The end of September still felt like it was the height of summer, with temperatures well into the 20's on some days, however it now feels like it has all come to an abrupt end! It's been decidedly cooler of late and the wildlife is also starting to tell us that winter approaches....
It's always a pleasure to hear the screeching sound of the first redwings overhead on a cool October morning. That's exactly what happened 10 days ago as I loaded up equipment for a day over at Beckingham. A group of around 30 birds went over, heading west - very welcome! More flocks have been streaming over ever since, soon to be joined by the first fieldfares.
Golden plover are a real feature of Langford and the surrounding area in the winter months and the first flocks of this species have also been sighted over the reserve in the last couple of weeks. This is another bird that alerts us to it's presence most of the time by it's distinctive melancholic call - beautiful birds. Flocks can get up to 1000+ by mid-winter in the vicinity of Langford, so look out for numbers building over the coming weeks.
Up to 3 jack snipe have been seen recently too, another winter visitor and a very elusive one! The best places to look for this species is muddy edges among stands of soft rush on the Phase 1 islands - they're out there, so you may be lucky!
The first wigeon are now on site and numbers of teal have been creeping up slowly in the last few weeks.
Other sightings from the last week include up to 3 marsh harrier, bittern, bearded tit - a maximum of 8 birds seen from the viewing platform, peregrine, stonechat and grey wagtail.
And last but not least, it's almost that time of year again...as the nights draw in, something very special happens in the skies over Langford. Thousands of starlings gather before heading down into the reedbed to roost. And what a spectacular gathering this is, as they wheel around, performing the most amazing of aerial displays. Last year saw a murmuration of 25,000 birds, but we have had up to 40,000 in previous years. Hopefully this year will be equally as impressive! Look out for them from the end of October and we will be sure to report on their arrival.
Redwing - some of our first winter visitors to arrive back at Langford. Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)
The spectacle of the murmuration! David Kjaer (rspb-images.com)