Wintering passerines arriving each day

Most of the trans-Saharan migrants have gone through by now and it is the turn of those that will spend the winter in our area. Among these are the Chiffchaffs from north-western Europe.

These small insectivorous birds are great opportunists, a good quality if you are a migrant. At this stage they spend their time in marginal habitats where flowering plants, like the Aromatic Inula (above) or the Culinary Fennel (below), attract many insects.

Blackcaps (above), distinguishable by their pale plumage and long wings compared to the local birds (see post of 12th March), and White Wagtails (below) are among the most numerous of these arrivals.

Now commencing is the spectacular diurnal migration of finches which will dominate the scene in late October and early November when the skies get covered in flocks of Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Serin, Linnet and Goldfinch (below) in particular.