As temperatures finally start to drop to more normal November levels, we can now expect to see more of our winter visitors from the north, such as redwings. The UK's smallest thrush migrates from Scandinavia and Iceland during autumn, from late September onwards. Redwings migrate predominantly at night, moving mainly when the sky is clear and the wind is in the east. Whilst migrating, they maintain contact with each other through their high pitched flight calls. This is a distinctive sound of autumnal evenings - listen out for their soft 'seep seep' call as they pass overhead. They follow the coastline as much as possible, but must of course face the North Sea at some point. In rough weather, some may sadly crash into the waves and drown.
Redwing Turdus iliacus, adult perched on hawthorn tree ready to feast on the berries
Photo: Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
Another winter visitor from northern Europe is the larger fieldfare, whose name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘feldware’, meaning ‘traveller of the fields.’ Fieldfares are large, colourful thrushes, similar to a mistle thrush in general size, shape and behaviour. They stand very upright and move forward with purposeful hops. They are very social birds, spending the winter in flocks of anything from a dozen or two to several hundred strong. Sometimes they mix in these flocks with other thrushes, mainly the redwing. These straggling flocks are a delightful and attractive part of the UK winter scene, with the fieldfare’s ‘chacking’ call a feature of many a winter walk.
When migratory thrushes first arrive in the UK, there is sufficient food in fields and hedgerows, such as hawthorn. However as winter goes on and conditions become harsher, they may start to venture into our gardens. One way of improving the appeal of your garden to redwings, fieldfares and other berry eating thrushes is by planting shrubs like sorbus, cotoneaster and pyracantha. If you have plenty of space, planting trees such as hawthorn, holly, juniper or yew will also increase the chances of attracting these wonderful winter visitors to your garden with their berries. Thrushes also enjoy eating fallen fruit, so if you have any apples or pears left in your garden, leave them on the ground for a tasty treat for the birds. Better still, store some away to keep for the birds when the weather gets more harsh later into deepest winter. Fieldfares in particular will aggressively defend a food source, such as fallen fruit, chasing other birds away if they get too close. So as well as providing a vital food source, you could be creating some garden activity to liven up a dull winter's day!
Although Flatford Wildlife Garden is now closed for the winter, it will open for certain special weekends, including this weekend 26 & 27 November, for Christmas fun! Our Green Mother Christmas will be giving a free wildlife friendly gift to children. You can explore the 12 Joys of Flatford trail. Will you sing it for extra festive cheer? Warm up by our fire where you can toast a marshmallow. Full details of the event can be found at bit.ly/FlatfordEvents2022