A day that didn't really deliver on the promise that overnight rain, a diminishing breeze and the arrival of sudden mildness had provided. Yellow-browed Warblers at Thumb Lane and Avalanche were presumably new arrivals, the Hen Harrier at the Bill continued to entertain and odds and ends like Merlin, Snipe, Woodlark, Whinchat and Dartford Warbler at the Bill and single Black Redstarts at Thumb Lane and Shepherds Croft were of interest but it otherwise proved hard to get beyond standard mid-October fare on the ground or overhead: good patches of Chiffchaffs, Robins and the like were on offer here and there on the ground, a few new Blackbirds and Song Thrushes were in evidence and routine Meadow Pipits, finches and the like trickled through overhead. With the exception of 200 Mediterranean Gulls, 31 Common Scoter and a Red-throated Diver the sea too was pretty bereft of interest.
Mid-October staples: Long-tailed Tit and Stonechat © Joe Stockwell...
