AUTUMN IS HEAR

The nights are drawing in and with the days now noticeably shortening it's a sure sign that autumn is here. The berries are on the trees and the leaves are started to turn into their autumn colours and our summer visitors are all but gone. The Swallows we had breeding in two of my sheds and the Redstarts we had breeding in our nest boxes the Willow Warblers and Tree pipits have all left. A few stragglers may still hang on for a week or two but most migrants are making their way to the coast where they'll feed up before making their epic flights south to the Mediterranean, Africa and beyond.
The winter migrants that visit us from Scandinavia, Iceland and Artic Russia will soon be arriving, birds like Redwings, Fieldfares, Whooper and Bewick swans, our winter Geese and Ducks, Waxwings, Snow Buntings and Bramblings which I was lucky enough to have come to my feeders and photograph last winter will soon be flying in to escape the harsh winters of the North.

male brambling

female brambling

whooper swan

waxwing

Although autumn is officially here this September has been fairly mild and I've noticed that the birds haven't been coming to my feeders in any great numbers perhaps there's still plenty of natural food about at the moment.

greenfinch

goldfinch

juvenile great spotted woodpecker

An hour and a half photography session today was really quiet with these three the pick of the bunch.