OCTOBER was certainly a quieter month than September for local birdwatchers though there were a couple of sightings of note.

First was a report of a possible Caspian gull at Nosterfield. This would be the first local record of this gull which has only recently been recognised as a species by some authorities.

The second, and also at Nosterfield, was a Lapland bunting. Though a regular, if scarce, visitor to the coast, they are rare inland and this was one of only a handful of birds ever seen in this area.

The unprecedented influx of pectoral sandpipers from America was also still obvious, with the three birds at Ripon gravel pits present in the early part of the month and another seen at Nosterfield nature reserve up until mid-October. Other waders have been relatively scarce, though I have received a number of reports of green sandpipers in the area including one showing exceptionally well from the hide at Bolton-on-Swale gravel pits.

There were increasing signs of winter on the way. Most obvious were the winter thrushes with a good arrival of redwings early in the month.

Their larger cousin, the fieldfare, on the other hand, has been relatively scarce so far though a flock of 150 were seen at Leighton Reservoir on the last day of the month. Incidentally, being relatively common visitors they don't always receive the attention they deserve, but a fieldfare perched high on a hawthorn bush in winter sunshine is undoubtedly one of the handsomest winter sights of the bird world.

Turning to waterfowl, the first whooper swans, a group of four, were seen at Nosterfield and there were a number of reports of pinkfooted geese over-flying the area. These included skeins of 42 and 24 over Nosterfield, 53 at Bolton-on-Swale and a very fine flock of 165 birds which spent a number of days in the Pepper Arden area.

Other wildfowl numbers have been building up with good gatherings of wigeon at Bolton-on-Swale, Nosterfield and Pepper Arden. The latter site has proved particularly attractive to ducks with more than 1,000 teal seen on one day as well as 47 shoveler, one of the largest counts of the species ever made in this area.

Looking ahead, it is always interesting to speculate on what might be seen over the coming months. One racing certainty is waxwings, good numbers have already been seen in Scotland and there have been smaller arrivals on the English east coast.

Apparently it has been a very poor berry crop in Scandinavia, and as these are exhausted we are likely to see even higher numbers arriving. There have also been good numbers of great grey shrikes reported around the country. This area is long overdue for another visit by this handsome bird and they are usually not too difficult to find because of their habit of perching prominently on a "look-out" as they scan for prey.

Finally, looking again to Scandinavia there have been very high numbers of nutcrackers on the move. This species occasionally erupts where a combination of a good breeding season and poor winter feeding leads to birds appearing well outside their normal range.

There has already been one sighting in Suffolk and unconfirmed reports of two birds on Humberside, so there is a chance we may be in for more arrivals.

The nutcracker is a member of the crow family and is a dark-brown jay-sized bird covered in whitish speckles. A sighting in this area would be very welcome as the only previous local record was near Great Smeaton as long ago as 1943