Return migration has started! (5 Viewers)

[Allen S. Moore]

Common sandpipers only occur here in the Isle of Man as migrants, and I saw one in the SE this evening, one of my earliest ever returning birds.
Allen

 

[gw4aurora]

Hi Allen,

I had 2 Common Sands on one of my patches on thursday. A few have been over wintering in my part of the world for a number of years now.

Chris.

 

[Howard King]

We had yesterday passing swallows here in Bahrain but we are not certain if they are going north and are late or coming south and early!

 

[Jos Stratford]

First trickle of migration up here already - all due south, steady movement of Lapwing over the weekend, plus a few Curlew. Also Green Sandpipers moving, etc.

 

[ColinD]

Yes it's true, summer is well and truely over. Return migration has certainly started here in North West England. There have been several Green Sandpipers, and a few Wood Sandpipers at Martin Mere over the past couple of weeks, and a trickle of Common Sandpipers at various locations.

 

[Mole1]

I heard today that the staff at Slimbridge have declared Autumn as officially here! Wood Sandpiper, 15+ Green Sands, Greenshank and 2 Ruffs (including a smart male) there today. Seems strange as lots of birds still nesting.

Black-Headed Gull has been the only returning bird on my local patch so far.

 

[stevo]

Were only talking about waders here its the norm to be seeing returning waders this time of the year.

Steve.

 

[dafi]

We saw arctic terns leaving here last wednesday night and the western cliffs are now sparsely populated with auks most having failed and moved off. It wont be long before waders begin to return.

 

[Gordon]

I had 10 Greenshank on the River Garnock (Ayrshire) yesterday moring. The 6 that I saw which were not flying I could ID as adults. This raises interesting questions (for me at least!) as to what population these birds belong to because its only quite recently that another birder has discovered that a number of Greenshanks appear to overwinter here.

Also got a female Marsh Harrier in the same area - submission in with local rarities committee - and these are very much migrants in Ayrshire with one or two seen passing through each year at most.

cheers
Gordon

 

[Mole1]

Were only talking about waders here its the norm to be seeing returning waders this time of the year.

Steve.

Yes - in small numbers. I don't recall so many Green Sands being seen this early in July before (although it might just be my memory )

 

[ColinD]

Were only talking about waders here its the norm to be seeing returning waders this time of the year.

Steve.

I know it's the norm.... I didn't say it was exceptional, I just said it had started........

 

[Allen S. Moore]

Originally Posted by stevo
Were only talking about waders here its the norm to be seeing returning waders this time of the year.

Steve.

I know it's the norm.... I didn't say it was exceptional, I just said it had started........

Yes, as Steve points out and Coigach agrees, the first returning waders are often seen in the last bit of June. A lot of birdwatching is looking out for the seasonal changes, and the first returning waders are a sign of the year advancing. A pragmatic person might say "look at the calendar" but it's better to be atune with nature!
Allen

 

[Steve Lister]

Ducks and gulls as well as waders........

Tufted Ducks at Rutland Water are already up around the 800 mark (compared to c250 three weeks ago) and three drake Wigeon arrived there on Friday 4th. An adult male Scaup turned up about a fortnight ago and is now moulting.

Yellow-legged Gulls have increased to six (from one in early June) and there have been up to 120 Lesser Black-backed and 20 Common Gulls in the last few days.

Eleven species of waders there on Friday too, all but one on autumn passage. And the first 5 Ruffs on Saturday.

Steve

 

[pianoman]

No! Stop! we're not ready, I haven't used my barbecue yet

 

[Howard King]

We expect our first returning waders here soon - although when we see early birds its hard to tell if they have been anywhere in the first place

 

[rokermartin]

Roseate Terns seem to be moving already down the Northeast and Yorkshire coasts,8 ad RoseateTerns at South Shields today.Saw my first returning Sanderlings today also.

 

[sideshow bob]

The first sign of autumn that I look for is an increase in Lapwing numbers at my local wetland sites. Presumably non-breeding/failed breeding adults, they are the first herald of return migration.

This year, I saw my first flock (of 15+) at the end of May, making summer about a week long |=)|

Like much of the rest of the UK though, we're now seeing small numbers of Common & Green Sands coming back through, and numbers of the commoner ducks are slowly increasing.

 

[Eimajm]

Had whimbrel, greenshank, ruff and a whinchat at Cliffe, Kent over the weekend. Presuming failed breeeders.

 

[camelbirder]

Here in North Cornwall, autumn migration has started with both waders and wildfowl on the move in the last few days.
Waders on the Camel Estuary in the last few days have includes up to 11 Common Sandpipers, 4 Greenshank, 61 Redshank, 4 Whimbrel, 483 Curlew, 1 Sanderling, 3 Ringed Plover, 1 Knot, 1 Ruff and 37 Dunlin. Wildfowl moving through include a Scaup, 4 Tufties, Garganey and up to 10 Teal.

Its giving us, in this usually quite area, something to look at.

Near daily breakdowns of all sightings in the area can be found here.

 

[Kentbloke]

Lots of Swifts and Sand Martins passing through over the weekend down here in Folkestone. Seems like it was only a few weeks ago that they arrived!