THE START OF AUTUMN MIGRATION

   Firstly apologies for the lack of posts in the last couple of weeks which has been partly due to me being feeling poorly and also because July and August are usually the quietest months bird wise because many birds are completing their moult after rearing their young and are therefore not active and keeping a low profile from predators. These two months also mark the start of migration back to wintering grounds for a few species indeed in the case of Cuckoos most have already left for Africa and the only ones you are likely to see now are juveniles. Swifts also will very soon disappear from our skies for another 8 months or so followed by many more species in September and October.

   One of the first groups of birds to start migration are some of the waders that breed in Northern Europe and Russia which include Greenshank, various Sandpiper species, Ruff and Spotted Redshank. A quick hour long visit to the scrape at Minsmere this week resulted in a group of about 20 Spotted Redshank and a few Godwits; the Spotted Redshank differs from an ordinary Redshank in size being slightly bigger and having a longer bill and legs. Also during the spring the adults develop black plumage spotted with white which they moult during the summer to leave an appearance similar to the common Redshank. In the two pictures below you can see the darker individuals who are in the process of moulting to match the others which may be non breeding birds that have spent the summer here in this country or juveniles on their migration. These birds are the forerunners of the mass movement to and from our shores that signal autumn is on the way which is difficult to see in the current weather!