Raptors salvage a quiet day

As has been mentioned on previous posts visible migration can be something of a hit and miss affair at the Lower Lea and today's session definitely leaned towards the latter with the only passerine migrants three Meadow Pipits heading south, but two overhead Grey Wagtails could have been migrants as the species has been a bit hard to find here recently. Common Teal numbered 162 and five Common Sandpipers were roosting, four on the Pura Foods peninsula and one in the traditional roost, but, surprisingly no Redshank were present. Two Sparrowhawks were also logged heading south and this fairly uneventful day was salvaged by three Peregrines indulging in a border dispute over Bow Creek; two of the birds were definitely a pair, the size difference very obvious even when they were way up, and the third bird was a tiercel, all three were adults; the pair eventually drifted off south towards the Thames with the lone tiercel circling off to the north-west.

First Redwing passage of the autumn

I arrived at the patch shortly after dawn this morning for a planned visible migration session; it started off promisingly enough with three Fieldfares heading north-west and the first Redwings of the autumn, a group of nine moving west-south-west, the vanguard of a good movement which involved around 250 birds including flocks of 70, 60 and 30 west and 55 west-north-west. Finches were also on the move including at least three Chaffinch east, two Lesser Redpoll south, around 50 Goldfinch moving mainly south-west at tree top height and five Linnet south. Other species on the move included five Meadow Pipits and three Grey Wagtails, all in all not a bad session. Common Teal numbered 127 but there was very little else of interest on the wildfowl front, just three Mute Swans over the basin early morning. Finally seven Redshank and four Common Sandpiper were in the secondary roost on the east side of the ecology park at high tide.

First Fieldfare of the autumn

Fieldfare at Bow Creek Ecology Park, 22/10/2011

Carrion Crows at Bow Creek Ecology Park, 22/10/2011

The sluices on the lock have been lowered and except for a small pool in the north-west corner the basin was completely devoid of water; the next few tides are of moderate height so the opportunity for re-flooding seems pretty remote at the moment; it's hard to believe that less than a decade ago Goldeneye was a regular winter visitor at this site. The reedbeds on the northern shore have been severely pruned with just the central section left intact; this could prove attractive to both Jack and Common Snipe if the weather turns colder, but it may have done for Little Grebe for this winter at least. Carrion Crow is not a species I usually take much notice of here, mainly because the birds are often widely scattered and hard to count but this morning there were about 45 gathered in two trees in the ecology park with birds coming in from all directions; the collective noun a "murder" seemed inappropriate here, it was an unseasonably sunny day, the birds were indulging in some entertaining aerobatics and it seemed as though they were gathering for a purpose so the collective noun for Rooks, a "parliament", seemed more fitting. The high tide roost was disappointingly empty so I made my way to the northern end of the Pura Foods peninsula where Common Sandpipers have been roosting lately, it was also empty but the good ship Renown, which was steaming sedately down the Lea, flushed seven Redshank and two Common Sandpipers from an unviewable part of the peninsula, the former the best count of the autumn so far. Common Teal were widely scattered with just 34 on the basin and 68 strung out on Bow Creek. Two Peregrines, an adult followed by a juvenile drifted east over the ecology park and may have been genuine migrants, they were the only raptors of the day. A grounded Fieldfare was in the ecology park and I managed to fire off the record shot above before it saw me and disappeared, a Song Thrush was also in the ecology park a vocal Jay was in the copse at the basin and three Chiffchaffs were noted throughout the site.

First Redshank of the autumn

I managed a very brief pre-work visit from dawn this morning and immediately got on to a flock of 60 Woodpigeon moving west closely followed by two flocks of ten and eight heading in the same direction. Thinking I was in for a major movement I quickly made my way to my usual vis-mig point on the road above the northern scrub. Another flock of 41 went south-west followed by three north-east and 16 north, then it dried up completely with nothing moving in the next half hour. A comprehensive Common Teal count produced a total of 126, my first three-figure count of the autumn. A flighty Redshank at Bow Creek was the first of the autumn with two Common Sandpipers also there. Passerine activity was virtually non-existent, no warblers were heard or seen but above average numbers of Blackbirds were noted, around 15, mostly 1st-winter males, which were probably migrants.

Hottest October day on record

I made a brief high-tide visit late during the comparative coolness of late afternoon on what has turned out to be the hottest October day on record with the mercury rising to 29c in London. Seven Common Sandpipers were roosting on the Pura Foods peninsula, my best ever October count with a single Stock Dove also there. Common Teal numbers have dropped with only three at Bow Creek and around 50 on the basin, other wildfowl included four Greylag and five Canada Geese flying in to roost at dusk, but for the first time for as long as I can remember I could find no Tufted Duck. Decent passerines were almost non existent with a single calling Chiffchaff in the ecology park the only thing of note.