Autumn Has Arrived

'All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey'; well that's about the only similarity we have with the Mamas and the Papas, but the autumnal winds have picked up and it has been wet too. Now that Adam our eminent group secretary has retired, he and Mick have been working hard at mid week ringing, in addition to our regular Saturday sessions. In September we ringed 2248 birds and in October 937, reflecting the departure of our migrant warblers. On the other hand we are now starting to get decent numbers of Redwings and a few Fieldfare to boost totals. This is also a good time of year for rarities, but the winds have been all wrong! Ideally they would be from the north-east, bringing birds down from continental europe, but sadly they have been largely from the west, blowing not much in from the Atlantic (apart from rain). However, we still have had some if not actually rare, then certainly unusual birds for the site, turning up in our nets. These include a Skylark, Magpie and Kestrel, which have helped to increase our annual species account to 59. All birds are good, but saving the best to the last, we have also ringed a very nice male Brambling:

And lastly, a once per year, if we are lucky visitor, this spanking Yellow Browed Warbler:

I wonder what is next?