I have resolved - weather & diary permitting - to do a vismig session every weekend first thing at Potwells in North Mymms Park during October.  As a trial run I arrived there this Sunday gone (29th Sep) at 6am just before first light to see how things were shaping up.  The forecast was for some cloud cover and a relatively gentle southeasterly breeze.  As the day dawned the forecast appeared fairly accurate and I witnessed a beautiful sunrise before comprehensive grey cloud got the better of things.

Walking through Redwell Farm from the car to the Potwells viewpoint I could hear one, possibly two, Little Owls calling.  A Skylark also called in the dark - oddly the only one of the morning - while a few Song Thrushes 'ticked' from the surrounding hedgerows.  I arrived at the viewpoint just as the first glow of light was appearing in the east, set-up and began to wait in expectation.

By 7.20am I was beginning to lose heart a little as nothing much seemed to be on the move save for a trickle of Meadow Pipits and the odd Chaffinch.  I did however note a fair few Swallows headed eastwards along with some House Martins.  I reminded myself that birds often don't move until later, depending on conditions so worth the continued wait.

I needn't have worried as, come 7.30am, a sudden increase in passage became apparent with Meadow Pipits, Siskins and Chaffinches moving over in a more definite NE to SW trajectory.  It was at that point I began to hear what might be a Woodlark but blended a bit with the Robin song.  As it drew nearer I could hear the repeated "tit-looee" call as it made its way up the valley and knew I had a Woodlark!  A hasty scan and there it was, heading SW up the valley just above the treetops.

I could easily see its short tail - like a young lark with no tail - and hear its regularly spaced call as it flew in a steady undulating flight past me.  A fantastic record and a Herts rarity although I am convinced we miss many more of them - after all, how many people are daft enough to stand on a hillside in the dark on a Sunday morning?!  It was yet more confirmation that I had found a good 'vismig spot' and that the birds would appear if I was there to look.

The Swallow & House Martin passage continued but shortly after 8.00am another target bird of any vismig session started calling right above me - a Hawfinch!  It disappeared over the tree line and I wondered if it might settle in the woods.  I wasn't able to locate it however but it did become #147 for my Five Miles From Home List - just 3 to go to my target 150!

By the end of my vismig session I'd witnessed over 100 Swallows and 50 House Martins head southeast and just shy of 50 Meadow Pipits and Siskins move mainly southwest.  Other highlights included my first 5 Redwings of the autum, a Hobby, a single Sand Martin and at least 10 Song Thrushes dropping into the hedgerows.

Heavy rain and an easterly wind serve Hertfordshire well when it comes to turning up rarer birds.  Expectations were therefore high this last weekend and the news of a Yellow-browed Warbler in the county was encouraging.  Coastal sites were also experiencing big movements of hirundines and rarer warblers were turning up along the east and southeastern coasts.

However, the usual check of sites on Sunday morning produced nothing out of the ordinary and not even a passage of birds overhead.  A visit to Potwells mid-afternoon did result in my first flyover Siskin of the autumn but, while plenty of Chiffchaffs were vocal, nothing else.  However, an alert from a fellow-birder suggested he might have found a Knot at Coursers gravel pits just below the hill I was on.

Time for birding was running out so a quick dash down to the site confirmed that it was indeed a juvenile Knot or Red Knot as per its full name.  Not only a welcome #146 for my Five Miles from Home List but a new species for me in Herts.  Here's a short video taken on my phone through my friend's scope:

Since late July (!) I have been on the hunt for a local Redstart but to no avail.  In 2022 I had a bright male as early as 4th July so it feels like it's been a long wait to get one.  This year the first Herts bird turned up not far away on the edge of Hatfield on 11th August but, despite further county records, none appeared locally.

As part of my search, I targeted Potwells and Redwell Farm on the hill above London Colney and have visited almost every day.  I was of course rewarded with a Goshawk, Tree Pipits and Spotted Flycatchers but my real quarry - a Redstart - remained undiscovered.  That was until today when I entered one of the sheep fields at Potwells and out of the corner of my eye saw a shadow flit up into the bush overhanging the fence-line.

I almost dismissed it as one of the many Robins and Chiffchaffs that were omnipresent but this time, sat on the top wire of the fence, was a female Redstart!  A very welcome #145 for my local 2024 5 miles from home list.  I should add that, just a couple of days before, I had added #144 to the list - an adult Mediterranean Gull that had made a brief appearance at Tyttenhanger GPs.

The Redstart was very elusive so afforded no photo opportunity but I did watch it for a little longer flitting around in the middle of the hedgerow.  Instead, my header photo is of a similar bird at the same site last year.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to find my own Wryneck and recently I did on a visit to Cornwall!  Sadly, my camera continues to play-up and this was really the only shot I managed, the others all too blurry to share.

We were staying just outside St Agnes on the north Cornish coast and just a short walk from St Agnes Beacon - a small tor that, once climbed, gave far-reaching all round views of the area.  The surrounding farmland, hedgerows and scrub all made for excellent Wryneck habitat and it was the perfect time of year for one to pop up.

The Beacon also looked like a good vismig spot so I scheduled an early morning visit on 6th Sep to see what might be there and watch the sun rise.  At the top, I was rewarded with breath-taking views as the mist hung in the valleys and the sun began to rise.  Quite a few Meadow Pipts were mobile around the beacon and one of my target birds then called overhead - a Tree Pipit!  It settled further down the Beacon so I made a mental note to look out for it later.

As I walked the path along the Beacon ridge a lark flew up and landed just a few metres away - a Woodlark!  It didn't stay long enough for a photo but flew off across the nearby field and out of sight.  I continued on a loop down to St Agnes Head to check out the headland scrub and the back up to the Beacon.  I didn't add much on my loop save the local pair of Choughs and a Whinchat with the many Stonechats.  A Ringed Plover and Dunlin flew over - typical passage birds at this time of year.

As I walked along the lower path round the Beacon a small bird flew up and across the gorse.  I put my bins to my eyes and bingo!  There sat a Wryneck and the very first one I had found myself.  I was amazed at how small it looked in flight - just like a large warbler really.  They are peculiar, cryptic birds with their unique camouflage and habit of twisting their neck like a serpent.  They also - at least to me - possess a 'larger than life' quality as when observed in binoculars or in a scope they seem a fairly significant bird and yet the moment they fly or start flitting around the resemble a bird not much bigger than a House Sparrow.

The Wryneck remained in the area and eventually disappeared into a small holly bush not to be seen again.  However, the Tree Pipit did reappear in the same bush!  My next target must surely be a new camera!!