Saturday Sept 28th 2013 - Burton In Kendal 0700hrs to 1030hours.Wind: 15mph all movement SSE to South.(at last a proper mipit day) On leaving there were still Chaffs coming through and Mipits in dribs and drabs.

Meadow Pipit: 793 (best: 26,18,15,14,14,13 and twelves - all more or less in the first hour then pairs to fours)

Chaffinch: 126 (best 13,13)

Alba Wagtail: 18 (best 7,4)

Grey Wagtail: 4 (one party)

Goldfinch: 21 (best 8,6)

Greenfinch: 3 (theres plenty on the move but missing them as they cling to the bottom)

Linnet: 1

Swallow: 38 (best: 7,6,5,4)

Merlin: 1

Cormorant 1S

Woodpigeon: 2. 

An afternoon session - Vicarage Lane fields, Burton In Kendal 1300hrs to 1600s. All passage again S/SSE

A White "Barn" Swallow" was among the Swallows going through, just could not believe it at first, in all my years birding, I have never had one of these before.  It was going through with a flock, a "dirty white" coloured appearance with perhaps some "pinky light brown" mixed into the plumage.

I am really glad now I decided to go out again and give it another shot, because besides having this sighting, it was incredible to see so many swallows going through and they were still going through on my leaving.  They were going through fairly regular at first on a really broad front, but as the afternoon went on 95% of them seem to all come through just above "Pickles Wood" and its sides.  I wondered if it was a good line for them to get more feed from the trees!

Swallows: 376 (best: 33,30,24,20), White "leucism" Barn Swallow: 1, House Martin: 32 (7,2,18,5) Chaffinch: 74, Meadow Pipit: 39, Grey Wagtail: 7, Alba Wagtail: 1, Goldfinch: 24.

-- Edited by Birderbryan on Saturday 28th of September 2013 05:09:45 PM