THE FLY BY NIGHT

On mild misty nights if you’re outside you might hear a high pitched ‘tseep’ sound overhead. Keep listening and you’ll almost definitely hear more of this sound up in the sky. It’s the call of the Redwing flying overhead and this is a contact call the birds make to keep track of each other in bad visibility, when the birds, in flocks of hundreds or even thousands, fly lower then usual, using artificial light as a guide when it’s too misty to navigate by the stars. Redwings are members of the Thrush family, smaller then our Song Thrush with red flanks and underwing very visible when they’re in flight. They breed in Iceland, Scandinavia and Northern Europe then in autumn migrate south, flying in large flocks at night to Ireland, the UK and southern Europe where they will spend the winter. BirdWatch Ireland monitor the time and numbers of Redwings arriving in Ireland and in the UK the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) record their arrivals. Approximately 50,000 were counted one day passing over a site in Aberdeenshire! Initially when the birds arrive they will feed on berries and they can occasionally be seen in gardens though more commonly on hedges. When this food source is exhausted they will feed on worms and then can often seen in big flocks on fields and football pitches and some people are lucky to have them feeding on berries in their gardens.