There is no escaping it; there is change in the air! The first signs of autumn are around us. The nights are drawing in, bird song is now but a memory for everything other than our Robins, and even they have changed their song to their mournful version of their mating calls. As summer turns to autumn it’s time to look to the skies again to watch the comings and goings of migration. The Swifts have long gone, the House Martins and Swallows will not be far behind, and the reed beds will become less populated again, as the various warblers return to sunnier climes.
You forget how lucky we are to live on an Island that is used as a stopping point for such a huge number of species of birds. As the summer migrants leave, so our ponds, lakes, reservoirs, gravel pits and salt marshes begin to fill with wildfowl, and by winter the skies will be filled with huge skeins of geese and swans, all escaping the harsh realities of the North.
All those birds that passed through on their way to their summer breeding grounds will be making the return trip now. Keep your eyes peeled for Stonechats, Winchats and Wrynecks at your local reserve. They could turn up anywhere at the moment.
There is one species of bird that make the autumn special, and they are our thrushes. The seasonal shift change over happens in your own garden, with your summer blackbirds returning to continental Europe and over the coming months an influx for Scandinavian Blackbirds taking their place.
One of the most wonderful birds that can visit your garden is the Song Thrush. Look for evidence of them visiting your garden by searching for broken snail shells collecting in a single spot. They will crack them open by using a stone as an anvil. Don’t mistake it for his larger cousin, the Mistle Thrush. Apart from size, the other way to tell if you are looking at Mistle Thrush or a Song Thrush is by checking the spots on its chest. A Song Thrushes spots are like arrow heads (or if you are an old romantic like me, inverted love hearts), the Mistle Thrush has more rounded spots.
The next to arrive are the superstars of the thrush world, the Redwings and Fieldfares. Over half a million Redwings will begin to arrive in the next few weeks. This smallest of the UK thrushes will soon take up residence as flocks in the various hawthorn bushes and hedgerows around us. These are shy birds that will rarely come to your garden, but they are a treat to watch. Its orange/red flank and speckled thrush chest are simply beautiful. If the Redwing is subtle, the Fieldfare is bold and gregarious. Its slate grey head, brown wings and yellow throat make it easily identifiable amongst the thrushes. Fieldfares can form sizeable flocks during the winter, and love to find orchards with windfall apples on which to feed.
There is another food source they all love of course, and they are berries. My garden already has ripe brambles on which I have seen young blackbirds feeding, and the woods behind my house are rich with hawthorns which will be plastered in bright red berries soon; and this is where you come in. As you know I am a lover of “citizen science” and the BTO have come up with another great idea. Simply click on the link below and register an interest. They are looking for people to monitor and record what berry producing shrubs and trees are near you, what is feasting on them, and how quickly. It is another great example how you can get involved in some conservation work from your own home. Why not give it a go? You could record what you see whilst you make your breakfast each morning. You may get to see some of the wonderful thrushes that visit. I never fail to get excited when I spot my first Fieldfare or Redwing each year, and you never know you may even end up with a Waxwing or two! And that is a bird well worth keeping an eye out for!
BTO Berry Study Link
© All Images - Anthony Walton