NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

We   are now half-way through Meteorological Autumn and I am at the same point in my foolish Uberpatch challenge. Whereas the results for September were slightly underwhelming, so far October has been undeniably underwhelming - there have been a handful of surprises (see below) but by and large overhead vis-mig and grounded migrants have been hard to come by. We are now past the point when any notable pipit or hirundine movement can be expected and, as expected, neither have shown during October. Finches are still absent apart from a few modest Chaffinch mornings and the thrushes have yet to get going. I just hope that they will do so. Birding took place on 14 out of the 15 days and there now follows a list of the highlights. October 2nd: Malden Rushett A warm, light southerly wind encouraged 133 Meadow Pipit to move south, a Yellow Wagtail to head in the opposite direction and a flock of 5 Mistle Thrush to head east (in what is a decent autumn for them.) The stubble held up to 50...

The rather grandly named 'Uberpatch Meterological Autumn Birding Blitz 2026' - or 'UMA26' for short - kicked off at 05.40hrs at Reigate Hill on Tuesday 1st September. Since then I have had five days worth of the project, with most of them providing a good eight-nine hours of birding. The next few days will see a slight lessening of hours in the field as I still need to conduct a 'normal' life alongside that of trying to wring out plenty of ornithological action. However, spare moments will see me staring skywards and there will still be plenty of local excursions. The birding has been undeniably slow, which is to be expected, any days of action more of a welcome bonus. The real aim of this folly is to prove to myself, and interested others, that wherever you look, if you look regularly and diligently enough then rewards will come, be those rewards in the guise of scarcity, number or just the pleasure that such an undertaking can bring. So far there has been no c...

I've mentioned this saying several times on this blog, but it is one that I come back to time and again. It is: 'Comparison is the thief of joy' When I first heard it I wasn't really sure what it was on about. Then I gave it a bit of thought. Then I got it. We are easily persuaded that what is going on elsewhere is better than what we are experiencing in the here and now. The birds that are being seen. The moths that are being trapped. The weather. People having a good time. You get my drift. What you have set out before you can then lessen in quality and shrink in meaning - if you allow it to do so. After having been on a short holiday with my wife last week I was planning on going down to Dungeness for 10 days, staying at the Bird Observatory. Everything was lined up. At the last moment I pulled out. I still don't know why, but I didn't have the drive, the oomph, the wanting to. So I stayed at home. I then decided to book into the said observatory for a three ...

A week to go until the launch of my 'meteorological autumn birding blitz' and since I committed myself by announcing it on social media I have been humbled by the response - OK, maybe not hundreds of correspondents but at least a dozen birders have commented on the undertaking and all have sent words of kindness and encouragement. In fact one of them (north-Kent's very own Kevin Thornton) even wrote a poem/hymn in its honour, which I share with you below - with the author's blessing. Something that I am eternally grateful for is that even after 50+ years of birding I can still get excited and enthusiastic about local, simple birding. I know plenty who cannot stomach time with their optics unless they are at a hotbed of ornithological action. I do get it, I have slipped into this mindset myself in the past. That I have chosen to plough a relatively lonely and local furrow rather than hit the Kent shingle this autumn was actually an easy choice in the end. In all honesty ...

Fate has spoken - presumed plans for this autumn's birding have not gone according to said plan - so I find myself cooking up a project which, although modest, has got my juices flowing. A local 'meteorological autumn' birding blitz will be undertaken, all ornithological effort to be committed across the downland areas of my self-proclaimed 'uberpatch' - in effect the scarp slope of the North Downs between Ranmore and Reigate Hill plus the northern spur that runs up to Banstead. This removes Beddington Farmlands and the Holmethorpe sand pit complex from my orbit, both areas that already receive decent coverage. Meteorological autumn runs from September 1st - November 30th. During that time I will endeavour to cram as much birding in as I can considerately do, keeping to the areas defined above. To many birders this will be an act of folly - committing yourself to cover a largely waterless area which is not heavily birded because it is not, to be brutally honest, all...