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Originally Posted by Deer Stalker  Highlights from the New Forest this morning were hundreds & hundreds of Redwings with a few Fielfare mixed in. |
I had a wet walk in Alice Holt yesterday...great streams of redwings again!
Why so many?
The "pull" of berries in UK ? Or the "push" of not enough to eat at home in Scandinavia etc? After all it's not cold.
Berry-wise there was a fair crop of Rowan (nearly gone now) and Guelder Rose (now being noshed) a medium crop of Yew (where are the Mistle thrushes?
They normally guard these trees very aggressively against other species) fairly good crop of hawthorn (going fast, partly birds, partly wind and rain I expect) a very heavy crop of holly (Birds don't seem to have started on it in earnest) and a rather meagre crop of ivy (that will be a problem especially for the wood pigeons and blackbirds if we get serious cold weather in late winter)
And are the Redwing and Fieldfare migrations pretty much done? I know they often suffer large mortality crossing the North Sea and get washed up in large numbers dead or exhausted where they fall prey to gulls along the North/East coasts.
This rotten weather must be making it hard, but maybe they're all over here by now and safely feeding.
QUESTIONS , QUESTIONS! ANY ANSWERS?