Chats and Thrushes
Robin (European Robin) Erithacus rubecula
The Robin is instantly recognisable to most people and is well loved by many, being a common resident, passage migrant and winter visitor throughout the Hull area. Many people think of the Robin as only a 'winter bird' and friends still occasionally tell me of their surprise at seeing one in their garden during the summer. Robins are certainly more noticeable in winter, when large numbers of Continental birds arrive to join the local population and both are more likely to visit gardens for food.
We are never without a large complement, however, and one can confidently expect to find a Robin in any bushy or wooded habitat throughout the year. Robins have always been common birds in the Hull area, being in frequent attendance of gardeners in the Pearson Park area at the beginning of the last century. Boylan (1967) described them as "breeding fairly widely, mainly in suburbs, parks, cemeteries and docks". Two pairs regularly bred in Northern Cemetery in the early 1960s and the species was noted to be an abundant breeding bird around Cottingham in the 1980s. Up to five pairs bred around Saltend in the mid 1980s. Another five or so pairs bred in hedgerows and copses between North Bransholme and the Holderness Drain throughout the 1990s. In 1996 a study at the Priory Road fields, between Wood Lane and Snuff Mill Lane, found up to 22 breeding territories in hedges, scrub, gardens and around farms. In the same year the Robin was found to be common in the Avenues area of Hull, being present in most gardens. Comments from Hedon Road Cemetery suggest that Robins are very common there, too, with several pairs breeding. Robins can similarly be found in virtually all of the municipal spaces, such as the parks, cemeteries, school grounds and public gardens, wherever there is enough bushy cover for them. A couple of Robins in the High Street in April 2001 just goes to show how widespread they are, occurring right into the city centre. Like those other common residents, the Dunnock and the Wren, Robins tend to keep a very low profile during the summer months. They emerge from the undergrowth and begin to sing again in the autumn, to establish their winter territories, being joined by passage migrants and winter visitors from September onwards. Most of the 100 Robins counted in East Park on 19th September 1969 were certain to have been recent immigrants and up to 27 were counted at Saltend in late October 1985. On 7th October 1992 a newly arrived first-winter Robin was trapped and ringed at Spurn before being released and subsequently making its way inland to Bilton, where it was found dead on 1st November.
Many Robins come to bird tables in winter, which is why they seem to be more common at that time of year, but the resident territorial birds can be very aggressive and will attack or even kill intruders. My local Robin spent half an hour pecking chunks out of a dead bird in my garden one November. It may well have killed the intruder itself but, in the eyes of the resident bird, the dead rival was now refusing to leave its territory! This particular Robin was soon taken down a peg or two, however, and a few weeks later I opened my back door to be greeted by the bird flying past my head and into the house, with a female Sparrowhawk in full pursuit a few feet behind. The Sparrowhawk performed a rapid about-turn and disappeared over the fence, but the Robin was now fluttering up against the inside of the window. After catching the bird I attached a colour-ring to its leg and freed it, but it was soon back in the garden and throwing its weight around with the sparrows. It remained for the rest of the winter but was not seen subsequently. As spring approaches Robins begin singing in earnest, frequently at night if a nearby lamppost is lighting up their territory. The nest is often placed in an artificial site, and a pair built theirs in a potted fern in a Hull conservatory in May 1884. Shelves in open sheds or garages are often used these days. My local pair usually built low down in the forks of old hawthorns, rearing up to three broods of speckled youngsters throughout the summer.
Nightingale (Common Nightingale) Luscinia megarhynchos
The Nightingale, famed and admired in natural history, literature and popular culture alike, is actually a rather rare bird in Yorkshire. The British population has been contracting in range and numbers for many years and is now largely confined to southeast England. While it was never a common summer visitor to the Hull area it was certainly singing and probably nesting in the region until around a century ago. Nelson (1907) mentions that Nightingales were breeding at Brough and Patrington, either side of Hull, in the late 1870s, with no less than seven heard within a mile of Patrington alone on one evening. Songsters were also reported from Beverley around that time. While numbers appear to have fluctuated from year to year it seems likely that sporadic breeding was occurring in woods and copses throughout Humberside and south Holderness, from the Wolds to the coast. There were certainly many suitable places around Wawne, Cottingham, Skidby and Sutton. Unfortunately, the singing males were rarely left unmolested by the professional bird-catchers that proliferated in those days. Many East Yorkshire Nightingales ended up in a Victorian gentleman's cage or specimen cabinet. Collectors also prized the eggs of any that managed to live long enough to breed and these were actively sought if birds had been heard singing in the neighbourhood. Chislett (1952) states that singing Nightingales were reported from "Sutton…Wagden…and Elloughton" in the spring of 1907. While there are several Suttons in Yorkshire, I think it is likely that he is referring to 'our' Sutton, Sutton-on-Hull, as Elloughton is just a few miles from Hull and Wagden seems to be a misspelling of Waghen, now called Wawne. Assuming these records are from the Hull area then they represent some of the last, for Nightingales were decidedly rare in the East Riding by then. The last record for the Hull area is of a male in full song at Cottingham on 16th May 1938. He was no doubt a spring overshoot trying his luck in vain, as any potential mate would have been well out of earshot by that time. While a singing Nightingale was reported from a Hedon churchyard in the spring of 1998, and a recording allegedly made, there is no confirmation and others doubt the claim.
In May 2000 I had the pleasure of listening to around a dozen Nightingales almost daily at a Cambridgeshire lakeside, the same one as featured in this wonderful video. The birds were delivering their beautifully powerful song throughout the day but it was at night when it really had the power to entrance. One very mild, still night a companion and I stood for half an hour listening to a pair of disputing males as they battled to outdo each other with the volume, complexity and variety of their song. It was a mesmerising experience, with the moon so bright that it cast a shadow. While the demise of our Nightingales is only partly down to them, I wonder if those early bird-catchers knew what a void they were leaving behind when they set their traps and stole such a delight from the people of Hull and East Yorkshire.
Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros
A bird of cliffs and boulder-strewn mountain slopes, the Black Redstart also occurs in built-up urban areas, docklands and industrial installations, where concrete and steel seem to suit it just as well as rock and scree. The species has always been quite a scarce bird in Britain but the blitzing of Hull during World War Two created ideal habitat for Black Redstarts. Overgrown bombsites replicated rocky slopes down to a tee, and the decade or so after the war produced a clutch of records. The first was a male singing among blitzed buildings from 21st June to 9th July 1949. On 10th July a pair were seen flying from a crevice high up on the High Street. Nesting was not confirmed that year, although two males were singing in the High Street on 25th September. Singing males were then recorded annually in the Old Town until 1952, when birds were seen around the Market Place and Paragon Station, but breeding was never proven. As the bombsites were cleared sightings gravitated towards the industrial areas. It was not until 1973 that a nest was found, however, when a pair was discovered breeding in the vent pipe of tugboat in dry dock. The six chicks left the nest on 22nd and 23rd June and this constituted only the second confirmed breeding record for East Yorkshire up to that point (the other being a pair that bred in the Flamborough cliffs in 1972). None were reported in Hull for the next decade until one was seen at the King George Dock in 1983.
Regular watching around Saltend and the eastern docks in 1985 revealed Black Redstarts to be rather frequent passage migrants with a tentative presence throughout the summer. The first of 1985 was one in King George Dock on 9th April. Another was on the railway line behind Saltend Marsh on 13th, with two on 15th. There were eight sightings around Saltend in May, including two birds on 7th. Singles were seen on 5th and 26th June, 1st July and 19th August. The last of the year was in Alexandra Dock on 22nd October. None of these birds were adult males.
Further Saltend coverage in 1986 revealed the presence of a female on 6th April before successful breeding was confirmed at Saltend Marsh when this or another female was seen feeding two fledged young on 21st June. These birds were present until the end of August and, while two males were singing around the eastern docks and in the city centre from May to late June, no male was ever seen in the near vicinity. Was the docks male the father of the Saltend young?
Autumn passage was strong that year, with four birds on 9th September, two on 13th October and one on 20th. A male was back singing in the city centre in 1987, and in 1988 another was singing again at the docks. Sightings then petered out, with a single at King George Dock on 28th August 1991 being the only one seen at that site throughout the entire decade. Another single, on autumn passage, was in East Park on 23rd November 1998, but the final years of the century were characterised by the scarcity of sightings. As the above records show, however, Black Redstarts seem to inhabit the Hull area in fits and starts with long periods of absence inbetween. The 1985-6 Saltend coverage, meanwhile, suggests that they may be regular passage migrants at this currently underwatched site.
Redstart (Common Redstart) Phoenicurus phoenicurus
The Redstart is an uncommon passage migrant in the Hull area, though it breeds in open woodland in many parts of the north and west of Britain and sparingly in the south and east. Breeding occurs throughout much of Yorkshire but is rare and sporadic at best in the East Riding, usually on the Wolds. Redstarts have summered in the Hull area on at least one occasion, however, with a pair being seen in gardens off Boothferry Road throughout June and July in 1948 but there was no hint of breeding. One seen in Kirk Ella on 5th July 1972 was also unseasonal; too late for a spring migrant and a little too early for an autumn bird, it may have spent the summer in the area. Boylan (1967) gave nine records of Redstarts in Hull prior to 1967, with all but the summering Boothferry Road birds being on passage. Despite considering the Redstart to be a rare migrant in Hull, Boylan mentioned that they had been seen right into the city centre in Queen's Gardens. Most passage records since have been in autumn, between 26th August and 12th October. The only spring records are of a male next to Hedon Road at Saltend on 26th April and a female in nearby Jubilee Copse, along Paull Road, the next day. Most of the autumn records have also been from the Saltend area and a handful of birds stop off there each year, with a maximum of four together on 6th October 1998 and seven in total that year. There have been two records from North Bransholme, with a female on 12th October 1988 and two birds on 20th September 1992. A female was in a Kirk Ella garden on 12th September 1981 and another was at Victoria Dock on 26th September 1997. There is also an undated record from the Priory Road fields.
Whinchat Saxicola rubetra
A summer visitor from Africa, the Whinchat is a very rare breeding bird in East Yorkshire and occurs only as a scarce passage migrant in the Hull area. A Whinchat was at Sutton on 18th April 1943 and one or two were seen each spring or autumn during the 1960s, usually around the eastern waterfront. Slightly more are recorded today, despite a national decline, probably as a result of better coverage.
Autumn records tend to outnumber those in spring, both in terms of the number of sightings and the number of birds. Three at Haltemprice Farm near Willerby on 24th August 1982 was a typical encounter; autumn birds move through from late August to early October and are often in small groups. Seven were at Saltend on 22nd September 1984, with five on 8th October and four on 17th August 1986. Six were on weedy ground at North Bransholme on 22nd September 1989 and four were there again on 20th September 1992.
Spring passage usually lasts from mid April to mid May, usually consisting of a fleeting visit by a lone bird. A pair were at what is now the Bransholme Fishing Pond on 23rd April 1994 and a male spent two days at Saltend in early May 1986. On 23rd May 1991 a male was singing along the Foredyke Stream where it meets the Holderness Drain at North Bransholme, though he was not seen again. Whinchats on passage seem to prefer moist areas with patches of bare ground and plenty of tall herbage to perch on, as characterised by much of the so-called 'wasteland' around the Hull area, and they often turn up alongside Wheatears.
Stonechat (Common Stonechat) Saxicola torquata rubicola
The Stonechat is a scarce breeding bird on the moors and heaths of Yorkshire, and elsewhere in upland Britain, with most departing in the autumn. Some British Stonechats retreat to the coastal lowlands for the winter, with others possibly joining them from the Continent, and it is these birds that appear in the Hull area in very small numbers. One near Hessle in December 1970 was followed by up to six, an extraordinary number, at the Bransholme Sewage Works from October to December 1973. The next was not until 1985 when one was at Keldgate, Cottingham, on 27th March. The following year saw a single bird settle at the eastern docks for six days from 5th November. Another long gap followed until the next record, when a female was found among a tumbledown hawthorn hedge on scrubland at North Bransholme on 1st March 1992, with a pair in the exact same spot on 3rd October the following year. A further lengthy spell followed before another was found, this time a male near the Paull Lighthouse on 18th October 1997. One more was near the River Hull on the Sutton Fields Industrial Estate on 10th January 1998. Stonechats can therefore appear almost anywhere in the area from early October through to late March, with weedy or scrubby areas near water being the clear preference.
'Siberian Stonechat' Saxicola torquata maura
A female or immature bird showing characteristics of this or another of the eastern races, such as S. t. stejnegeri, was seen at Paull Fort on 5th October 1986 by S. M. Lister. These eastern races, which breed in Kazakhstan and across Russia, are distinctly paler than our European birds and have a characteristically unstreaked rump. Studies of mitochondrial DNA, genetic material from within the birds' cells, suggests that the European and eastern races have been keeping to themselves as far as breeding is concerned for around 150,000 years. They are possibly distinct enough to be split into separate species. Whatever the species status, the bird at Paull Fort had flown a very long way!
Wheatear (Northern wheatear) Oenanthe oenanthe
The Wheatear is one of the earliest passage migrants to reach the Hull area, arriving from Africa as early as late March. The spring passage is often much stronger than the autumn movement, with many more birds seen. Two Wheatears were noted at Saltend on 5th April 1901 and they were fairly common on passage during the 1960s, with the occasional bird even dropping in to feed on the turf in Queen's Gardens in the city centre. Areas of short grass, such as playing fields, or stony wasteland and ploughed fields are the preferred feeding sites for migrant Wheatears, especially those near water. Favourite sites in the Hull area include Saltend, Paull and the carrs and playing fields east of Bransholme. Birds have also been seen at Sutton Fields and around Cottingham in recent years, with several around Kirk Ella, Willerby and the Hedon Road Cemetery in the 1970s. Stopovers are therefore possible almost anywhere. The earliest date for a spring migrant in the area was a male at North Bransholme on 22nd March 1989, though the main influx occurs in mid to late April. These birds usually arrive singly, though small 'falls' can occur along the Humber with four at Saltend on 29th April 1997 and 12 on 13th May 1998.
Birds passing through in late April or May can sometimes be assigned to one of the northern races. One found dead at Paull on 4th May 1959 was of the race Oenanthe oenanthe schioleri, which breeds in Iceland and the Faeroes. A large bright bird on the playing field of the now Kingswood School on Wawne Road was considered to be of the race Oenanthe oenanthe leucorrhoa, which breeds in Greenland. It is sobering to think that as this small bird rested in Hull after flying from Africa, it still had to cross the North Atlantic to reach its breeding grounds. This is the longest migration of any land bird. Another in Hull on 9th September 1950 was also assigned to the Greenland race. Autumn passage in the Hull area usually begins in late August, though far fewer birds are seen than in spring. Again, short turf and bare or weedy ground are the preferred sites. Singles or a handful of birds regularly appear at Saltend, with four on disturbed ground at North Bransholme on 1st October 2000. Most birds have departed by October, with the latest recorded in the area being one at Bransholme on 4th October 1992. Wheatears that appear in the Hull area are sometimes accompanied by Whinchats, fellow migrants from Africa. It is always a good idea to look out for either bird when finding the ‘companion’.
Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus
Known to many rural people as the Mountain Blackbird, the Ring Ouzel is an uncommon and declining summer migrant to Britain that arrives from Africa to breed in upland valleys and crags. The nearest breeding birds to Hull are on the North Yorkshire Moors, though they are becoming very scarce there, and in the Pennines. Ring Ouzels are uncommon passage migrants in the Hull area, with most sightings occurring in autumn. There were just three records during the first half of the 1960s, with a very late female in East Park on 11th November 1969. Incredibly, a male was also seen in East Park on 3rd December and these two birds must have been migrants from the continent rather than British birds on the way out. A spring bird was at the Holderness Drain near Wawne from 19th to 20th April 1989, with two very early autumn migrants there on 14th July. A Ring Ouzel was at the Kerry Woods near Kirk Ella on 24th October 1987 and females were at North Bransholme on 28th April 1987 and 20th April 1988. In October 1991 a group of five Ring Ouzels were in a thin hedgerow along Bransholme Road, between Bransholme and the Holderness Drain, but, typically, the birds were very shy and flew some distance when disturbed, giving the hard alarm call as they went. A stunning male was seen in a hawthorn hedge nearby on 23rd April 1994, accompanied by a female. What was probably a different pair were seen at the same place on 14th May the same year. A very unusual midwinter record concerns a bird at Saltend on 28th January 1996. A more typical autumn bird was there on 23rd September, with two on 25th and one again on 5th October 1998.
Ring Ouzels are, therefore, a rather good find anywhere in the Hull area. Saltend or a hedgerow on the outskirts of the city in September or October probably offers the best chance of reward, with mid to late April being the peak time for the weaker spring passage.
Blackbird (Common Blackbird) Turdus merula
The Blackbird is one of the most common, widespread and familiar birds in the Hull area. As well as an abundant resident and breeding bird, the Blackbird is also a very common passage migrant and winter visitor with large numbers flooding in from Scandinavia and the Continent each autumn.
Blackbirds breed everywhere in the Hull area, including the city centre, and can be found wherever there are a few bushes or a patch of grass where they can forage for berries in winter and worms in summer. The nest may be built in a bush, among a creeper or in some artificial site; examples of the more bizarre nesting locations from around Hull include under the bonnet of a lorry and on the shelf of a garden shed, with stories of unusual nests appearing in the local press each spring. They will readily breed in gardens and the beautiful fluting song of the male drifting over the rooftops is one of the joys of warm summer evenings. A great many of our suburban Blackbirds die on the roads and the almost flightless newly-fledged chicks are easy prey for cats and small boys. The persistent chirruping begging call of the young bird, which lets the parents know where it is, leads some people to think the chick is ‘lost’ but they should never be picked up unless they are in danger of being harmed. If this is the case they can be put among nearby vegetation and then left well alone. Despite the depredations, comments regarding the breeding status of the Blackbird throughout the Hull area are invariably along the lines of “common”, “very common” or “abundant”.
A noticeable influx of Blackbirds occurs between mid October and late November. Large numbers arrive on the east coast along with the Redwings, Fieldfares and Song Thrushes, and all soon penetrate inland. These Continental Blackbirds are often more highly strung than our local birds and will fly off high and far when flushed. Visible migration of high flying Blackbirds is occasionally noticeable overhead; 100 passed west over Kirk Ella on 14th October 1971 and again the next day. Over 30 in nearby Kerry Woods on 15th October 1980 were part of a big arrival of winter thrushes that day. A total of 25 at Saltend on 15th September was a relatively good count there and probably part of an early arrival. The average day count of around 20 Blackbirds in the Old Main Drain hedgerow, east of North Bransholme, was inflated to 50 on 28th November 1992 and again on 16th October 1993. Both of these days saw a large arrival of other thrushes. An October peak of 30 at the Priory Road fields in 1995 contrasted with a usual count of around a dozen, while 65 passed through East Park on 17th November 1998 during a period of very visible migration. Blackbirds often roost communally in winter and their noisy clucking is a familiar sound around dense thickets at dusk. A long-standing roost in the Pickhills, off Hull Road near Cottingham, held many hundreds of Blackbirds during the early 1960s. Over 200 were counted heading towards the roost over Cottingham Road alone in February 1963. As spring approaches the migrants leave and the local birds begin singing, often starting well before dawn in urban areas where street lights illuminate the neighbourhood. Plumage abnormalities are fairly common in Blackbirds, with birds of both sexes sometimes sporting irregular white feathers. A female in East Hull in November 1944 had a completely white head, though total albinos are rare.
Fieldfare Turdus pilaris
Somewhere in the region of a million Fieldfares come to Britain each autumn to feast on our hedgerow berries and escape the winter of their Scandinavian homeland. A handful of pairs also breed in the Yorkshire uplands. Located as it is on the England's east coast, the Hull area has always been witness to some of the first arrivals of Fieldfares in the country as they make landfall in Holderness and move inland. Arrival dates vary from mid October to early November, with the earliest at my North Bransholme patch being 9th October 1993. After their initial arrival the Fieldfares quickly strip the local hawthorns of their fruits, often in the company of migrant Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and, especially, Redwings. Very large numbers of Fieldfares have been recorded in the Hull area at this time as flocks stop off to feed or pass over on their way inland. A flock of 315 were feeding in hedgerows at North Bransholme on 16th October 1993, with 573 moving north on 24th. Around 170 were feeding again on 26th and more than 400 passed through on 1st November. At least 1,150 passed over Holderness Road in just one hour on 1st November 1998. Feeding flocks are usually much smaller than this, however, with between 20 and 40 being the average size once the new arrivals settle in and disperse. These feeding flocks are much more mobile and irregular than those of the Redwings, with which they often associate, and they never seem to hang around a particular area for very long.
Being a little more wary and alert than Redwings, Fieldfares do not usually enter the more built-up areas of Hull so readily. Harsh weather may drive them into more urban or suburban areas, however, and during the 1960s small numbers were occasionally seen in the parks and cemeteries, as they are today. The severe winter of 1969 saw Fieldfares entering Hull gardens for berries and fruit. This was also recorded in Cottingham in the 1980s. Helen Crowther's 1996 survey revealed that Fieldfares could sometimes be seen in tall trees in the Avenues area of Hull each winter.
By December or January, once the bushes are bare, the Fieldfare flocks often move on to work their way across the countryside, consuming the berries as they go. They can then be quite scarce in the Hull area from until their return migration brings them back again the following March. By now there is nothing for them in the hedges and the birds turn to open fields for seeds and invertebrates, usually preferring pasture such as that off Priory Road and around Wawne, or even playing fields. The lack of an obvious bounty of food, such as the burgeoning hawthorns that they found on their autumn arrival, means that these late winter and early spring flocks pass through fairly quickly. Small numbers of Fieldfares can linger into early May, when it is possible to be in the strange position of hearing the 'chacking' of a Fieldfare coming from the same tree as the song of a Cuckoo. Such late birds have included singles at the Bransholme Sewage Works on 4th May 1992 and Castle Hill Farm (between Bransholme and Swine) on 25th April 2000, a pair at North Bransholme on 5th May 1991 and 13th May 2001 with a flock of nine there on 1st May 1989. A most intriguing report from Hessle in 1995 concerned an adult Fieldfare seen carrying food on 21st June, this being tantalising evidence of possible breeding close by.
One can reasonably expect to encounter Fieldfares in the Hull area anytime from mid October to early May. The best chance and highest numbers are likely to be in October and November. The hedgerows and fields away from built-up areas are most attractive to the feeding flocks, though hard weather may drive them further into the city and visible migration can be witnessed overhead anywhere.
Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
Despite the massive decline suffered by the once abundant Song Thrush in recent decades, they are still fairly common birds in Hull area. Much of the reduction in numbers has been attributed to habitat loss and pesticides in farmland. The use of slug pellets on both arable land and in suburban gardens is also a problem, rendering the Song Thrushes' favourite prey poisonous. Pure arable farmland, the sort which predominates in the East Riding, is now a rather inhospitable place for Song Thrushes. Most are now found in suburban habitats and at the interface of town and country. Here the birds have the benefit of the farmland hedgerows for nesting and the pesticide-free verges, wasteland and shrubberies for finding food. John Nicholson included the Song Thrush among the birds nesting around his Hull town house, near Pearson Park, in the early 1900s. In 1967 Patrick Boylan described it as a common breeding bird in the parks, gardens and cemeteries of Hull, with four pairs were nesting in Northern Cemetery alone. Several pairs were breeding around Saltend in the mid 1980s and Bonavia (1990) considered it to be a widespread and common breeding bird around Cottingham and northwest Hull at that time. Up to five pairs were breeding between North Bransholme and the Holderness Drain throughout the 1990s, as they still do, and a pair or two were nesting along Snuff Mill and Wood Lanes, between Cottingham and Hull, in 1996. Recent breeding has been noted in the Trinity graveyard, right in the heart of Hull at the top of Ferensway, and three or four males were singing along the old Hull to Withernsea railway line between Hedon Road Cemetery and the city centre in 1999 and 2000.
Most of the larger gardens, parks and cemeteries will have a pair or two of Song Thrushes but many areas have reported serious declines over the past 10 years. Once common in the Avenues area of Hull, Song Thrushes were rare by 1996 and seemed to be hanging on by a toehold. Just one nest in Hedon Road Cemetery in 2000 contrasts with a comment of "very common" there in the 1980s. They are holding their own in other areas, however, with several pairs in the Sutton Fields Industrial Estate and Humber Bridge Country Park.
The Song Thrush is most common in the Hull area as a passage migrant in autumn, when substantial numbers fly in from Scandinavia with the Redwings, Fieldfares and Blackbirds. The curt "sip" call is often heard overhead on still autumn nights as migrants pour in and relatively large numbers can be grounded in October and November. Up to 50 passage Song Thrushes occasionally dropped into Northern Cemetery in the early 1960s and there was a heavy passage overhead on the night of 1st October 1965. A peak of around 10 birds was noted at Saltend in October 1984, with a similar autumn peak at North Bransholme during the 1990s. Occasionally larger numbers were recorded at the latter site, however, with 23 grounded on 29th October 1993 and 19 on 13th November. The usual count of two or three birds at the Priory Road fields was inflated to 11 on 2nd October 1995. A whopping 40 in East Park on 2nd October 1998 was to be eclipsed by 60 at Saltend on 5th. A dead bird at Paull on 12th September 1995 had been ringed at Spurn as a first-winter bird on 8th March 1993, but whether it was a local bird or a returning migrant is not clear.
Song Thrushes are often seen smashing snail shells against favourite stones, or 'anvils', to get at the meat but Rob Atkinson saw an interesting twist on this technique at Wawne in March 1996. Watching a Song Thrush struggling with a large piece of stale toast, Atkinson was impressed to see the bird break it apart against a stone and then eat the pieces, a clear sign of adaptive behaviour.
Redwing Turdus iliacus
A common winter visitor to the hedgerows on the outskirts of Hull and in the surrounding villages, the Redwing is the harbinger of winter. Our wintering Redwings breed in Scandinavia and arrive on the east coast in October, quickly moving inland and feasting on the haws as they make their way westwards. They are often scarce in midwinter, once the berries have gone, but pass through again in spring on their way back to the coast. They can often be found feeding on the fields at this time. As a mainly nocturnal migrant, the high, thin 'seeep' of passing Redwings is a familiar sound on starry nights in late autumn and winter anywhere in the Hull area. Redwings usually arrive during the second or third week of October, the earliest arrival date being 18th September 1993. Boylan (1967) described them as fairly common winter visitors and passage migrants, being much more abundant than the Fieldfare and occurring in large numbers in the parks and cemeteries of Hull. Small parties were seen on the verges of Boothferry Road in the spring of 1964 and several birds were heard to sing. A Redwing that was ringed as a chick in Finland was found dead in Hessle in January 1968, showing just how far they come to feed in our hedges.
Huge numbers of Redwings pass through the Hull area during mid October and observation of visible daytime migration during the early 1970s produced impressive counts. A total of 15,000 passed northwest over Kirk Ella on 13th October 1971, with 3,000 the next day, 5,000 the day after that, 1,000 on 25th and 2,000 on 26th. This was over just one house, so the total passing through along the whole front must have been enormous. The largest flocks of the year can be found in the berry-filled hedgerows during this initial arrival. Up to 200 were occasionally in the Old Main Drain hedgerow (east of North Bransholme) during mid October in the early 1990s. Over 100 were counted off Priory Road in the early 1980s and 315 at Saltend on 26th October 1985 were superseded by 370 on 28th. A later influx at Saltend the year before produced 450 on 11th November and 300 on 28th. The flocks tend to decrease in size as the autumn progresses. Around 50 was the norm at North Bransholme in November and December during the 1990s while up to 80 were counted off Priory Road in 1995. Redwings are often scarce by January, once the berries have gone, but they start to trickle back during late February and March when they take to open fields in search of food. The numbers passing through on spring passage are nothing like those of the autumn, however, with 100 being a relatively large flock.
Redwings will readily visit the urban and, especially, suburban green spaces throughout the Hull area. They are annual in Hull’s Avenues area and all of the parks and cemeteries, as they were in Boylan's day. Redwings will occasionally come to gardens for berries in very cold weather but will not touch any artificial food and have been known to starve to death rather than eat the usual bird table fare.
Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus
The Mistle Thrush has been through its ups and downs in the Hull area over the past century but it is pleasing to note that they are currently increasing and spreading in the region. Very harsh winters in the mid 1890s virtually wiped out East Yorkshire’s Mistle Thrushes, but they soon recovered and were breeding in gardens near Pearson Park by 1901. In 1951 G. H. Ainsworth described the Mistle Thrush as "numerous as ever" around Hull and in 1953 considered it to be the commonest thrush in Sutton, ahead of Blackbird and Song Thrush! A Mistle Thrush ringed in Sutton in May 1958 was found dead in the same place a year later, illustrating the highly resident nature of our local birds. Two pairs were nesting in Northern Cemetery in 1965 and Boylan (1967) mentioned another one or two pairs near the city centre around the same time, but noted that the species was "more a bird of parks and cemeteries". Two were reported from East Park in 1967 and another pair were in Cottingham the next year, but the fact that these were deemed noteworthy suggests that the very harsh 1962/3 winter hit them hard again. Several pairs were nesting around Cottingham by the 1980s, with small numbers present all year round, but they were very scarce in East Hull around that time. Despite a few sightings in the Wawne area in the early 1990s, and possible breeding, the first birds I ever saw at adjoining North Bransholme were not until May 1993. One was singing there a few weeks later. A definite increase in numbers and range was beginning to get under way by then, with birds spreading from the strongholds of Cottingham and the western fringes down Cottingham Road and into East Hull as well as into the city centre. Mistle Thrushes have been heard singing at the University of Hull campus, down Salmon Grove, since 1997. The following spring I spotted a pair at the convent on the corner of Beverley Road and Cottingham Road. A pair nested near the Marina in 1996, often perching on the rigging of the old Manxman ferry, but the single fledged youngster was found dead in Queen Street in late April after having been hit by a car. An adult at Minerva Pier in January 1999 indicates that they have not forsaken that part of town, however, and others have been heard singing in Queen's Gardens since 1998. On 9th June 2001 I saw a fledgling Mistle Thrush in the Mason Street car park, off Freetown Way near the Old English Gentleman pub, proving that breeding had occurred in the city centre once more. Up to four were in East Park during the autumn and winter in 1998, although breeding did not occur. Nesting has occurred in Hedon Road Cemetery since 1997 and by 2000 they were frequent around Wawne. They were also being recorded from the Bransholme Sewage Works for the first time in 2000. As well as a resident breeding bird, the Mistle Thrush is also a passage migrant in the Hull area. These or wandering local birds may occur in rarely visited parts of the region at this time of year. Singles at Saltend in October and November 1985 and May 1986 were possibly migrants, as were the 14 at the Priory Road fields on 18th September 1995.