For a couple of weeks now, thrushes have been arriving in the UK from their Scandinavian breeding grounds, hoping for better weather here during the Winter. Birders in Orkney have been studiously counting flock sizes, which have occasionally been in the thousands, but this mainly happens on the east side of the archipelago rather than on the west where we live.
However, today we noticed the first few Redwings of the Autumn in the field over the track, and a couple of different Blackbirds in the garden. Apples were immediately deployed, halved and deposited in plain sight, just a short glide from our neighbour's trees. By lunchtime, it was only the Blackbirds which were confident (or hungry) enough to hop about the front garden.
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| My understanding is that the all-dark individuals are from Scandinavia |
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| The resident Blackbird |
The flocks continued to arrive though, now with a few Fieldfares among them, but no sign of any Song Thrushes yet, or the Holy Grail of Thrushdom, a Ring Ouzel.
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| Redwings (left) and Fieldfares (right) |
The local Blackbird whose territory covers our garden is not at all happy about these interlopers, but so far he hasn't put up any flags or taken to ranting on social media. I guess if you're a thrush in Orkney, Vikings are just part of everyday life.
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