Red(wing) army

It's been an interesting week for birdlife. The freezing weather has seen an influx of some birds and others drop off the radar altogether. But of the birds that have increased, there's no doubting the leader of the pack round this way.

Redwing (Turdus iliacus) trapped during ringing session in North Kent, Nov 2011

Standing ankle deep in snow, on the viewpoint at Northward Hill on Sunday morning, the world was quiet save the for near-constant 'tseeep's emanating from the dense clouds overhead. Though unseen, it was clear that good numbers of Redwing were heading east. Redwings are just about everywhere at the moment it seems, with huge numbers recorded mid-week in London and the BTO recording rate showing a sharp rise:

Redwing Birdtrack reporting data. Blue line (this year's) shows a sudden, sharp rise. From http://www.bto.org/

Redwings are the smallest UK thrush but probably the most distinctive. Their chocolatey brown plumage, pale supercilium and a flash of red beneath the wing means they can be easily recognised. What a gorgeous bird. This wave of redwings is linked to icy conditions in Scandinavia - the native range for all but a tiny proportion of these birds. Since the berry crop here has been well and truly plundered by the large numbers of wintering fieldfares and blackbirds on site, the majority at Northward Hill have just been passing through. I'd wager many of these birds will end up in urban and suburban gardens where a wide variety of fruiting trees and shrubs prosper and remain un-picked in relatively sheltered conditions.

It looks like there's another area of low pressure pushing a cold front down from northern Europe and Siberia this weekend (thanks BBC interactive weather maps), so who knows what else is on it's way. What price a sodding Waxwing eh?!