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 were not seen after the first week. A single Northern Wheatear was a late passage visitor to the heath on 9^th.

Fig 1: Male Ring Ouzel

This month’s birding highlight was undoubtedly our second Ring Ouzel  of the autumn (fig 1), joining the Blackbirds in the hawthorn at Marlpit Scrub on 9^th October; the striking male bird stayed for just one day before moving on. The first Redwing and Fieldfare (fig 2) sightings were at the same location on the 14^th, enjoying the ongoing abundance of berries. Surprisingly, this proved to be our only patch record of winter thrushes this month – perhaps influenced by the mild conditions.

Fig.2: Fieldfare enjoying the Hawthorn berries with some of the resident Blackbirds

Lesser Redpolls have been reported in good numbers across the New Forest this month and several sightings of small flocks overhead and feeding in the Alder at Hincheslea, were our first of the year. Three Crossbill also passed over on 22^nd, while the number of Linnet dropped steadily throughout the month, following the usual Autumnal pattern for this species. Stonechat and Dartford Warbler were present in good numbers in the early October sunshine, suggesting that both species have had a good breeding year. This is particularly encouraging for the Dartfords, whose numbers seemed to have dropped off following the cold weather in January and February. A large feeding flock of up to 100 Meadow Pipits joined an increasing number Pied Wagtails on the old Sway football pitches throughout the month.

A Kingfisher was the only notable sighting at Setley Pond this month, with a disappointing absence of wildfowl of any description. Regular records of Marsh Tit and Firecrest were the highlights in the woodland. The disappearance of Collared Doves from the list almost certainly reflects their silence between October and December, which has been a familiar pattern observed for the past 3 years.

The next few months’ birding will clearly be very weather dependent, but hopefully November will bring more thrushes to enjoy the remainder of the berries, along with some wintering Waders and Wildfowl. The summer birds may have gone, along with our hopes of an another autumn Wryneck, but we remain optimistic, as always, for some exciting new arrivals on the patch in the coming weeks.