Beddington Farmlands - remnants of the Beastfromtheeast, 4th March 2018

When I saw that there was a LNHS trip to the farmlands this Sunday led by Derek, I couldn't say no. I have to say that my expectations were for very little - with the Beast from the East mostly gone, taking most of the stragglers with it and most of the other waders fleeing south and west, I didn't really think there would be much hanging around. I'll try and keep this post as short as possible. 

At around 9:40am, once let in as a group of just under 10, we headed around the South Lake with Fieldfare, Redwing, Mipits, the Kestrel and a Cetti's Warbler greeting us. As we approached the part between the two lakes, we met with two other birders - apologies I'm awful with names - who got us onto a Golden Plover which was hanging around on the grass with a Lapwing, offering some fantastic views through the scope, and a fine bird to have as my first Golden Plover. Unfortunately the camera is still messed up so I could only phonescope. It promptly flew off calling, and it - or another - was briefly seen later on.

One of the main aims was to find Jack Snipe, but we only saw around 50 Common Snipe in the end. While looking out for them as we walked towards the lagoons on the eastern side of the farmlands, a Stonechat, 4 Fieldfare, c.10 Redwing and 4 Meadow Pipit (and 4 flying Wigeon) were noted on the banks. A smallish flock of 15 Linnet were feeding nearby too. As we approached the largest, main lagoon we stopped in search of Water Pipit. Up to 3 were seen feeding amongst the Pied Wagtails viewed through scopes, and 2 Dunlin were found feeding - some good scope views were obtained but pictures were impossible. 

The main target otherwise to find one of the 2 Ruff that were present. We headed to the enclosed lagoons further SW, and the Ruff (oddly) called revealing its location and flew up out a lagoon alongside a group of Lapwing - of which upwards of 50 were seen. It flew very close giving good binocular flight views, but for some reason it was very flighty and never settled in a specific area. After getting muddy enough to admit defeat we started to head back towards the lakes, stopping off only thrice more first to watch a Little Egret, then an adult male Stonechat, and also a few Reed Buntings. As we approached the South Lake again Derek got a message from Kevin - I can't believe I missed seeing you today - that there was a Med gull on the lake. After a few seconds it was found, and showed well for a good time. I even got a decent phonescoped pic of it. We watched it for a few minutes and then gradually made our way towards the gate - somewhat unwillingly. 

Another great day at the Farmlands, with 61 species (incl. some I probably forgot) seen today. Though we missed any Jack Snipe it was a fairly successful visit, with decent weather, decent birds and good birders - overall another pretty good day in the field!

Thanks to Derek who led the walk, and to the group for tolerating me.

Before the spring starts, I'd still like a Woodcock. Need to keep looking...

barely a Golden Plover

ad Med Gull 

Insane

I haven't seen anything the last few days other than some fieldfare and a first for the garden; a Skylark over the house yesterday morning.

But the beast from the east is causing havoc among all the birds. Read about it here:

• Beddington Farmlands: 
•                  Peter's blog (http://peteralfreybirdingnotebook.blogspot.co.uk)
•                  Kojak's blog (http://kojak020.blogspot.co.uk)
• London Birding:
•                  Dante's Twitter (https://twitter.com/dante_shep)
•                  Ralph's blog - Hyde Park etc (http://kensingtongardensandhydeparkbirds.blogspot.co.uk)
•                  All London Sightings (http://londonbirders.wikia.com/wiki/LatestNews)
•                  Canon's Farm (http://northdownsandbeyond.blogspot.co.uk)
•                  Rye Meads RSPB (https://twitter.com/RSPBRyeMeads)

While I'm being forced to continue to go to school and most others are enjoying the birds that are moving overhead, I'm starting to feel EXTREMELY jealous of nearly everything that has been seen. Of the few thousand or so Lapwing that have been seen, the number that I've seen is equal to the number of Hawfinches I saw on the 17th February. One was even seen on the Emirates Football Pitch this evening before Arsenal got smashed by Man City!

I get jealous a lot with nature stuff, so it's nothing new. 

I just want to see everything because I'm greedy.

Of all things seen in the last few days I have never seen at least 5 of the species. Kittiwakes in Central London - really!

Hopefully something pops up nearby, and if I can I'll get down somewhere local to see what's been blown down. 

Morden Hall Park - the Patch Delivers! 25th February 2018

Today I had another urban ranger session at Morden Hall from 9am in the paddock (when I refer to the paddock I mean the overflow car park,) this time with the company of a camera crew as they are making a film about the group. So we started off with a few games etc. and bits and pieces to start off the session. Then we moved on to getting rid of these big, overgrown clumps of grass on the banks of the wildflower meadow in preparation for the spring. By the end it looked much better. 

It was certainly interesting being filmed by cameras like that; having grown up watching  Deadly 60 - Steve Backshall was one of the key people that got me into wildlife - it was a good experience. Giving me more ideas about my future.

For an hour and a half everything was running smoothly, with a lot of work getting done. Just before we had a break at around 10:30am I had a quick look up towards the car park, and a small bird, looking rather blue in the fine weather, ran along the wall, hopped down onto the gravel path, onto a post and sat there. With binoculars nearby I grabbed them with one bird in my mind. And it was what I hoped it was - a (slightly early) female Black Redstart, looking stunning in the sunshine. I watched it through the binoculars and showed it to a few others around me, and then it flew across the paddock and over to the wall in the house on the entrance to the park. I've been a bit worried about submitting my sighting, as the the last submitted interesting bird - the April Peregrine (originally thought to be Merlin) caused havoc on the London Bird Club. Either way I did and hopefully it's accepted. What  a great start!

For the rest of the morning we continued working on the mounds, being filmed throughout with mini-interviews towards the end. It was thoroughly enjoyable talking to the group filming us, and to me it was another morning well spent.

Other highlights were 2 Green Woodpeckers, a couple of GSWs, a flyover Little Egret, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, 2 Mistle Thrush and also a Meadow Pipit which came into the paddock at the very beginning to feed.

After cleaning up the tools used and having a final briefing by Richard our Lead Ranger, I made my way to the boardwalk to check out on the regulars. Another surprise was hearing the Cetti's Warbler singing from some scrubs by the river rather than the large amount of reedbed, even showing in the open for a grand time of 2 seconds. Only 1 Water Rail was heard today from the reedbeds area. After doing a few circuits I went towards the palace, and a Little Grebe was the only bird of note. 6 Goldcrest were calling along the route. Then while heading back the hotspot for watching what seems to be a pair of Kingfisher was strengthened as a male flew by and landed on one of the branches (Grid Reference: TQ260687) seems to be a favourite part. 

I then decided to try a different part of the park to see what could be seen. So I headed to the part of the rose garden which leads along towards the Ravensbury Park side (see map on side of page.) Either way it wasn't a bad way to end the day, as 4 Grey Wagtail, 90ish Black-headed Gull, 2 Little Grebe and 2 Teal (patch tick) were seen. Soon after I left the park, bringing an end to one of the most productive sessions at the patch in the last year. 

Although the Pentax has died again, I'm getting the Canon - which I've used for the last year - back again which is a stroke of luck. Now I can actually start taking some pictures again, rather than lots of writing which I apologise for! 

Juniper Top and Box Hill area, 18th February 2018

I'll keep it short.

After a lot of persuasion I managed to convince my parents for a walk in the area where 300+ Hawfinch have been seen. By the time we got out it was later than hoped, but we got there around 11ish.

So up to 300 were seen just yesterday by many birders, who have enjoyed a spectacle of them - a feeding frenzy if you will, in large flocks near Bramblehall Wood. I walked all along the area, looking and listening out, excited at what I would find - i've never experienced a Starling murmuration let alone a Hawfinch one. Juniper Top and Juniper Bottom drew Hawfinchless. As for Bramblehall...

I saw none.

This is the most disappointed I've been since missing the Greater Yellowlegs, which had been at Titchfield Haven for months, by 2 days in 2015. 

The only positive is that despite not seeing a single Hawfinch I did finally tick my Marsh Tit - 4 were seen - 2 singing - in the time I was there. It should have been longer, but for whatever reason we had to go. I would've spent a week there if I could - either way I missed the chance to see such an occurrence - I have no idea when I'll next be allowed to go. Probably once they've moved on.

So I'm probably the only local birder in Surrey to not have seen the Hawfinches in the South Downs. Thankfully all other birders have enjoyed them with the last few days being visited by many.

Richmond Park, 15th February 2018

I was fully hoping to get to Bramblehall Woods in order to see the Hawfinches a few days ago, but as I wasn't familiar with the place and had to go somewhere by myself I was limited in where to spend my afternoon. So I settled with a visit to Richmond Park. 

Already frustrated at not going to Bramblehall, the day got infinitely worse when the camera decided to die again - after flickering for half an hour it then refused to turn on, making me feel a lot angrier, especially as we just had it repaired. 

Either way, when I eventually had a wander towards Pen Ponds 3 Kestrel (2f 1m) and 2 Common Buzzard made an appearance. When I got to the fence, a quick scan through the binoculars revealed a Little Grebe* and 7 Pochard, on top of common species. 

Following directions that I'd helpfully received from Steve W, I walked across to the eastern heath areas of the Lower Pen Pond in the search for a good view of a Dartford Warbler. On the way I stopped to look at the lower pen pond, and as I do got excited when I saw a bird resembling Ring-billed Gull on the main lake, but I continued walking quickly when I realised I was being a bit hopeful. 

When I reached the heath, almost immediately a dog flushed a Snipe, which rushed towards the Upper lake. I continued walking, and a small bird caught my eye. The first Stonechat - which flew away. I walked around to the furthest part from the centre of the ponds, and while walking along a path a smaller bird flew out of one of the clumps of grass and low across the ground, into another. I followed it for a bit at a distance, and it was eventually found to be a f Dartford. As I couldn't get closer, I admitted defeat but had another encounter with the Stonechats; this time 2f and 1m, with the Dartford with them some way away.

Soon after, I was lucky enough to meet Paula, who showed me where one of the other 3-4 Dartfords were. When we got there, almost immediately an individual bird flew low across, identically to the earlier bird. Although originally thought to be a Wren, when it hopped up onto a clump for a few seconds it was the f Dartford, and showed briefly but well at close range. After following it for a bit, we got a few more glimpses from up to c. 8m away as it stayed low and then it disappeared. Thanks Paula, as now I know where to look! After Paula left, I hung around for a bit and another female Stonechat appeared. And then the ping of the Dartford as it flew low again. Then the moment of absolute anger - the bird obligingly hopped up onto the clump, 10m away, sitting there for nearly 10 seconds. Just to add to my woes my phone died, so I just got the great views no pictures. 

For those interested in seeing it, it was ranging widely, but showed well from the grid ref. TQ1940472400. 

The next few days have been quiet, and only 50 Herring Gulls and a 1cy Great Black-backed Gull have been of interest. 

Hopefully I get a chance to go somewhere in the next few week.

Can you find the female Stonechat?   

*what I thought to be a Little Grebe, though I saw it from long way off, and it looked quite large. Even through binoculars it was hard to tell; might require an extra look/check. 

Morden Hall Park, 12th February 2018

On my Monday, I spent the whole day volunteering at Morden Hall.

From the time I was volunteering, 10am to 4pm, I also continually looked around to see whatever I could.

Throughout the day, very little was seen but from the paddock 4 Mistle Thrush, 1 Common Buzzard high N, 3+ Sparrowhawk and also 3 Hawfinch were seen, as well as 4 Cormorant. 

At the end of the day, I had a quick walk to the reedbeds, stopped only by a woman asking about what could be seen and when/where to see a Kingfisher in the park, only until the resident male decided to come and sit on a nearby branch with a fish. 

I just wish some other birds were just this obliging. 

Either way, the reedbeds were quieter than usual, and 2 Water Rails were heard not seen.

The volunteering itself was enjoyable, and talking to little kids about the outdoor things was often a challenge, but I enjoyed it. If I'm honest, since it was more about gardening and garden maintenance I probably learnt more than them!

I'm feeling a little bit frustrated this week, as although I have very little going on myself due to a variety of reasons I can't really go birding or for walks, even with some good birds being seen. Having made nearly 10 ticks in the first 6 weeks of 2018 and seen other great things as well, I'm being quite greedy. But I feel, if I go to the Bramblehall Wood/Juniper Top/Box Hill area, I'll be treated with a spectacle of Hawfinches - I haven't had a single bird perched yet, as well as get my Marsh Tit.

Oh well. 

Hopefully these birds hang on until I eventually go there. 
I'm eyeing up Sunday...

Brownsea Island NT Urban Rangers Day 3, 4th February 2018

The final day of the trip. 
I decided to get up at dawn and make the most of the opportunity to look for some good birds and other bits and pieces for the last time in probably a while. Although sunny it was freezing, but I didn't mind too much as there was plenty to see. Through the scope another 10ish Mergansers were noted, 7 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Curlew and large numbers of Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls. Just as I was leaving, a large group of 19 Brent Goose flew over the water and landed some distance away. While walking up, a Red Squirrel made a dash for cover - I didn't think I was that scary but apparently I was.

After tidying up and getting ready to leave, we had a quick 20 minute saunter back down to the shore - as it was mid-morning very little was around now. A tally of 28 Shelduck were seen, looking fine in the sun, and a Little Egret roosting on the beach added to the list. 3 Red-breasted Mergansers were found in amongst the gulls, and also a welcome adult Glaucous Gull, my first for a few years.  Through the scope it looked magnificent, dwarfing the Herring Gulls on the water some way away. The wind was too strong for digiscoping unfortunately, but I'm pretty certain I'll get pictures of this bird eventually. As we were walking back, this plaice had been washed up on the shore - probably a few minutes earlier as no gulls were there yet - and a group of waders flew overhead at a stupid speed. This was the only picture I got of them, and my suspicion was Dunlin or Sanderling - I'm not sure so I'm going with Dunlin. Let me know if you're more sure. 

Shelduck

Plaice

Dunlin?

Just as we prepared to head towards the little harbour, and passing agonisingly close to the lagoon which I had been longing to go to, not one nor 2 but 3 Red Squirrels paid a visit to the log piles near the bunkhouses, allowing distant but pleasant views for all, but for the only person yet to and desperate to see one, Thomas. Just as we thought they'd disappear into the woodland, before he reappeared, he arrived carrying a bag, which he promptly dropped when he heard the words 'Red Squirrel!' In the end we all got views of them, as they relaxed on the log pile, little before heading back into the trees. 

While walking back, I saw nothing but a Robin and GSW. When we arrived at the harbour early, 20 minutes before the boat ride back to the mainland, I had a few minutes to do some final sea-coastal watching. A lonely Turnstone was doing its job on the beach, and when a Sparrowhawk rushed through us all and straight into the lagoon, nearly every wader there went up, and flew manically along the beach. I had chosen that moment to change the camera batteries, meaning I got this hurried picture of a group before they settled down. This time I'm happier to say that they are Grey Plovers - though that's probably still wrong! 

This bird also flew past us as we were boarding - having heard a Velvet Scoter had been seen (i haven't even seen Common) my hopes were up, but due to a poor picture anyway there's no chance of ID, so probably Cormorant!

Red Squirrel

Dunlin

Once we arrived on the mainland again, we were straight off to the next place for another couple of hours or so. Since we were cutting down more pine trees on Knighton Heath felt like déjà vu, as that's exactly what I did at Arne a few months ago. After a briefing about the heath, and being told what could be found there, we got to work, and after an hours worth of chopping we left the site, as we had to start to head back to Morden Hall. It was an interesting place, with all 3 British species of Snake found there, with good numbers of the elusive Smooth Snake found there. For birds, a smashing place for Nightjar, which the leader gave us several good stories about. Either war, what we saw was obviously less exciting than nightjar. Though Dartford Warblers and Stonechat were common there, only 3 Buzzards and 2 Raven were seen while no other birds were. 

?

Thomas and his pine trees. 

The Urban Rangers at work!

The trip back was quiet, and a single Red Kite was one of few birds to be seen. 

An absolutely brilliant trip, and I'm very happy that I joined the Rangers at Morden Hall - hopefully I'll have many more amazing experiences with them in the future. Thanks to Hattie and the lead rangers (Richard and Richard) in the group, and also all from the National Trust. Finally, and I always say this wherever I go, but Brownsea Island, I'll be back! 

Brownsea Island NT Urban Rangers Day 2 - Lifers galore! 3rd February 2018

The weather was crap.

I had been regularly checking the forecast, praying the all day wet and windy weather would magically disappear, but it didn't - though it wasn't nearly as bad as expected. 

Part 1:

After an 8am wake-up and a satisfying breakfast by Urban Ranger leader Hattie, we had our briefing for the day, which was to start with orienteering of the island, and following markers to find a way around the island. Unfortunately it was made into another competition of girls vs boys - basically another chance for me to lose. So we set off, my scope and camera ready, from our base. The first 10 minutes were slow, with only a few woodpeckers making an appearance as we headed towards the North side of the island. As we reached the lakes, a quick look through the scope revealed 3 Scaup - first for a few years - and the usual waterfowl. A Grey Wagtail was the only other bird of note. 

We carried on walking, and for half an hour all was quiet, barring a very vocal Lesser-spotted Woodpecker near the Natural Play Area (NNW on the island.) It wasn't seen, as I had very little time to stop while competing! All 3 woodpeckers were heard, and both Lesser and Greater were very vocal. Sign of spring?

Very soon after, a fairly large group of Sika Deer were found, mostly stags - they had evidently spotted us before we saw them, since they were moving off into the distance while watching us closely. I managed a few pictures, but for nearly the whole day the camera was hidden as I wanted to avoid getting it wet. 

The walking continued, amidst the damp. And the first red squirrel was sighted, hurriedly scampering across the path in front of us. Ironically, the only person who had an aim/wish to see a Red Squirrel, and was the only one to not see it. As it was a fleeting glimpse it really was nothing special.

We didn't get much further however, as when we reached a higher point overlooking the NW part of the harbour my scope came out again, although everyone else had moved on. But to my delight I found a group 7 Red-Breasted Merganser feeding in the channel, a lifer for me. Though miles away, I was able to get some good views through the scope, as did everyone else in the group. I had a quick scan around with the scope, before we set off again, and I wast treated with a quick view of a Black-throated Diver on the surface, which promptly disappeared. So 2 lifers in a 2 minutes. Great!

We continued walking, and things died down again for a while except another 2 doe that dashed across the path. Some fascinating history of the island, more specifically the old town, came from Richard as we walked.  

Just as I thought the best of the birds had passed, I managed to find 2 Red-necked Grebe through the scope - another lifer for me - from a viewing area. They hung around about 200m from the Island nearly due W with a group of Herring Gull. A further 5 Merganser were noted, as were 4 Goldeneye.  

3 lifers in half an hour! Bloody hell Brownsea, what more?!

As we had been delayed due to my inability to walk and not observe every single creature that moves or makes sound, we headed on at a faster rate. The Southern edge of the island was much quieter, with fewer birds and mammals seen or heard. The water was quiet too. Another diver sp. flew along the coast, but too fast for identification. So far so good - the weather hadn't been horrendous!

The girls played a nice prank on us, making us believe that we had won the race. My senses had let me down once again. Another competition lost; but I can't say that I was disappointed!

Remember for the future: never go in my team for an outdoor competition NOT depending on nature.                                           It will cost you!

Red-breasted Mergansers. I risked a shot through the rain.

Part 2:

The afternoon was focused on some conservation work arranged by a National Trust worker.

It started with me, Thomas and Ellie piling logs into a truck, which was carried to the main workplace near the cadets camping place. The wood was then sorted into piles, so the trust could use the biomass for electricity. As there is so much wood on the island, it was a fairly green way of using resources, without damaging the environment. 

The weather had calmed down for the time being. I got my only sighting of a Spoonbill, as one flew along the coastline in the afternoon. 

Afterwards, we swapped over and did some raking and cleaning up of the area around the bunkhouse. The large clumps of leaves and other bits of pieces made the area look a lot less tidy. Some more piles of wood were made - these proved to be important on Sunday!

Part 3:

The afternoon/early evening was also made up of another 2 parts. A long, interesting discussion about the upcoming GAP project at Morden Hall kept us busy for a good hour or so. I'm looking forward to this project, which will definitely improve the biodiversity across the park. However, I'll say no more about it for now.

Finally, an hour before sundown, we had a coastal walk along the south-south west side of the island. Before we'd even set off, 11 Red-breasted Mergansers could be seen fishing through the scope, in the drizzle. c.15 Med gulls as well a further 100 gulls or so were present along the shoreline, and waders were in high numbers. I must confess - when I saw a small, grey-ish wader fly in, on its own, with its greenish legs and white rump, it took literally a few seconds for Stilt Sand. to come into my mind. 

We walked around the beach, and while some people managed to get stuck in some sandy/boggy areas, some of us spent time watching the waders - with large groups of Curlew, Greenshank, Redshank, GCGs and Brent Goose additionally seen. 

This hour was pretty awesome - spending time with this group of people and seeing such great wildlife was a highlight. With darkness descending pretty quickly, I took very few pictures of any quality, but here they are. 

Mergansers and gulls

pro. Greenshank

pro. Greenshank - it's crazy what one accidental click can do to a picture

The south coastline

gulling etc. 

Curlew

spooked

What a cracking first day on the island! 3 lifers in great company. And what better way to celebrate freedom from school and being surrounded by nature than a BBQ! Oh yes!

Brownsea Island Day 1 and Half-Century, 2nd February 2018

In my 'Review of 2017,' I mentioned that there were a few commoner species missing from my garden bird list. By the end of 2017 I had reached 48 species for the garden, and 49 a few weeks ago. Jinx.

While addressing a long term injury, due to my hobby for cricket thus the title, I had a quick glance put the window before dusk on Friday and a bright green bird flew out from the neighbours' tree and into a bare tree some way off. Unfortunately it was way too far off for a 55-300mm lens so I only have mere record shots, but the Green Woodpecker was the 50th 'Garden Bird' for me, a pretty impressive list since it's an urban area in Surrey. With this in mind, who knows what other birds and animals are missed coming over. If more people in more urban areas were encouraged to look up when walking, or check their garden every few days for new species of both insects and birds, perhaps a greater array of wildlife would be found...

When given the opportunity to come with the National Trust ranger group on a trip to Brownsea Island - before meeting anyone - I couldn't resist. A chance to meet other nature people, in Dorset, in February, with my poor sea-birding list, would definitely be worth it. So we set off on Friday evening, arriving for an 8pm boat across to the island. When we arrived, I didn't need to be asked twice to be one of 5 to walk to the bunkhouse in the dark. Whilst in the 15 minute walk, 3 Tawny Owls and 2 Sika Deer were heard and seen respectively - I was given some interesting background about the deer while with the RSPB in October.* 

After settling into our weekend home and having some hot chocolate, we discussed the plans for the weekend. With rain and cold winds forecast for the Saturday, the chances of seeing anything good was low.  

woeful - but there's the 50th. 

*In Brief: the Sika Deer came from the Far East and a few were released onto the Arne Peninsula in the late 19th century. Although it was believed that they would stay on the mainland as a small population, they managed to swim to Brownsea Island, which is why there are populations in the Swanage area and Arne RSPB as well as the island. It's quite interesting that they managed to swim across the bay, and reach the island in numbers high enough to breed successfully and now have a rich population. Either way, a fascinating creature.  

Morden Hall Park and current British birding, 31th January 2018

On Sunday I did my first session with the 'Urban Rangers' group at Morden Hall Park in the morning, where we sorted out the tools they had and learnt how to maintain them as part of future conservation work - similar to what I did in Dorset in October. It was a good first session, with the next one in just under a month's time due to half term. Afterwards, I had a quick spin around the patch and a single Water Rail in the border between areas [8/9,] 2 Grey Wagtail, 1 Little Egret, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Kestrel, Cetti's Warbler in area [9,] 7 Fieldfare and 3 Nuthatch the highlights. I've got a camera back, though not the one I've been using since 2015 (Canon SX60 HS,) but an old Pentax DSLR model the Pentax kx. I'm hoping to get a new lens for it, as I would like to take some better pictures. If anyone has recommendations please let me know.

Throughout Britain, the last few weeks has been pretty good for birds. 

Just as Steve Gale predicted a month or two ago, the Hawfinch invasion has picked up in strength and more birds seem to be arriving, with charms of them now arriving in much larger numbers - in Surrey groups of 70 and 40 have been counted in places like Juniper Top/Bottom and Guildford. Unbelievably he also had 200, an incredible number to see in one go. Though I've seen individuals and pairs this autumn I'm yet to see a big group, and am keen to find one - maybe even on the patch.

Rare birds have picked up too. That Stilt Sandpiper in Dorset is still moving along the coast, no longer at Arne or Poole Harbour. The American Horned Lark (or Shorelark subspecies?) has returned to Staines Reservoirs after an absence of nearly 2 months - this brings into question which reservoir or reserve has it been at over Christmas? Which birder has missed the bird at their own patch? Or was it just hiding on the furthest parts of Staines, which the birders there couldn't see? Who knows...

These two birds are both ones I'd like to see, as well as 2 other species that have been seen in the vice-county. That is the Parrot Crossbills at Wishmore Bottom, though I've never even seen Common Crossbills perched, and the Little Bunting at Walthamstowe Marshes. Both are quite far and considering I don't really have spare time to go on twitches for obvious reasons, so I'll have to settle for local birds. For now. 

Next weekend I'm heading to Brownsea Island with the Urban Rangers, and that should be good fun and should definitely produce some good birds - I'm pretty sure I can find myself either a good wader if not a Black-necked Grebe, diver sp, Merganser or a nice gull! Having never seen a diver or rarer grebe, that be my target!

Beddington Farmlands - Twite Twitch #2, 27th January 2018

I finally got the opportunity to go to Beddington again today for another dig at the Twite with a small company led by David ("Devilbirder") Campbell. When we eventually got in, we headed straight over to the tip. On the way there, 4 Snipe flew onto the North Lake, (probably because of the active f Kestrel) and a Song thrush was also noted.

When we reached the tip, the Twite was immediately found by David, but within seconds it had flown off again. Bit of a surprising start. We hung about in that same spot for 20 mins or so, but with it not reappearing and very little else but a fair few Reed Bunting and Mipits around were seen. So we decided to head southwards along the tip, when David suddenly came to a stop and lifted his bins, looking towards the perimeter fence. In other words it was a signal for us to stop. Then he said something unexpected and to me, quite exciting. 'There's a Dartford Warbler!' It took me a little while to get onto it, but there it was, flitting around in the thick grassy/reedy area just below the fence, staying fairly well-hidden but enough to show the reddish breast and red eye-ring. Having not been seen for a couple of months it was a welcome surprise, and I've finally got that bird. One bogey bird complete! As I'm still camera-less, I still didn't get the opportunity to get a picture, so that one will have to wait. 

We carried on walking, following the Linnets around for a little bit, with what seemed like an endless supply of gulls filling the sky, tip and lakes. Then a pair of Tree Sparrow hopped onto the fence, just 2 of the remaining 5; another lifer for me, so already a double victory. I got a distance picture through my phone, though pretty woeful. 

We walked along a bit more, though nothing more was found. Then David heard the bird call and land nearby on the tip. The scopes came out and then it was found by one birder, with everyone but me seeing it clearly. Just as I got onto it through a birder's scope, adjusting the focus, I watched it hop onto a rock then fly off, allowing me a 1 second ground view and 10 second flight view. And that was it. Sadly we never found it again after another hour of searching. Nonetheless I saw it, whether a quality view or not, and it was enough to see the pink ring and rump. Hopefully if it hangs around for another month I might sneak in for a better look, but either way I can't say that the Twite Twitch #2 was unsuccessful.

Besides that, an adult Glaucous Gull had been found, and Devilbirder had seen a Caspian before we arrived. Skylarks were present in good numbers, and 2 Rook, 2 Little Egret and 2 Cetti's Warblers ended the visit. 

Thanks to David for organising the trip. Hopefully I can come again in the coming weeks, and try and see anything else that turns up, and get another view of the Twite. 

With a variety of rarities turning up at the moment, like the return of the American Horned Lark at Staines, it feels like something big might turn up at the farmlands - whether it be a Little or Lapland bunting, or maybe even a wader or other passerine, like a lark. No reason why the Horned Lark can't take a day trip...

Hornbills or House Sparrows?

Here I am, gutted to have missed the Twite Twitch today at Beddington, at home thinking of wildlife, hoping that something interesting is going to come and sit on my windowsill tomorrow morning in the horrible weather. 

As most trips I've been on have been close to home, generally the birds I see are quite similar to what I see in my home country. 

However, there are 2 exceptions. 
One is India (2012-13) where I spent nearly a month visiting relatives in Kolkata in the North and then a short break to Kerala in the south. That was a great trip, and was the second year of my birding life, so I didn't know much., though we were fortunate enough to see some good birds. 

The most incredible experience though was in the summer of 2015, where I spent 10 days on an island off Malaysia, called Pulau Langkawi.

I arguably had the time of my life, and over the 10 days managed to see c.80 species, since the island was largely inaccessible in such a short time. 

I was fortunate to see some incredible birds. Since nearly every bird I saw was quite brilliant, I'll only name a few. The iconic Great Hornbill was seen on two occasions, as were the other Hornbill species. Black-throated Sunbirds, White-bellied Sea Eagles and numerous Kingfisher species were all seen from the incredible resort of Four Seasons. Other highlights included Crimson Sunbirds, Greater Flamebacks and the endemic Brown-winged Kingfisher, and I can't forget the Brahminy Kites (all which made me wish that such exotic birds were seen back in England!)

Not only was it the birds that made the visit so great. While at the resort and the island, I was shown the wildlife by naturalists and birders Aidi, Farook and Annuar. I still remember everything I saw so well, as although I'm unlikely to visit any time soon - unfortunately - they gave me great experiences, and found the Hornbills and many other species for me, as well as the Monitor Lizards which stalked the huts at times. Finally seeing a Racket-tailed Drongo after being unsuccessful in India was a relief.

The most important bird to me, supposedly, is my profile picture for Google, (probably the first decent bird picture I took,) of a Black-naped Oriole seen outside the resort. 

If only some of these exotic birds were seen in England, along with the birds that I can never get enough of. I must have seen Grey Wagtail and Sparrowhawk and House Sparrow hundreds, if not thousands of times now, but everytime I see one I always feel quite content.

Among the usual words this week like 'revision' and 'yawn' one of the automatic words that come up now on my phone when typing on WhatsApp is 'Twite.' I'm glad to hear that David Campbell's organised twitch today was successful, and more people managed to see it. Before it heads off back to Derbyshire, I hope I can get a good sight of it. 

Here are some of my favourite pictures from that trip.

Collared Kingfisher -
For a while, nobody knew what it was as the beak looked oddly flat, and it was causing confusion among birders, but then it was easily found to be a Collared Kingfisher. My sister had even prepared a number of names in case we had found a new species :) Nonetheless it was the first time that Aidi had heard of them fishing on the beach, so was quite pleasing for me.

Black-naped Oriole

Great Hornbill

Crimson Sunbird- I got the less bright one!

Purple Swamphen - if you recognise this, perhaps Minsmere 2016?

Water Monitor

Greater Flameback pair

Little Heron

Danaus melanippus? Nice butterfly anyway.

Asian Glossy Starling juv

Blowing Cobwebs away, Morden Hall Park, 13th January 2018

2018 has started off quite nicely. Wilson's School playing fields has had a steady number of 200-500 gulls everyday for the last week and a half, and on the 10th a Yellow-legged Gull I'm 85% sure it was - flew over my head at 1ish and flew towards Beddington. On the same morning 5 Siskin and a Hawfinch flew onto Roundshaw Downs.

I have had a lot of work to do in the past few weeks and today I needed to go for a walk to 'blow some cobwebs away' and try and free my mind a bit. Since I'm not very fond of spiders I didn't actually blow any cobwebs away, although a troublesome False Widow spider is still living on my windowsill! 

So I went to Morden Hall for a quick hour, and the sun was out. It was a nice surprise to be greeted by a family of 5 GSWs drumming away near the boardwalk, the loudest I'd ever heard them. I was then absolutely ridiculed by Chiffchaff which was singing near the river - something I'd never heard before in January. Yes, I'm not the most experienced birder but I can reassure all readers that it was singing! Either way, 3 Water Rails were heard today all in the same areas as before. One was calling loudly 10m or so diagonally left of the viewing platform. Other than that all was quiet, besides a hunting Kestrel, 2(-1) Wood Mice, 1 Little Egret and a Grey Wagtail.

The marshy side of the reedbeds is looking really good, like a small area of the marsh at WWT Barnes. I reckon, with a bit of effort, a Snipe or even a Jack Snipe could be found in the coming months. 

On the way back we passed Carshalton Ponds, and a Grey Wagtail, c.70 Black-headed Gulls, c. 20 Herring Gulls and a mix of LBBs and Commons made up the rest- with a few left unidentified. 

The camera is still being repaired, and with an old model of a Pentax also in for repairs it may finally be time for an upgrade...

Roundshaw Downs - Weirdo! 8th January 2018

Today was a pretty horrible day. The weather was gloomy, which meant that I had a lovely cross country run in the afternoon. However, it was arguably the first time I wasn't too worried about it; not just because it wasn't actually raining, but also because it's the only time of year that I go to Roundshaw Downs. The only problem is that there were lots of other students and teachers, so I obviously couldn't have binoculars dangling down my neck.

Either way, at 14:30ish we set off and it started off well. c. 30 Redwings, disturbed by a group of raucous runners, set off from some berry trees, as did 15 or so Common Gulls from the fields. My biggest hope was to spook a Woodcock from the long grass - very optimistic, and it obviously never happened. 

However, the highlight was a Firecrest which was calling from a group of Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests. I stopped to admire its bright colours for a few seconds, although from about 15m away. I was then dragged on by an impatient friend. It was unexpected so pleasing, but I still haven't had a good view or got a good picture of one yet. After that it was all quiet, except a single Skylark in the old airfield. Either way, considering it was just a bit of birding whilst running, it was quite good, despite having lots of people shaking their head or saying some nice descriptions like 'Bloody weirdo' as I walked past, which I actually quite like to be honest!

I haven't had the camera for a few weeks now, and I'm starting to get more and more impatient with birding, with the Twite showing even better than before and some Parrot Crossbills showing really well on the Surrey border. Though I've got no chance of seeing the PC's, the Twite, Iceland and Caspian Gulls are the ones I'm really hoping for this winter.

As soon as I'm free in 3 weeks I know where I'll be trying to go, if I get let in of course!

Meanwhile, the garden list has grown again, incredibly reaching its 49th sighting, as a pair of Chaffinch finally came into the 'recording area.' Oddly, though Goshawk and Osprey are on the list, Kestrel and Green Woodpecker aren't.  

RHS Wisley, 30th December 2017

Although previously promised that the 30th was reserved for me to choose where to go for a walk, we had to go to RHS Wisley - I was annoyed primarily because I was certain that my choice of Box Hill would be more rewarding, and I would be able to get a last minute 2017 Marsh Tit. However, since the camera is in for repairs at the moment it was fine, as there was nothing really photo worthy at Wisley.

Anyhow, when we arrived there were 6 Siskins and a redpoll sp. feeding in an alder in the car park. The last time I'd got good views of Siskins were in the Peak District last winter, so it was probably the highlight of the trip. 

Outside the main restaurant cafe, there were 45 or so Redwing feeding on the ground. I heard a few Fieldfare, but didn't see them. 

There was a Grey Heron and 2 Grey Wagtails along the river, and from the birdhide there were tons of small birds, Nuthatches and 5 Siskins more were feeding high in the trees in a Goldfinch group.

I found that what I thought was digiscope kit wasn't, but was actually an attachable 10x lens for my phone. So I just took a few pictures with my phone and new phone lens, which were all pretty bad.

Besides that there was a fine 1w male Pheasant on the base of the feeders, and a Treecreeper sidling around a tree.

That's it for 2017 then. 
As I've written this a few days late, I would lile to wish everyone a Happy New (birding) Year. 

Coal Tit

Etc.