October Holiday

I started my annual October fortnight off last Friday, and as so often seems to be the case these days, I've spent more time working in th e garden than going out birding.
On Saturday, I decided to pay a visit to Amwell and was rather surprised to discover that no-one else was there. The weather wasn't all that great, cloudy but with a south-westerly, not exactly ideal for migrants. Water levels remain low, despite the rain in recent weeks and it seems the sluice has not been raised, and the trust apparently expects Barry to look after him despite being away on yet another trip to boost his world list.
Duck numbers are building up though, with a lot of Gadwall and Mallard, two Teal, 10 Wigeon and 26 Shoveller. A pair of Dabchick in front of the White Hide was a bit unusual, but its the favoured spot if they appear on the main lake. I tried to work through the gull flock which gradually built up during the morning but apart from two Common Gull in with the Black Heads  it was the usual selection of miscellaneous Herring and Lesser Black Blacks. Attempts to turn an interesting white headed juvenile into something a bit different failed.
I had intended to go to Hollycross for Willow Emeralds,  but it was a bit cool and too cloudy. I got as far as the new bridge where I met Phil and he agreed it would be a waste of time. Tumbling Bay had a couple of very volatile Chiffchaffs in one of the willows and a rather loud tacking call couldn't be pinned down. Dusky warbler would have been a nice fantasy, but Blackcap is the more sensible option, though I couldn't pin the bird down before the birds flew away.
We bumped into Bill at the view point and had a chat. A few Skylark were moving westwards, and there were a couple of mixed hirundine flocks gradually heading south west don the valley. Most that were close enough appeared to be Swallow, but there were a few House Martins as well. The only other (and rather odd) movement concerned Cormorants, as several flocks, maybe 50 birds in total  came up the valley, and around 30 returned to feed in one huge mass near the big island.

The next few days were spent in the garden when the weather (lots of rain at times) allowed. On Monday I took an old fridge down to the tip and then picked up some ericaceous compost to repot my (hopefully) hardy Yuzu circus tree. After carrying that lot my back went so the next  day involved very light work and planting and rearranging a few things. I have a variety of Salvias, and the best at the moment are Waverly and Amistad. The latter looks really good in the sunshine at the moment  and attracted a lot of bees through the summer. They are getting a bit scarce now, but the Humming Bird Hawkmoth was a nice bonus.
Yesterday was another strenuous day, up a ladder taking out the old branches from the palm tree, cutting back the honeysuckle and then shredding the lot. Since the shredder as out I also tidied up the shed a bit. So my backs aching again as are my arms and , I've lots of cuts and bruises and despite all the time working failed to get any decent birds either in the garden or flying over. I've got several resident Dunnocks and Robins of course, and tits visit all the time-including Long Tailed and the rather rare for me Coal Tit. No crests or Chiffchaffs yet-they should be around at this time of year.

Today I walked around Aston End. It was another cloudy day with a south westerly and so rather lacking in bird movements. Plenty of Chiffchaffs of course, and a few Skylarks moving around. The ploughed fields didn't hold much, though there was a small flock of Meadow Pipits in one and a few Pied wagtails in another. Only one Yellowhammer and two Chaffinch was a bit worrying, I just hope that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and missed most of the birds. Very few thrushes were seen, only a couple of Blackbirds. There are no Song or Mistle thrushes around and no sign of any winter visitors yet, thought hey are being reported elsewhere.

So that's it so far. All the good stuff seems to be in Ireland, the Scillies or the Azores and the east coast isn't really producing anything, and if the the forecast is to be believed its going to be the same next week.