Canons Farm, 31st August 2017

I was glad to be back on the patch again this morning and it was another productive session. A familiar rather flat-sounding tacking call near the old Watchpoint had me searching around for a Redstart. On the sunny side the hedgerow there it was, a gorgeous first-winter male and my first of the autumn locally. In the same area an unusually showy Lesser Whitethroat was very active and one of the morning's three Little Owls popped into the open. Other birds of particular interest included a Hobby, four Meadow Pipits, a sprinkling of Swallows and House Martins, a Willow Warbler and a Wheatear, as well as a fairly late Swift.

Redstart

Staines Reservoirs, 30th August 2017

It was a rainy visit today with Paul S as we marvelled at the delights on offer across the draining South Basin. It was nice to bump into Lee E on the causeway and compare counts! At the beginning of my scanning, a Turnstone appeared on the edge of one of the islands but soon vanished into the ether. Other bits included a juvenile Black Tern, around 20 Common Terns, four Greenshanks, a juvenile Ruff, nine Black-tailed Godwits, two Snipe, a scattering of Ringed Plovers and Dunlin, a Black-necked Grebe (and, more unusually for Staines, two Little Grebes) and two Shelducks. Some 80 Shovelers were feeding, along with 50 Teal.

Beddington Farmlands, 29th August 2017

I had time for an evening stroll around the lakes and to Hundred Acre and back. Highlights included a Greenshank, four Common Sandpipers, 11 Green Sandpipers, two Little Egrets and two Cetti's Warblers... A Painted Lady was a welcome distraction on the way in.

Leith Hill, 28th August 2017

I didn't make it to the first proper autumn Leith Hill Tower vismig session a couple of weeks ago so made sure I attended the session this morning. I joined Matt P, David S and Steve C, all in high hopes that the next Surrey mega would be around the corner... It turned out to be a quiet first few hours, apart from a couple of waves of House Martins. Birds around the tower itself provided a welcome distraction, including two of both Spotted Flycatcher and Marsh Tit, plus a Firecrest. By the time the other birders were getting ready to depart mid-morning, our highlight was a couple of southbound Sand Martins and two Grey Wagtails heading the other way. An immature Grey Heron also flew through.

With David already gone, Matt and Steve were packing up their scopes just as 'raptor time' was due to begin and it was kicked off in style with a juvenile female Goshawk which appeared just in the nick of time. We watched it jostling with a male Sparrowhawk for about ten minutes before it landed out of sight in a stand of pines a couple of kilometres or so away. I was left to my own devices and soon picked up a Yellow Wagtail, two Red Kites and a Hobby. Buzzards were out in force and I put down 40-ish in my notebook, this including a flock of 14. I was glad of Paul S's company for the rest of the watch, during which we watched further waves of House Martins go through, including a rather worried-looking flock bomb their way north, only for the Hobby to appear hot on their tails a couple of seconds later!

juvenile female Goshawk (below) with male Sparrowhawk (photo: Matt Phelps)

Canons Farm and Oare Marshes, 27th August 2017

A quick stroll around Canons in the morning was a little less eventful than the last few visits, but the company of Geoff B, Ian J, Paul G and Martin L made it all the better. Anyway, it wasn't bad, with three Yellow Wagtails, a Lesser Whitethroat and 20 House Martins providing some local-level quality. Ian and I went straight on to Kent - stopping off in the countryside en-route to Oare Marshes we picked up a family of five Spotted Flycatchers, a Whinchat and a Hobby. A slightly rushed but absolutely serene evening at Oare was something to savour - it was warm and pleasant with many birds thanks to the high tide and of course the time of year! Highlights were the adult Long-billed Dowitcher showing rather well, a juvenile Little Stint, eight Ruff (including my first juvenile of the year, a female), six Whimbrel, five Snipe, four Knot, a Bar-tailed Godwit, 25 Common Terns, 10 Sandwich Terns, a Bearded Reedling and at least seven Yellow Wagtails. Hurried and rather rough higher counts included 500 Grey Plovers on the other side of the Swale, 600 Golden Plovers, 2500 Black-tailed Godwits, 600 Redshanks, 60 Ringed Plovers, 70 Dunlin, 150 Lapwings and 90 Avocets. The most unusual sighting was my first Oare Marshes record of Rose-ringed Parakeet as one squawked overhead!

adult Long-billed Dowitcher at Oare Marshes

Canons Farm, 26th August 2017

Another brilliant morning on the patch with highlights including Whinchat, Tree Pipit, Peregrine, three Yellow Wagtails, the staying Lesser Whitethroat and a Red Kite. A Tawny Owl proclaimed itself, along with the usual Little Owls.

Whinchat

Peregrine

Canons Farm and Beddington Farmlands, 25th August 2017

A most gratifying morning at the farm saw me build up a decent tally of early autumn migrants, namely eight Yellow Wagtails and singles of Spotted Flycatcher, Whinchat, Lesser Whitethroat, Wheatear, Swift and Meadow Pipit, along with a light scattering of Whitethroats, Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs. I do love the autumn! A couple of hours at Beddington in the evening scored yet another Whinchat, along with a Snipe, a Little Egret and a 1cy Yellow-legged Gull (I think the same very white-headed bird from the other day) of note. A Cetti's Warbler was calling and the hordes of Starlings were taking advantage of the aerial plankton feast.

Spotted Flycatcher at Canons

Whinchat at Beddington

Canons Farm and Arundel WWT, 24th August 2017

I only had time for a very quick circuit of the farm in the morning, so I performed a whistle-stop check of the most crucial areas. Not a bad result considering, with a Whinchat, three Yellow Wagtails and a Willow Warbler.

Later on, Ingrid and I spent a couple of hours for lunch at Arundel - wild birds were few and far between but included a few Buzzard, a Shoveler and a Teal.

Whinchat at Canons Farm

Canons Farm and Beddington Farmlands, 23rd August 2017

A circuit of Canons this morning produced a hat-trick of decent fly-overs, with a Yellow Wagtail followed by two Tree Pipits and then three quite unexpected Snipe! I managed to fit in a couple of hours at Beddington before work in the evening, searching the mound and scanning the lakes. A Mistle Thrush was the best sighting, this being a surprisingly difficult bird at Beddington and actually a patch tick for me! I may have seen one years ago when I first started visiting, but I deleted the species a while ago as I couldn't actually recall any encounters. Two Pochard, four Shoveler and five Teal were on the South Lake. Two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were among the hordes of Larids, while a Wheatear, two Little Egrets, 21 Lapwings and singles of Common Sandpiper, Egyptian Goose and Cetti's Warbler were noted.

Portland and Farlington Marshes, 22nd August 2017

Captained by John B, I headed with Magnus A to Portland in the early hours in the hope of connecting with the Yellow Warbler discovered near the bird observatory yesterday afternoon. Abject failure, it was down to a very light overhead trickle of Tree Pipits and Yellow Wagtails to keep us busy. In hindsight, I should have shot down there as soon as news broke but I simply didn't expect to get there in time for the bird to still be showing, or perhaps for there even to be any light. Six Common Scoters and a Dunlin flew past at sea, while at least four Ravens, two Wheatears, a few Willow Warblers and a Peregrine were also seen.

We gave up and started off for home at about 13:00. John fancied dropping in at Farlington Marshes on the way home for Pectoral Sandpiper as a year tick. Incredibly, it transpired that the bird was in the process of buggering off just as we were parking up. It was nice to relax and stretch our legs for a couple of hours though, highlights including a Green Sandpiper, two Greenshanks, a Ruff, two Yellow Wagtails, three Wheatears, three Stonechats, several Grey Plovers, a Common Sandpiper and two Bearded Reedlings.