A Week on the Estate: Redwings Arrive, Fruitful Hedgerows & Sponsoring Vines
It’s hard to believe that we’re only 16 days from the winter solstice and 20 days from Christmas at the time of writing. Weather-wise, we’re currently enjoying a mild spell thanks to low pressure that blew in from the Atlantic midweek accompanied by heavy rain. This system will peak in intensity over the weekend as Storm Darragh takes charge with the potential for heavy showers and winds gusting up to 60mph in our neck of the woods. Do cast your eyes over the latest weather forecast if you’re heading out on Saturday and Sunday. Into next week, high pressure will dominate and we may get overnight fog and moody morning mists. Over the next seven days, the daily temperature range will drop from 12C-4C to 6C-1C.
Turning to the BirdWeather, we’ve received the acoustic bird-count for November 2024 and here’s our top ten (the number of sensor activations are in parentheses):
- Rook (31,011) / 2. Jackdaw (24,269) / 3. Woodpigeon (21,504) / 4. Wren (21,263) / 5. Robin (18,848) / 6. Dunnock (13,112) / 7. Long-tailed Tit (12,089) / 8. Pheasant (11,591) / 9. Blackbird (7,659) / 10. Goldcrest (5,599)
An honourable mention goes to the tawny owl, thriving locally and only just falling out of the top ten and placing 11th with 3,995 hits. Tawnies are most vocal in the autumn as they stake out territories and seek mates for the spring. It’s also noteworthy that the kingfisher placed 22nd with 781 hits. This expert angler is not the most vocal of birds and can be vulnerable in harsh winters, so we hope this is an intimation of a healthy and resilient local population.
We’re particularly thrilled to see the redwing (Turdus iliacus) placing 13th with 3,314 hits. This small thrush with its characteristic scarlet flanks is usually a winter visitor to the UK and is attracted to winter-fruiting hedgerows and trees. Our systematic efforts to boost our wild flora, not least by reversing a post-war decline in biodiverse boundaries and planting more than 7km of new hedgerows, is undoubtedly a positive influence on both the number and variety of our wild birds. Look out for more news on our winter visitors soon. If you’re keen to see and hear our wild birds in the company of a knowledgeable guide, there are still spaces left on our final Birdlife Discovery Tour of the year HERE.
