Cold weather movement
There is just a single Redwing in this photo taken from the house window. However, the bird was part of a huge cold weather movement that took place on Sunday. Although Redwings are fairly common during Britain's winter months, they are actually quite unusual right down on the Dorset coast, being much more common further north. So it was a huge surprise when several hundred arrived outside the house, mid-morning, looking for food. A few Fieldfare were also mixed in with the flock.
I checked a Dorset bird internet site and Redwings weren't reported on the Saturday or indeed on the Monday. However, on Sunday, the day of this photo, there were reports of large Redwing flocks from numerous county locations e.g. 600 from Ferrybridge between Weymouth and Portland. That is about 5 miles from here.
What was being witnessed was a classic cold weather movement, just like the flocks of Lapwing and Golden Plover during the big freeze a fortnight previously.
Cold weather movement
There is just a single Redwing in this photo taken from the house window. However, the bird was part of a huge cold weather movement that took place on Sunday. Although Redwings are fairly common during Britain's winter months, they are actually quite unusual right down on the Dorset coast, being much more common further north. So it was a huge surprise when several hundred arrived outside the house, mid-morning, looking for food. A few Fieldfare were also mixed in with the flock.
I checked a Dorset bird internet site and Redwings weren't reported on the Saturday or indeed on the Monday. However, on Sunday, the day of this photo, there were reports of large Redwing flocks from numerous county locations e.g. 600 from Ferrybridge between Weymouth and Portland. That is about 5 miles from here.
What was being witnessed was a classic cold weather movement, just like the flocks of Lapwing and Golden Plover during the big freeze a fortnight previously.