1st October

What can we say about today? The 1st October, a gentle northerly wind with early morning cloud and the threat of rain on the horizon should see us awash in autumn migrants, but the lack of the overhead passage early on alerted us to the dearth of birds and, henceforth, it was a most inauspicious start to the month. Hirundines were the only birds moving in numbers, including just short of 300 Swallows, whilst the finch movement slipped down to just 56 Siskins, three Redpolls and a lone Crossbill. Two Merlins at the Bill, the long-staying Rosy Starling at Easton and 2 Great Northern Divers through on the sea off the Bill were as good as it got by way of minor quality. 

The juvenile Rosy Starling continued its long stay on the rooftops of Easton © Ralph Todd: