October to December saw the expected mix of weather; whilst rainfall came in around average for our area, it seemed that plenty of it was pummeling rain. It was gloomier than usual with sunshine levels well down on the average, but this masked the fact that temperatures were well above average for the quarter. Birding-wise, October and early November saw plenty of autumn migrants before activity subsided and the winter lull set-in.
Late departing summer migrants included the last two Sand Martins passing through on October 1st with the last (Barn) Swallow logged on October 16th. A late Common Sandpiper was an unexpected sight on October 2nd, with the species more normal autumn window being July through early-September. A ‘mini fall’ of migrants on October 8th included four Blackcaps and three Common Chiffchaffs at Sandy Bay while a late Reed Warbler was logged on October 15th.
Winter thrush migration was evident from the early date of October 3rd when 105 Redwing were logged passing over the Reserve in small flocks of up to 20, mainly heading southwest. Subsequent waves of migrant Redwing included 147 west on October 12th, 400 south on 15th (along with a small influx of Blackbirds) and 1,400 west on 16th.
The latter movement included a single Ring Ouzel (illustrated above) also heading west, a very rare sighting indeed for the Reserve and perhaps the highlight of the period.
Notable sightings in November were few, with the best comprising a surprise migrant flock of nine Little Grebes (illustrated above) resting in the middle of the Pond on November 13th. This was by far the largest count ever of the species at the Reserve. Sadly, they did not hang around and had moved on by the next day.
Counts of expected wildfowl ebbed and flowed throughout the quarter with high counts comprising 78 Mallard and 46 Shoveler (both on November 17th), 27 Tufted Duck (November 24th), 12 Teal and 11 Common Pochard (both on December 25th), and nine Gadwall (November 15th).
Scarcer wildfowl were limited to Wigeon with five on October 3rd and seven on December 12th. Great Crested Grebes continued to disappoint with a high count of just 11 on November 17th.
For the second year in a row good numbers of Firecrest (illustrated below) were present on the Reserve. During a survey on November 28th a minimum of ten were logged. In contrast only three Goldcrests were detected in the same survey. Firecrests continued to be sighted to the end of year with a minimum of four seen on Christmas Day.
Other notable wintering species logged in December included up to nine Water Rails in the Reserve’s reedbeds, one or two Cetti’s Warblers and a Common Chiffchaff (December 14th-16th). A hunting Peregrine Falcon over the reserve on December 19th was the only raptor of note to be reported. Siskins returned in good number with 100 logged on November 28th, rising to 300 by December 29th, but other winter finches disappointed.
Encouragingly a Great White Egret took up residence at the reserve from November 10th onwards into the end of the year. The recently cleared Coldstream Marsh seemed much to its liking, (with a second individual seen on December 6th), but surprisingly it appeared not to roost at the Pond at night, leaving west at dusk before returning the following day. However, up to six Little Egrets continued to roost nightly at the reserve throughout.
Fleet Pond continues to be a vital roost site for many species. Notable roost counts during the period included 80 Canada Geese (December 14th), 26 Great Cormorant (November 21st), and 100 Magpies and 800 Jackdaws (both on December 23rd).
A Starling roost started to develop in mid-November when 300 were noted roosting in the reedbeds and willow islands. This subsequently mushroomed to an impressive 3,000 on December 12th, providing quite the murmuration at sunset for those lucky enough to witness the spectacle. This is the largest Starling roost at the Reserve for many decades and likely comprised wintering migrants from the continent. Such large Starling roosts are a little fickle, with birds quickly moving on or favouring other roost sites, but with 2,000 still present on December 23rd, the spectacle may make it into 2025! Here’s to longer days and a 2025 full of birds!
Post written by William Legge
Contributing Observers: David Brassington, R Boreham, John Clark, B Innes-Dickinson, William Legge, Jonathan Mist, R O’Connor, Stephen Perry, Spike Millington, Sarah Slingo, Graham Stephenson and C H Wan.
Illustrations credit to: RSPB
RSPB www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/