Saturday 26th October 2019

Birding during late September and October this autumn has been hampered somewhat by the persistent poor weather, which somewhat restricts my everyday birding, especially mid-week. Nevertheless I did manage to get out to Pleinmont a few times but my walks didn’t coincide with any rare arrivals. On Saturday 28th September I called in at a few spots in the afternoon between showers and had at least 4 Common Sandpipers along the west coast and, for the time of year, an unusually-large count of 12 Med Gulls at Cobo. The long-staying Spoonbill was still at Claire Mare. There followed a pretty miserable week but I did note a Golden Plover come in off the sea at Rousse on 29th and a Redstart at Pulias on 30th.

On 5th October managed a brief afternoon run round the valleys at Pleinmont searching for vagrants but only came up with 2 Firecrests and a Willow Warbler amongst the Chiffchaffs. During the next week the most interesting bird around was a possible Icterine Warbler at Pleinmont that I tried to see on a few occasions and failed. So I was pleased that, in the end, after careful analysis of photos, it turned out to be a Melodious after all. Up at Pleinmont on 12th October with the intention of seeing this bird, I had to abandon my plans due to gale force southerly winds blowing its favoured bushes to bits. I hunkered down in the valleys and picked out one Firecrest in amongst the 30 or so Chiffchaffs. The next morning I had another go for the mystery Hippo at first light but it was another no-show. I flushed a migrant Snipe from the adjacent field but I soon had to dash for home as a heavy, wet front came over, quite a theme of the month.

I finally found something half-decent on the 16th with a rather nice Snow Bunting at Pulias on the way home from work. It was pretty tame and I got decent photos despite the dingy conditions.

Snow Bunting - Pulias, 16 Oct 19

Snow Bunting - Pulias, 16 Oct 19

Snow Bunting - Pulias, 16 Oct 19

On 19th October I finally got the chance for a rain-free, non-time-constrained afternoon session at Pleinmont. Although it was an enjoyable time out in the field I didn’t see anything rare. I had my first Skylark of the autumn and a total of 8 Firecrests, plus what is one of my latest ever Sand Martins amongst 30 or more Swallows. One thing that was very pleasing was that the little bit of sun had encouraged the male Cirl Bunting to sing, which bodes well for a repeated breeding attempt next year.

singing male Cirl Bunting - Pleinmont, 19 Oct 19

Horseshoe at Pezeries, Pleinmont, 19 Oct 19

Midweek it became evident that the winter migrants had finally arrived on the island as, on 22nd I had a Redwing flying over the garden as I was getting into the car. This year my lunchtime birding has been more or less curtailed due to an unhelpful timetable where I am teaching all afternoon, every afternoon (I know!). However with the encouraging Redwing and decent weather, I forced myself out to the Guet and was rewarded with a fine Yellow-browed Warbler in the quarry, showing very well. This is only my second here but now the fourth for my patch. I was really chuffed with this sighting, as it isn’t a proper autumn unless you find a surprising yellow-brow.

Yellow-browed Warbler - Le Guet, 22 Oct 19

Yellow-browed Warbler - Le Guet, 22 Oct 19

That evening I had a Siskin fly over a meeting in St. Martins and the next day (23rd) another flock of 18 birds flew over the garden at first light. In the evening of the same day, I had a sneaky half hour of Bigard, where there were 3 Firecrests and a Chiffchaff in the Goldcrest flock. Saturday 26th was my last chance of a Pleinmont effort and I gave it some welly. However, despite my great efforts, no rarities were located. I was very surprised not to find a Yellow-browed in amongst the Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and Firecrests in the valleys. The only two other notable birds were a Reed Bunting in La Societe fields and a Woodcock flushed from the streamside at Vau de Monel.

Due to the inclement conditions, I didn’t get the moth trap out very much at all, but I did record two second records for the garden. On 21st September I had a Spanish Carpet, a species that I had not seen for ages. It is pretty common on the cliffs and the commons here on the island, but does not seem to wander very much. Then on 13th October, a Tebenna micalis was attracted to the outside light. A tiny but terrific little micro, with silver streaks and shiny, lilac spots. This species is apparently a migrant.

Spanish Carpet - garden, 21 Sep 19

Tebenna micalis - garden, 13 Oct 19

Tebenna micalis - garden, 13 Oct 19

moss on a tree branch, Pleinmont