Finally, a thread to apologise for upsetting birder enthusing over the Swalecliffe Wryneck, for pointing out it wasn't 'confiding', but 'desperate'.

?

In long-distance migrants, migratory behaviour endogenous - internal systems switch on flight impulses, bird has no choice

1/x

On landing, seeks suitable resting site w. feeding available.
Why so hard to find in afternoons, circadian rhythm has them resting more then, more awake at night.
All spp. have a 'stopover periods'. BWP says Wryneck avg 4.8 days (so bang on when left).

2/x

Hyperhagia (increased food intake) in play, esp. as internal clock readies bird for next flight.
Risk/reward feeding comes into play. Cryptic plumaged sp. happier in correct habitat- broken sandy ground, scattered plants, feed in cover to hide from predators...

3/x

so this bird acts perfectly at start- fed unobserved, long periods, hid up to sleep pm, but by last days of stopover desperate for increased food intake, so risks being in complete open on football pitch (how often do we read 'rare taken by Sparrowhawk'?)

4/x

Yup, playing 'Devil's Advocate', but when you think about it, if had choice, any self respecting Wryneck wouldn't choose a football pitch.

Our impoverished countryside, even what little scrub there is, often isn't up to the job.

5/x

All a part of why I don't personally enjoy twitching migrants nowadays- to me, that bird wasn't finding optimum habitat /perhaps not in optimum condition pre-flight.
But can't postpone flight, internal systems don't allow.

Good luck Jynxy. You'll need it.

6/x