Saturday, 3 August 2013

June and July highlights at CFBW

There was very limited coverage during the traditional doldrums of June and July which are almost never worth the effort in terms of putting in the hours at the patch if finding migrants or scarce patch visitors is what you're after.

There was a good start to June with the 2nd coming up trumps with a Hawfinch in Banstead Woods plus a flock of 14 Crossbills and a single Red Kite over the farm. On the same day one of the Red-legged Partridges was still visible in Broadfield for the last time before the crop made any potential sightings of this species near enough impossible. A single Crossbill flew over on the 7th, the same day as a flock of nine Canada Geese. The Lesser Whitethroat was still singing at the east slopes of Banstead Woods on the 8th but not afterwards. The 9th was interesting for a Common/Arctic Tern flying high north over Outwood Lane. Another Red Kite flew over on the 10th. Mallards and Grey Herons continued to fly over occasionally. A group of seven Rooks were seen in The Nuttery on the 29th.

We should have counted ourselves lucky in June, as July was dire. Black-headed Gulls appeared from the 12th and Common Gulls from the 18th. Notable was a Yellowhammer bathing in Piddly Pond on 13th, a very significant record for the Banstead Woods half of the recording area. A Honey-buzzard flew over the east slopes on the 24th, only the second record for the patch and a superb find by the observer. A Peregrine was reported over Legal & General on the 28th.