Local Autumn Vismig

 

Some of you may already know that I've been doing regular visible migration watches (vismig) counts, both from my garden in Herefordshire and from Much Marcle Ridge, around 15 minutes drive away from my home. 

In this post, I'm going to go through some of the species which I've seen over the course of the Autumn so far from both locations.

Before I start though, I must first mention my friend Dan Webb, who has helped, taught and encouraged me a huge amount - his enthusiasm for the subject is infectious! I can't thank him enough.

Vismig can be observed almost anywhere, though it is best to watch from a natural high point, like Marcle Ridge, which funnels the birds around it in the right weather conditions or [preferably] a costal headland such as Spurn Point in East Yorkshire. Spurn is one of the best places to observe vismig in Britain, as the geography of that area is perfectly suited to receive large numbers of migrants. I've been lucky enough to visit Spurn a few times now, and the sheer number of birds passing through is absolutely phenomenal. (Hint ...new blog post coming to your screens soon!)

Weather is big part of vismig as well. On the coast, wind is a huge factor and without the right conditions, barely anything could pass through -  inland however it doesn't have such an effect. Overcasts conditions are best, as it forces the birds down towards the ground, whilst clear blue skies mean that most pass way out of sight. 

 

Swallow feature quite often on early Autumn vismig session but by the beginning of October most have gone through. 
A fairly large passage of Scandinavian breeding Swallows move through Britain on their way down south to Africa - this passage is best observed on the east coast. Most of the birds I see locally are probably birds which have bred further north in Britain.

A regular sight during Autumn vismig sessions are of Meadow Pipits (AKA 'mipits'), and their 'seep seep' call is a good way of identifying them. In fact, the vast majority of vismig bird ID (or at least locating the bird in the sky) is done by call - IDing a small blob flying very fast high up purely by sight can be quite a challenge!

Like the Swallow, we get multiple populations of mipits passing through Britain each Autumn. The majority of the ones I see locally will probably be from northern uplands of England, but on the east coast, some will have come from Scandinavia or possibly Iceland or even Greenland. Their next stop - Iberia, NW Africa, Biscay or maybe a costal marsh in Southern England.

My best local total of mipit passage was a morning during September this year, when myself and Dan counted 453 going through. 

Another finch which is regularly seen is Chaffinch; some of this passage is made up of continental birds which have come from northern or western Europe to spend the Winter in Britain. Recently, I had a fantastic day on Marcle Ridge where 263 went through in about an hour. Most of these were continental birds, all flying along the 'continental line', which on Marcle Ridge follows a small valley. 

A feature of late Autumn vismig is Lesser Redpoll. The birds we see could be birds which have bred in Northern England or Scotland, or maybe from Northern Europe. Their distinctive 'chuch-uch-uch' call helps pick them out.

We've had a couple of quite good Skylark days on Marcle Ridge, with a site record count of 80 through in early October. These birds may have come from Northern England, or perhaps from Northern or Western Europe.

I should mention that all of our counts go on to the Trektellen website (https://www.trektellen.org/), a fantastic database which logs migration counts all around Europe. 

Woodpigeons! Who knew they migrated?! Well they do, and in quite large numbers sometimes as well. Dan holds the UK record of 264,644 (!) which went through Portskewett in Gwent, on the 4th of November last year.

However, there is a bit of a mystery -it is thought that they might possibly go to Iberia, but no one knows for sure yet.

The first Jackdaws of the season start to trickle through in early October. Some of these will have come from Northern and Western Europe, with others from other parts of Britain. 

I've been lucky enough to have had 2 Hobby go over my garden during vismig sessions this Autumn. Its amazing to think that in a few weeks time they will be whizzing around somewhere in tropical Africa!

Most evenings, around 18:00, fairly large numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gull stream over my house, off to roost on the Severn Estuary. My largest count was 361 through in 1 hour.

Thrushes are a great feature to any late Autumn vismig count. 

I find Song Thrushes can be sometimes be quite difficult to pick up, as their call, a soft 'tic', can easily be missed. These birds could be going to Ireland, Iberia or France, and have probably bred in Britain, or perhaps could be migrants from Northern Europe. 

There are usually one or two Mistle Thrush which make it onto the count each session - probably from Scotland or Northern England, perhaps moving down either to southern Britain or, as ringing recoveries have shown, to France.

As the Autumn progresses, winter thrush passage really gets going, primarily made up of Fieldfare (pictured) and Redwing. They often travel in mixed species flocks, which are quite difficult to go through and count.

Fieldfares are mostly from Scandinavia, with perhaps a few from Fennoscandia, whilst Redwing will have come from either Scandinavia or Iceland.

Seeing a large flock of thrushes go through on a late Autumn morning is fantastic, especially as you know that only a few weeks ago, these birds could have been leaving Scandinavia and heading off, over the North Sea. I think that's really the reason I love vismigging so much - seeing birds migrating is really quite special.

I hope that's given you an insight into my local inland vismig, and why I love migration so much.