One of the day's Firecrests at the Bill © Jodie Henderson:
21st October
Today had an at times lovely feel to it, with heavily overcast skies and what little breeze there was dropping away to nothing as the morning wore on; heavy rain lurked only a little way out in the Channel for the duration but only made it ashore once during the afternoon. Given the conditions, a strong overhead passage was the day's surprise package at the Bill, with 1380 Linnets easily their highest count of the season to date; 830 Wood Pigeons, 780 Goldfinches, 470 Meadow Pipits, 290 Chaffinches, 195 Starlings, 118 Siskins, 110 Pied Wagtails, 60 Swallows, 27 Skylarks, 9 Greenfinches, 5 Reed Buntings and a Brambling were among the other totals there. The Southwell area accounted for the best of the quality on the ground, with 3 Yellow-browed Warblers, 3 Ring Ouzels, a Cetti's Warbler, a Dartford Warbler and a late Yellow Wagtail scattered about; the Bill chipped in with 4 Firecrests, a Merlin and a Black Redstart among a varied selection of late October regulars, whilst a wing-barred warbler considered not to be a Yellow-browed Warbler was an intriguing if unfortunately barely more than subliminal sighting at Easton. Yesterday's barren seascape was replaced by an offshore vista of wall to wall Mediterranean Gulls: a good 500 were a constant presence off the Bill, where 9 Balearic Shearwaters, 4 Sandwich Terns and a Great Skua also passed by. The Ferrybridge Brent Goose flock remained at around the 400 mark, with not a single one of them a juvenile.
