22nd October

In rather more clement conditions than yesterday there was a decent little showing overhead, with the first substantial Wood Pigeon movement of the autumn a particular feature. Visible passage was sampled most thoroughly at the Bill, where 1250 Wood Pigeons, 400 Linnets, 280 Goldfinches, 140 Jackdaws, 78 Chaffinches, 50 Stock Doves and 50 Greenfinches provided the bulk of the numbers in the first 3 hours of the morning; 9 Bramblings and a Woodlark were amongst the lower totals of a range of other expected fare there, whilst a Short-eared Owl was the best over Ferrybridge. Action didn't pick up nearly so well on the ground, where new arrivals were generally few and far between; 20 Reed Buntings were of note at the Bill, with 2 Ring Ouzels at Penn's Weare and singles of Yellow-browed Warbler and Firecrest at Avalanche Road and Great Spotted Woodpecker at Portland Castle providing interest elsewhere; odds and ends on the tardy side included a Reed Warbler at the Bill and a Garden Warbler at Suckthumb Quarry. Finally, 2 Wigeon and a Black-tailed Godwit were of interest at Ferrybridge.



Black-tailed Godwit and Wigeon - Ferrybridge, 22nd October 2014 © Pete Saunders