Autumn Diary 2024
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Weather wise, autumn has been very mixed. The second half of September saw a lot of rain and low levels of sunshine here in south Lincolnshire with winds predominantly from the north-east, which delighted most birders. October to date has been drier with easterly winds until the middle of the month when a southerly airflow brought some unseasonably high temperatures.
As I write the trees seem reluctant to drop their leaves and the dramatic autumn colours that often follow a warm dry summer are hard to find this year.
Migrant Hawker |
It has been a dreadful spring and summer for butterflies and other insects, but the late autumn sunshine has favoured the few surviving insects. As I write, well into the second half of October, Common Darter dragonflies are plentiful, and a few magnificent Migrant Hawker dragonflies are on the wing. Some white butterflies are still in evidence and a second bloom of flowers on our buddleia bushes has attracted the odd Red Admiral. Speckled Wood butterflies seem to have weathered the poor summer better than most with some still delighting our eyes on sunny woodland rides.
The easterly winds brought in some interesting migrant birds as well as blowing seabirds closer to our shores. On one of my WeBS (wetland bird survey) in late September I got the closest views that I have ever had of Arctic Skuas in the mouth of the River Witham and a Slavonian Grebe in the confluence of the rivers Witham and Welland. Nearby, where I had parked my car, a Yellow-browed Warbler was calling from a tangle of hawthorn and brambles. This little warbler nests in Russia and generally spends the winter in parts of Asia such as Hongkong and Thailand. Described as a vagrant in Britain in the autumn, it seems to occur in increasingly large numbers, and it could be that its breeding range is expanding westwards. In addition to my calling bird on the Lincolnshire coast I also encountered three more on a recent weekend in north Norfolk.
Red-throated Diver |
As mentioned earlier the east winds continued into early October resulting in, for example a Red-throated Diver showing well in front of a hide at the RSPB's Frampton Marsh along with a Red-breasted Merganzer; both birds that normally only afford distant views on the sea. A little later a Red-necked Grebe spent a few days on the freshwater lagoon at another RSPB reserve on the Lincolnshire coast; Freiston Shore.
Red-throated Diver |
Glossy Ibis |
Although we are losing many bird species at an alarming rate, some species are bucking the trend. As mentioned in the summer edition of Country Eye members of the heron and egret family are expanding rapidly in the UK. Little Egrets are now a very familiar sight and the much larger Great White Egret, Cattle Egrets and Spoonbills have all established nesting colonies in the east of England. Sightings of Glossy Ibis are also increasing, but as far as I am aware, none have yet nested successfully in our region.
Marsh Harrier |
Many of our raptors are also increasing. The provision of suitable habitat has certainly helped the Marsh Harrier to increase in numbers. It probably helps that these birds are polygamous; the males often mate with up to three females. The downside of this relationship is that the poor male has to hunt and provide food for all of its mates and their chicks. In common with other members of the harrier family, the male brings in prey and the female rises from the nest to turn upside down to catch the prey in mid-air. Quite a spectacle!
Egrets and Marsh Harriers increased without any help from us, other than the provision of suitable habitat. There are now many projects to reintroduce, or at least bolster numbers of bird species that we have either lost or that have seriously declined. White-tailed Eagles and Ospreys are examples of successful reintroductions. Great Bustard and Corncrakes are not doing quite so well.
Cranes are being reintroduced in South-west England but here in eastern England the provision of suitable habitat has enabled cranes to return and thrive. An excellent example of this is the wonderful fenland habitat created by The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust at their Willow Tree Fen nature reserve. As mentioned in previous editions of Country Eye a pair of cranes bred here in 2020 during lockdown when the reserve was closed. Until then, cranes had not bred in Lincolnshire for four hundred years! Subsequently further fenland habitats were created by the warden; John Oliver resulting in three pairs of cranes nesting this year; two of which fledged young. The reserve is now a mecca for visiting cranes with numbers often exceeding thirty out of the breeding season.
Red Kite takiing off |
Red Kite flying |
Red Kite |
Red Kite |
Returning to reintroductions, the most successful is surely the Red Kite. During the late 1970s and early '80s I made the pilgrimage to mid Wales to see some of the few remaining pairs of Red Kites in the whole of the UK. Red Kites were subsequently released from several sites in England and Scotland from where they have spread to most parts of our country. I never tire of watching the effortless buoyant flights of this beautiful bird of prey which I can now view from my own garden.
Ian Misselbrook
October 2024
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