October and the last 2 months of the year

The park sits on 139, which includes the Marsh Tit heard only last month, which I suspect some people doubt, but I am happy with the call description.

October was pretty darn good, 98 species and it was slightly frustrating to hear a Brambling this morning and not yesterday, but hey ho.

The star bird was Osprey on the 14th, but other nice ones were 2 Jack Snipe, Shelduck, our long staying Pintail, Garganey last seen 1st, Whinchat & Wheatear 2nd, Hobby on 2nd & 4th, 2 Red-legged Partridge 2nd, Curlew 29th, sadly the raptor on the 6th cannot be confirmed but was most likely a dark morph juvenile Honey Buzzard.

So what shall we be all optimistic about?

Certainly Bittern and as I already said, I think we have one at Lavell's now, so far undetected. Wildfowl will continue to gather and November is a very good month for passage birds, past years have produced so many different species, but I'd love to see a Red-necked Grebe again, with no confirmed records since 1996.

On hoped for firsts for the park, we are way, way overdue our first Great Northern Diver and with our populations of Teal and Wigeon, we should stay extra vigilant for Green-winged Teal and American Wigeon. Let's not forget our track record of Athya ducks and with a Lesser Scaup at Little Marlow recently, we need to check all our Tufted and Pochard gatherings for this, a Ring-necked Duck, or perhaps our Ferruginous may return?

Don't forget we've had 2 Great White Egret records in November!

Wild swans and geese are more than likely in November - 7 Whooper over 10th 2013 and White-fronted Geese are highly likely to pass over from the first week through to the end of the year.

Despite my Taiga Bean Goose not getting a mention in the 8th December 2010, that is what it was, so I say check all the geese and swans at all times.

Goosander can show up from about now, Smew from late November.

With the SW corner still offering exposed mud, I guess some passing waders could show up, a late Common Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, but Ruff seem to prefer the landfill.

Finches have barely featured so far, but Siskin and Lesser Redpoll will gather if it gets colder, the thrushes are here, but will increase.

Will we see another Bearded Tit, some Waxwings over, a Firecrest lurking in the hedgerows, or will we get a rarity at the feeders?

Time will tell, good birding everyone!