![]() ![]() Having missed one last night, it was nice to catch up with a Pallas’s Warbler this morning. In some years, large numbers can be displaced westwards and turn up in western Europe. Breeding in southern Siberia, they should be on their way to winter in SE Asia or southern China. ![]() Almost as small as a Goldcrest and covered in bright yellow stripes, they flit and hover in among the leaves looking for insects. Pallas’s Warblers are always a crowd pleaser. The Pallas’s Warbler suddenly flew from the oaks it had been in, to another taller tree further along where we could just see it, before it dropped out of the other side and disappeared again. Pallas’s Warbler – feeding in the tops of some young oaks However, it was hard to see the distinctive lemon yellow rump patch from below, or the crown stripe. ![]() We could see it fluttering around in the leaves, with a deep yellow supercilium and prominent double wing bar. Thankfully, a friendly birder managed to locate it, feeding on its own in some small oaks deeper into the trees. When we got to the spot, there was no sign of it at first. We were then pointed in the direction of another Pallas’s Warbler, further west still along the track. There were one or two Chiffchaffs in with all the other birds. We spent some time following this flock, but we couldn’t see any lost Siberian warblers in amongst it. The flocks can move quite quickly through the trees, with individual birds stopping to feed for a few seconds even when the flock as a whole seems to be constantly on the move. We had no problem finding a tit flock, but we didn’t know if it was the right one. Goldcrest – there were masses in the pines again todayĪ Pallas’s Warbler had been reported with the tit flock west of the drinking pool. It made locating the rarities more complicated, with so many birds to sift through, but it was amazing to see them all. Almost every tree seemed to have at least one Goldcrest in it today, all feeding feverishly. ![]() There were flocks of tits to search through – Long-tailed, Blue, Great and Coal Tits – together with the odd Treecreeper… and masses of Goldcrests. We worked our way west along the main track. A Lesser Redpoll flew over calling, but dropped down into the birches out of view, and several Bramblings were flying around over the trees.įieldfare – there were lots of thrushes in the bushes first thing this morning There were also a couple of Bullfinches lurking amongst the bushes – we could hear them calling, but typically shy they flew away ahead of us. While the latter two are the classic winter thrushes, which come here from the continent, our resident Blackbird and Song Thrush population is also swelled with large numbers coming in from colder climes at this time of year. There were lots of Blackbirds and thrushes in the brambles and hawthorns – Song Thrushes, Redwings and a few Fieldfares as well today. We decided to concentrate on the open areas to the south of the woods initially, where the light was better. It was very dull and overcast first thing, and rather windy with a very blustery NE, but at least it was sheltered in the trees. Having walked the Holkham end of the coastal pines yesterday, we headed to Wells Woods today. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |