15th October

Today finally felt like a traditional autumn, cold, wet and breezy with bushes full of birds and a feeling of potential. Although the 'biggie' never materialized there was a good amount of variety and numbers of common migrants. Blackcaps were the most common migrants of the day with just under 200 individuals recorded; Chaffinches put in their highest count of the autumn with 80 birds around the bill area and Swallows had a late flurry with 104 birds over the East Cliffs. On the more unusual front there were three Yellow-browed Warblers (2 at the obs and 1 at thumb lane), the first double figure count of Reed Buntings of the autumn, 6 Ring Ouzels, 3 Black Redstarts and a lone Mute Swan. In the theme of the past few days we also witnessed some migrants slightly on the tardy side including 4 Swifts, 2 Whitethroats and a Common Sandpiper.

Linnets provided the biggest spectacle of the day with estimates of around 3,000 birds cumulatively in the Crown Estate and the top fields © Martin Cade 


A common bird just across the sea but Black Redstarts are always a pleasure to see in the hand © Martin Cade/Erin Taylor:



The third Yellow-browed Warbler trapped this autumn, still a way off the record year ringing total of 11 set in 2016 © Trevor Wilkinson:


The recent spell of exceptionally mild weather that now looks to be behind us had huge potential on the moth front but, since it remained ragingly windy throughout, will chiefly be remembered by us as something of a damp squib. A few routine southern scarcities - Olive-tree Pearls, Vestals, Gems and the like - put in appearances but the killer rarities remained stubbornly absent from our traps. Despite a huge dip in the overnight temperature there were still a few morsels of interest on the wing last night, including the fifth - and least rubbed so far - Radford's Flame Shoulder of the autumn © Martin Cade: