This week on the patch

Internet problems have prevented any blog updates this week, back online now so here goes:

Monday

Monday morning was cold, but bright and sunny. There was some notable vizmig;

Pink footed goose - 954 south in several skeins

Skylark 23 (s)

Swallow 24 (s) including a group of 17

Tree Sparrow 4 (S)

Meadow Pipit 34 (S)

Linnet 15 (S)

Siskin 9 (S)

A couple of Chiffchaffs and the first Goldcrests of the Autumn were noteworthy

Some of the 953 Pinks that flew south

Tuesday - Ringing

Tuesday looked the best day of the week so I took a flexi-day from work and set some nets. The day started cold and I didn't get much early on as the birds stuck to the sunny edge of the bushes. A Lesser Whitethroat, three Yellow-browed Warblers and couple of Chiffs were with a tit flock. 

As it warmed up, the birds used more of the bushes and I caught a few Goldfinches then some of the Long-tailed Tits with two of the Yellow-brows and a Chiffchaff. A few birders were loitering around my car and watched me extract the first Yellow-browed Warbler from the bag and promptly let it go - how embarrassing. All ringers occasionally let a bird go, but not with an audience. Luckily there was a second bird.

I caught 40 birds, no photos though as I was ringing on my own.

Two Grey Wagtails flew south and a Great-spotted Woodpecker was about. 

Wednesday 

Patch-gold at the end of the rainbow?

Would there be 'patch gold' at the end of the rainbow?

Wednesday started bright but light rain set in. I walked north and back by the beach and got very wet. It was quiet, s couple of Chiffchaffs were singing and two Swallows went south.  The highlight was a Rock Pipit feeding amongst weed and detritus on the edge of a pool at the Dunbar burn formed by the big tides. My first Rock pipit since 2013 - a difficult bird on the patch that needs a build up of weed. Not quite patch gold - bronze mebbes?

Weed and detritus at the mouth of the burn - Rock Pipit habitat

Thursday

Thursday - the first day of October. It started cloudy but brightened up later, the brisk SW wind made it feel colder. A Ruff was in the Front Field with two dozen curlew.  A single Yellow-browed Warbler called from the 'Little Wood' and a couple of Chiffchaffs 'wheeted' from the bushes. A bit of vizmig was going on:

Pink-footed Goose 230 (S)

Wigeon 8 (In-off)

Skylark 22 (SW)

Tree Sparrow 4(S)

Meadow Pipit 35 (S)

Crossbill 12 (Over - seemed to be generally heading north)

Goldfinch 44 (S)

Siskin 9 (S)

Today (Friday)

A proper frost this morning - a crusty grass frost. A little arrival of Song Thrush and Goldcrest maybe? One Blackcap was the only warbler noted. There were 38 Curlew in the front field and depressingly 26 Pheasants - all but three of which were cock birds. 4 Lesser Redpoll and five Siskin flew south and more unusually, three Little Egrets went north. 

Whilst Openreach replaced the cable to our house (we could do no work) we headed north to Bamburgh Golf Course to twitch the Two-barred Greenish Warbler that has been there since Monday. As usual when I twitch anything, I dipped - it hadn't been seen since first-thing. As Unlucky Alf would say - Bugger!

Bugger!