NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

A most enjoyable morning at Beddington Sewage Farm, with a female Marsh Harrier flying north, a Little Egret and plenty of migrants (including LRP, Yellow Wagtail, Reed Warblers and Lesser Whitethroats). A feature of the morning was the behavior of the gulls that were present. Up to 750 larger gulls frequently took to the air, spiralling up in an excitable frenzy, with much calling, an assortment of mews and cries, at times somewhat un-gull like. Were the gulls restless because they were readying themselves for their breeding grounds? At about 12.15 I was walking along the far eastern side of the area, mainly recording the plants, when I heard a Common Crane call. Surely not, I thought. It called again. I looked up into a bright sky that was strewn with the gulls that had gone on yet another excitable circuit. There was no crane sized bird with them, or above them. I didn't hear anything else that resembled a Crane, so put it down to wishful thinking and the number of gulls ...

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...