Back to Beer Head

Have managed two more visits to Beer Head since my last post, with mixed success...

Sunday 3rd was a very cloud day, which in itself is not necessarily a bad thing when on the hunt for autumn migrants, but the westerly wind was far from ideal.  No north it in at all and strong enough to be seen on the bushes.  

As a result all I saw were: 5 Common Whitethroat, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, a Wheatear and a Golden Plover.  The Golden Plover had been present for two days previous, and represents not just an early record for the autumn but also an oddly settled one!  

A fresh juvenile. It looked much more golden in real life that it does in my awful photo

 

Today (Tuesday 5th) the skies were clear again, and a WNW wind was just strong enough to be felt on my face as I walked over the most open parts of the headland... and there were birds!  Very different to the last good day on 1st when most birds were in just a couple of busy areas, today they were spread around all over the site.  

I feel like if I had kept looking I would have found more, but the two hours I spent on Beer Head revealed: 28 Willow Warbler, 10 Chiffchaff, 8 Blackcap, 8 Common Whitethroat, 1 Garden Warbler and 1 Wheatear.  

My first Garden Warbler of the autumn - sometimes I only see one all sutumn so let's see if there are any more to come...

 

A very autumnal scene with two Common Whitethroats working a fence line.  Nice to see a good number of these amongst a clear increase in Sylvia warbler numbers

One of the above two birds showing a bit better

 

A Willow Warbler showing off

 

Now I appreciate Willow Warblers are the commonest autumn migrant at this time of year, and most patches of scrub along the coast will contain one of more of these. But it doesn't make them any less awesome.  They are such a gorgeous lemom-yellow colour and look absolutely pristine at this time of year.  They are far too good to be called the 'fillers' of early autumn migration, but they do provide the quantity at this time of year.  Their presence and numbers will give you a good idea of just how busy a place is when on the hunt for autumn migrants, and I find they really help motivate me to keep plugging away.  

I really do love watching them flit and filter through the bushes, which is why I photographed a few this morning in the hope of capturing not just the bird, but a flavour of the way they behave and habitat they thrive in...

Not always easy to get a clear view of

  

...but when you do be sure to be prepared with the right exposure settings on the camera - unlike me!

 

Can often be found up-high in the canopy 

If one poses like this snap it quick as this means it is about to fly off!  

Looking forward to the next post, whatever its content might be. Depends what I see in the next few days I suppose...