|
passage noises24th Sep 2019Passage noises and signs of autumn
On the moorland edge there is very clear change.
Every morning there is a new fall of birds: one day it is chiffchaffs that fill the rowans and willows, on another it is willow warblers and the occasional pied fly. The rowans themselves are unusually bald so early in the autumn.
Similarly, the winter waders are starting to frequent the shore: curlews, turnstones and redshanks are up in numbers beyond summer and the on/off territory commute for some of them that occupied the breeding period.
Just as warblers are heard, so there are raptors swinging through, whilst down south there was the very distinctive call for c 10 seconds of a transiting golden oriole. Having heard these and handled/ ringed these abroad, seen in the Fens and watched/ tracked them down on the Swiss/French border, they are familiar- and when heard stop you in your tracks.
Otherwise the main signs seem to be manic hoarding by squirrels. This can be annoying as pots are filled with walnuts, and the plants cast aside. |
|
