31st Oct - sunny periods, high cloud, light SW, 10C

Willey; A busy day with little time for obs, I did see at least one flock of ~20 Redwings heading south.

During the afternoon Chris called to say he had found a Little Gull at Stanford reservoir, I saw one earlier in the year, but another record was a good find, he sent some photos that I have added below.

30th Oct - grass frost last night, High cloud, mostly sunny, light Westerly, 11C.

Bittesby; I had a walk over Bittesby farms this afternoon.  At first there was little around, even the old railway and wooded areas were quiet.  A Golden Plover was heard overhead and a few Skylark were on the large oil seed rape field.

Over the far side in the top of two Ash trees about 100 Fieldfare and a few Redwings and a single Starling were sitting, sometimes flying down to feed.  I then noticed that there were also smaller birds in the trees and hedgerow, scanning through I could see ~10 Chaffinch, a single Linnet and ~20 Yellowhammers, looking carefully through them proved worthwhile as a male Brambling was showing well.  A Green Woodpecker was heard nearby.

29th Oct - cloudy, then sunny spells, light NW, 10C

Willey; spent an hour this morning watching the feed station and sky for migration.  3 Cormorants flew over south, two flocks of Golden Plover, 26 over SE, then 20 over northward.  Plenty of Gulls were moving over, a few Redwing flew in to the bushes and other were feeding on the church Yew Tree, only 1 Fieldfare was around though.
On the feed station 2 Nuthatch, 5 Greenfinch, 2 Tree Sparrow, c20 House Sparrows, Coal, Blue and Great Tits, Chaffinch, Jackdaw.   Song Thrush and Blackbirds, plus Goldcrest were feeding in the Yew tree too.

Stanford reservoir; Just as I arrived after lunch Chris called to tell me that 3 Great (white) Egrets had just flown off from here over the fields at low level, this is an exceptional record, beating my 2 the other week.

Two Goldeneye were present today, plus all the usual duck species, the number of Teal must be at least 300, the low water and vegetated edges perfect for them.  48 Mute Swans were near the inlet away from the Greylag and Canada Geese.  Several Grey Heron were hunting the margins, the black-tailed Godwit was on the point still..

A Kestrel was hunting and Buzzard was flying around.  On the rough/game area c40 Goldfinch were feeding on Thistle heads.  A Jay flew over towards the adjacent wood. More Redwing, c40, were feeding in the bushes, with a few Fieldfare, c10.

A Red Admiral was making the most of the sunshine.

28th Oct - sunny am, becoming cloudy pm, light westerly, 15C

Lutterworth country park; a look here this morning as it gives a good vista for migration and has a small valley that helps channel the birds.  Small flocks of Redwings with the odd Fieldfare with them moved over westward.  A flock of 14 Goldfinch, several Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Bullfinch and a single Lesser Redpoll was about in the park.

Shawell Lagoons; the lagoons were quiet this afternoon, although Carl spotted 3 colour ringed Black-headed Gulls, one had a Polish ring, the others we have to check their origins.  Also, colour ringed Great-Black backed and Lesser-Black backed were seen.  A Cormorant was present and a Shelduck flew past twice.  A Green Woodpecker was exploring the banks for food.

The occasional Red Admiral butterfly was seen flying.

27th Oct - sunny, light NW, 14C

Mere lane lake; a look here this morning but generally quite with usual species seen including Little Grebe, Green Woodpecker, Jay, Reed Bunting and Meadow Pipit over.

Stanford Reservoir; here during the afternoon, lovely and sunny.  A Black-tailed Godwit on the point, unfortunately it seems to have only one leg.  About 30 Lapwing were also there. A male Goldeneye was my first of the autumn for this site.  Treecreeper were spotted in a couple of different locations, while the roving along-tailed Tit flock did not contain any notable Tit or Warbler species.

A Barn Owl was hunting over the reedbed at 1450h, maybe it has late young? Three Little Grebe were near the inlet bay. passerines seemed generally in short supply, a couple of Bullfinch, a few Chaffinches and 2 Cetti’s Warblers were found.  A single Grey Wagtail flew from the inlet.

Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies were seen during the day.

26th Oct - High cloud, almost still, 15C

Yesterday’s Razorbill at Draycote Water was picked up dead today, as is often the case for auks and the like blown inland.

Willey; this morning very little was stirring in the cloudy still,conditions, only a few Redwing came over. The local Mistle Thrushes were visiting the various Holly trees for the berries.
During the late morning I spent some time watching the feed station, most entertaining. A male Great spotted Woodpecker on the peanuts, Nuthatch, at least 3 Coal Tits, 2 Greenfinch, Goldfinch were among the visitors.

Shawell Lagoons; I checked here this morning, but still very little in and the Gulls were very jumpy.  A Cormorant and Little Grebe on the north pool, the number of Common Gulls is increasing, I counted at least 10 during my visit.  A Buzzard and Kestrel were flying over, this may have been part reason for the Gulls being jumpy.

25th Oct - sunny periods, light westerly, mild 17 C

Stanford Reservoir;  a look here this morning, generally rather quite, only move the was 14 Fieldfare westward.  A small number of Redwing were in the bushes.  5 Buzzrds together we’re making the most of the thermals. The Greenshank was feeding on the point, c70 Lapwing flew in.  On the adjacent field Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Reed Bunting were busy.  Otherwise things much as normal with all the usual species seen.

A few Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies were around.

Draycote Water;  a couple of interesting birds were found there this morning, so after lunch I decided to have a look.

The first was a Razorbill, it was quite windy during the night so must have got blown inland.  It seemed healthy but not very active while I was there.  If it does not leave or feed it probably will not survive too long. Said to be the first in Warwickshire for 100 years, need to confirm this though.

The second bird was an adult Grey Phalarope, this was quite close and often on the shore, taking no notice of the fisherman or observers that were close by .

More photos will be added at some time.