Ooouzels

Canons Farm was oozing Ring Ouzels today with four present today. I found one by Canons Farmhouse when I arrived this morning, then when walking about with Steve and Ian, Steve picked up three dropping down at Legal & General. These stayed for a while but became elusive. A visiting birder put in the time to find them and eventually saw four birds at the playing field before they flew north! Today was the first time that Ring Ouzels have been documented in autumn at Canons Farm, and four birds is some style for this to happen!

Some of the regular crew

Marsh Tit equalises

Marsh Tit today brought my patch year list to 103, equal to my finishing total for last year. Had I been in the right place at the right time a bit more this year and got everything I've missed, I'd be on 110, but that's impossible. I hope to get 105 at the very least by the end of the year, preferably more like 107 or more.

The bird was calling after sunset in heavy fog along the southern edge of Ruffett Wood, presumably a pre-roost chatter (it sounded like there might just have been two birds there). Alarm bells rang straightaway but to make sure I played a recording - the bird came out straight away and showed well for a few seconds before disappearing and falling silent as darkness quickly fell. Sadly, although Marsh Tit was a breeding bird here less than five years ago there was only a brief record last year, and a further single record in 2010 so they're now a great rarity. I wonder how many more I'll see at CFBW...

Taking a beating

Today my phone lost the capacity to make or receive calls and texts after about 9.30am. This was not a good day for that to happen. I was sitting on the bench overlooking the Chipstead Valley for an hour or so in the afternoon, blissfully unaware that Steve Gale was watching three Woodlarks near Ruffett Wood and desperately trying to call me. I'd been switching my phone off and on throughout the day to try to kick it into gear and the best that this would do was occasionally cause a voicemail to pop up - this time there were voicemails from Steve, and Roy Weller (who'd phoned to try to pass on the news). I knew I wasn't going to like what I was going to hear, especially as the voicemails had been left around an hour previously, and upon playback I cursed my bad luck and my phone's uselessness and made my way as quickly as I could back to the farm, not sure exactly where Steve was. Eventually I found Steve, who'd been joined by Roy and Paul G and the news was negative, the Woodlarks had flown and hadn't been seen since. Shit! Over the course of the afternoon birders checked as many fields as possible but time quickly ebbed away and the light faded. The last two fields I checked as the sun set were probably the most likely fields for the larks to end up in, in hindsight, and I wish I checked them first.

Darkness fell and I made tracks for the farmhouse, where dad was picking me up. I stopped by Harrier Field (perhaps more apt for it to be named Owl Field) and kissed the back of my hand a few times to draw any owls in. Sure enough, a Barn Owl came to investigate (the first since March) and as I watched it hunt, another owl, which appeared darker on the upperparts, briefly tassled with it before vanishing into the gloom almost as quickly as it appeared. Damn, I've been after Short-eared and that could well have been one. I'll stake it out tomorrow evening in the hope of a repeat performance.

I'm hoping even more that the Woodlarks will hang around till tomorrow morning. They aren't particularly against staying put for two or three days in places like Canons so fingers crossed. We'll see in the morning.

Brambling at last

Brambling is the bird which arguably started the birding scene at Canons Farm. Steve Gale's discovery of a flock of 1,250 birds in early 2008 attracted many visitors to the site (including myself) and generating much interest from far and wide, putting CFBW on the map. Although it was a while until I took it up as a patch, I instantly fell for the site and its potential. It was big area of countryside and the seemingly endless stretching fields, bordered by fences and hedgerows and there was much to explore. No fields had names at the time and it was all unfamiliar; as I walk the patch now, I perceive it in a very different way back then. Occasionally, finding myself in an unusual position makes me see it how I used to, which feels a lot more how the birds see it - the farm itself being a gently rolling open expanse interspersed with an attractive tangle of hedges, barbed wire and clumps of vegetation.

Anyway, although such huge numbers are an exceptional occurrence, the farm usually supports at least a small population and it's one of the more reliable Surrey sites for catching up with this northern finch. Last winter was very poor and I haven't seen one since November. Andy Downing found a single in Heathside aka Dotterel Field yesterday and I had a look in the afternoon, post-college but had no luck. Today, however, I found the Chaffinch flock again and, eventually, pinned the Brambling down - it showed quite well in the end, very near Canons Farmhouse. This is by far the commonest bird that I still needed for the patch year and represents number 102 on my patch year list, the title of tartiest bird now going to Short-eared Owl, which I'm hoping I'll pick up in early November, if not before.

Bunt 101

An addition to my patch year list on Friday, this Reed Bunting. It showed again the next morning but both appearances lasted no longer than twenty seconds. This is the third record at the patch this year and the other two birds showed for about ten seconds. A bird you really have to be in the right place at the right time for.

Reed Bunt on Friday

#100

Curlews

We expected something to fly over in easterlies and showers today so myself, Ian Jones, Roy Weller, Josh Burch, Cliff Allan and Ian Magness, amongst others, staked it out. The best part of the morning had passed and the highlight had been two Yellow Wagtails heading south so it was looking like it might turn out to be a duff one then Ian J suddenly shouted 'Curlews!' and a magnificent flock of seven flew over, circled round and dropped down in Quail Field! They showed there for a few minutes before being flushed by a dog walker. They then moved to Heathside Field but didn't stay long, as a helicopter flew low and loudly overhead. This was enough for them and they made tracks south. There were also impressive numbers of hirundines today, in particular Swallows, and a Hobby flew over later in the day.

This brought my patch year list to the momentous figure of 100 for the second time. My record (last year) is 103 and I'm roughly level timing wise in terms of last year, however I still need Brambling, Short-eared Owl and Reed Bunting, which are all annual CFBW birds which I've not been lucky enough to get yet.

Also, my article finally got in October's Bird Watching magazine, see below:

Local Gannet!!!

 
Completely unexpected! This bird was found by Derek Coleman, who was counting Grey Herons, late this afternoon... just a few hours after I'd been by the lake and even sooner after Johnny had been there. Had it been sitting quietly in the vegetation all day or only just come in? An absolutely superb local bird, whatever.

Back to the Baillon's

I was lucky enough to see the BAILLON'S CRAKE as soon as I arrived in the hide early yesterday morning but I was left wanting more of this exceptional bird after getting only misty binocular views early yesterday morning. I gave it another go with Alex Bowes yesterday evening for further views but the bird was not game.

As the Banstead Countryside Day today drew to a close, Phil and I decided to give it a shot once we'd packed everything away. Phil hadn't yet been and still needed it even for his world list, despite being well-travelled recently. The journey went smoothly and we were soon on site. The hide was busy again, there were even people there that had arrived the previous day ten minutes too late in the morning and had been there till the hide shut in the evening when I returned. This certainly is a bird that requires patience.

The crake gave prolonged scope views this evening as darkness fell, while it perched in the reeds

Shortly before 7.00pm people started calling the bird from the right hand end of the hide, and some at that end were managing to get on it but the birders were not being at all helpful with directions for everybody else and it took ten minutes before everyone was clear on where it had been seen, by which point it was too late. It got to 7.20pm and the bird hadn't appeared again; the hide was closing in ten minutes' time and I was getting rather miffed. It was a relief, then, when it was shouted again... it was a bit of a struggle getting on it but thankfully the bird was sitting in one position for long enough for everybody to get their scopes on it and get good views before closing time. I'd got my desired scope views and record shots so was very happy to go home and not have to worry about it again!

Crakey!

One of the most astonishing items of birding news this year was the possible breeding of a small number of Baillon's Crakes scattered across the country. No details were released and it didn't seem like there were going to be any chances to connect with any of the birds. So, when Johnny texted me last night about a Baillon's Crake at Rainham, I jumped at the opportunity to leave early this morning with him and Ian.

Just as we parked up, Dominic Mitchell tweeted that the bird was currently showing. A fast walk towards the Tower Butts hide and we were there in ten minutes, Dominic putting us straight on the juvenile BAILLON'S CRAKE! Superb! It fed for a few minutes along the edge, disappeared and appeared a couple of times then mooched away into the vegetation. That was the last I saw of it and that was some time around 6.20am. It was seen in flight briefly a couple of times by others, within the next half hour or so but after a while it became clear that it wasn't going to be game for the time being, maybe dusk would be a good bet.

So that's what I plan to do, I'm just having a break at home at the moment then heading out for a stroll around the patch and giving it a late afternoon/evening go for further views and perhaps a few record shots.

Arctic Tern

Found this juvenile bird at Beddington today. My first visit in a fair while. Also an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a juvenile Peregrine, the usual Tree Sparrows, and a Common Buzzard.