Migrants in autumn -- how novel!

Admitting Seppy is right, about anything, is always galling. However, when it comes to the merit of adopting a coastal patch, I have to grudgingly acknowledge he had a point.

Up at The Mall, nothing changed in Autumn. You just bumped into the same old residents, with perhaps an outside chance of stumbling across an errant raptor passing through, or picking up the occasional non-standard duck on the lake. You'd always be up around the same total come year-end, simply because the same birds turned up, year in, year out.

It was all getting a tad dull.

Squince is different. It pulled in a smattering of migrants in spring, and while things had been slow through most of the summer, the onset of autumn had me hoping for new arrivals. 

Just one of the 4 Yellow-browed Warblers giving themselves up around Squince this morning

A fall of early migs on the West Cork coast in September saw Seppy fill his proverbial boots at Galley, while I was away on holiday. Cavorting around Yell helping him find his Sibe Thrush kept me off patch for another week after I got back. But despite the absences, and a slow start last week, Squince is finally coming up with the goods.

First a fine Lesser Whitethroat kicked off my autumn tally, followed by four (count 'em) Yellow-Browed Warblers, a very welcome Spotted Flycatcher (which I thought I'd missed for the year) and, lo and behold, a treecreeper.

Spot-fly for the year... get in!

Add to that a "seemingly good movement" of Skylark over the patch and a small flock of Redpoll, and that's five year ticks over the last couple of days (or full-fat patch ticks, this being my first autumn on the new patch).

A fall of firecrests in West Cork during the week had me scouring goldcrests to no avail -- christ that's tedious. I'm sure there must be one on patch somewhere.

All of which brings the tally to a more respectable 97.54%. Still in fourth -- but not a million miles off the pace now, so all to play for.

Another crazy day on Galley

Stumbled out to the office in the dark this morning to do a tiny bit of work pre-birding and was almost instantly rewarded by a flyover calling brambling for the year - result!

Headed out around 9 am with the intention of just doing a reasonably quick hoof round the likely spots on Galley. Bumped into Old Spoons at Shite Lane and we headed off to do Dirk - 6 more flyover brambling and killer views of at least 4 firecrests. A tour of the fields next, and, since it seemed quiet, a quick cup of tea chez spoons before hitting more fields, Marsh Lane & then home.

As I walked in my gate at lunchtime Spoons rang - "Little bunting above shite lane" - straight back out but no luck. Nipped home for food and got a lift back to Shite Lane just in time to hear one of the strangest calls I've ever heard - like a hyper curlew "Cloo-eeeet Clooo-eeeeet" - what the hell was that? 5 mins later, Spoons texted the answer - "flyover American Golden Plover!" I checked Xeno-Canto - Bingo, a perfect match for what I'd heard! Another full fat Galley tick - shame not to see it, but great to finally hear one - won't forget that one!

The rest of the afternoon was spent traipsing about hoping to bump into Spoon's Little bunting, but it was not be. Did bag Fieldfare for the year though, so all was not lost. A long tiring day of hoofing about, but was just not the day for sitting about at home!

Old Spoons does the business

Due to parental constraints I was unable to do much on patch this am, so it was up to Old Spoons to find me stuff so I could go and see it this pm. This plan very nearly backfired, as no sooner was he out of his house but he was finding year ticks a-plenty. First he kicked off two lapland buntings, which never came back. This was a bit annoying, but when a 20 minute birding opportunity (tm) came my way mid-morning, I hurried down the track to where they'd been and on the way I flushed this...

A snow bunting, trying not to look blurred and on the huh

This is obviously not being flushed. In fact this was skillfully stalked this afternoon by crawling on my belly up the grassy strip on the top lane. Luckily there was no poo or thistles encountered.

Anyway, I continued on my 20 minute sojourn and bumped into this...

a stoat, standing up

Sadly he wasn't in the sunshine or the shot might have been better, or perhaps not.

So that was that, until the afternoon, when I had to slog round Galley again trying to see this

A ring oozel, nearly anyway. I could photoshop the crescent white, but I haven't

Success! Easy when you know where to look! And I did! Bingo! Another punt for the laps but nae luck, however I did get lucky with a rather fine firecrest loitering in the Dirk Bay fushias, well a couple of them anyway. There's rather too many for my liking down there.

Also scored another couple of flight views of the richard's pipit, from the other day - its still aboot.