October 2025
Well for an east coast birder the month has simply followed the abysmal september with westerly winds and gales on 4th to be followed by another full week of westerlies and no prospect of any eastern arrivals but the month started with a great sunrise and by turning 180 degrees there was a complete rainbow just before sunrise -
sunrise on 1st before the inevitable rain arrived - some great shafts of light piercing the coloured clouds
passing birds were restricted to Black-headed and Common Gulls
with this Grey Heron passing by
the rainbow did not last long and soon lost its intensity
The Pink-feet did not arrive until the best of the light was gone sadly
I generally avoid man made scenes but this seemed appropriate
Cormorants leaving their roost just before sunrise
Pink-feet and wind turbines later in the morning
Pink-footed Geese - up to 12000 have been commuting over our garden morning and evening
My best passerine on 2nd a local Reed Warbler on Waters’ Edge - not really late even locally they used to be fairly regular to mid-october but in recent years they seem to have left earlier - my latest local bird was at Barrow Haven from October 27th - 28th 1977
A Paddyfield Warbler one day would be nice!
182 on the photo challenge - it has taken a long time to get an image of a Jay by chance as it were as there have been a few birds round the local pits this autumn with a very productive acorn crop to attract them
183 Dartford Warbler from last weeks trip to Suffolk described in the blog post above
184 adult male Turkestan Shrike - full details and many more images from the Suffolk trip in the blog post above
185 Black-faced Bunting at Spurn Point - certainly not what I was expecting to add just a year after the Lincs bird but much better images linked by clicking image above
Black redstart 186 - not a great image but probably the only bird I will see this year at Bempton a couple of weeks back
juvenile Black-tailed Godwits on the Humber off Barton
a decent spell for raptors with plenty of Commomn Buzzard action - a smart juvenile
Great White Egret from a classic autumn morning on Waters’ edge where two birds have been in residence for a while
so many images of birds close up in bird on a stick mode so tried something a bit different
and one crossing a skein of Pink-footed Geese
a colour ringed first calendar year male Hen Harrier still escaping my code reading skills
and a second calendar year male
classic tail pattern
subtle wing pattern
I use the Canon 200-800 for raptor shoots when possible for that bit of extra magnification
early morning Little Grebe with autumnal colours
a nice fresh adult male Marsh Harrier
Peregrine and Woodpigeon over the Humber this morning
not a view you want as a pigeon
autumn Tufted Duck
Sparrowhawk - not often you see one perched in a wheat field particularly in October
Pink-footed Geese landing on the Wolds as the sun’s rays break through dark clouds just after dawn
Another arrival of Common Crossbills has seen several flocks scattered around the forest but these were the most co-operative albeit with some serious white sky backdrops
Presumably a juvenile just gaining some orange breast feathers
With an influx of Northern Bullies in Shetland its time to srtudy the local birds - Waters’ Edge sea buckthorn berries are a favoured food in autumn
Presumably a local Robin on its winter territory - a nice perch
But Thais Song Thrush, one of up to 20 on Waters’ Edge of late is certainly a foreigner presumably from the Low Countries or Scandinavia - a few recent arrivals have melted away showing how many of these birds are transients a fascinating species
Another species that holds many secrets is the humble Dunnock - we have 2 -3 in the garden all the time and one sits in the honeysuckle and warbles its sub-song for hours on end - but this was one on Waters’ Edge where there were 9 in one small area of bramble and a hawthorn one morning this week - surely migrants but just British?
Another of my targets is getting local birds amongst the autumn vegetation and colours - one of the Dunnocks