A little bit of change

Red Sandpiper at HGF! The rising sun bathed everything in a warm glow yesterday morning, including this Green Sand.

A snap from last weekend that I forgot to post - Spotted Redshank at Leighton Moss

Leighton Moss.

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This morning a few slight changes at HGF. Unlike the previous two days (cold, crisp, clear and sunny) the morning was just cold and grey. I love autumn mornings as long as the sun is out - Wednesday and Thursday the rising sun made me feel almost as though I were on Mars! Anyway this morning kicked off with a couple of Snipes flushing beside the path in the south field. By the pool the Green Sandpiper was busy feeding - it has been here all week. As I scanned the pool I noted a single drake Pochard (now sadly an almost unusual sight) and then four Wigeon. In previous weeks the odd Wigeon has dropped in to the pool and the resident drake has completely ignored them. This morning was different and he was busy mooching around with the new birds, consequently I am confident that they are the first returning birds and not just passing through.

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Yesterday the Little Grebe flock crept up to 9 before falling back to normal levels today. Also yesterday a third adult Mute Swan and two juveniles were present. The Buzzard was again perched on the wires and was desperately flapping its wings to maintain its balance while being mobbed by a Crow. Last night at dusk I simply stood on top of the north bank and watched birds flitting between the trees around Myddleton Hall and the narrow wood beside the M6. All common stuff but just nice to stand and watch. Two Nuthatches, a Jay and a Buzzard made it worthwhile.

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One thing I did track while standing there was the movement of corvids out of the Myddleton Hall rookery. I eventually counted 64 Jackdaws and 33 Rooks all heading north at dusk out of the rookery, no doubt to some communal roost. This morning the Jackdaws all returned at dawn and spent 10 minutes or so just wheeling over the rookery as though ensuring it was still there. I remember when I lived in Barnoldswick I used to watch a Jackdaw roost near to the canal. There was a hill which was quite prominent and had a small wood on top of it. In Autumn around 500 Jackdaws would descend upon the wood to roost. Because of the hill I could see them coming from all directions and from a long way out, a bit like bomber squadrons approaching a target I always thought. The noise just before last light was deafening and then everything would suddenly go quiet. They only ever stopped for a couple of weeks before moving on to another roost site.

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In the garden this morning 11 Goldfinches were present on the feeders.