Harrington migration

Hi

A wander around Harrington Airfield this morning and plenty of winter thrushes on the move.  Many of the Fieldfares were resting in the hawthorns and eating the haws, with smaller numbers of Redwing and appreciably more Song Thrushes and Blackbirds joining in.  With reasonable numbers of migrant Starlings moving over low to the south, a flock of a hundred or so stayed to feed on the top fields.  There were also plenty of finches again this morning with good numbers in particular of Linnet and Chaffinch.  Many of the latter were feeding on scattered mixed seed just inside the concrete track entrance.  A single male Brambling was present by the roadside early on.  Raptors included a Red Kite, and a Raven was with other corvids to the west of the concrete track.  A couple of flighty redpolls included a large-looking individual which for a time was with the Linnet flock.  It also had a lower-toned call than is usual for Lesser Redpoll but only ever presented as a silhoutte in flight so I'm afraid no specific identification was possible.  Migrant Woodpigeons moved over is small fast-moving flocks early on and quite a number of the same species were feeding on the stubble fields.  Other visible movers and shakers included Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit and common finches but nothing of particular note was picked out.  Never mind, the thrill of migration was enough to keep me happy in cool and dank conditions!

Regards

Neil M