Thrush movements.

One thing we commented on on our recent Shetland trip was the lack of winter Thrushes. In previous years we've had plenty of Redwings at least but this year only Blackbirds seemed present in reasonable numbers. A quick search of the various observatoy sites in the northern part of the country reveals the same pattern. Fair Isle have had one, North Ron haven't reported any and neither have Heysham or Walney.I can't find any records on Birdtrack either. With a strong northely bias to the winds you'd expect them to be streaming over from Iceland and Scandinavia. The same applies to Goldcrests - very scarce so far this autumn. Maybe birds are moving later due to the mild conditions in their breeding grounds? Interestingly visible migration watchers at nearby Seaforth have also failed to record any Redwings.

Footnote: Gilroy had 200 Redwings over on 4th October! This must be the biggest flock recorded in the UK to date and I wouldn't be suprised if it was the earliest record for Cheshire this year.