The most spotted birds were
fieldfares and starlings, which were seen by nearly 40% of the farmers that took part.
Some of these flocks may have been another cousin, the
fieldfare. This is a larger bird with chestnutbrown back and yellow breast streaked with black, a black tail, dark wings and a pale grey head and rump.
Of these Scandinavian thrushes, the larger
fieldfares are comparable in both size and nature with our mistle thrushes but with grey heads and grey rumps, whilst the smaller redwings are about the same size as our song thrushes.
Fieldfares are bigger and have a grey head and rump.
| THERE are lots of extra visitors in the garden - redwings and
fieldfares en route from their Nordic and Arctic homes to winter feeding grounds, true birds of passage.
Meanwhile, the RSPB said species that spend the winter here are still behaving as if it is winter, with waxwings,
fieldfares and redwings still in the countryside in large numbers and showing little signs of heading north.
Fieldfares, one of the winter visitors from northern Europe have already been seen in Norfolk.
I had no idea what it was but then, luckily, I saw a Tweet - no, honestly - from BBC Tees' Bob Fischer which mentioned
fieldfares. I rushed to look one up and, hey presto, riddle solved.
I was on Holy Island at daybreak in autumn last year and I saw many thousands of migrating starlings, redwings and
fieldfares coming out of the darkness straight from the sea and heading inland.
The redwings dropped in only last week to join the immigrant
fieldfares.
Redwings and
Fieldfares were still around this week - they are heading north to breed in Iceland and Scandinavia.
There were
fieldfares, redwings and blackbirds among a flock of about 50 to 60 birds." R