Mid-October

Blimey - a month since I've been on here! Apart from a rather bird-packed few days on Shetland, I've seen very little. Not that I haven't been out slogging round Galley most days, its just there's been very little to see. Thus far into October I've managed siskin and redpoll for the year at Galley. A bit pants. Until today.

With the wind finally in the south-east, I was quietly optimistic that there'd be a bit more around today. And so it proved, with a fine yellow-browed warbler gracing Shite Lane - its not a proper autumn without one of these on the patch! Dirk held very little, and I was struggling to find anything out on the head when two pipits flew over, one calling like a meadow pipit and one calling like a tree pipit (121). I was rather pleased with this. I reckon that was probably only about my 6th tree pipit in 10 years here - tricky enough, and easily less regular than YBW.

That was my lot for the day though, however, with the south-east wind due to pick up, and rain overnight I'm hoping there'll be a proper fall tomorrow! We shall see!

What I saw on my holidays

You've got a fat neck, fat neck

Out again for another slog round Galley - the wind was still in the east, but there'd still been no rain and I wasn't sure if there'd be much new in. Wandered down to "Sibechat corner", so-called because this once happened, and spotted a bird-shaped lump on the stone wall. Quick check with the bins and ker-ching - wryneck! Once he realised he'd been rumbled it flew off into a nearby garden but I was lucky enough to pick it up again a few minutes later, sunning itself on another wall. Fortunately KC was close enough to hand to be able to verify it for me. Although I had no camera, it looked a little like this...

Here's one i prepared earlier

Didn't manage to see a whole lot else - still 2 whinchats in the Shite Lane area, plus a couple of willow warblers and 4  wheatears knocking about. Still, a kwality mig at Galley is not to be sneezed at!