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.