As we approach the middle of October, it certainly feels like winter is on it’s way here at Langford. The weather has certainly been wintry in the last few days, with cold north westerly’s and a couple of soakings! The birds too are on the move with the following highlights in the last few days –
6 whooper swans going south west over Phase 2 this morning – the first of the winter. We usually get a small group of whoopers roosting on the silt lagoons during the winter, so look out for these in the coming weeks.
In the last two weeks there have been several flocks of golden plover over, including 30 today. Most Langford golden plover records are fly-overs, but do look out for them on the deck on Phase 1 over the winter, often associating with lapwings.
There are increasing numbers of wildfowl on site including wigeon, teal, tufted duck and we were treated to a great view of 30 pintail over Phase 2 last month. Numbers should increase further in the next few weeks, with upwards of 1500 individuals of several species wintering with us by December. The next to arrive should be goldeneye – one of my personal favourites! Look out for scarcer species that sometimes drop in too, including smew and goosander.
Goldcrest and coal tit are two passerine species that turn up here in winter, both of which have been seen this week on the public footpath near the woodland. Tit flocks will start building up over winter. Look out for species such as goldcrest, treecreeper and chiffchaff feeding with the commoner species.
And finally, yesterday we had an impressive passage of redwings overhead – the first of the winter. An estimated 300 went over in small groups throughout the morning and there were no doubt plenty more that we didn’t see. This was part of a huge influx nationally yesterday, with around 33,000 counted near Sandy in Bedfordshire. Next in the list will be fieldfare, look out for the first of this species arriving at Langford any time now.