Canons Farm and Banstead Woods

I led one of the two subgroups for the CFBW Bird Group's Winter Tour today, a welcome chance to get back on the old patch and to simply get beyond the confines of the garden! The best the farm had to offer were 40 Meadow Pipits, 25 Redwings, six Fieldfares and a couple of Buzzards. In Banstead Woods, we enjoyed having a female Sparrowhawk, an adult male Kestrel and a Buzzard over our heads simultaneously, while one of the paths offered good views of Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Coal Tit and Great Spotted Woodpecker for the participants. A redpoll flew over.

Worthing and Thursley Common

  An early morning seawatch produced a Bonxie, seven Common Scoters, a Great Crested Grebe, a Teal, four Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 27 auks, 21 Gannets and 20 Dunlin off Grand Avenue in an hour early morning. A Sparrowhawk flew over on the way home.

Thursley Common with Phil delivered good views of a flock of 14 Crossbills, heard-only encounters with four Dartford Warblers, three Fieldfares, 11 Redwings and a few redpolls. Several Red Kites were entertaining as they whistled and tusseled overhead.

Later, a Peregrine was near the shops back home in Worthing.

Canons Farm and Belmont

A Tawny Owl woke me up in the early hours outside the window at my parents' when I stopped over. In the early afternoon, once the rain had cleared, I headed to Canons Farm for a short walk which produced a female Stonechat, three Chiffchaffs, a male Kestrel, two Buzzards, a Yellowhammer, seven Meadow Pipits and a Fieldfare.

Belmont

 A Tawny Owl was hooting late at night, audible from my parents' flat.

Ashburnham Place and Shackleford

 Ringing at Ashburnham with Pete, accompanied by Christian and Adrian. Catches included my first ever Grey Wagtail ringed, a Swallow and a young male Great Spotted Woodpecker. Other birds noted included a redpoll overhead, a couple of Siskins, a Marsh Tit, a Firecrest, a Treecreeper, 60 Swallows and a few House Martins.

A return to Surrey in the evening saw an eventful evening at Shackleford, where the Short-toed Lark - Ed Stubbs's mindblowing find - showed nicely in its usual field, where a male Sparrowhawk shot through.

Gallions Reach, Banstead Downs and Ditchling Beacon

I caught up with Kevin at Gallions Reach in the morning, where I found him a patch tick in the form of a juvenile Caspian Gull, along with eight Common Sandpipers and a Little Egret. Two Sparrowhawks, two Kestrels and a Buzzard over the far side were the only raptors on offer. The lake had two Little Grebes, 11 Teal and six Gadwall, and a Willow Warbler was in the bushes.







Banstead Downs later with Panos and Francis produced a surprise afternoon flyover Tree Pipit and several Chiffchaffs in with the tit flocks encountered.

Happily, I made it to Ditchling Beacon before dark to successfully twitch my first Sussex Dotterel - three juveniles. A Whinchat and three Wheatears were seen on the walk in.

Canons Farm, Banstead Woods and Beddington Farmlands

Leading the CFBW Bird Group's Autumn Migration Tour was a challenge in the cold northerlies, but we found two Wheatears, 20 Swallows and three Meadow Pipits at Canons Farm, while Banstead Woods offered a Siskin and a Willow Warbler. A small flock of Goldfinches picking at the mortar on the carport - as they do here - included two birds with rings.



An evening walk at Beddington was disappointing. The water levels on the lakes were high and the 'wet grassland' still had not a blade more grass than when it was first dug. Chiffchaffs outnumbered Willow Warblers, with 15 and three respectively, while two Cetti's Warblers sang and a Sand Martin, 10 Swifts and three Swallows hawked over the North Lake. I heard a Green Sandpiper, and wildfowl included seven Shovelers and four Egyptian Geese.

Banstead Woods

An outdoors meet with some of the CFBW folk late in the day at Banstead Woods was quiet for both birds and butterflies but refreshing nonetheless. Over 40 Swifts were overhead, three Buzzards flew over and a couple of Goldcrests were singing - among the birds noted.

Buckland Sand Pits

A very pleasant morning with Ian Magness at Park Pit saw a Crossbill and a Siskin fly over. A Kingfisher was another highlight, while there seemed to be three pairs of Great Crested Grebes, as well as a couple of Little Grebes. 17 Egyptian Geese included a couple of family groups. Dozens of Sand Martins were visiting their nest holes, these being joined by just one Swallow over the lake, and a pair of Grey Wagtails attended to a fledgling. A singing Garden Warbler revealed itself and we had two Reed Warblers and three Reed Buntings around the edges of the pit. Singles of Kestrel and Sparrowhawk passed over and loafing wildfowl included a drake Tufted Duck, 81 Canada Geese, seven Mute Swans and six Greylags.

adult male Grey Wagtail (left) with juvenile

Egyptian Geese

Garden Warbler

Banstead and West Worthing

No 'proper' birding today but after dark a Redwing over Banstead as we left a restaurant heralded a far larger movement when we got back home to Worthing, hearing them continuously as I set up the nocmig gear...

...Update 11.03.20:  My recorder picked up 1,250 Redwing calls over our West Worthing garden 9.38am-5.49am, almost entirely in the first seven hours. I wish I'd managed to set it up sooner but cannot complain at the result nonetheless.

Frensham Common, Pulborough Brooks and Goring Gap

A rare foray into Surrey and Frensham Common saw really quite special views of the Great Grey Shrike, showing well at close range for some time, and good looks at a Woodlark and three Dartford Warblers. A Water Rail and a couple of Little Grebes were heard, while a Pochard and three Great Crested Grebes were also among the birds at the Little Pond. Two Treecreepers, a Nuthatch, a singing Mistle Thrush, four Stonechats, a singing Reed Bunting, a couple of Siskins and, lordy, my first redpoll for months (heard flying over), were also noted.

Great Grey Shrike at Frensham Common

Woodlark at Frensham Common

Dartford Warbler at Frensham Common

By the time Pulborough Brooks was reached, the rain set in and it was quiet in general, though the floods were still quite full of wildfowl, including Pintail. What was probably my first migrant Chiffchaff of the year was singing, as was a Bullfinch, a Treecreeper and a cluster of 35 Redwings. A Little Egret, a male Kestrel, two Reed Buntings and two Stonechats were also logged.

A very quick stop at Goring Gap on the way back home delivered four Mediterranean Gulls, five Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 132 Common Gulls, c30 Dunlin and 11 Grey Plovers.

Poulter Park and Beddington Farmlands

Being at my parents' for the weekend, I had a lazier than usual start to the morning before making my way to Poulter Park in Mitcham for the local wintering warbler fest along the River Wandle. It was immediately obvious why this stretch of river was so popular with insectivores, with a continuous cloud of midges along the path and over the water. It feels like a real local winter goldmine of a site for uncommon and rare passerines - hopefully now it's on the map half an eye will be kept on the area The Yellow-browed Warbler - the star attraction - was soon located and went on to perform almost continuously (and occasionally calling) over the time I spent on site, along with a couple of lovely Siberian Chiffchaffs, two Firecrests and two Blackcaps (one heard singing and a female). Other birds included a Kingfisher, up to 10 nominate Chiffchaffs, two Grey Wagtails, a Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel, a Little Egret and two Egyptian Geese. It was great to catch up with Paul Goodman, Shaun Ferguson, Nick Gardner, Ian Ward and Arjun Dutta.

Yellow-browed Warbler at Poulter Park

Yellow-browed Warbler at Poulter Park

Siberian Chiffchaff at Poulter Park

Firecrest at Poulter Park

Firecrests at Poulter Park

Grey Wagtail at Poulter Park

female Blackcap at Poulter Park

Paul and I then went to Beddington Farmlands for a quick look from the hides. It was quiet, with a Water Rail, two Stonechats, four Shelducks, 19 Lapwings, a Kestrel, three Buzzards, 11 Grey Herons and two Redwings the best on offer. Another Redwing and a singing Treecreeper were in Beddington Park.

Kestrel at Beddington Farmlands

Buckland Sand Pits and Canons Farm

Ian Magness and I were greeted by thick fog initially at our occasional Buckland Sand Pits walk-round but thankfully it burned off soon enough. We recorded 47 species in a couple of hours, including 30+ Siskins, two Reed Buntings, three Redwings, a Grey Wagtail, 11 Egyptian Geese, nine Wigeon, six Tufted Ducks, four Gadwall, six Little Grebes, a Grey Heron, a Buzzard, a Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel, a Nuthatch, two Green and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Reed Bunting at Buckland Sand Pits

Sparrowhawk at Buckland Sand Pits

Egyptian Geese at Buckland Sand Pits

A quick dusk walk along the lane at Canons Farm produced c40 Rooks, 45 Fieldfares, two Redwings, nine Yellowhammers, five Skylarks and a Buzzard.

Banstead Woods, Canons Farm, Banstead and Belmont

I caught up with Ian Magness for a couple of hours this morning. Initially we had a quick look at the 'new lagoon' at Banstead Woods, where a Grey Wagtail flew over, followed by a walk around Canons Farm. There, we couldn't find a Brambling among the mixed flock of Chaffinches and Greenfinches (150+ and 15 respectively) but I did hear one fly over near the farmhouse. Remarkably, another Grey Wagtail flew over Broadfield (this is a rather scarce bird for CFBW). Other highlights included a Cormorant, a big female Sparrowhawk, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, five Rooks, four Meadow Pipits, six Yellowhammers, a Bullfinch, a flock of around 100 Linnets, a Pied Wagtail, 25 Skylarks, 35 Fieldfares and small numbers of Redwings. Three Buzzards and 30 Stock Doves were also noted.

1cy Buzzard at Canons Farm

Other locally notable stuff included a Grey Heron over the A217 at Banstead and a Green Woodpecker audible from my parents' flat in Belmont.

Leith Hill

We bid a fond farewell to Leith Hill Tower and all-round Mole Valley stalwart David Stubbs by way of a tower watch (though I could only bear turning up for the tail end, not because of the company, but I didn't fancy freezing for hours, seeing nothing!) followed by lunch at The Plough in Coldharbour. It was very quiet for birds, my notebook including singles of Fieldfare, Bullfinch, Siskin and Kestrel, plus two Marsh Tits and eight Redwings.

Beddington Farmlands and Carshalton

A look around the hides at Beddington produced a 1cy Mediterranean Gull, a Bullfinch, a Chiffchaff, two Snipe, two Cetti's Warblers, a Grey Wagtail and two Lapwings of note. Wildfowl included 43 Gadwall, 10 Shovelers and 10 Teal. Nearby, 15 Egyptian Geese were on the pond by Manor Road North; this species' population really is booming.

1cy Mediterranean Gull at Beddington Farmlands

Flimwell and Belmont

Sadly, I keep forgetting I've been keeping a Sussex yearlist this year. It was very enjoyable for the first half of the year, although it soon became clear that I'd picked about the worst year possible for a serious attempt. Then autumn came along, full of expectation as usual, but as far as scarce bird finding and twitching has gone, it's fallen flat on its face. My local birding efforts have produced absolutely nothing unusual and seemingly the hours put in my birders across the county have given a similarly poor return, by and large, so there have been very few moments of excitement. There has been hardly anything to go for, and the very little that has occurred has done so at the least opportune times for me.

So it was nice for Sussex to have one small defibrillator hit when farmer Malcolm Phillips found a Serin at his Cedar Farm near Flimwell the other day. I finally managed to get over there this lunchtime, on the way up to my parents' for the weekend, and enjoyed good views of the bird feeding on a track. Only two other visiting birders were present though, and both were from out of the county! Malcolm's keeping the track seeded, so hopefully it will stick around for visitors at the weekend. A Marsh Tit was heard calling.

Serin near Flimwell

When I arrived in Belmont, I was pleased to see Redwings, Song Thrushes and Blackbirds feeding in the usual berry-laden tree in the car park.

Banstead Woods

I'd arranged with Darragh for a vismig session from Hither Field but as I drove to the site I realised it was a no-hoper with such thick fog. Nonetheless, it was a good chance to catch up. We did log a Mistle Thrush, 37 Redwings and four Bullfinches. A singing Song Thrush was the first I'd heard in voice for some time.

Steep Down, Canons Farm, Banstead Woods and Oare Marshes KWT

The day started at Steep Down, with three Wheatears, an adult male Peregrine, a Willow Warbler, six Chiffchaffs, six Swallows, a Goldcrest, four Meadow Pipits and a Sparrowhawk the best on offer.

It was then up to my homelands to lead the annual Autumn Migration Tour for the Canons Farm & Banstead Woods Bird Group. Given the weather, it was yet another particularly challenging walk, though the participants seemed to enjoy it well enough. The best bird, a Hobby, was unfortunately too fast for most people to get a view of, and a Yellow Wagtail was merely heard as it flew over. Other stuff included four Yellowhammers, 35 Swallows, a Meadow Pipit and two Kestrels. A Sparrowhawk tussled with two of the five Buzzards seen.

Banstead Woods offered a Bullfinch, a Treecreeper, and a few Nuthatches and Goldcrests.

In the afternoon, I took my old friends from school, Panos and Francis, who wanted to get a taste of some birding, to Oare Marshes KWT. Happily, this resulted in me finding an adult American Golden Plover among the Golden Plovers on the East Flood! A very elegant and beautifully marked bird, it was still in about 75% breeding plumage and had attitude, occasionally charging at its European companions! It conveniently stayed mostly at the front edge of the flock and wasn't too distant, providing a great opportunity to study just my third individual in Britain. This bird represents the eighth record all-time for Kent. Two juvenile Curlew Sandpipers, a few Ruff, Knot and Avocet, and a couple of Snipe were some of the other waders present. Water Rail, Yellow Wagtail and Cetti's Warbler were heard.

adult American Golden Plover (centre) with Golden Plovers at Oare Marshes KWT

Cissbury Ring and Banstead Woods

Catches during the morning's ringing included young individuals of Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler. We caught a good number of Blackcaps (a noticeable arrival), along with a few Willow Warblers and Whitethroats. Three Tree Pipits and a Yellow Wagtail flew over. What was presumably the same Marsh Tit could be heard calling first thing. Other birds included six Swallows, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, three Bullfinches, a House Martin, a Treecreeper, a Yellowhammer and a Buzzard.

juvenile Sedge Warbler at Cissbury Ring

juvenile Bullfinch at Cissbury Ring

juvenile Goldfinch at Cissbury Ring

Just before a meeting in the Rambler's Rest in the evening, I joined Linda in a short walk around the east flank of Banstead Woods, though we didn't get much other than a Nuthatch, a Goldcrest, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Linnet.