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| Lepe |
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Migrating South
I’ll try not to repeat myself too much this time, but September is a month of continued migration, as many of our summer breeding species prepare to fly south for the winter.
This process started towards the end of July and will go on possibly into November, when the last few Swallows or Ring Ouzels finally leave our shores until next spring.
Migration is an interesting aspect of bird watching. We all know about Swallows and Cuckoos, but many of our other common resident species will also migrate with the onset of darker nights and colder weather.
Birds like the Robin may well move down towards the South West of England, or cross the channel into France, yet we don’t really notice because we still have a healthy population of Robins in our gardens and parks. This is because birds from the north of the country, and Scandinavia, who are also moving south, are replacing “our” birds.
This applies to many other species too. Towards the end of the month, it will be starting to feel very autumnal, with darker mornings and evenings, and any early morning walk in the forest will probably show you lots of dew-covered spider’s webs, and early mushrooms and fungi growing.
We can also expect winter migration to get started too with lots of Blackbirds and Thrushes, arriving with a few Redwings and Fieldfares too. If you are out walking after dark listen out for the "seep" call of Redwings flying overhead. On the coast, the first Brent geese should arrive before the month is out, and look out for Whinchat, Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail on any scrub land in coastal areas.
For Birdwatchers, September and October are possibly the best two months of the year as literally anything could turn up. With some birds flying South, and others flying North, it can be a busy time. Migration will be happening in North America and Canada, and across Europe and Asia too, and any spells of rough windy weather in those countries can send migrating birds off course, forcing them to arrive here, tired and hungry.
We call these birds Vagrants, and if you hear of any being reported, try and get to see it as it could be a once in a lifetime occurrence! During the early autumn large flocks of Finches will be roaming the countryside and farmland looking for seeds, so look out for flocks of Goldfinch feeding on Teasel heads.
August sightings
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| Osprey - Adult, in flight .Read m ore about this bird on the RSPB website |
I personally found August to be a fairly quiet month. The highlight for me was an Osprey at Lepe on the 25th, which I watched for 15 minutes or so before a flock of crows forced it away. Elsewhere in our region, there were reports of lots of returning waders, but nothing particularly rare.
Looking a little further afield there have been sightings of a very rare Wilsons Phalarope at Farlington, plus a wryneck there too, and several sites have now seen Curlew Sandpipers.
After I mentioned last month that you should look out for Swifts, which are usually one of the first birds to leave us, I then went the whole of August without seeing any.
Please E-mail me if you have seen any during the month, as I am participating in a BBC survey on migration, and will collate all the information that I get from the Fawley area. Please also Email me with any other wildlife sightings, which I will try to include in next months issue.
September is a month of change. By the end of the month, it will be getting dark by 7:30pm, and the weather could be turning much cooler, so make the most of it whilst you can, and get out there and find some migrants. Happy Birding!
Paul Matthews
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