18th October

A complete change in the weather saw crystal clear skies greet the expectant dawn risers and it was quickly apparent that, not unexpectedly, overhead passage would feature prominently. The usual late autumn suspects - Wood Pigeons, Skylarks, Swallows, Meadow Pipits and a variety of thrushes and finches - dominated and were at times tricky to full quantify since movement was taking place over such a broad front; cumulatively, the most numerous constituents amounted to a nearly five figure total, whilst quality was provided by a minimum of 3 Woodlarks and a Hawfinch. It was noticeably quieter on the ground than it had been on the drearier days earlier in the week but a/the Little Bunting was spotted briefly in Top Fields, a Yellow-browed Warbler was at Southwell, 4 Ring Ouzels, 3 Black Redstarts, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Firecrest and a Corn Bunting were scattered about and there was a decent late-ish total of 50 Wheatears at the Bill.

One of the Woodlarks over the Bill this morning © Martin Cade:


Just for a bit of fun we combined last night's 5 new Radford's Flame Shoulders from the Obs moth-traps (the highest ever single night total there) with the 5 we already had potted from previous nights for a double-figure assemblage photo - and to think that as recently as ten years ago the all-time British total had only just crept over 20 © Martin Cade: