On one of my village walks at the end of October I heard the distinctive call of our winter visiting thrushes, Redwing and Fieldfares. That was the first time this autumn.

Both are common winter visitors to the UK and as their food supplies and the weather deteriorates where they spend their summers they move south. Our mild winters, and usually a plentiful supply of food, mean we are a good place for them to come to.

But they are quite mobile and will move on if it conditions do not suit them or if their food supplies dry up.

The Fieldfares we see around Vernham have probably bred in Norway, maybe Sweden or Finland. So, a relatively short hop across the North Sea to get to us.

Occasionally there are reports of Fieldfares having bred in Britain, mostly Scotland. I recall a conversation with a farmer in the village I used to live in, in Buckinghamshire being convinced that he had Fieldfares breeding not far from his farmhouse. I went to explore, just in case, but what I found was a pair of Mistle Thrushes. They are similar in many respects – a large thrush – and I could see how, based upon size and call, it was easy to conclude the way he did. He did not have the benefit of binoculars to see them clearly.

He took some convincing. And even today I am not sure he really believed me!

One of the interesting pieces of information emerging from bird ringing programs is that some Fieldfares that come to the UK for the winter in one year end up in France for the winter in subsequent years. I cannot find any research into why this may be the case. Maybe they just decide the UK is not for them and look for somewhere different. Francophile birds!

Fieldfares will start returning to their breeding grounds in March with some leaving it until early June before they arrive back. The later birds to leave are shores are usually the inexperienced younger birds.

Occasionally, we will see a flock of Fieldfares here in May and it is likely they are young birds, born the previous year, who are on their way back to their breeding grounds.

Based on the various ringing programs we know that Redwings come to us from a much wider area. Their breeding grounds range from Norway all the way across to the Urals in Russia, and probably eastwards beyond. Large spring flocks of Redwing can sometimes be seen on the east coast of the UK  flying north – a long way from us – and these will have spent their winter in Spain, Portugal or south-west France.

One of the other features of this time of year are the wandering flocks of small birds. On some days it appears as though there are no birds around, the hedges and trees just empty of life. And then I stumble across a flock of birds moving through. There will be Great and Blue Tits in the flock, often with Chaffinch and Greenfinch. Later in the year they will usually be joined by Brambling – a pretty Winter visitor to the UK.

One of my favourite birds to see in these flocks is the Long-tailed Tit. Such a small, pretty, bird, with of course a long tail. They just never seem to stop moving, all the time making their contact calls with other Long-tailed Tits in the flock.

We had a pair breed in the garden a year or two ago. The produce quite a lot of young in each brood – typically 10 or so and there have been broods recorded of up to 15. For several days after the young birds left the nest wherever we went in the garden there was a young Long-tailed Tit calling to its parents wanting to be fed – delightful.

Another tiny bird that will often be in these flocks is the Goldcrest. They are another bird that just never stops moving, flitting from one branch to another looking for insects to eat. Surprisingly, for such a small bird they are also a migratory species, although the ones we see around here are more likely to be ones that have bred here in the Summer.

In the Autumn, large numbers will arrive in the UK from the continent, in one large flock. I spent a great morning in Norfolk some years ago at the point a flock of Goldcrest had arrived. They flew in from the sea and landed on a number of small bushes behind the line of sand dunes. There are not many bushes in that part of Norfolk – Titchwell, RSPB nature reserve. But for the rest of the morning every bush you looked at had several exhausted Goldcrests in them.

In Vernham the Yew Trees in the churchyard are a good place to see Goldcrest. They are often feeding towards the top of the trees, and you will see this small bird moving in and out of the leaves. They breed there in the summer and there are usually a few birds there for the winter months.

Many of us feed birds, especially over the winter months. We have a constant stream of birds coming to our feeders in the garden. But a gentle reminder if you do feed the birds, please ensure you clean the feeders or feeding surface regularly. That will help ensure any diseases are not passed onto other birds.

Also supplying fresh water for them in the garden is a great way to help them survive the winter.