NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

This is Auricularia auricula-jadae . Its English name was once Jew's Ear, but the 'PC Police' paid it a visit and declared that in these more enlightened times it ought to be refered to as Jelly Ear. I can vouch from checking a number of peoples ears (from differing religions) that this fungus does not resemble the average Jewish persons ear. In fact, the closest that I can find to a match is that of a rugby-playing catholic. I took this picture this morning at Beddington Sewage Farm whilst on a grand sweep of the area with Tank/Smiler/Steve (everyone at Beddington now has at least three names). We also recorded a minimum of 14 Green Sandpipers (which included a flock of 7) and 5 Water Pipits. Even after the coldest December since the Earth's crust cooled, there is so much fresh Hemlock growth emerging that it beggars belief.

The first day of the year also saw my first day of undertaking the Beddington Sewage Farm botanical survey. It sounds rather grander than it really is - it's just me wandering all over the farm for the next twelve months making a list of the species present and commenting on their status and where they can be found. There is going to be one drawback however, and that is that when I am looking down at plants I cannot also be looking up at birds. Because of this, as I was photographing the Annual Mercury (pictured above) a skein of 25 White-fronted Geese flew over my head. A text alert had me frantically scanning the skies, but to no avail. It is just as well that with my new-found zen-like state of being I was able to accept this with calm and grace ...bollocks!! My birding highlights included a Little Egret, 2 Egyptian Geese, a Redshank, 3 Green Sandpiper, a Water Rail and 3 Water Pipits. But no geese, no Goosander (a drake flew over) and no Firecrest (not seen today after two be...

I'm already getting psyched up about 2011. Most of my plans revolve around Beddington SF (birding and botanically) although I certainly won't be neglecting Canons Farm - someone has to keep chasing Devil Birder's species total! Botany at Beddington will be quite an eye-opener for me. It is an area that has been botanised lightly in the past, although 'lightly' has entailed some highly competent botanists giving the place short bursts of 'grilling'. There are areas that have been untouched by pesticides and have a settled flora, and other areas in which the ground is perpetually disturbed, allowing only those opportunistic species to quickly get a toe-hold before being bulldozed back into the ground. I am expecting the unexpected - landfill will throw up plenty of aliens. Pictured above is Celery-leaved Buttercup, a feature of sludge lagoons on the farm. I will post regularly on next years findings...

A post-Christmas birdwatch was enjoyed at Beddington Sewage Farm today, myself already warm with the glow of enough calories on board to fuel the running of Dungeness 'C' reactor and happy with the England cricket teams continued demolition of Australia. On arrival it was obvious that the landfill site was operational, as thousands of gulls were present. After settling down, having had an hour or more scanning and also having walked across to the enclosed lagoons, the time came to estimate those numbers present. My gut reaction was to plump for a total larid mass of, lets say, seven or eight thousand individuals, based on nothing more than educated guesswork. However, when I tried to add a little bit of common sense to the process, it only helped to prove that my initial estimate was woefully short. I was quite happy to claim a fairly positive count of 375 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. So I used this as a starting point - a number not estimated but actually counted out, one gull a...

There I was prostrate on the sofa, re-watching Series One of Mad Men with man flu as company when the communication system went into overload. Texts from Johnny Allan - 'Common Crane landed on lake at Beddington' - followed moments later by a phone call from David Campbell - "Are you going?" - convinced me to rise from my sick bed, Lazarus-like, and hotfoot it to the sewage farm. I collected David from his aborted Canons Farm stakeout and we arrived promptly at Beddington without any negative texts being received or accidents on the fast melting slush and ice. A brief jog onto site (yes, I can still run if prompted) saw us feasting our eyes upon a fine juvenile Common Crane (pictured above). It seemed in good condition and stayed for the rest of the day. This was a big bird for London and Surrey listers, the first truly twitchable wild one. Most of the Beddington crew were fairly blase about it (they had seen an adult fly over the farm back in the spring) and I ha...

It's not everybody's cup of tea to spend a few relaxing hours sifting through gulls. The scene above was taken this morning at the northern lake, Beddington Sewage Farm. If you are really keen and want to play the larid version of 'Where's Wally', then click on the image for a bigger picture. If you find a Med Gull then let me know, because I didn't. I did find an adult Yellow-legged, but could not refind the Caspian Gull that I saw two weeks ago and has been seen on and off since. Today's counts included 2,500 Black-headed and 2,000 Herring. The numbers will only increase...

The landfill area at Beddington SF has waxed and waned over the past few years, with deep holes filled with refuse, covered in soil and finally landscaped. One interesting by-product of this process is a flora that has been transported to the site and which has plenty of interest, mainly due to the exotic nature of the species composition. This Sunday one small part of an earth mound was bursting with colour. Close examination revealed a Sunflower (pictured), Nasturtium, Purple Toadlax and Michaelmas Daisy. I could have returned home with a more than passable bouquet of flowers for my youngest daughter Jessica. I am looking forward to combing the farm next year as I'm sure that there will be a host of alien plants to record. On the bird front a light but steady passage of finches, larks and pipits kept us busy, including a sprinkling of Brambling. The Ruff from last weekend was still about, along with 9 Green Sandpipers.