Catching up with the migrants

It was an early start, leaving well before dawn in order to be in place as the sun came up. Travelling up the A11 towards Norwich and passing through a series of heavy showers made the early start seem all the more ridiculous but as we approached the east coast our mood brightened, mirroring the clearing skies. By the time we reached the dunes at Winterton the weather conditions were just about perfect for picking up on the visible migration likely to be taking place, as small birds passed south on their autumn journey.

Watching visible migration can be an unpredictable pastime; earlier in the week there had been big ‘falls’ of birds much further north and we were uncertain as to our chances of catching up with good numbers of birds this far south. However, things can change and the weather conditions over western Europe were such that there should have been some good birds on the move. This unpredictability can both add to the excitement of this form of birdwatching (who knows what might turn up) and prove frustrating (with few birds passing over). It also involves a lot of standing in one spot and scanning the sky, scanning to pick out the small specks passing over and straining to hear a diagnostic call.

It did turn out to be a quiet morning, with only small numbers of birds passing overhead; a few finches, the odd wagtail and a single Tree Pipit. There were also a few Rooks, arriving singly from the east. Since we could not see the shore from our position it was not clear if these were migrant birds, arriving from the Continent, or local birds that had been feeding along the tide line. Then there was the Sparrowhawk, working its way along the dunes. Again, this could have been a passage bird, newly arrived, or it could have been a local, like us hoping to connect with some migrants. After an hour or so of watching it became clear that we should turn our attention to the bushes and shrubs that lined the back of the dune system. Here, sheltered, below the low cliff-top gardens were feeding and roosting opportunities for migrants that may have arrived the previous night. Working our way slowly south, we soon turned up a rewarding mix of birds, many of which were migrants. As well as Willow Wabler and Chiffchaff, there were Blackcap, Whitethroat and even Siskin. Spotted Flycatcher and Pied Flycatcher could be seen in the same field of view through the telescope and, in such good light, we were rewarded with a fantastic morning of birdwatching. We’ll be back again over the coming weeks to see what else we can pick up.