NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

Yesterday, on a gloriously sunny and hot afternoon, Gordon Hay and myself spent several hours wandering the rides and footpaths that criss-cross Bookham Common, an area of outstanding Surrey butterfly real-estate. Our aims were to see if there were any Purple Emperors on the wing and to luxuriate in amongst one of our favourite species, the White Admiral. On arrival I met one of the National Trust rangers who told me that the Emperor had first been seen on June 17th - it looked as though, with a fair wind, our luck might be in. We didn't have to wait long before we knew that our visit was going to be blessed. The well-known 'master' trees, on the higher ground at Hill Farm, were playing host to three Purple Emperors, with much sparring, circular flights and easily observed perching indulged in (above, from 12.30 - 14.30hrs).  We were also fortunate in coming across a further individual - at 16.23hrs, some way from the favoured area - that was grounded. This butterfly was fi...

Dawn at Canons Farm was a misty old affair, with barely a breath of wind. I went straight to the grassy field behind the farm house, where yesterday the flock of Whinchats were hanging out. For a good 20 minutes there was nothing on show, then they appeared, at least seven still present. I caught a glimpse of a warbler low among them, and in the couple of seconds that my binoculars were trained on it thought that it was possibly a Grasshopper Warbler. I waited awhile, but nothing popped up, and I supposed that it would be a case of letting one slip through my fingers again. Being entertained by the Whinchats, my attention was elsewhere when the warbler popped up again, this time quite close - indeed, it was a Grasshopper. It stayed perched on a dead stem of Common Sorrel for a good minute, allowing me to obtain a few pictures with the camera (above and below). It was a memorable morning, as a flock of five Golden Plover, a Yellow Wagtail and a Grey Wagtail all flew through eastwards, a...

Let's cut to the chase - locally, the birding has been poor. I'm not moaning - OK, I am a bit - but for all of the hours spent out in the field, the rewards have been slow and few. I've already alluded to a dearth of birds, with hardly any warbler, finch or tit flocks. There have been times when, after 10-15 minutes, I realise I haven't seen or heard a passerine. Really. Luchtime today found me at Canons Farm. I was getting into that all-to familiar state, of wondering where all the birds had gone, of starting to despair with how things were turning out - I was on the verge of writing my own blues song, something along the lines of 'The lonesome Canons Farm birding lament', when up popped a Whinchat. Ah, something, at least something. Then another. Now three. Five. I scanned back and forth across the field of long grass and dead hogweed. Each time another Whinchat was on show. They were mobile, all keeping to the same field, but frequently dropping down out of s...

After yesterday's biblical deluge, this morning at Canons Farm was spent in a visually and aurally muffled arena, the oppressive air weighted, and not a breath of wind. A low, pearly, soapy sky added to the feeling of claustrophobia. I hadn't visited here for a few weeks, so it was good to be back. The footpaths and 'public' areas have never looked so choked with vegetation. Although a bit too early to expect passerine migrants, it was still worth checking the tit flocks that I came across, as it has been known for the odd goody - such as a Wood Warbler - to put in a late-July appearance. Bird-wise, highlights were a minimum of 130 Common Swifts wheeling above the farmland, plus three Sand Martins that moved quickly through. The late-summer build up of Wood Pigeons has started, with 500+ already haunting the fields. The next few weeks should see things pick up here - it is always worth my while checking the crop edges for warblers, and the hedgerows for chats. Easy, lai...

The past week has been mostly a case of beating the bounds of the '3km from home' circle. It has had its moments, with a Woodlark that circled the western-most fields at Canons Farm for a couple of minutes (on Monday) and an oh-so brief first-winter Mediterranean Gull on the football pitches at Priest Hill (today). In between these bursts of action it has been largely quiet, with Linnets (above) and Skylarks still present in fair numbers in the general area, plus signs of the early-Spring Stonechat passage getting underway, with five at Priest Hill this morning (where I spent some time unsuccessfully searching for a Dartford Warbler).

Another morning that was spent in the snow at Canons Farm. I was on the edge of a cloud bank for much of the time, being in either bright sunshine or snow-bearing greyness - at times this line was clearly delineated and made for a surreal and spectacular sight - my left half bathed in a golden ‘warmth’, my right chilled and spattered with ice. Headline news (of sorts) was that I got in on the cold-weather movement that has been recorded over the past couple of days, with a modest return of 25 Lapwing west and a couple of Golden Plover north. The passerine flock that has been faithful to the site for several weeks now had reduced by 50% overnight, now numbering 100 birds (50 Skylark and 50 Linnet). They fed in the open, between bare strips dividing the rows of stubble, with the larks leaving some tell-tale traces behind in the snow (below). A bit of video of some of these birds feeding is also provided. A morning for living in the moment and appreciating what was set out before me.

You wait three years for another 'Beast from the East' to turn up, and when it comes it has very little of the beast in it - better for the birds, not so good for the birder seeking a thrill. As far as the 3km area is concerned, the snow sort of came on Sunday and dribbled its way onto the ground throughout both Monday and today, in fits and starts. The easterly wind is cold, but is not getting above force 2-3, and does not carry that rapier like edge that the Beast did. Standing water has hardly frozen, and it was surprising to be walking along muddy paths this morning that were soft. However, some have been treated to a bit of overhead wader movement in response to the cold weather - to the north, south, east and west of me, Lapwings, Golden Plover and Common Snipe have enlivened many a skywatch, but even though I have diligently been out in the field for the past three days, not a single Lapwing has passed over me. I cannot complain, my home area has provided me with many me...

The continuing lockdown, and the reduction of my birding footprint, got to me yesterday. I stayed indoors and chose to feel sorry for myself, watching films on the TV in preference to getting out to go birding. As pathetic as this sounds, I can be prone to a low mood at times, and, without going into detail, do have valid reasons for being like it from time to time. And, at times like these, it is best to cut myself some slack and not punish myself for feeling like it. So, what of the birding that I have done? Well, on Tuesday I ventured to the only bit of water that is likely to supply a few birds, that of Bourne Hall Lake and the adjacent River Hogsmill. Let me temper any visualisation that you may have of these water bodies - the lake is a modest pond and the river a stream. But, they are wet enough for me to have added Mute Swan, Greylag and Canada Goose, Tufted Duck, Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail to the list. Just over the 3km border, so close but so far, is a section of the river w...

The two inches of snow that fell in the Banstead area yesterday was still in place, with sub-zero temperatures overnight giving it all a hard crust, the roads and pavements being slippery as a further result. After the big influx of Skylarks at Canons Farm as a result of the weather, I returned to monitor their number - still 120 present, but down from yesterday’s 200. They were feeding on a couple of the western-most fields along with 150+ Linnets. When they all took to flight, the flurry of clean whites and buffs in such dazzling light, under lit by the reflecting snow, was dazzling. Adjacent to the farm, on the eastern flank, is Banstead Woods. I spent an hour trying to kick up a Woodcock (in which I failed), but a great success was locating a single Marsh Tit, my first here for several years. When I used to visit these woods from the late-70s this species was ‘a given’, 2-3 individuals easily picked up within just a few minutes. Alas, over the last 10-15 years it has been a difficu...

For those of us who live on the edges of London, snow is almost as unusual as finding as BBRC rarity - not quite annual and worth talking about when it does happen. The 'white stuff' started to fall by mid-morning and deposited a good couple of inches before stopping by lunch time. My knee-jerk reaction to snow is to stare up into the skies just in case a few birds have been made to move, but it takes more than a bit of localised winter to stir things up. Never the less, I did visit Canons Farm this afternoon and the snow had in fact played its part in providing a bit more to look at, as at least 200 Skylarks had gathered on InFront George East (that is the name of a field by the way), along with 75 Linnets. The Barn Owl put on a further show, short video attached. I will continue to stare up, hoping for a wayward Golden Plover or Snipe to add to the growing 3km lockdown list.

  Dank early starts seem to be a theme so far this year in Banstead, this mornings rain doing little to help brighten up an already stygian sky. By the time I'd made the short journey to Canons Farm, a developing brightness in the sky soon gave way to a couple of wintry showers. Undaunted, I donned the wellington boots and braved the muddy interior... The farm was quiet. As any seasoned Canons birder will tell you though, even if the first 19 fields you check are empty, the 20th might just hold the prize. My prize(s) were not of the rare, or even of the scarce, but of several flocks that were, if nothing else, notebook fodder. Highlights of 40 Skylark, 40 Fieldfare, 80 Redwing, 200 Starling, 210 Chaffinch, 170 Linnet and 3 Yellowhammer can hardly be called shabby though. A tame Dunnock (top) and Blackbird (below) posed for the camera.

These bridge cameras are remarkable bits of kit. They will never compete with the big lenses in getting those award winning photographs, but as a bit of visual back-up they are great. I was at a very dull and murky Canons Farm this afternoon and saw a blob at the top of a dead tree, lifted my binoculars and could see that it was a Great Spotted Woodpecker. As a bit of an experiment, I took a picture of the scene with no magnification whatsoever, then a maximum x260 shot from the same spot, focused on the woodpecker. These are the results: Pink circle where the woodpecker was perched. Hand held on a dull old afternoon, digital x260. Not award winning, but if it had been a Middle Spot, then job done! Once you start taking images with digital zoom settings then you are getting a load of 'made-up' pixels into the bargain, but it is still helpful in clinching identifications, being able to age or sex a bird etc. Just don't hope to win any awards for the quality of s...

Canons Farm is currently playing host to a ring-tail Hen Harrier, the fifth site record following hot on the heels of birds in 2010, 2011 and two in 2013. Needless to say, a July record is exceedingly rare in Surrey. My 'harrier ageing library' is not up to date, hence my inability to confidently call this a 'juvenile male', although there are several eminent birders who confidently are. The bird turned up on Friday and, apart from Saturday, has been seen on each subsequent evening, although today it has been on site, on-and-off, all day, but has gone 'missing' for hours at a time. I spent the afternoon on the farm (sans harrier) but was more than happy with up to 200 Common Swifts, 45 Swallows and a House Martin drifting in the airspace, which they shared for a time with a Hobby. I went back this evening and was delighted to see the Hen Harrier on a number of occasions, quartering the fields widely across the farm. At least 20+ birders had also decided to des...

For me, ornithological Spring starts with the late-February passage of Stonechats. The downs close to where I live is a good place to observe this, with Priest Hill, Canons Farm and Epsom Downs being within walking distance from home. These charismatic birds continue to dribble through into early-April. This morning's visit to Canons Farm found three (two males and a female) present in the Reeds Rest Bottom area, so they could conceivably be birds left over from the five seen two days a go. The 'normal' fences and hedgerows were shunned for the open fields, with all three birds spending most of the time that I was observing them up to their vents in the grass (above). Another sign of Spring was the north-westerly passage of Meadow Pipits. Of the 70+ birds that I counted, most of these went overhead in small flocks, although a group of 40 were flushed from Stoney Knob and then moved on - possibly a resting flock. Other highlights included 12 Skylark, 35 Fieldfar...

Throughout the winter there will be birders up and down the length of the country who look forward to the Spring's first Wheatear - it is a species emblematic of warmer days, is colourful and characterful, the vanguard of a whole host of migrants that will come to our shores over the months of March, April and May. It is a sighting pregnant with hope, bestowed with affection and greeted with a smile. Think I'm over the top? If anything, I'm not gushing enough. This afternoon I was back at Canons Farm, pleased to be watching a group of five Stonechats in the Reeds Rest Bottom area. I love chats, my favourite bird family if I had to nominate one. As I slowly walked towards a male that was foraging along the edge of a field, a flash of white reared up in front of me. It couldn't be, could it? The bird alighted on a clod of earth and revealed itself in all its glory - a Northern Wheatear. My first for the year. In fact, this appears to be the first this year in Surre...

The Canons Farm Linnet flock is not the easiest group of birds to count. They rarely combine together and prefer to feed in smaller groups spread across several adjacent fields, but every so often they do meet up and wheel across the skyline before breaking up once more. Such a ball of activity calls for snap judgement of numbers present - it is far easier to count the smaller aggregations, and as long as you keep your wits about you and do not double-count, add those figures up to get a (fairly) accurate count. Sometimes they do the right thing... Yesterday afternoon the birds came together over Tarts Field, and whereas 150 peeled away and landed back on the stubble, the rest landed in a nearby tree. I took a picture of this gathering and then started to count the perched birds, but I was stymied by a continual procession of small flocks peeling off and disappearing into neighbouring fields. How many were there? I reckoned at least 200, maybe even 250. Don't cheat, what do you r...

We inland birders, especially those that toil on dry sites, get very excited about a bit of water. Not for us the wide expanse of an estuary, or the horizon-filling sea, and not even an ugly grey reservoir - no, we deal in small streams, village ponds and... ...sheets of rain water! Believe it or not, I started to salivate when I saw how much water had collected on the aptly named Bog Field at Canons Farm. When this field gets extra wet, it has history, with at least two Green Sandpipers having been falsely lured in. My frantic scanning for diving duck, phalaropes and waders produced... a bathing Carrion Crow. Well, the excitement lasted all of 30 seconds. A quiet afternoon followed, save for the wintering finch flock, that seem to be keeping to Tart's, Ballard's and Bog Fields. Chaffinch numbers are keeping at a steady 150-200, but the Linnet flock is slowly building. On arrival I counted 275, but a couple of hours later this had increased to 400. I took a brief video...

My most enjoyable natural history events of the past five years continue: 7. Hirundines at Canons Farm The evening of September 20th 2017 saw me standing in the back garden when a group of Swallows powered through at head height, followed by another group a few minutes later. Over the next hour several hundred had done likewise, and as the daylight faded I resolved to be out in the field the following morning to see if this was the start of a meaningful hirundine push. Arriving at Canons Farm at 07.15hrs I was pleased to see that there were already a few hirundines on the move. I settled down at my favourite observation point and waited. My wait was not a long one, as within half-an-hour 1200 Swallow and 70 House Martin had moved through, at a modest elevation and seemingly taking two well defined routes. House Martins then came to the fore, as in the next 30 minutes they numbered a further 730 birds, with Swallows mustering 600. The passage then abruptly stopped. I was more tha...

A spare hour this afternoon, in-between bouts of drizzle and rain, saw me wander over to Canons Farm. I just stuck to the central road (more of a track) and scanned to my left and right, daydreaming of Pallid Swifts, Stone Curlews and the like. I was rewarded with a group of three Egyptian Geese, flying low across Broadfield in a westerly direction. My pleasure was heightened by the fact that they were a patch tick for me - vaguely of annual occurrence here. I tweeted out the news, admitting that, although they were not worthy of being described as 'patch gold' they deserved some form of accolade. My twitter chums responded with various suggestions, the winner being Gavin Haig's 'patch formica'. His reasons for that suggestion? Because he felt it needed to be something man-made and tacky. I get where he is coming from. Did I take a picture of the glorious fly-by? No way. You'll have to make do with this Stonechat instead. Shame it wasn't a Bluetail.

Trektellen, the website that collates migration counts, is a wonderful place to while away a few hours.  This Dutch site has spread its wings across Europe, and the number of contributing sites - including British - keeps on growing. As much as most of us think of meaningful visible migration counts coming from coastal sites, there are a number of inland sites that have provided some excellent data. As a county, Surrey is poorly represented. I thought it about time to increase its contribution. Anybody who has visited this blog on a regular basis will know that I love watching migration in action, particularly if it is local to me here in Banstead. It just means more. Luckily I have two sites on my doorstep (one of them literally) that provides such thrills. My garden has a good track record in the autumn - thrush rushes (4,000 Redwings in a day), four figure hirundine days, hundreds of finches, pipits, the odd unexpected bird (Woodlark, Golden Plover, Honey Buzzard, Hawfinch) - ...