Autumn bird migration is quite a drawn out affair, with some birds heading south as early as July and others lingering into November, but October is one of the most exciting on our coast, especially when the wind is coming from the East. This autumn we have had persistent southwesterly winds, but we did have a short window of a few days in late October when the winds were from the north and east. Combined with a spell of wet weather and low cloud meant trouble for birds crossing the North Sea, as they became disorientated.
The clifftop grasslands have lots of seedheads from flowers that provide food for weary migrants and residents alike, and the taller stems of plants such as umbellifers make convenient perches for insect feeders such as chats to watch from. Keep your eyes peeled on any walk along the lane and the resident Stonechats are sure to pop up, they have had a good run of mild winters recently and are doing well.
However, their summer-visiting relative the Whinchat has almost died out as a breeder in Yorkshire and we are now reliant on good migrant days like those I mentioned in October when the bird below hung out with the Stonechats for a couple of days.
Oct. 2022
Meadow Pipit and Goldfinch are birds that many would assume to be resident year round, and it’s true that both can be seen at any time of year in the grasslands. But large numbers of both species can pass through at migration time;, in autumn those breeding in the far north would struggle to survive over winter (some Meadow Pipits breed as far north as Iceland) so have to move south.
Meadow Pipit, often unobtrusive, searching for food in long grasses but occasionally perching up while it decides its next move
Goldfinches need small seeds such as on these thistles
At the time of writing we have had a really mild November and migrants such as Woodcock continue to arrive from the continent. It will be interesting to see what December brings.
Mark Askew