Friday 5 October 2012

Birds are REALLY moving

Found this on a website today, mind blowing stuff! Perhaps higher than average breeding results and lower than average food sources have resulted in Scandinavian tits to move south. Coal Tits are now everywhere on the continent, their invasion is well established. I found one exhausted on a flower border in the centre of the city of Maastricht over the weekend. (Normally a rare sight away from coniferous areas.) Now Blue Tits are on the move. At Falsterbo numbers have been record-breaking: 45500 (Wed 3.10), 21300 (Tue 2.10), 87400 (Mon 1.10), 21600 (Sun 30.9) and a total of 212700 thus far this autumn. Annual autumn averages since 1973 have been 20908 individuals counted. So a lot of birds are on the move this year. Also, Chaffinch/Brambling seem to be doing something similar: 380200 (Wed), 271000 (Tue), 108400 (Mon), 302200 (Sat), thus far 1560005 individuals since 1 August, twice as many as the annual autumn average. Something to look forward to this winter perhaps. Better get back up the Orme!! Alan and Ruth www.thebiggesttwitch.com updated with Norfolk pics

2 comments:

  1. Sounds a good website Alan. Which one?
    See you up the Orme in the morning!

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  2. It was on the Cardiff Birders website they had copied it from somewhere! Should be a Flasetrbo site out there? Orme dire today but looks better over weekend fingers crossed!

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