NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

A morning walk from home, to Ewell and back, via Priest Hill. The birds were largely forgettable, save for a show-off Kingfisher (close to the mill along the River Hogsmill). Priest Hill provided a most unusual gathering - three birders! I have seen Steve Thomas there on several occasions (along with his better-half Alison), but this morning we were joined by Shaun Ferguson, who has just moved into the area. We chatted for a few minutes at a safe distance and tried to bouy each other up with confident declarations of the good birding yet to be had on our doorsteps. Enthusiasm or delusion? We will see.  My plans to spend more time this year at both Beddington and Holmethorpe are now having to be put on the back burner, as both are a good 7-9 miles from home and beyond a comfortable walk. Canons Farm, Epsom Downs and the Ewell sites are going to have to take over the role as the places to bird - all easily reached on foot and all with a modest, but at times noteworthy, birding pedigr...

Another expedition along the River Hogsmill towards Old Malden, where I once again paid homage to the Millais painting 'Ophelia'. There is a commemorative plaque on a wall close to the spot where he based the painting (pictured), accompanied here by my picture of what that spot looks like today. The Kingfisher that I saw may have been seen by the great artist as he produced his preliminary sketches, but I doubt that a Little Egret bothered his eye-line as it did mine.

The National Trust have recently - well, maybe three years ago now -  opened up a footpath along the northern bank of the River Mole between the Stepping Stones and Box Hill Bridge. Until this morning I had not trodden along this rather delightful stretch of prime Surrey habitat. Meandering along the flood plain at the base of the North Downs, it looks as though regular coverage would pay off. There are shallow sections of the river, deeper pools, a few small vegetated islands, copses, hedgerows running back up the hill and livestock inhabited farmland. A handful of singing Chiffchaffs announced that Spring was truly here, and a pair of Grey Wagtails gave the impression of scouting the area for possible nest sites. It was, however, a pair of Kingfishers that stole the show, with one bird, a female, giving close and prolonged views perched up in the dark tangle of waterside vegetation (above and below.) Crossing the A24 I strolled along the southern bank of the River Mo...

Part 5: September 1975  After my trip to Scotland, I returned to Beddington as an all-conquering hero – at least in my own little world, that is. My birding confidence had been given an almighty boost and I felt as if I had somehow proven my worth as a bird watcher by having travelled some distance to do so, and in the process had lost my ornithological virginity. This was the first time that I was conscious of the fact that it mattered to me how I appeared to other bird watchers, as until then my time spent in the field had been about the seeing of birds, with no added agenda. A short family break, on a farm near Penshurst in Kent, was my next opportunity to bird watch away from north-Surrey. It was notable for my first Kingfisher, the initial sighting being a matter of delayed gratification, as my Father and brothers had already seen one as they fished in a nearby river, at the same time that I was wandering the adjacent lanes and fields, binoculars at the ready. When the mo...

My venue of choice this morning was the River Hogsmill at Ewell, walking along its modest flow from Bourne Hall to the Open Space Park. Apparently, this particular stretch of the river was used by the artist John Everett Millais as inspiration and a backdrop to one of his most famous paintings - Ophelia . It depicts the grief stricken Ophelia drowning herself in a stream - but what a beautiful end! I've seen it in The Tate and it is one of my favourite works of art. Wandering around sans gloves, it could have been spring! Mild and sunny, catkins hanging from Alder and Hazel, mating Coal Tits and plenty of Winter Heliotrope in flower (top, right image). A couple of Kingfishers were showing off and they were joined by a Grey Wagtail. Altogether most agreeable.