The Recording Year
Autumn Migration
About Bird Recording
The Recording Year
Migration is often not so obvious in the autumn as
it is in spring with summer visitors ‘disappearing'
gradually, often without notice. Winter visitors tend
to arrive over a longer time period and are not in such
a rush as spring migrants; the urgency of the breeding
season is not there. It's a really exciting time
though, with winter thrushes, flocks of geese and swans
arriving and the dispersal of raptors to their wintering
grounds.
Recording the departure dates of migrants is often considered more difficult than noting arrival dates. By submitting lists regularly to BirdTrack we will be able to get a clear picture of the timing and pattern of departure of summer visitors. The table below gives the latest departure dates for summer visitors in Hampshire, West Midlands, Leicestershire, Lancashire and Shetland. For up-to-date information on a wider range of species and regions see Maps and Reports.
| Species | Hampshire | West Midlands | Leicestershire | Lancashire | Shetland |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garganey | 27 September | 2 October | 19 October | - | - |
| Montagu’s Harrier | 2 September | - | - | - | - |
| Osprey | 13 October | - | 15 September | - | - |
| Hobby | 9 October | 7 October | 12 October | - | - |
| Quail | 24 August | 25 August | 1 August | - | - |
| Stone Curlew | 5 October | - | - | - | - |
| Little Ringed Plover | 18 September | 3 October | 20 September | 16 September | - |
| Wood Sandpiper | 23 September | - | 19 September | 20 September | - |
| Arctic Skua | 26 October | - | - | - | 2 October |
| Sandwich Tern | 26 October | - | - | 10 October | - |
| Common Tern | 25 October | 10 October | 5 October | 22 October | 30 September |
| Arctic Tern | 6 October | - | 14 September | 12 October | 13 October |
| Little Tern | 2 October | - | - | 15 September | - |
| Black Tern | 9 October | - | 3 October | 8 October | - |
| Turtle Dove | 6 October | 25 September | 16 September | - | 21 October |
| Cuckoo | 15 September | 6 September | 10 September | 1 September | 6 September |
| Nightjar | 9 September | 24 August | - | - | - |
| Swift | 4 October | 27 September | 25 September | 9 October | 17 September |
| Wryneck | 23 September | - | - | - | 22 September |
| Sand Martin | 15 October | 12 October | 6 October | 3 October | 25 September |
| Swallow | 27 November | 4 November | 2 November | 13 November | 17 October |
| House Martin | 21 November | 2 November | 20 October | 3 November | 13 October |
| Tree Pipit | 3October | 23 November | - | - | 9 October |
| Yellow Wagtail | 21 October | 12 October | 5 October | 5 October | 1 October |
| Nightingale | 23 August | 1 August | - | - | - |
| Redstart | 15 October | 27 October | 25 September | 11 October | 26 October |
| Whinchat | 31 October | 8 October | 30 September | 18 October | 25 October |
| Wheatear | 9 November | 18 October | 8 October | 3 November | 1 November |
| Ring Ouzel | 29 October | 27 October | - | 31 October | 24 October |
| Grasshopper Warbler | 16 September | 28 August | 17 August | - | - |
| Sedge Warbler | 12 October | 29 September | 7 October | 30 September | 24 September |
| Reed Warbler | 20 October | 28 September | 27 September | 12 October | 7 October |
| Lesser Whitethroat | 3 October | 23 September | 26 September | 21 September | 25 October |
| Whitethroat | 6 October | 29 September | 22 September | 16 October | 6 October |
| Garden Warbler | 1 October | 14 September | 16 September | 24 October | 23 October |
| Wood Warbler | 25 August | 27 August | - | - | 26 September |
| Willow Warbler | 8 October | 7 October | 12 October | 11 October | 20 October |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 3 October | 29 September | 27 September | 5 October | 7 October |
| Pied Flycatcher | 28 September | 11 September | - | 26 September | 14 October |
There is a paucity of information regarding the arrival dates of winter visitors and this is where your contributions to BirdTrack can really help. Few bird reports give long-term average arrival dates, those for Hampshire and West Midlands are shown below but you will see there is no information available for scarcer species.
| Species | Hampshire | West Midlands |
|---|---|---|
| Bewick's Swan | 2 November | - |
| Whooper Swan | - | - |
| White-fronted Goose | 15 November | - |
| Scaup | 28 October | - |
| Long-tailed Duck | 6 November | - |
| Velvet Scoter | 1 November | - |
| Hen Harrier | 27 September | - |
| Merlin | 28 August | - |
| Purple Sandpiper | 9 October | - |
| Jack Snipe | 30 September | 28 September |
| Water Pipit | 16 October | 31 October |
| Fieldfare | 2 October | 2 October |
| Redwing | 28 September | 28 September |
| Great Grey Shrike | 20 October | - |
| Brambling | 6 October | 11 October |
For many birdwatchers, autumn brings with it excitement
and anticipation. If the winds blow from the east during
September and October will there be a good arrival of
far eastern species like Pallas's Warbler, Radde's
Warbler or perhaps something rarer like a Pechora Pipit?
Birdwatchers in Ireland and the west of Britain will
be closely following the weather maps looking for fast
moving depressions moving across the Atlantic that could
bring an arrival of American vagrants like Red-eyed
Vireo, Buff-breasted Sandpipers and rare thrushes and
warblers.
Birdwatching inland during the autumn can also produce some good birds with Pied Flycatchers, waders and terns moving through. It's worth spending some time looking at tit flocks as these often harbour warblers like Blackcap and Chiffchaff. Even rarer species like Yellow-browed Warbler are sometimes found amongst tit flocks in October and November.