Autumn, or Winter?

This morning out on the patch - a rare moment these days - I discovered a Firecrest in with about a million Goldcrests. Moments later Nick had discovered a Ring Ouzel - overdue, but a clear sign that autumn is nearly over. Ring Ouzels are the generally the last of the passage migrants in Wanstead, and so its arrival on the same day that the first Firecrest of the winter put in an appearance is telling. Even more telling is that earlier this week Dan discovered two Goldeneye in the Park. He's not been birding the area long, and so innocently enquired as to whether this was normal. When Nick and I had recovered from running all the way over there, we were able to tell him that no, this wasn't normal, and that these two were the fourth and fifth birds that we know about, and the first since the winter of 2009 when a female turned up after a storm. Gutting for Tim that they turned up the day after a WeBS count; he's currently trying to figure out a way to sneak them on......

In other news, there is no news. I've been at work, penance for a couple of weeks ago. The news I didn't want to hear is that Shetland is being crushed under the weight of Olive-backed Pipits (bastards), and that there are an additional six UK ticks available for me around the country if I had some kind of "Beam me up Scottie" type device. Which I don't.