrest maybe? One Blackcap was the only warbler noted. There were 38 Curlew in the front field and depressingly 26 Pheasants - all but three of which were cock birds. 4 Lesser Redpoll and five Siskin flew south and more unusually, three Little Egrets went north. 

Whilst Openreach replaced the cable to our house (we could do no work) we headed north to Bamburgh Golf Course to twitch the Two-barred Greenish Warbler that has been there since Monday. As usual when I twitch anything, I dipped - it hadn't been seen since first-thing. As Unlucky Alf would say - Bugger!

Bugger!