Last Friday, 15th October, I had the first migrating Redwing of the autumn from my balcony, which got me thinking how late everything seems to be this year, especially compared to the
madness of 13th October last year. Saturday morning, I thus went out on my balcony again and, this time, it was Song Thrushes which seemed to be everywhere. I didn't see huge numbers of birds but the species going over included Song Thrush, Redwing, Starling, Skylark, Woodpigeon, Chaffinch, Brambling, Siskin and 4 Greylag Geese. By 10:30am, things seemed to have quietened down, so I came inside to have some breakfast and warm up, whilst still looking out of the window. At 10:45, however, I spotted something large and brown descending into the park and I instantly recognised it although my head told me it just wasn't possible and had me searching for other ideas of what it could be. Sure enough, though, I just got the binoculars on it in time to confirm my first Short-eared Owl in the whole of Brussels, let alone for my flatlist. It seemed to be looking for somewhere to roost, harassed by two Carrion Crows, and soon disappeared behind the trees, leaving me gobsmacked. I decided not to go into the park to try and find it since I didn't want to risk flushing it so soon after it had arrived to rest, especially with the limited hiding places in such a busy park Instead, I went for a walk in the Sonian Forest, hoping some other good birds had turned up but all I found was this magnificent caterpillar.
I'd never seen anything quite like it but then saw a second one during my walk and a friend (thanks, Marcel), soon identified it as a Pale Tussock moth (Calliteara pudibunda), in the family Erebidae, which is well-known for its hairy and elaborately ornamented caterpillars.
The past two days have not been quite as busy migration-wise but there is still lots on the move. This morning, having already tallied several Skylarks, a group of around ten Coal Tits, and a Sparrowhawk, I got to watch some interesting interaction when a female Chaffinch, which had become isolated from her group, landed in the tree next to my balcony and started calling like mad, presumably looking for some new friends. Suddenly, a female Brambling dropped out of the sky and sat next to her for a few minutes, both of them calling non-stop, until they took off together on the next leg of their journey. Farewell, my fringillid friends.
BE #228
BRU #116 (Skylark, Greylag Goose, SHORT-EARED OWL!)
