October Update: Arrivals and Departures
October’s weather followed the pattern of unpredictability which has become a familiar theme in 2023 – warm sunshine for the first two weeks were followed by heavy rain and strong winds, as a series of Atlantic storms battered and soaked the heathland. The deterioration in the weather also brought a drop in species counts – our peak of 47 on 14 th was just one below last year’s October record but fell to a dismal ‘all time’ low of 34 on 28 th . All counts, lists and bar charts can be found on eBird at https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12697095 The unseasonal warmth at the start of the month did not seem to affect the departures of our summer migrants – House Martins disappeared abruptly from the patch on 30 th September, while Swallows continued to pass overhead until the second week with the last sighting being on 15 th October. As usual, Chiffchaffs outstayed the other summer warblers, with good numbers lingering until the 23 rd , while Blackcap and Common Whitethroat w...