FIVE TO FIND in September

BIRDS ARE ON the move throughout the year, but spring and autumn are the times when migration is in full flow. September and October span arguably the most exciting time of the year for birdwatching. So, this month, we recommend a few autumn specials. Most are scarce, but all are very possible, with a bit of luck... LITTLE STINT

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As both parts of this wader’s name seem to imply, the Little Stint is tiny. It is so small, that you almost believe it could run through a Dunlin’s legs. As such, it is relatively easy to pick out, at least as something different, in a flock of small dumpy sandpipers. Most autumn birds are juveniles, with neat plumage, well defined pale fringes on their wing coverts and white V on the back. The legs are black and the main potential ID confusion is with the very rare North American ‘peeps’. But that is another story… RED-BACKED SHRIKE

Though formerly a breeder, the charismatic Red-backed Shrike is largely a passage migrant through the UK in the autumn, in quite small numbers, and mainly found along the south and east coasts. The great majority of autumn birds seen will be juveniles/first-winters, which are browner than adults and barred below and above. Scan coastal (or even inland) sites, along fence lines and bushes, which the shrikes use to search for insect and small vertebrate prey.