Change

Brambling - change is crippling.

Red Admirals are thinking about calling nit a day and hibernating.

Today is one for elation and contemplation. Change of both sociological and ornithological styles is in the air. Wez, a fellow warden who’s been here from the off, left (as it’s the end of our work here) and as has Jack who departed a week ago.

With this sense of nostalgia hanging in my torso myself and Choccy drove the Zodiac Rib back across Inner Sound on a beautiful sunny, warm morning. We cruised slowly as Black Tern has been reported and as we did so our trajectory met a crippling juvenile Long-tailed Skua which flew over our bow, all of 5ft away from our faces – WOW! We’ve been lucky to see about 9 this autumn in unconventional seawatching conditions and this close fly in southerlies, like our 7 in southwesterlies certainly wasn’t expected!

Pintail blur/ass.

We returned to find more Pintail were roaming Inner Farne (after my 10 t'other day) with a female settling on the pond briefly enough for me to cock up photographing it (above).

The wintery feel continued with 1 Snipe, 8 Redwing (constantly pursued by a beefy female Sparrowhawk), 1 Song Thrush, 1 Redpoll and 3 Brambling turning up while other bits included 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Skylark and fly through Manx Shearwater, Red-throated Diver and Kestrel.

This Kestrel hacked through low looking rare.

The Sparrowhawk stoops towards panicking Turdus..(thrushs)

Above and below: Redwing. Can you see it?

mmm Brambling.

Nopt often you see 2 Brambling and a Chiffchaff on the same bird table.

Despite the changes occurring across the islands the most noticeable and ironic has to be the high temperature which have brought some interesting (if not rare) moths. But more on that tomorrow!

Udea ferrugalis - fesh in from Europe (maybe) on these warm winds.