Page 28 - Oundle Life September 2021

thrushes. Having crossed the North Sea in their thousands, Fieldfares and Redwings, with their striking plumage, add spice to the arguably drabber fare represented by our resident Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Mistle Thrushes, as they forage in flocks in hedgerows, meadows and on farmland, entering gardens in search of berry-bearing bushes on occasions when the weather turns unduly cold.
Far less common is the Stonechat, which also arrives in autumn and favours more open habitats, such as that provided by the rough, overgrown areas around the bunkers of the
old airfield at Polebrook, while the same site occasionally hosts visiting Short-eared Owls in October, on the wing during daylight – if you are lucky!
Autumn is also the time when wildfowl numbers begin to build, with rafts of Tufted Ducks and Pochards moving in to join resident wildfowl on local bodies of water, such as
Thrapston Gravel Pits, and flocks of Wigeon appearing in suitable habitats along the Nene Valley between Thorpe Waterville and Tansor.
To find out what may be occurring in your area – and when – the Oundle Bookshop, at 13 Market Place, regularly stocks Northants Birds – the annually produced publication summarising all species seen in Northamptonshire each
year, as well as other interesting articles and information.
Mike Alibone
www.northantsbirds.com
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Image © Clive Bowley Image © Mike Alibone