31st Oct - frost last night, sunny most of day, cloud increasing late afternoon. Light SE, 12C

Frolesworth Manor lake; a look this morning  produced a ‘redhead’ Goosander on the lake, with a few Common Gulls among the Black-headed Gulls.  At the game crop 5 Yellowhammers were with Chaffinches. A couple of Jays were calling in the corner conifer spinney.

Misterton; there are quite a few Beeches here and hopefully some Brambling will turn up, as yet I’ve never found any here, but maybe one day.  However, there was a Kingfisher fishing at the lake and 2 Little Grebe.

Thrapston; a visit to the Town Lake to see the 6 Velvet Scoter that have been present already a couple of days, they were still present and giving good views, all 1st winter birds.

30th Oct - sunny spells, light to mod NW, 8C

Willey; first thing c25 Fieldfare and a few Redwing flew over SW.

Stanford Reservoir; a look after lunch just in the dam area.  A couple of Red Kite flew over.  Most notable was the number of Goldeneye had increased to 16, so quite a few new arrivals.

29th Oct - a good ground frost last night -4C, sunny periods, moderate northerly, 7C

Willey, first thing about 30 Redwing were flying over and dispersing into hedgerows.

Stanford Reservoir; a look here after lunch, 4 Goldeneye were present, some different birds than yesterday, so likely more actually present.  At the inlet end several Little Egret and a Great White Egret, plus 3 Grey Heron. A Green Sandpiper too.

I spent some while checking the Beech trees near the entrance, unfortunately no Brambling, but Tit numbers were high searching through the leaf litter and included 2 Coal Tits.

Cotesbach Landfill; a short look here at the Gulls, number high now, no early white-wingers. I did spot a colour ringed Herring Gull, Carl says it has been a regular here since 2016 and was ringed in Yorkshire.

28th Oct - sunny, becoming cloudy, light-mod northerly, 8C

Some video of yesterdays Jack Snipe

Croft Hill; a look here this morning, unfortunately no migration to report (however some birders at the monument on Charnwood, which I could see distantly were reporting some good movements), I did get good views of a Peregrine Falcon though. Only one Redwing!  Where are the winter Thrushes?

Willey; another check of my feed station at mid-day, included; 4 Greenfinch (2 ad, 2 juvs), 3 Chaffinch, c20 House Sparrows, 2 Nuthatch, a Coal Tit, numerous Blue and Great Tits. One Fieldfare was heard on the old railway,  A Red Kite flew over low west ward.

Quite a few Hornets were flying about still.

Stanford reservoir; a Drake Red-crested Pochard was present with the usual duck, including 3 Goldeneye, 5 Teal and 2 Little Grebe.  10+ Little Egret at the inlet with 4 Grey Heron.  18 Lapwing and c25 Starlings were feeding on the adjacent arable field.  Again, only a handful of Fieldfare and Redwing were seen. A Jay was drinking from the waters edge and a Water Rail called from the reeds.  In all I saw over 50 species this afternoon here.

27th Oct - touch of frost this morning, cloudy am, light rain pm, light-mod northerly, cold, 4C

A taste of cold weather for a change, certainly made the east coast interesting, however I had an interesting time locally too.  Deciding it was too bad for Gull watching at the landfill I opted to go to Brandon Marsh where I could shelter.

Not long after entering the Jon Baldwin hide someone called 'Otter' and sure enough not one but two Otters showed quite well before moving off in the shallow water towards the Wright hide.  Then a female Kingfisher appeared on a post and gave some super views.  Out on East Marsh all the usual ducks, Gulls etc.  A single female Pintail showed well too, and 2 Little Egret today.  One was certainly making the Grey Lag Geese get out of its way - well would you like a prod with that bill?

I spent some while in the Teal hide hoping to see a Jack Snipe, I didn't see one at first, then one was in full view giving very good views and 'bobbing' all the while. Nothing much to report from the Ted Jury hide, a Water Rail was heard, and several Stock Dove were in the dead trees and one Redwing on the top.

Despite the continuous rain a good afternoon.

26th Oct - cloudy mostly until late pm, light-mod WNW, 9C

Willey; I've started filling up my feed station and the usual species are already visiting, Blue, Great, Long-tailed and Coal Tits, Nuthatch, House Sparrows and Greenfinch. I'm sure soon others will be visiting, hopefully some Tree Sparrows again.

Stanford reservoir; this afternoon a Green Sandpiper was on the dam, a Great Egret flew along the reservoir, a Kestrel hunting, Water Rail calling in the main red bed.  Plenty of Shoveler still, Wigeon up to c150 now.  A mixed Tit flock of at least 15+ Long-tailed Tits, 10+ Blue Tits and others were working the willows and bushes.

25th Oct - sunny early, cloud increasing, sunny intervals, 13C, light NW

Willey; a flock of 21 Collard Doves flew over the street to the paddocks.

Stanford Reservoir; a look this morning, fairly quiet, my first Goldeneye, a drake, for the autumn.  Reasonable number of Chaffinch and Yellowhammers around the trees and adjacent fields today.  Mike Townsend had two Brambling fly passed. Otherwise pretty much the same as previous recent visits.

Theddingworth; a Kestrel was hovering over the field just behind the village by Laughton Lane.

The generally settle weather due to a ‘high’ sitting over us is about to change as a cool northerly air flow from the arctic is forecast to begin tomorrow, this will surely make birds move around and bring in winter visitors which are thin on the ground at the moment.

24th Oct - mostly sunny, breezy NW at times, 14C

Draycote Reservoir; a morning meeting with the warden for Stanford Reservoir here allowed me a quick viewing from the sailing club area.  The number of Little and Great-Crested Grebe is increasing  as autumn progresses. Distantly the juvenile Shag could be seen, it has been here a few days now. A single drake Goldeneye was spotted.

23rd Oct - breezy westerly, sunny spells, 12C

Stanford Reservoir; a look here this morning, the wind strength was enough to most passerines in cover. A few Fieldfare and Redwing were in the hawthorns, a Bullfinch briefly showed before diving in to cover.   A  mixed flock  of Tits, Goldcrest and Treecreepers was along the by-pass path. A couple of Little Egrets at the inlet and a Kingfisher. No new water birds were found. A Green Sandpiper was feeding at the dam.

I spotted some fungi fruiting, trying to confirm their identity.

22nd Oct - touch ground frost, becoming sunny, 12C, light, increaSING nw

Frolesworth manor lake; a quick look after lunch as I was passing, unfortunately saw a road casualty Hedgehog nearby.   Nothing too noteworthy, but a flock of 55 Lapwing were looking to land on an adjacent field, they flew off northward to other fields with a single Golden Plover.

Cotesbach Landfill; a look over the sandpit area of this site showed many Gulls to be present. Common Gulls increased to 9, 2 adult Yellow-legged Gulls found, with a good number of LBBG, HG, GBBG and BHG.  I spotted an colour ringed Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gull, 2P48 and 7W7B respectively.  Carl says these are regulars here and were originally ringed in East Anglia.

21st Oct - mst/fog early, cleared to a sunny day, light NW, 17C

Willey; at last a few local Fieldfare to the east in field trees and on ground with a few Redwings too.

Croft Hill; Had a look here this morning, hoping for migration over or something grounded by the fog. In fact, very quiet with just a few Skylark and Meadow Pipit over, probably local birds moving.

Stanford reservoir; more Wigeon have arrived again in the last few days, otherwise usual duck numbers. Grey Lag Geese up to c240 today. A few mixed Tit flocks with Treecreeper and Goldcrests, only one Chiffchaff found though.  Four Bullfinch were in the boundary hedge, but few other finches seen.   A Sparrow Hawk was hunting and a Buzzard flew passed.  In the dam and outflow area 3 Pied and a Grey Wagtail, a Kingfisher too.

Dragonflies and a Brimstone.

 Brimstone

Sparrow Hawk (courtesy of  Philip Adams)

20th Oct - misty early, sunny intervals am, clear sunny pm 18C, light W

Welney WWT; having spent time at a vintage auction nearby it was easy to pop in to this reserve.  Whooper Swans have increased, I saw about 60, but there were more on the farmland nearby seen when leaving the area, the wardens say they have about 200 back so far for the winter. Other duck numbers are now increasing with many Teal and more Wigeon in, also Shoveler, Gadwall and Mallard. A single female Pintail and 3 Pochard, although I only saw the drake.  With the Canada and Grey Lag Goose flock a Barnacle Goose.
A single Sparrowhawk being hassled by Carrion Crows, several Kestrels and 2 Marsh Harrier. Waders included a good flock of Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Golden Plover flying and several Snipe.

19th Oct - mist/fog early clearing to mostly sunny, 16C, light W

North Kilworth; there is a fallow field here that has lots of vegation/weed growth and I have meaning to have a look for a while. There were small numbers 10-20 of Yellowhammer, Reed Buntings, Meadow Pipits, Skylark and a few Goldfinch and Chaffinch. A Sparrowhawk flew through hunting too.  Another field worth checking as autumn/winter progresses.

Brandon Marsh; I had heard that a Short-eared Owl had been sighted here at lunch time, so I decided to have a look. Firstly over Newlands marsh from Albion’s bench area, not much was showing so I decided to head off to the Ted Jury hide to view from there. A Snipe was sitting camouflaged not far away and 2 Stonechat were out on the marsh, other birds included 10 Stock Dove, 6 Linnet plus and other regulars that provided distraction while waiting, like this Magpie. Then a brief flight view of the Owl before dropping down in to cover.  No further sightings before I had to leave, earlier than I would have liked due to an appointment. Maybe it will hang around a few days?

18th Oct - broken cloud, 13C, light NE

Still only a few Redwings around, I noticed 6 flying around this evening preparing to roost on the old railway track.  Waiting for first Fieldfare here, although some have been seen nearby and a couple of flocks were seen by Chris at Stanford reservoir today.

Late afternoon 10 Collard Doves flew over the village street and settled on aerials, there are more than this around the village though.

Plenty of insects as this mild air continues, a Butterfly went by, quite a few Ladybirds around too.

A busy day so few obs.

17th Oct - sunny spells, light NNW, 12C

Willey; under a wheelie bin I found a Smooth Newt, which I had to move a little to prevent it being rolled on.  The location is a annual spot for finding these newts.

16th Oct - cloudy, misty early, light wind S/SW, 12C

Willey; several (5+) Song Thrush early in the church Horse Chestnut and lane area, flying in and out of the trees/bushes suggesting some migrants have arrived during the night.  A Green Woodpecker was calling nearby.  10+ Goldfinch were flying over to a garden feeder they prefer, often 20+, I'll have to ask the owners for a recent accurate count.

Two flocks of Skylark, totalling 14, flew over low heading SW at 0850h..

15th Oct - cloudy, dull, drizzle, northerly brisk wind, 9C

Frolesworth Manor Lake; had a look here this morning as I was passing by, despite the weather not ideal.  a nice flock of Starling in the trees, not much on the lake of note. A male Bullfinch flew out and quickly back in to the thick hedge, no doubt a partner in there too.
There is a very good area of game cover and uncut wheat, which I have high hopes for as the autumn/winter progresses.
c250 Wood Pigeon were flying on to a nearby field to feed.

Stanford reservoir; after lunch a look here, weather still not ideal.  Pochard numbers have increased again to 22, no Goldeneye yet though, Wigeon numbers still low.  Common Gull, up to 8, so they're moving in now, Stanford is a good place for these in the winter.
7 Stock Dove were feeding on the neighbouring field.  Otherwise passerines were well hidden and keeping out of the rain and wind.

14th Oct - rain untill 1500h, cloudy, light northerly, 9C

Brandon Marsh; Yellow-browed Warbler.
I decided to head to Brandon after lunch so I had shelter, but could get out if the rain stopped.  About 1500h the rain did stop so I ventured out of the east marsh hide, soon hearing some Tits in the bushes, then the distinctive repeated call of a YBW.  Luckily it appeared in the bushes right next to me, I was able to watch it for about 3 minutes, before it moved off and able to see the distinguishing features.  How lucky was I to find it?  Fortunately 2 other visitors came along the path and I pointed it out to them.

On the east marsh the usual ducks, plenty of Teal and also present c250 Lapwing and 1 Little Grebe. A Water Rail was heard in the reeds from the Teal hide.

13th Oct - windy up to 20 mph all day, cloudy, brighter pm, 23C, Southerly

Even warmer!

Austrey; while at the National Ploughing Championships a Swallow was battling in to the wind over the field.

Shawell; late afternoon I looked around all the pools in this area, the wind was still blowing some and most birds were well hidden.  In the landfill sandpit area 88 Canada Geese, at the lagoons 118 Lapwing, a Little and Great-crested Grebe and on the back pool 57+ Teal with 4 Shoveler.

12th Oct - very windy all day, up to 20 mph, rain off and on, 19C, southerly

Ridiculous weather still 19C at 2300h tonight.

Willey; a single Redwing flew SW this morning and a Mistle Thrush around the church Yew trees.

Stanford reservoir; a brief visit to see if anything had been blown in, nothing unusual.  A Red Kite battled against the wind and there were 10+ Little Egrets at the inlet.

11th Oct - mostly cloudy, mild SE wind mod-fresh, 19C

A busy day -  unfortunately no obs, other than 15 House Sparrows at a farm that I visited where a sale was being held.

10th Oct - sunny, mod breezy SE, 24C

An amazingly warm and sunny day for October, but a change is on the way with unsettled weather.

Stanford reservoir;
This morning the ringers caught a Yellow-browed Warbler, unfortunately I could not make it in time for its release, nevertheless a great bird for the site and Midlands, even though good numbers are on the east coast at the moment.

I managed to make it about 1300h and just became searching for the YBW when Chris came with word that the ringers may have a Red-throated Pipit in the bag, so we went to look. The pipit had some features of a Red-throated such as primary feather pattern, length of tertials, bill colour but lacked the white lines down its back which are characteristic, so was considered most likely a Meadow Pipit.

So, I continued my hopeful search for the YBW.  A Red Kite flew low over the water and lifted something out of the water, it looked like a leaf the Gulls had been playing with earlier.  The number of Pochard has now increased to 14, all good signs of new arrivals.   A Buzzard was feeding on the ground of a field being cultivated.     No YBW though.

9th Oct - cloud clearing to give a sunny day, 19C, mod breeze SSW

Willey; first thing a few Redwings were in the Church Lane hedges, before flying off SW and a number of Skylarks were flying over head in a number of directions.  Mid-morning 3 Ravens flew over low heading west and calling.

Stanford reservoir; a quick look here at the paddock area and bushes for migrants, nothing new.  A few Chiffchaffs, Willow Tit plus the usual species.

8th Oct - mostly cloudy, mod-breezy SW wind, 15C

Willey; just after 0800h this morning a flock of c40 Redwing flew low and fast SW, no even calling.  Then during the morning singles were heard in various hedgerows.
Chiffchaff, Nuthatch, Great-spotted Woodpecker were all in the Church lane area.

Stanford Reservoir; a look after lunch, but the weather was not as good as forecast, quite a breeze at times.  At the inlet end Little Egret were present, a total of 14 all together.  With them a Great Egret, I managed some photos of it atop a Hawthorn bush. A Fisherman told me that there are lots of small young Pike in this area, so may be that’s what has attracted the Egrets?

Duck numbers appeared down today but the usual species were present, a couple of female Pochard in with the Tufties, only 4 Wigeon, 29 Shoveler, c10 Gadwall, a few Teal and Mallard.   A Little Grebe near the dam, on which was 2 Grey Wagtails.  Still only a couple of Common Gulls, Black-headed and Lesser Black Backed Gulls are increasing in numbers.

Passerines were hard to find due to the wind, but were about. A Cetti’s Warbler was vocal, and a couple of Chiffchaff were calling. As usual a mixed flock of Tits Goldcrest and Treecreeper along the by-pass path.  A flock of 25 Linnets flew over and headed for the cultivated field nearby.  Along the by-pass path a Bank Vole was busy gathering items, unfortunately it avoided my camera.

7th Oct - ground frost last night, mostly sunny, light SW, 14C

Willey; a Green Woodpecker called this morning in the top spinney and 3 Skylark flew over NE.

I planned to be at a vintage show today and half expecting it to be a good birding day too, this proved to be the case with first Redwing and Fieldfare and a good selection of other migrants making it to the midlands and east coast - still you can’t do everything.  Tomorrow is another day.

6th Oct - cloudy and rain until late afternoon, alittle brigther pre-dusk, N-NE light to mod, 9C

Some rain at last but again, not enough the ground is parched.

Cotesbach Landfill; I managed an hour after lunch between the rain and cool northerly.  The usual Gulls around the landfill and sand pit. 2 Red Kite, a couple of Goldcrest in the spinney but not much else.

I did spot mid-distance towards South Kilworth a flock of c60 Golden Plover flying round looking to settle on the fields in that area.

5th Oct - sunny spells, 18C, light SW

A busy day but managed a look at Stanford Reservoir n the afternoon.  However, it was fairly quiet but still worth checking the roving Tit flocks.  The Tit flock also included Chiffchaff and Treecreepers.  The number of Wigeon have now increased to 36. A single Little Egret was sitting in the bush at the settling pool.

4th Oct - cloudy, light drizzle am, clearing to sunny, 20C, light SSW

Brandon Marsh; I popped in here as I was passing the area mid-afternoon for a quick look. I was greeted by 2 Hobby busy hawking over the reserve, they gave some very good views and were very active. On the east marsh area were 105 Lapwings, c40 Wigeon, Gadwall, Shoveler, Teal and Mallard.  A noisy Nuthatch was nearby.

3rd Oct - sunny intervals, 17C, light W

Stanford reservoir; a walk from the dam round the bay to the feed station area and game cover in adjacent field.  A male Stonechat was again feeding from the game cover crop, with other birds darting in and out including Chiffchaff and Reed Bunting, a couple of Greenfinch flew in to the nearby bushes.

The ringers were here today and had caught a late Sedge and Reed Warbler plus 19 Blackcaps, although migrant numbers caught have generally been lower than normal.

Two Swallows and 6 House Martins were over the reservoir.  A Green Sandpiper was feeding at the dam, 4 Red Kites flew overhead.  A Willow Tit was heard briefly in the thicket before disappearing. Nothing new on the water today.

Cotesbach Landfill; 5 Red Kites were feeding around the area. Many Gulls widely dispersed on the local farmland that was being worked, and at the landfill area itself, but smaller numbers in the sandpit area, there was this good looking adult Yellow-legged Gull.