Sunday, September 2, 2012

Migrants trickling through. 1.9.2012.

A day of two halves in some respects as the fine morning later turned into a time of  "thin mist" and light rain. The wind had changed from the light northerly at the end of last month ( August ) to a quite blustery South-westerly. Yesterday, in the area I now treat as my "local patch" for monitoring migration  ( I might yet select out the most appropriate vantage point and contribute to the VisMig project ......just put this into your browser if you're interested! ), there had clearly been a small fall of 10-15 Northern Wheatear with a single "Greenland" Wheatear amongst them. Little else seemed to be involved and they quickly dispersed.

This morning , with the rather stronger headwind arising, it suggested odd other migrants involved in being swept southwards previously had been impeded in their progress , if not held up altogether.  Common Whitethroat, Whinchat, a few Northern Wheatears  and noticeable numbers of Meadow Pipit and Barn Swallow were in evidence. The latter remained around most of the day contrasting with the dispersal of the other birds, which I suspect gradually made their way down the Rinns peninsula.

A later attempt to settle in and try and age some Grey lag Geese met with no success as they persisted in keeping to undulating ground or being on the edge of a crop field where clear views were impossible. Malcom Ogilvie had enjoyed some considerable success with the same task on Friday ( 31.8.2012 ) when he'd managed to age a considerable number of the birds at Gruinart. The coming week promises somewhat more stable weather being forecast so some of the barley may be cut fairly soon, which will undoubtedly prompt a quick move out afterwards onto the stubble. Even the full moon is now in wane, which will mean the potential for night feeding is lessened and better circumstances emerge for viewing and counting the birds!!

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