October Chasing Scarce and Rare Birds

October is usually a good month for migrants moths and birds and it started well for me at the beginning of October with what was possibly my second Svensson's Copper Underwing, though officially it requires gen. det to confirm it's identification the visual features seem to be there.

Possible Svenssnon's Copper Underwing © Nick Hull

Other moths which also turned up in the trap were the beautiful Merveille du Jour, and Brindled Green  both of which I've only caught a handful of time. I also had a few migrants in Dark Sword-grass, Radford's Flame Shoulder, Scarce Bordered Straw and White-point. 

Merveille du Jour - Brindles Green & Dark Sword-grass © Nick Hull

Radford's Flame Shoulder - Scarce Bordered Straw & White-point © Nick Hull

Most times when I moth trap there is always some bycatch by this I mean other insects which are attracted to the light much the same as the moths and on the 3rd Oct I found this dung beetle species in the bottom and on closer look it turned out to be a female Minotaur Beetle.  This species is fairly common on the heaths around us but this is the first one which I've caught in the trap.

Female Minotaur Beetle © Nick Hull

On the 8th Jackie and I went on our annual birding holiday to the East Riding of Yorkshire as this time of year is usually a good period for rare and scarce birds turning up along the coast, but we feared we had missed this years bumper migration event as the wind changed and all the goodies had already had been found and left at the end of September.  Then you never know what will come along so we headed off north, first to Framton Marsh in Lincolnshire.   We first visited this RSPB reserve in 2023 but didn't leave ourselves much time to look around the reserve properly.  We allowed a day this time which gave us ample time to explore and though only the regular species were present on the reserve for time of year we were able to add a few species to our year list.  We saw our only Whooper Swan, Great White Egret and Ruff of our trip and our first Dark-bellied Brent Geese of the autumn fly in off The Wash. 

Dark-bellied Brent Geese flighting in off of The Wash © Nick Hull

Walking around the reserve it was obvious that there were good numbers of Shoveler and many of the drake were still in partial eclipse plumage.

Partial eclipse drake Shoveler © Nick Hull

We also was able to take a look around the nearby Freiston Shore reserve where we saw a good number of waterfowl and our only Kingfisher of the trip.

After our day at Frampton and Freiston we moved on to Flamborough after our arrival we stowed our luggage and headed to Bempton RSPB to see if the Isabelline Shrike was still present, unfortunately after arriving we found it had left and hadn't been seen all morning.  As we were about to go for a walk around a Brambling was calling in the tree by the feeding station which was a nice start to our East Yorkshire list.  We walked out to the hedge where the shrike had been seen most just in case it was a late riser but had no luck.  Whilst we were waiting to see if the shrike was going to show by it's favoured hedge, Jackie  heard the distinctive call of a Yellow-browed Warbler and indeed it was very close so I quickly made the recording below on my phone as I left the parabolic microphone in the van, though I'm very happy with the result from the little 'Rode directional mic' attached to my mobile phone.

Two Owls · 2024 - 10 - 11 - Yellow - Browed Warbler - Bempton

Another species we added to our Yorkshire list here was a Goosander which flew south whilst we were looking towards the sea at the many Gannet that was moving off shore. After spending some time looking or rather waiting for the shrike it became obvious that it had left so we decided to go off and source provisions for our evening meal.   On the way back from the shops it came on the local WhatsApp. that the Little Bunting had been seen at Thornwick in the field behind the camp activity centre, so we quickly dropped off our food and headed to the top of the camp and went in search of the Bunting.  We met Johnny Mac a local birder who regularly watches around Thornwick area and whilst we were chatting and looking for the bird four or five other birders arrived.  A photographer called us to say he had a small bird in the leaf litter under the trees by the footpath.  As we walked around to join him a small bunting flew out of the copse and called a sharp 'zick'.  I immediately recognised the call as did Johnny and we kept the bird in our view and watched where is pitched in to a scrubby patch of small tree and bushes in the middle of the field. So we headed to near the spot we thought in landed in.  One of the guys had a thermal imaging scope and he was able to find a heat source in an opening in the bushes and we all looked into the gap and a minute or two later there it was feeding on insects and seeds and we all got brief views as it moved around under the bushes.  A nice finish to the day.

Over the next ten days we had ups and downs with the weather with storm Ashley giving us a couple of wet days and the wind coming from the wrong direction which didn't help cross North Sea migration. Saying this we did have a few more highlights for our trip which turned out more quality than quantity this year.

On the 13th Jackie and I joined Keith Clarkson at Hunmanby Gap for early vismig watch but nothing was moving so we had a seawatch and added Red-throated Diver, Razorbill and various gull species Gannet and Pink-footed Geese to our holiday list. Calling it a day on the vismig we headed back to Bempton then on to Thornwick and then back to Bempton in the late afternoon for Owls but only saw a single Barn Owl which was possibly the bird of the day.

Skein of Pink-footed Geese Flying past © Nick Hull

Pink-footed Geese could be seen daily commuting from the Humber where they roost and the feeding grounds inland of Flamborough in their thousands. You could even hear them passing over our caravan in the dark.

On the 14th we started our day at Flamborough Obs ringing station where we saw a few birds in the hand such as Redwing, Blackbird, Coal Tit, Goldcrest and Tree Sparrow which was very nice.  

Female and male Yellowhammer - © Nick Hull

Redwing - ©Nick Hull

After we birded Flamborough Head and the only highlight here was Corn Bunting and a Skua sp. out to sea plus views of a Yellow-browed Warbler in the Old Fall Hedge.

Yellow-browed Warbler Old Fall Hedge © Nick Hull

On the morning of the 15th we joined Keith again this time at Bridlington Golf Course where we had some vismig mainly Redwing with a few Blackbirds,  Song Thrush and Chaffinch which included a single Brambling moving south west and Pink-footed Geese moving north. 

As there was little around and Jackie had come out with a cold we decided to take a break and went back to the caravan and  to go out again after lunch.  We spent the afternoon at Bempton where the highlight was Brambling and a Hawfinch at the feeding station, unfortunately I didn't get a shot of the Hawfinch as a lady in front of me kept getting her head in the way but managed a shot of the Brambling.

Brambling & Woodpigeon - Bempton RSPB feeding station © Nick Hull

Of course when ever you go to Bempton at this time of year it's alway worth a look at the Gannet colony. Though they have finished breeding many Gannet linger on the cliffs for sometime and come and go to the feeding grounds out in the North Sea.

Flight of Gannet coming into the cliffs at Bempton © Nick Hull

The 16th was a washout so hardly any birding took place and I attended a talk in the evening at Bempton.  Next morning we went to Flamborough Head as a Pallas's Warbler had been found by the lighthouse. When we arrived there were a handful of birders already there and a couple stood next to us said there is a Hen Harrier being mobbed by crows over there, we had a brief view of it as it was escorted towards the south by the crows.  We asked about the Pallas's and they said it's just in here pointing to the bushes just in front of us and the directed us onto the bird which performed wonderfully for us just a few metres away.  Pallas's Warbler breed in Asia and is one of the most regular of the Siberian gems to reach the UK usually in October to November.

Pallas's Warbler - Flamborough Head - © Nick Hull

We quickly followed this by walking across the car park to the bungalows and ticked off know less than three Black Redstart one of which was a stunning male.

Male Black Redstart - Flamborough Head © Nick Hull

What a super start to the day and in wasn't over as news came that there was a Red-flanked Bluetail at Bempton so off we went.  As we arrived and togged up the the guys doing the ringing demo passed by and said we have just caught the bluetail.  So we joined the throng of birders at the ringing station and awaited for them to release the bird after processing. Red-flanked Bluetail is aptly named once extremely rare but in recent years they have become annual vagrants to the UK breeding in Eastern Finland east across Siberia to Kamchatka and winters in South-east Asia the Indian Subcontinent, Taiwan and Northern Indochina.

Red-flanked Bluetail - Bempton RSPB © Nick Hull

So back to the caravan for lunch and to allow Jackie to rest as her cold hadn't improved and it gave me a chance to have a bird around the campsite.  After getting back to the van I said to Jackie there has been a Radde's Warbler found at the head are you up for going for it and she replied yes, so off we went.  Though a bit breezy it was a sunny afternoon and we joined several birders at the top of the bramble slop to the north of the lighthouse and scoured the brambles for movement.  It took around an hour before myself and a birder stood next to me both said 'there' and we managed to get everyone onto the movement of a small warbler down below us.  Watching constantly we all had good views as it moved to and fro in the bushes. Though it was a little distant for my 400mm lens I thought I would give it a go and as it passed by below me I banged off a number of shots. The following shot isn't the best but you can just make out the pale legs which looked quite pink when the light hit them and at certain angles the underside of the bird could look quite yellow.  Radde's Warbler is another Asian breeding species which usually arrive here in October from its breeding grounds of Southern parts of Central and Eastern Siberia to Korea and Manchuria and winters in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Loas,Myanmar and Thailand.

Radde's Warbler - Flamborough Head © Nick Hull

What a day, almost the best days birding that we have had in a very long time and will certainly will be hard to surpass.

The 18th was another wash out with Storm Ashley hitting us with a vengeance. On the 19th we went to the Flamborough Obs but little was happening and we headed down to Hornsea Mere but as there was dingy sailing on the mere most of the waterfowl that was there was at the far end but we were able to add Goldeneye, Tufted Duck and Shelduck to our holiday list.  After lunch we made our way back to Bempton as there was very little new to be found and in the hope of seeing a Short-eared Owl.  While we waited for the owls to appear we had a look around the dale and had a view or two of the Red-flanked Bluetail in more natural surrounding.

Red-flanked Bluetail - Bempton © Nick Hull

Well not a bad birding holiday though the winds were all wrong we did have some nice birds though none were lifers but all were very nice to see none the less.  So on the 21st we travelled back to Dorset.

After getting home we decided to go up to Gillingham fro the Isabelline/Daurians/Turkestan Shike. So on the 22nd we headed off and had a good journey and just over an hour later we were watching the shrike feeding along the hedgerow and had tremendous views. 

The taxonomy of shrikes is complicated. Daurian Shrike forms part of a group with Red-backed Shrike and Turkestan Shrike. Duarian and Turkestan Shrikes were formerly identified as 'Isabelline Shrike' and assignment of old records to the separate forms is difficult. This is a rare visitor from central Asia. Which is often found from October/November and after easterly winds. 

Daurian Shrike is migratory, wintering to the south and west of the breeding range, from Pakistan west to central Africa

Daurian/Turkestan Shrike - Gillingham © Nick Hull

Today the 24th October, Jackie and I took a short trip to Longham Lakes to see the long staying Juv. Velvet Scoter and we thought it would be reasonable easy to find and indeed it probably would have been if we had known where it liked to hangout but it took us nearly two hours before we found it near to the causeway right under our nose but probably because it was so close is was tucked in close to the reeds and out of view from us until we moved and scanned back along the top of the lake.  To start with it was very active driving constantly spending little time on the surface then it tucked its head under its wing and snoozed.  Thanks to a Coot which disturbed it I managed an ok shot of it with its head up.

What it looked like when it stopped diving. © Nick Hull

Juvenile Velvet Scoter - Longham Lakes © Nick Hull

Morning of the 26th checked the moth trap and only 12 moth of 11 species but three were new for the garden one of which was a life tick and two were new for the year so not bad out of 12 moths.

Evergetis extimalis - Green-brindled Cresent & Barred Sallow © Nick Hull

The two species which were new for the year was Pearly Underwing and a November Moth with a Merveille Du Jour, Radford's Flame Shoulder, Scarce Bordered Straw and Palpita vitrealis.

Palpita vitrealis, Radfor's Flame Shoulder, Pearly Underwing & Merveille du Jour © Nick Hull

After writing up the Velvet Scoter I didn't think I would be adding anything else other than moths to this blog but how little didI know.  As we were have breakfast on morning of the 27th a message came through on the local Whatapp group of a Red-eyed Vireo had been caught and ringed at Durlston CP.  A few minutes later Steve Smith phoned to say it was still around but elusive in the copse behind the car park,  so off we went.

We arrived just as the bird was on view so we joined a small group of local birders and was directed on to movement in a sycamore tree and both Jackie and I had brief views of the bird before it disappeared. I went back to the car and picked up my camera and went back and joined the others and must have waited an hour or so when it reappeared more or less in the same area but lower down.  I decide to go up the road a little more and look in from a different direction and I found it and quickly fired off a few shots and let everyone know  My shots aren't going to win any prizes but at least I have a memory of the bird as it was a Dorset tick for Jackie and myself.

Red-eyed Vireo - Durlston CP © Nick Hull

Red-eyed Vireo - Durlston CP © Nick Hull

Red-eyed Vireo - Durlston CP © Nick Hull

Red-eyed Vireo for those who do not know are from North America breeding in open woodland across Canada and Eastern and Northwestern United States. They migrate to South America to winter.  The occur in UK and Europe annual usually after transatlantic storms. So presume this bird was pushed of course by storm Ashley.  The question remains how long had it been here and would it have been found if it hadn't popped into the ringers net this morning. Let us hope it find its way back and end up in a US or Canadian banding station net next year.  Below is a slightly better shot of a Red-eyed Vireo which I took in Yorkshire in autumn 2019.

Red-eyed Vireo - Easington Yorkshire 2019 © Nick Hull

To finish this longer than usual blog post we had our Grandteens as I like to call them as they're too big to be called children now.  Though the 28th was a little on the wet side we thought a quick foray out as halloween is coming up to show them the Devil finger fungus.  Well we were successful in fact Ben found the first and the time we decided it was getting to wet we all managed to find one or two. 

Clathrus archeri Devil's-Finger Fungus  © Nick Hull

We also found some Scarlet Waxcaps.

Hygrocybe coccinea - Scarlet-Waxcap © Nick Hull

September getting back into more birding.

With the summer surveys coming to the an end it allows more time to go birding and we certainly need a birding boost with our year list at the end of September being 19 species behind our 2023 total at this point in the year.  Though some of the species we are missing could be caught up with, between now and the end of the year.  During the month we visited ten location only one outside Dorset and that was to Keyhaven & Pennington Marsh. 

The beginning of the month we visited Lodmoor, we saw little that was out of the ordinary, the resident Great White Egrets put on a show though the Grey Heron wasn't too happy when one of them caught a nice fish and chased it off.

Grey Heron chasing Great White Egret Lomoor - © Nick Hull

Otherwise during this month we saw nothing out of the ordinary that you wouldn't expect to see.  On a walk around the local patch I photographed our Mute Swan family out in the Lytchett Bay as one of the cygnets appears to be white rather than the usual brown.  This is a form which was given the name of a 'Polish' Mute Swan. After a little reading I contacted Steve Grove at the Abbotsbury Swannery for clarification on the plumage and it appear that this is just a bird which is leucistic and it occurs pretty commonly in Mute Swan as it does with some other species.

Pair of Mute Swan with leucistic (Polish) cygnet - Lytchett Bay © Nick Hull

I had a visit to Brownsea with friend Terry and spent a bit of time photographing the Red Squirrels which was nice and we recorded 52 Spoonbill on the lagoon which has increased to c60 since.

Inquisitive Red Squirrel - Brownsea Island © Nick Hull

The day of the month for Jackie and I was the 15th I had run my moth trap and was in the office and had just completed inputting the data and my mobile rings it's Ian Ballam saying he had just found a Red-backed Shrike in the hedge of the Whimbrel Field.  Jackie was just in the process of getting ready for the day so she picked up the pace and we were out the door and up the road joining Ian in the Whimbrel Field.  The bird performed perfectly flying back and forth perching on the different bushes in the hedge catching wasps, bees, and hoverflies.

Juvenile Red-backed Shrike - Lytchett Fields RSPB © Nick Hull

Juvenile Red-backed Shrike - Lytchett Fields RSPB © Nick Hull

Next day Jackie and met friends for a walk around Keyhaven and Pennington Marsh.  It was a fairly quiet day overall but we did add two species to our lagging year list Eider and Whinchat.  Our next additions were back on the Lytchett Patch on the 23rd when we found a Little Stint in the bay running around with Dunlin and had a Curlew Sandpiper which had been visiting the fields for a few days on French's Pools.  We also added Bar-tailed Godwit to our patch list which had been alluding us for a while. 

The only other wildlife that is worth mentioning was I recorded a new macro moth for the garden and patch a Small Wainscot a species of wet heathland and marsh which habitat we have a small patch across the road so it's a little strange that it's taken 13 years to catch one.

Small Wainscot Home Garden © Nick Hull

The autumn can be a good period to catch a new moth or two it the weather condition are right in at the time of writing this blog there has been a few rarities found in Dorset traps so hopefully next months blog there will be some good moths to write about.