17th September

The ripping easterly that sprung up during the hours of darkness precipitated another mass movement of hirundines in the first couple of hours after dawn, when a good 6000 House Martins and 2000 Swallows passed through on a broad front across the island; pretty well everything else that might be expected to be on the move overhead at this time of year also featured although not even the likes of Meadow Pipit got close to approaching the hirundine totals. On the ground, a Rosy Starling discovered at Weston may or may not have been the bird(s) variously reported between Easton and the Bill in the last fortnight. Despite the unhelpful conditions commoner migrants were noticeably more numerous than they have been for a few days; numbers were surely an underestimate but totals of 70 Wheatears and 40 Chiffchaffs at the Bill suggested there'd been a decent overnight arrival. Ferrybridge remained well worth attention, with 6 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Teal, 3 Knot, a Ruff and the long-staying Little Stint worthwhile additions to the list of more mundane fare. Five Teal also passed by on the sea at the Bill.

Local residents that spoke to birders looking for the Rosy Starling reported that there's been a sandy-coloured Starling visiting gardens and rooftops in the Pound Piece/Haylands area for a few days so it seems possible that today's bird is the same as the one photographed a fortnight ago by a local resident at Easton and, assuming a degree of wanderlust, perhaps even the bird that paid a brief visit to the Bill a few days ago © Duncan Walbridge (top) and Martin Cade (bottom):

Other odds and ends from today included the Little Stint © Mike Trew...


...and Teal, Yellow Wagtail and Peregrine © Pete Saunders:




And another little bit of hirundine action: in far more benign conditions that were experienced today, Swallows were on the move through Ferrybridge yesterday evening © John Dadds:


There have been great wader photography opportunities at Ferrybridge just lately, with many requiring no more than a little bit of patience and the latterday equivalent of a Box Brownie © John Dadds (the scene) and Luke Dadds (the Dunlin):