14th October

The continuing summer-like conditions were great for getting out birding (...it's not often that we get so many moans from visitors in mid-October that they're flagging in their endeavours through being over-dressed) but far from ideal for dropping migrants - fortunately there were a couple of new scarcities to save the day. A Red-breasted Flycatcher that turned up unannounced in a mist-net at the Obs was the second for the year but the first this season, whilst less of a surprise was the second Dartford Warbler of recent days; the lingering although always elusive Siberian Chiffchaff at the Obs completed the face-saving trio. It really was just too fine for commoner migrants: the nocmig recorder logged a steady trickle of Redwings overnight (at just over one/minute overall although there was a distinct peak either side of midnight and passage dwindled away later in the night) and the evidence from the ground was that the majority of other nocturnal migrants must have carried on without stopping. It was busier with diurnal migrants overhead, including the first signs of arriving Starlings along with a steady procession of departing pigeons, Skylarks, finches and Reed Buntings. Finally, three Short-eared Owls were again at the Bill towards dusk.

Red-breasted Flycatcher, Dartford Warbler and Siberian Chiffchaff © Joe Stockwell: