October 2025 — Just A Bird

The first opportunity for proper birding was on 12th October when I went to look for migrants at Pleinmont. It was nicely busy up there, with my first Redwings of the winter and double-figures of Skylarks. Over 50 hirundines fed over the headland and there were plenty of Chiffchaffs, Firecrests and Blackcaps in the valleys. The best bird of the morning was seen whilst overlooking Vau de Monel from the top path, when a superb Hobby came in and hung in the air above the trees. It was a fine juvenile bird and unlike most Hobbies, it didn’t just shoot through, but took its time and so i was able to take a few snaps.

On 13th I discovered the first Great Northern Diver of the season swimming at Vazon. Whilst watching this, I noticed a large passerine coming in off the sea, which flew right past me and dumped down on a weed just over the sea wall. It was a nice Fieldfare, obviously a bit knackered after crossing the Channel - “migration in action”.

The next day, after work, down at the Richmond end of Vazon, 4 Bar-tailed Godwits fed above the ebbing tide, and with them was an Oystercatcher which stood out from the rest. The main thing was that it had a very brown back which stood out from a very black head and neck. Sometimes black birds’ feathers can get very worn and become paler, or ‘bleached’, but it didn’t seem that was the case here. The mantle feathers appeared in good nick and why the sudden contrast with the foreparts? Structurally it seemed a bit off, with a large, pointy body, a small head and a longish bill compared to the nearby Oycs. I managed a few poor shots before it flew round the corner.

Reading up on Oystercatchers when I got home, this bird had many features of “Siberian” Oystercatcher, race longipes. However, there’s not much definite ID information available on this sub-species and, to be sure, you need to get a good look at the length of the nasal groove! But nevertheless, there have a been a couple of claims in the UK (eg here) so it stands a chance.

Possible Siberian Oystercatcher - Vazon, 14 Oct 25

The only other notable birding event of the month was a seawatch from Jaonneuse on 26th October. There wasn’t a massive passage but there were a few items of interest including my only skuas of the year so far, single Arctic and Great Skuas. The best birds were the 15 or so Sooty Shearwaters that passed by, with a few being pretty close, including the one I managed to film below, where the silvery underwing patch is picked up by the camera.

There was one suitable opportunity for moth-trapping in the garden, with decent conditions on the night of 10th October. This resulted in a new species for me - Old World Webworm (Hellula undalis). This is a southern European species which is becoming much more regular in the north with the increased warm autumn winds. Other decent species recorded were Golden Twin-spot, H. glaucinalis, Barred Red, 2 Blair’s Mocha, a Red-line Quaker and 6 Spiny Hook-tips.

Just A Bird

Just A Bird

Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

Just A Bird

Just A Bird