NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

Am I one of the gull people? No, not really. I do look at them. Sometimes even actively seek them out. But to truly belong to that specialist group of birders you need to study them. And then study them again. Over. And over. And over. It isn't so much a passion, or an obsession, but more a disease. Gullitis? Larusgytis? There isn't really a name for it yet. Just to prove that I do dip my toe into this rarified world I present a few bridge camera images from Dungeness this autumn. The top three pictures are of a first-winter Caspian Gull and the bottom of an adult Caspian Gull, all on the beach. Even I can 'do' these individuals, but there are other birds that even the aficionados will screw their faces up at and proclaim that "there might be a bit of Herring Gull" in them. If you want professional quality images of gulls (especially Caspian) the net is swamped with them, but I can recommend Dungeness Bird Observatory , Ploddingbirder , Richard Smith a...

There was a time when gulls were largely ignored. They were regarded as pure ornithological filler, something to be tolerated in-between 'proper' birds coming along. Admittedly, a Sabine's, Glaucous or Iceland Gull might have raised an eyebrow, and something like a Ross's would have caused a stampede, but otherwise it was a case of stifling a yawn and looking the other way. Oh how times have changed... Early pioneers of advanced gull identification (such as Peter Grant) really were breaking new ground. Up until the 1970s most birders baulked at the idea of trying to identify any large immature gull. It was a challenge enough to be able to separate Common and Ring-billed Gulls. Some people still struggled with immature Kittiwakes and Little Gulls. But when it was pointed out that, with a bit of patience and a keen eye, even the most uninspiring of gulls could not only be identified to a species but accurately aged as well, a few birders sat up and took notice - but ...

Farewell to the shingle - I'll be back soon... I can confirm that, after being away for three and a half weeks, Banstead and Surrey still exist, minus a lot of leaves. I left trees full of 'em and now they mostly stand skeletal in the wind and rain. It is always exciting when a great band reforms or a favourite TV series returns and the same can be said of a good blog. Always a favourite of mine, Not Quite Scilly disappeared two years ago when its author, Gavin Haig, pulled the plug. But now he's back! Click here to see how this blogging lark should really be done.  Finally, an apology for the lack of images accompanying my posts over the last few weeks, but I was having trouble with uploading them to Blogger via an iPad. Now back home there shouldn't be a problem. 

Mid-afternoon at the fishing boats, wandering between the containers and detritus left by fisherfolk of yore. Apart from the desicated remains of Sea Kale and a few clumps of Red Valerian, there is little vegetation to afford cover for birds. However, it is a place that can provide great surprises, none more so than a certain flycatcher that was found by Martin C this September. My aims are not so lofty. The westerly wind has increased in strength throughout the day and a vicious squall has barrelled through, leaving a weak autumnal sun to pour lemon light across the peninsula. A movement catches my eye as a small passerine breaks cover from behind a large coil of rope. The bird hovers above an upturned crate and alights not ten feet from me - a female Blackcap. The small black eye takes me in, the head moving in jerky movement as she surveys all around her. The nervousness of the bird is palpable, and she is soon off, swooping down to disappear behind an old engine that has been unc...

My three and a half weeks at Dungeness is almost up, with just one and a half days left to go. As always, the shingle has exceeded expectations. The role call of scarce birds has been more than acceptable, with Rough-legged Buzzard, Great Grey Shrike, Dusky Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Barred Warbler, several Dartford Warblers, a few Woodlarks, more Caspian Gulls than I've ever seen before and a back-up cast of such diversity as Short-eared Owl, Long-eared Owl, Jack Snipe, Crossbill, Slavonian and Black-necked Grebe, Pomarine Skua and Sooty Shearwater. There have been some very late dates for summer migrants (Hobby 21/10; Tree Pipit 26/10 - no it wasn't an OBP; Whitethroat 4/11; Common Tern 6/11) and an early one for a winter one (Smew 3/11). There has been a few decent arrivals, mainly crests and Black Redstarts and no two days have been remotely the same. So far, 147 species of bird have come my way. The late flowering of plants has been a revelation (that particular lis...

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...

When the weather is like this, and the prospects muted, I often embark upon a long walk. I must have crunched across 15 miles of shingle and, in lieu of birds, found myself in deep thought - mainly thinking about Dungeness, what it means to me and how it has changed. Fuel for a future post. The 'November plants in flower list' shows no signs of slowing. It has now reached 118 species with today's additions being garden pansy, broom, snapdragon, ice plant, white ramping fumitory, rest harrow, ivy-leaved speedwell, common knapweed, tubular water-drop wort and lesser trefoil. It was also good to see that a local blogger has been inspired by all of this to start his own 'November in flower' list. The more the merrier!