A nice day at Holmey

Avocet

A call from Gordon Hay informing me of two Avocets at Holmethorpe caused me to abandon my vigil at Canons this morning and wave my arm in front of the 420 bus. I scored, of course, and spent the rest of the day there as I had a sore foot and it was a long way to walk back to wait for a slow bus . . . and it was very nice and there were lots of birds. Two Little Ringed Plovers were gorgious, showing on Mercers West Pit along with the Avocets and a pair of Green Sandpipers. The pair of Shelduck at Spynes Mere were nice to see, too. It was alive with migrants, relative to Canons, with a few Swallows and Sand Martins around. Two Willow Warblers sang but the biggest surprise was hearing a Sedge Warbler at Water Colour!

Red-crested Pochard

The day ended nicely. Just as I was walking to my dad's car the drake Red-crested Pochard which has until now evaded me dashed past.

Landfall

Wheatear

I concentrated almost all my efforts on Canons Farm today, only giving key areas of Banstead Woods a quick check for Willow Warbler and Blackcap. After several hours of nothing, a Wheatear appeared in front of me. It must have just dropped in, it certainly wasn't there before the few dozen times I'd scanned the area earlier! Then, another materialised and they both showed well. Nice! Next, a dozen Meadow Pipits fell from the sky and started feeding next to them. Wheatear brings me to 68 for my CFBW yearlist and is an encouraging sign of movement. I need to get Sand Martin soon, though, as that can be tricky at the patch.

No migrants here . . .

Woodcock flying across Loony Field

Still no Red Kite, Wheatear or Sand Martin at Canons for me . . . not even a Blackcap (had two at Epsom Downs, though)! Bloody annoying to be honest. Beddington and Holmethorpe were doing well today and I got naff all. I do never tire of the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers though, the day is always made by these jewels. Today Ian and I had the fortune of observing the pair mating! My first Woodcock seen during the daytime without me having flushed it was the other highlight - and allowed me to get my first ever photographs of this species.

the Circle Field male Lesser Spot from Friday

a Blackcap, but not at Canons . . .

P.S. just totted up my British year list and it's on 149, that's not having chased anything just because I need it for the year as I don't fancy going through all that again!

Patch neglect

For the first time this month, I didn't pay my beloved Canons a morning visit. I said to Rob 'The Hob', Dan & Michael as we were leaving at 5.45am that today would be the day that a Wheatear would be at Canons. I was right. I'm not too bothered though, I will get plenty this spring, and I the prospect of my 300th British bird as a legitimate excuse for not giving the patch its usual treatment.

Can you see it? If not, you're not missing much

Arriving at 9.00am, a decent crowd of people were staring at the fort at Landguard with its mist nets and Greenfinch song playing. Within a couple of minutes everyone was shouting 'there it is!' and we saw a small brown bird fly clumbsily across a gap in the vegetation. If you say so . . . but I'm not ticking that. The wait was a bit tense but probably not as long as it felt, then the SHORT-TOED TREECREEPER finally gave itself up, showing well in a small tree. The differences between Eurasian and Short-toed are subtly striking and together create an impression of a rather different bird. A female/immature Black Redstart was also nice.

Spotted Redshank

There was little else around Suffolk so we decided to go to Minsmere. It is nearly five years since I first and last set foot on this reserve and it brought back some memories. A couple of Marsh Tits having a sing-off was great to see and other highlights included my first Sand Martins of the year and a Spotted Redshank while a pair of redhead Goosander at Island Mere was a very pleasant surprise.

Barnacle Goose

Time was getting on and we headed in a homeward direction. At Canons Ian and I showed Rob, Dan and Michael one of the Little Owls. Overhead movement of Meadow Pipit, Fieldfare and Redwing was noticeable towards dusk.

Goosanders

Furry friends

Roe Deer

Apart from a gorgious female Brambling at Lunch Wood, not much was going on and the highlights today were provided by the mammals. I got two CFBW mammal ticks (both rather tartish): a Wood Mouse nibbling on my abandoned sarnie crusts and a sly nearby Stoat that wanted a nibble on the mouse. Two Roe Deer crossing Reads Rest Lane into Broad Field were also nice. I tried for Badgers with Ian the other night but dipped.

Wood Mouse

My CFBW Mammal List is on . . . 6 . . . as well as Badger I need Hedgehog and positive identification of some rodents would also bump it up. I'm looking forward to many happy evenings with my bat detector, which I've been practising on Pispistrelles in recent nights.

The first Small Tortoiseshell of the year was great to see (had a probable yesterday).

Misty morning

drumming male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

The thick mist this morning (we always get it bad at Canons) gave me a good excuse to adandon the usual early morning skywatch and stake out the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. I had no trouble as I could hear one drumming as soon as I made my way towards their favoured spot. I then enjoyed excellent views of the drumming and preening male for about ten minutes before it started to wander around and feed. The female then came in and took her turn, drumming for a shorter period of time than the male before going off to feed again.

male of the Circle Field pair

and the female

Mid/late morning I got a text that caused me to grab everything and run to the top of Reads Rest Lane, I dropped my gloves and water bottle on the way up but didn't stop to pick them up for the message from Graham James read 'ringtail Hen Harrier heading your way' (presumably the bird P-Go & Mark had yesterday at Banstead Woods)! I scanned and scanned the horizon which was looking directly towards Holmethorpe but didn't pick anything up. I then called Graham to get a better idea of how high and fast the bird was flying and while talking to him spotted a distant, appropriate-looking raptor flying Harrier-styley. As I zoomed in the blasted thing dropped in front of the horizon and I couldn't pick it up again. Not another near miss!?!?!

I then made my way over to Woodpecker Meadow in case it was hunting over the Chipstead Valley. I picked up a Sparrowhawk, a female Kestrel and at least five Common Buzzards but not the main quarry. I got good views of another male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker behind the bench I was sitting on, I can't get away from them!

Little else happened for the rest of the day and I headed home. Roy said he was going to try for th Barn Owls in the evening so I decided to join him. A few Little Owls called and we used the detector on a couple of Pipistrelles but the Barn Owls did not show.

Night prowl

Peregrine

After a reasonably interesting day at Canons, the highlight being a female Peregrine (they're like buses over there), Ian and I met up again in the evening for a Badger and Tawny Owl hunt. We were watching Harrier Field in case the possible ringtail Hen Harrier that Paul Goodman and Mark Stanley had did what my male did and roost there. We had no luck and when it got very dark we went to go up Canons Lane and into Banstead Woods. We stopped outside the derelict barn where I used my bat detector to listen to a Pisistrelle. While doing so Ian pointed out a screeching noise and I got onto a Barn Owl flying away from the barns! We pegged it up to the edge of Harrier Field and looked towards where the bird flew but couldn't see it. Then, what was almost certainly a second bird burst out of the large, intact barn and flew past us, giving its screeching call as it went. We were absolutely delighted, we thought there may have been a Barn Owl somewhere but we didn't think it was in the traditional spot (which has been checked numerous times recently)!

As we passed Perrotts Farmhouse we set off Mrs Roe's security lights and this set up three or four Tawny Owls in quite a small area. They were nearby and I glimsped one in flight twice but Ian didn't get a view (he didn't miss much, visually, anyway). Several Little Owls were calling at the farm.

On spec at Wisley

Yellowhammer at Canons Farm

This morning didn't start well. Getting the bus was a bit of an ordeal, I was forced to watch in shock as some low-life threw a Yorkshire Terrier about twenty feet into the window of a (thankfully non-moving) car before I was nearly ignored by the S1 bus driver.

Brambling at Wisley Airfield

Things looked to be getting better when Ian and I located a close drumming Lesser Spotted Woodpecker within a minute of arriving at Aberdour School, and had a Cormorant fly over to boot. Then, Ian pointed at six birds flying fast NNW tightly together. I hardly glanced at them and dismissed them as 'racing pigeons . . . '. Looking up at them again I realised they were no pigeons, they were waders . . . and they weren't any waders I've seen at CFBW before. With the naked eye I saw that they were all mottled rufous underneath, stocky, short-legged and quite short-billed. By the time I got onto them in the bins I got an arse-end view as they were flying ever further away - I got them in the scope but knocked it and lost them just as they were about to bank. I've never uttered so many profanities in the space of one half hour in my life, Ian looked a little concerned about me. Whatever they were (Ian and I think that Knot fits the bill, so to speak, most closely based on the little detail that we saw - but this would be such as odd situation to get them in, but, then, that also goes for just about everything else they may have been . . .) they would have been a mega patch tick and made my month, had I bothered to do anything more than hardly give them a glance initially. Bugger.

Common Buzzards near Wisley Airfield

I then went to 'WALBOC' (Wisley Airfield/Lake Boldermere/Ockham Common) where I met Alex Bowes. The numbers of Yellowhammers and Common Buzzards were amazing, with up to one hundred and up to twenty, respectively. I picked up a distant Red Kite and we enjoyed excellent views of a female Brambling. Twenty Lapwings, a few displaying, were also great to see. A Grey Wagtail and three Chiffchaffs were additions to Alex's patch year list. Just as I was leaving a couple of Red-legged Partridges showed. Thanks for showing me round, Alex!

Then back to Canons where I saw nothing new or particularly exciting but got a couple of shots of a male Yellowhammer.

last horse finally crosses the finish line

male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Canons Farm seems to get its first migrants significantly later than pretty much all other local sites. I have no idea why, perhaps it is their last resort. I've been eagerly anticipating the first arrival and today it came, with two CFBW Chiffchaffs singing, rather nicely one at Canons Farm and one at Banstead Woods.

It was great to finally achieve prolonged views of the male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (shortly after Johnny Allan left, having seen the pair well on something like his fourth attempt) and I managed some video footage for you to enjoy. A surprise came when I inadvertantly flushed about half a dozen female Pheasants in Banstead Woods.

I now learn that a Red Kite flew over Nork, directly towards the patch, shortly after I left . . . grrrr. I've gotta get one soon!

Canons & Pulborough

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (male can be heard drumming)

Phil asked me yesterday if I fancied a casual trip to Pulborough and I said yes, provided the patch could be given at least a brief check. The highlight was excellent views of the female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. It was calling and flying between Circle Field and Aberdour School, doing the 'butterfly' display at one point. The male was drumming very close by but I couldn't get a view of it. Three Mallards also flew over.

Peregrine

There wasn't anything special at Pulborough but I really enjoyed just taking in the atmosphere of the gatherings of wildfowl on the floods. A female Peregrine perched in a nearby tree provided the highlight of the outing and the best views I've ever had of one of these birds.

Peregrine

Yesterday's Golden Plover in moving image