Local Wildlife Sightings October 2024

 Many places to the west of Royston experienced their wettest ever September. However, for Royston (or, more particularly, my garden) September 1995 was slightly wetter - how disappointing! However, the elements hadn't finished and on the 1st well over an inch of rain fell. If September had had 31 days, it would have been the wettest month since I started recording in 1992! The impact of this horribly wet year on our wildlife has been very negative, and it was clear after all the rain that my macro lens would be of little use until next spring.

I eventually got out on the 4th, the second of two miraculously sunny days, walking up the Icknield Way (west of Royston) and later doing a 'there and back' section of the Icknield Way to the east of Royston. I didn't get as far as the Heydon Pig Farm, but saw plenty of gulls on recently ploughed fields along the way. Corn Buntings were starting to flock just over the Cambridgeshire border - I counted 13 on telegraph wires, with possibly more very distant birds. Red Admirals were the dominant butterfly, although I did see a single Meadow Brown near the house.

Gulls (Three Species) in flight near Royston, 4 October

There has been a big influx of Yellow-browed Warblers, blown by easterly winds, into the country this autumn. Whilst most have stayed on or near the east coast, at least three have been sighted in Hertfordshire. I was (ambitiously) hoping to record one on my local patch this year, but was unlucky. However, I did notice lots of Chiffchaffs on all my walks until well into October, including birds on two separate dates in the back garden. More and more birds are wintering in the UK as our winters become milder. Last winter, one was present on The Heath. I wonder whether any will stay locally again.

 

UK Wildlife Sightings, October 2024

 I was back on the North Norfolk coast on the 2nd, researching for an RSPB Local Group trip to Holme NWT, which I would be leading. There wasn't a great deal to see here - a Yellow-browed Warbler had been sighted near the car park before I arrived, but must have moved on. There was lots of activity on the lovely beach, but no rarities. I moved on to RSPB Titchwell Marsh, a few miles down the road, and was rewarded with a brief sighting of a Yellow-browed Warbler there (too dark for photography). Two others were heard at Titchwell. This species has a number of loud, distinctive calls: people usually mention the disyllabic, Coal Tit like call, but these birds were using a loud, single note call - higher pitched than the call of a Chiffchaff (of which there were many). Most of the migrating waders had moved through, but I still saw twelve species, including the Black-winged Stilt 'escape'.

Black-winged Stilt, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 2 October

Great White Egret (one of a pair), RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 2 October