Birds o' the day

the most obvious avian presence today was Meadow Pipits, with 30+ S over school. The only other bird of note overhead was a single Swallow. Other migrants were 5 Chiffchaff and a single Blackcap. A Grey Wagtail was around school, and a few Goldcrests were calling. a few Great Tits were once again singing, as was a single Blackbird.

Surrisingly, I have yet to hear any typical October migrants going over, such as Skylark and Siskin. I'm waiting with baited breath until for the first of each, though a good clear day seems a long way off right now!

my school crest

follwing my first of the autumn, at Preston Park yesterday, there was another Firecrest calling from conifers around school today. Other birds in seaford were 3-4 Goldcrests, 3 Chiffchaffs, and 10+ Meadow Pipits moving overhead. On the singing front, small numbers of Robin, Great Tit and Dunnock continue to pipe out their tunes again.

Preston Park, Brighton

went to visit grandparents today in Brighton, and had a brief escape out into the rain, walking around Preston Park. Birds seen/heard were

2 Treecreeper
6-7 Chiffchaff (one singing)
singing Robins and Great Tits again
the tit flocks included a few Long-tailed Tit and one Coal Tit
one group of regulus including four Goldcrest and one Firecrest!

for a suburban brighton park, in heavy drizzle, this was an absolutely brilliant walk. The Firecrest was the first definite bird I've seen this autumn too.

spring coming round again?

It seems rather bizarre, I know, but I think the breeding season must be upon us again! The last few days have seen regular singing bouts from Robin, Dunnock and Great Tit! The most likely explanation, to my mind, is that I have a few local migrants. Robin and Dunnock could well have hopped over the channel (last autumn there were a few days I counted 70+ of each at Hope Gap, around this time of year), but I'm not entirely sure where Great Tits would arrive from. Local dispersal or from further afield? Or just a resident bird getting his territory staked out early? I'd be interested to hear any thoughts...

and another thing
I can't remember seeing a Blackbird in seaford since early July! I've seen Ring Ouzel more recently!

taken from this post, on 30 Sep. However, on Friday 01 October, within a day of that, I had broken my duct! It was a brief view in seaford, but I was just relieved to have finally seen one again. I only realized this when a friend came over from New Zealand, and commented on the notable lack of Blackbirds! It just goes to show, how easy it is to underlook common birds...

Oh, and just cos I'm in a random mood right now, here are some more facts on Buff-breasted Sandpiper;

• there have been four in Sussex this year, the best year on record for them in the county.
• they are, I believe only the 11-14th seen in Sussex. We get very few due to our south-easterly location

And, for the record, I predict a Wilson's Phalarope in sussex this year before the end of October!

Grey Wagtail (8th Feb)

once again the not-grey but actually rather colurful Wagtail was at my School today. Elsewhere in seaford 2 goldcrests seen briefly flying from shrub to shrub in St. Albans Road. The birds appear to still be rather shy, I still hardly hear any singing apart from the ever joyful Robins, Great Tits and Dunnocks, one of whom can reliably be seen from the same bush on the corner of my street every morning, singing his heart out. Snowdrops are now coming out, coinciding with rather different drops of snow!