- Bird News from Dominic Le Croissette
Hopes were high for migrant birds after yesterday’s wind and rain, and the visit did not disappoint. Outstanding highlight was the adult male Siberian Thrush, which appeared at eye level in a treetop as I was looking down onto the top part of the gully. Typically, it moved on quickly and was not seen again. Other thrushes were well represented, with a party of 3 Brown-headed Thrush feeding in the gully all morning, 2 male Grey-backed Thrush, and a conservative estimate of 25 Grey Thrush and 25 Pale Thrush seen, with many more heard. These birds were clearly moving through the area, with at times constant traffic of thrushes moving through the treetops at the top of the gully. Around the recreation area, a party of 6 Rustic Buntings including 3 males in full breeding plumage were a very enjoyable sight; nearby, a male Tristram’s Bunting fed unobtrusively in the leaf litter around the base of a fence. The only flycatcher was a female Blue and White Flycatcher; perhaps surprisingly, no Narcissus Flycatchers were seen today. Also present in the area, 3 or 4 Eastern Crowned Warblers, 3 Yellow-browed Warblers, 2 late Brambling, and in the late morning a Grey-faced Buzzard heading west over the park entrance.