A very mild week with a mixture of fog rain and patchy blue skies. The winds have predominantly been from the southern half and have veered from southwest through to south east throughout the week.
The fen has taken on a more wintery assemblage of species despite the mild weather. Fieldfare and redwing numbers are increasing, with both passing through in regular flocks of 30+; the redwings are stripping berries from various trees close to the pond dipping pool. There is a flock of siskins 60 strong, these regularly being seen around the visitor centre, car park and in the woodland. Today I finally saw my first Strumpshaw brambling of the year, there were a number of sightings earlier in the year, but its good to finally catch up with one. Another winter species that has been increasing in number is lesser redpoll, these smart finches are passing overhead and give themselves away by their strong calls. The final species which is often a harbinger of winter is the water pipit, these great birds have also arrived at the fen this week and can be seen and heard from Fen Hide area if you are lucky.
It is interesting to see an increase in the above species as the temperatures over Scandinavia are still relatively high. This often means that birds will stay up there until they are forced to move by frosts or in some years snow. One species which is also affected by this mild weather is the starling, we have been asked if there is a roost here yet, I’m afraid the answer is no, not really...yet. There are between 200 and 900 birds coming in to roost some evenings, but the roost will only build if the weather cools down further north. The same can be said for the taiga bean geese, they are not yet at Buckenham and I would not expect them to arrive now until late November, but things can change quickly at this time of the year.
Other sightings of note this week include near daily sightings of otter from Reception Hide, including one mother with young. Stonechats have been seen from Fen Hide and near the Pumphouse and two jack snipe were seen in the freshly cut Fen Hide strips. The bittern was once again seen near the Reception Hide, but only briefly. Marsh harriers are roosting at the fen, with 12 seen leaving the roost on Thursday, we have now recorded six green wing tagged harriers so keep the records coming and thanks for passing on the records. Bearded tits have been seen and heard in lesser numbers than in October, but they are still present and being seen. A grey wagtail has been seen twice in front of reception feeding just before dusk, this species is a fairly scarce but regular flyover species throughout November so its always nice to get them feeding on the ground in front of a hide.
Buckenham and Cantley are slowly increasing in winter wader and wildfowl interest, this week saw the following records; 527 pink footed geese, 68 wigeon, 1020 lapwing, 55 golden plover, a peregrine falcon and a record of a bittern too. These numbers are rising slowly but they will increase quickly when/if we get some colder weather, especially over Scandinavia, which will be where a lot of these species are currently are.
With warm southerly winds predicted this week with a procession of low pressure systems it may be a week of less bird migration. The southerly wind will cause a headwind for the migrants heading south, but it is not too late for some scarce species from Europe to appear. The moth trap this morning held 59 moths of 10 species which is quite impressive for early November. Despite the conditions this week birds have been moving south so perhaps we will continue to see winter thrushes arriving in small numbers, water pipits and snipe increasing, if not then hopefully the otters and bitterns will continue putting on a show for us.