Hollesley October End

21st October had me checking the fields for Geese as their had been some movement. it was a horrible wet day but i persevered and for a change was rewarded with a few good birds. Starting on the Warren Prison track side picking up a fleeting female Ring Ouzel as it flushed from the hedge. In the distance i picked up some geese flying into the nearby field next to me, initially a mass of Greylags but then 6 Tundra Bean Geese and an impressive 25 Euro Whitefronts landed. By now it was absolutely tipping down so i sheltered behind the hedge, at this point i watched the Bean Geese and Whitefronts take off North. 

After the deluge of rain i continued past Boyton Farm across the fields towards the riverbank, at this point i stood sheltered from the wind where i found the Whitefronts, now upto 30 birds but no Beans.

The fields were heavily flooded so i was able to go through plenty of birds feeding in and on the floodwaters. A cracking 1st Winter Little Gull was a bonus. 

75 Dunlin to go through with 2 nice Curlew Sandpipers, upto 15 Ruff with 9 Grey Plover 16 Golden Plover and over 30 Ringed Plover. Other Geese were 45 Brents. 

Further towards Boyton RSPB, nothing in the way of birds on the new scrape but 2 1st Winter Caspian Gulls. A Short eared Owl in the distance towards the river. So all in all a little reward for the wet and windy slog around the patch.

In the afternoon i headed for East Lane where i put in a short seawatching stint, 1 Pomarine Skua close in went South and was a patch tick, 1 Manx Shearwater South. 55 Brent's, 1 Sanderling 6 Dunlin and then more rain so it was short but sweet. 

October 22nd

Not so good today, 7 Whitefronts dropped in somewhere in the Boyton Farm area again but by the time i got around there, they were not visible. 3 Swallow with a movement of Skylarks and Mipits had me hopeful but i couldn't conjurer up anything rare or scarce.

October 23rd 

Its rare i make it out after work but as i was doing my first aid training it meant getting home a little bit earlier, a Wood Sandpiper had been reported from the pools infront of the prison, so i was hopeful of something a little rarer, its a bid late now for Wood Sand, not impossible but thought id double check anyway. I didn't see the wood Sand but did see a Greenshank. On moving round to the main scrape it was nice to pick up a Ring-tailed Hen Harrier, another year tick and then as it got dark a fighting Barn and Short Eared owl. Just managed a record shot of the Hen Harrier as it got dark. 

Gulls are starting to drop in to roost again with a single 1st Winter Caspian Gull making an appearance.

A Shag flew South over the sea, seems to have been a movement today.

October 28th

Another quiet day but the highlight is always a year tick in the form of a female Goldeneye on the deeper parts of the Scrape. My camera was misted up hence the poor photos. 

Did some work in the Garden picking up a singing Firecrest in the neighbors garden. A few Goldcrest knocking about too. 

October 29th

A Hummingbird Hawkmoth visited the garden briefly. Goldcrests still around but little else so far.