Goring and Headley Heath

A productive morning started with an unseen Green Sandpiper calling over my vismig point. A mooch around the bushes felt autumnal, with a Cuckoo, a Garden Warbler and four Willow Warblers. A family of five Whitethroats was nearby. Good counts on the beach included 129 Mediterranean Gulls and 19 Little Egrets, while three Dunlin, three Oystercatchers, a Ringed Plover and two Common Gulls were also present. The sea itself only offered singles of Gannet and Sandwich Tern. A Sand Martin, eight Swallows, a Pied Wagtail and two Lesser Black-backed Gulls were among the other birds logged.

Willow Warbler at Goring Gap

In the evening, Phil and Lynne W and Linda M joined me for a quick evening walk around Headley Heath, where we glimpsed a Woodcock fly past us.

Canons Farm, Banstead Woods, Headley Heath and Juniper Bottom/Top

With more meetings this week, I'm spending a little time back in Surrey. I walked with Geoff B through Canons Farm and around the southern part of Banstead Woods. It was the latter site that made the day, us finding two Hawfinches around the yews and larches at Fames Rough, distracted by a pair of Ravens as they flew by. A female Stonechat was in Hither Field and a Grey Heron was heard cawking as it flew over. At the farm, two Red Kites entertained us as we packed up, a Little Owl was on view on the side of Horse Pasture and flocks included 20 Skylarks and 80 Linnets. A Great Black-backed Gull flew over.

Jamie McK and I parked at Headley Heath in the afternoon and walked to the Juniper Bottom/Juniper Top area. A pleasant walk, standout moments were the flushing of a 2cy female Sparrowhawk from its Woodpigeon kill at the heath, and a calling Marsh Tit at Juniper Top. A Meadow Pipit was also on the heath.

Raven at Banstead Woods

Red Kite at Canons Farm

Headley Heath and Canons Farm, 2nd June 2017

This evening, a few members of the CFBW Bird Group went on an off-patch jaunt to Headley Heath, within the LNHS area, to look for Nightjars... We were successful, enjoying superb views of a pair and trying to listen to the male churring between passing planes. A Woodlark was also a valuable spot and at least three Willow Warblers were singing. (While driving to the site, two Mallards flew over the patch recording area)

A Nightjar!

16-17th May 2017

Loitering around the Harholt Plantation at Banstead Woods yesterday morning proved fruitful, with a Spotted Flycatcher, two Hobbies, a Red Kite, a flock of four Grey Herons and two Lesser Whitethroats providing ample interest. A quick run around Canons Farm in the afternoon added a couple of House Martins. In the evening, I teamed up with Paul S for a recce ahead of the Mole Valley Bird Race on Saturday, calling in at a few sites and producing highlights of Peregrine, Garden Warbler and Lapwing.

Spotted Flycatcher at Banstead Woods

One of two Hobbies snatching bugs out of the air over Banstead Woods' Harholt Plantation

Any flock of Grey Herons over CFBW is a rare sight and indicative of something more significant than short commutes by local birds

2cy Red Kite over Banstead Woods

With rain pouring first thing this morning seemingly confirming the all-day washout forecast, I opted to head to Beddington and was frustrated that the showers soon petered out entirely, meaning I could have stuck to my routine of visiting CFBW in the morning and making it less likely that something would be forced low over Beddington. Finding nothing of any real novelty at the main lake other than a somewhat random and unsettled Great Crested Grebe, where the 2cy Iceland Gull made an in-flight appearance, I trekked around Hundred Acre but little was on offer there either, save for presumably the same GCG looking rather leery!

Great Crested Grebe lurking on Jim's Pit

Lapwing on Hundred Acre

I was due to be away for the next couple of days but things have suddenly changed so there will be more chances for local birding tomorrow and Friday.

Mealies

Common (Mealy) Redpoll (bottom right) with Lesser Redpolls for comparison

I tried yesterday for the Common (Mealy) Redpolls that had been seen with huge numbers of Lesser Redpolls local to me at Headley Heath. Phil Wallace picked me up after college at 3.00pm, when on site there was little time left before sunset so we had to act fast. I picked out one bird which I was sure was a Mealy, but it disappeared too quickly. Then all the Redpolls disappeared . . . drat.

Luckily today it was my only free study afternoon of the week which conveniently coincided with dad's only free afternoon of the week. What luck, eh? Shortly after 2.00pm I was on site with Johnny Allan and Kevin Guest enjoying the spectacle of roughly four hundred Redpolls feeding and buzzing in the trees, occasionally flying over us all at once. One or two Common (Mealy) Redpolls were picked out promptly and photographed; the other two had located double figures of his species amongst the Lessers. If this isn't a record for London/Surrey it must certainly be up there. After enjoying the birds for a while they were startled and disappeared, John and Kevin left for home and I did soon afterwards, content but with the thought of the many pages of geography coursework that had to be done by tomorrow very much in my head (I've just finished it after five hours almost non-stop typing).

Much credit to Steve Gale for locating the flock!