A walk to Valyie and back produced 20 Blackbirds being my largest count of the year so far so likely to involve some migrants. There was also a Song Thrush at Valyie and another at Burrafirth again being locations I've not previously seen them this year. The same cannot be said for the Water Rail that remains in our garden. Our reward came late in the day along the road to Westing as we picked out a second calendar year Gyr flying towards us, and were transfixed, as we watched it zoom past us!
Female Blackbird at Norwick
Blackbirds at Norwick
It's that time of year when it's difficult to distinguish between winterers and migrants, but with my previous day count being 5 this year, today's total of 20 almost felt a like a fall !
Gyr along the road to Westing
