Firsts of the Autumn

There was quite a bit of movement going on this morning with quite a few Meadow Pipits and my first Redwings of the year overhead. About a hundred altogether in three big flocks, one of which contained 2+ Fieldfare. They seem to be really early this year. I actually saw my first Fieldfares yesterday off patch. You don't usually see them before Redwings!

First, I checked Rackerhayes, which unlike Decoy which is up to 12 Tufties already, didn't have any diving ducks. It did however have four Teal and a Gadwall. A Kingfisher was fishing from a branch and a lone Swallow was stocking up on flies over the water ready for its long trip south. At the moment I don't think we've quite decided on patch boundaries, but in my opinion, Rackerhayes should be part of the patch. It's really easy to check and has great potential for rarities!

Next I headed to Passage House via Hackney Marshes where I had a flock of seven Wigeon fly high over and towards the estuary. Unbelievably a year tick for me! At Passage House there were a further two Kingfishers, three Lapwing and the first four Snipe of the Autumn. The only other waders of note were a Black-tailed Godwit, five Greenshank and two Dunlin.