BURTON NEWS COPY - October 2019
Autumn Bird
migration is well on its way. If you
happen to be heading along Vicarage Lane towards Dalton and wondering just who
that guy is stood at the top of Mike Taylor’s field with binoculars around his
neck there is a good chance it could be me!
It’s that time of year again when the Meadow Pipits, Chaffinch and
Linnets are flying through our skies on their way South to their various destinations,
some even making it as far as France and Spain.
We seem to be getting record numbers of Linnets so far this year, and
that is set to get even better once the continental Linnets join in the
numbers, which I would expect anytime now.
Most
mornings I get a skein and sometimes several skein of Pink Footed Geese, which
are usually extremely high up and usually you will get a vocal warning from
them to tell you that they are passing overhead, and that’s when the fun really
starts. Yes you can hear them OK, but
finding them can prove difficult. I have made up my own rules when it comes to
passing Pink Feet eg: If they are heading to the South West they are heading
for Martin Mere near Southport or maybe more locally to Morecambe Bay, but if
they are heading in the South East direction which many are, then they are
probably heading towards the plains of Lincolnshire or Norfolk.
This last
couple of days I have noticed the Starling numbers are building. I can only
count them as they come overhead of Vicarage Lane which is usually around the
7am mark, which after having left their roost site at Leighton Moss or
Silverdale Moss, and heading East to forage for the day, I presume going to
Hutton Roof, Kirby Lonsdale, Leck and maybe even further afield. They are
currently at about 150 birds which will grow in number by the day, but this
will accumulate drastically in the coming weeks, especially by the middle of
October when their numbers could swell to 20-50000 birds or more. These recent
increases tie in with reports I received yesterday from Spurn (East Coast)
saying they too have been recording their first continental Starling arrivals.
If you walk
through Holme Stinted Pastures towards the Fell, you cannot help but see all
the hawthorn trees so heavily populated with haw berries, and if you are lucky
you may just hear a cackling Blackbird or other thrush sampling these delights
on offer. We are talking millions of
berries, but one thing is sure, most of them will be gone over the coming weeks
especially when the winter visiting thrushes get chance to participate. We
should start seeing our visiting Redwing and Fieldfare by the middle of the
month
The first continental
Snipe are arriving (20th September) and it won’t be long before we
start getting the Woodcock as well. Lots of them like to spend their winter
months on Hutton Roof. You don’t see them as a rule because they are tucked in
all snug somewhere safe and have the perfect camouflage. Yet occasionally I
will accidentally disturb them when walking the stints or the clints. I am not
sure who startles who the most!
High
pressure has been well and truly set in for the past few days and there have
been some really nice warm sunny days.
It’s also allowed many butterflies to grace our skies. I have seen
Brimstones, Small Tortoiseshells, Red Admirals and lots of various Whites. The Red Admirals are all heading South and
they too are on a massive southerly migration just like their cousins the
Painted Ladies. This long migration can continue for weeks, I have seen Red
Admirals heading South as late as 2nd November.
It’s nice to
go out on a botany high and that’s just how I felt with the Field Gentian recent
finds on Holme Stinted Pastures. They are beautiful but so small and can so
easily be missed. I counted well over
300 of the stunners.
Looking
forward so much to witnessing the Redwings and Fieldfare passing over our
little village in their large parties usually heading in a North West direction
into the Lythe Valley, but this can so easily change according to the weather
patterns and wind directions on the day, but for sure I hope to be stood there
with pen and notebook recording their numbers s they fly past.
By the way
my recording notes are all published locally on my blog site (see link below),
and on the Lancaster and District Birdwatching Society (Bird Sightings) and
sent through to Trektellen in the Netherlands who collate all bird records from
recorders throughout the UK and Europe, this information is to help the study
of migration and is also then sent back to the UK to be included in the BTO
Migration site records.
Notes
written on 20th September 2019
Bryan Yorke
9 Glebe Close,
Burton In Kendal
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