NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

Fulmars were found along many cliff ledges Our brief spell in Cornwall is over, and although not a birding trip I did keep half an eye out. Migrant wise poor, with just a trickle of hirundines all week (mostly Swallows but with both House and Sand Martins recorded), a few Chiffchaffs and several Wheatears. Above the waves there was a constant showing of Fulmars, Gannets and Shags, with the cliff tops home to Stonechats, Ravens and the odd Peregrine. No doubt this coastal strip (from Porth to Trevose Head) has its moments, but it didn't happen while we were there. Jackdaws were always on hand for a photo-opportunity One of three Wheatears at Trevose Head, this one deciding to burst into song

Three out of the last four evenings have been spent on the Epsom/Walton Downs border, with owls and roosts in mind. I've drawn a blank on owls, but the roost situation is a lot more interesting. On each visit 400-500 Jackdaws have left the woods to head northwards and appear to be roosting in the copse that is located alongside the race course. But it is the thrushes that have held the most interest - on Friday it was quite a spectacle, with flocks arriving from the west and pitching down in woodland around Juniper Hill. A minimum of 850 Redwing, 16 Fieldfare and 12 Blackbird came in, some of the flocks numbering 100-200. It was a joy to see them come down from high and swoop around the canopy before settling. I returned for seconds yesterday, but apart from c100 thrushes that was my lot. And this evening even fewer showed up. So, where have they gone? Were they birds moving through, stopping over briefly before heading on to wintering grounds elsewhere? Are they still around, but ...

One of the joys of watching an area regularly is that you get to build up a picture of what occurs when, and how many birds are involved. But while it is understandable to think that, after several years of paying a patch a visit, you would have a very firm handle on such data, sometimes doing it differently can turn up unexpected results. Epsom and Walton Downs today was a case in point. I most probably bird here 20-30 times a year, almost exclusively during fully formed daylight. Dawn and dusk visits are rare - in fact, apart from 'twitching' a Barn Owl a couple of years back, an end of daylight visit has not been made at all. After a couple of hours this morning (70+ Skylark, a handful of Fieldfare - pictured above) I returned to some high ground as night fell to scan the surrounding area for Barn Owl. Although I was not successful in this, a couple of roosts were discovered that I was unaware of. Firstly a Ring-necked Parakeet fly-line has been established, although I ...

It's funny how birding can take you by surprise and take you to places (physically and metaphorically) when you least expect it. When I planned on coming down to Dungeness for this extended stay I didn't expect to be getting all excited over counting corvids coming into roost - but that is exactly what has happened during the past two evenings. I sat with Mark H and we were entranced by Rook/Jackdaw flocks swirling in the sky like a giant murmuration of Starlings, above their chosen roost site. 965 Rook and 1100 Jackdaws were counted before it became too dark to see, along with 30 Carrion Crows which really didn't associate with the other corvids. To add a cherry on top of the icing, nine Marsh Harriers also came in as well. The 'November plants in flower' list has now reached a boggling 129 species, largely with the help of a big dollop of local knowledge, courtesy of Dave W and Owen L. With only a couple of days left time is running out for me to find a flowerin...