Yeah, few things about today. I was out for more-or-less the whole day and it was certainly interesting but perhaps lacking the 'boy'. It was very apparent along Abbey Road that there were lots of commoner migrants about. Rough numbers through the day were along the lines of 150 Robins, 150 Blackbirds, 50 Song Thrushes, 40 Redwings, 40 Chaffinches, 25 Dunnocks and 75 Goldcrests. Those are 'ball park figures' in the main, and probably a bit on the conservative side. Slightly more precise numbers of more notable migrants were ten Brambling, six Chiffchaff, seven Blackcaps (all males, strangely), two Siskins, four Reed Buntings, two Swallows and one Fieldfare.
A Common Redstart was seen briefly a couple of times by the allotments. A fairly routine looking Reed Warbler was on the north bank and a Snow Bunting (perhaps the same bird as a few days ago) was pottering about in the middle of the Battery. Possibly the best birds were four or five Twite on Greyhope Bay - my biggest group ever here. A Ring Ouzel was seen briefly on Abbey Road and then, as predicted, made its way onto the house list - a scope view of it swooping into the rowan trees. An afternoon wander around Nigg Bay again produced a Great-spotted Woodpecker, hopping through the low willows and along the fenceposts before finding its way to the railway embankment.
Despite the array of 'stuff' my sprite avoidance contined. Not sure what I'm doing wrong there - I reckon I looked at enough Goldcrests today to find something a bit better! Other stuff in various places included a Sparrowhawk, two Kestrels, a Knot, a Sanderling, eight Teal, four Common Snipe, six Common Scoter and three Red-breasted Merganser. Seven Long-tailed Ducks, my first of the autumn, went through out to sea.
Some pictures:
1. A Brambling takes advantage of the available cover
2. Snow Bunting
3. More local scarce
4. Caravans are regular drift migrants here
