First major 'fall' of the autumn

The weather forecast looked good on Thursday night - lovely clear evening with light easterlies with a front moving through from the west early morning. I decided to be out the following dawn to see whether the front had downed any migrants. On site at 0615 it was immediately apparent that, for once, my prediction was right. A couple of Pied Flycatchers in the poplars was a good start and this was soon followed by the first flock of Crossbills that flew noisily overhead. Several Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers later I spotted a Wood Warbler in the tree tops - not easy to see after July. The brambles were full of Common Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroats with a good scattering of Blackcaps and Garden Warblers, too. Along the hedge to the point a Spotted Flycatcher used an overhanging branch as a hunting lookout and overhead flew what seemed like a constant stream of Yellow Wagtails. I flushed a Tree Pipit at the point and began to work my way through the bushes which were full of birds - several times I could see 3 or 4 different species in the same field of view. More Chiffchaffs, Lesser Whitethroats and Spotted Flycatchers were accompanied by a Whinchat. More Crossbills 'chipped' overhead and a Spotted Redshank called as it whizzed past the coast. Two Caspian Terns were a welcome sight overhead and they were soon followed by an Osprey that made a token effort to hover over the lagoon before heading south out to sea. A second walk along the hedge produced an Icterine Warbler and a Reed Warbler and a third flock of Crossbills. It was all pretty intense and one of those days that makes all those early mornings worthwhile..! I sat on a hillock savouring the morning - birds everywhere. Two Sparrowhawks then ripped through the bushes and that seemed to cause many of the warblers to disperse.. a second walk through the bushes a little later produced far fewer birds and the Whinchat and Tree Pipits were nowhere to be seen.

The 'fall' seemed to be concentrated in an area around the coastal bushes - only about 100m inland there were hardly any birds at all..

I thought my Crossbills were a good record but, just across the Øresund at Falsterbo, an incredible 2,800 Crossbills passed through! Autumn migration is in full swing...

Photo: one of the Spotted Flycatchers at Sydvestpynten yesterday morning