NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

This is the second in an occasional series looking at bird species that have fared well - and those not so well - across the uberpatch over the last 50-odd years. In 1974, the year of the birth of my ornithological journey, Common Buzzard was not a species that you could even think of seeing in London and the Home Counties. Or in 1984. Or, for that matter, 1994. If I wanted to avail myself of a bit of Buzzard action I needed to go to the New Forest or undertake a long car journey to the West Country where I might be able to feast my eyes on one flying over a major A-road in Wiltshire, Devon or Cornwall. They were special. They were 'an event'. How times change... It was not until 28 September 1999 that a Common Buzzard and I crossed paths on the uberpatch, a single at Holmethorpe SP. It had been expected as they had been increasing in number in the SE of England, but was still something to be celebrated. The next encounter was one that flew over the M25/23 junction as I was sit...

We are now getting to the time of year when, here in Banstead, we see a marked increase in raptor movement, primarily Common Buzzards (with a few Red Kites thrown in for good measure). For a number of years now the Buzzards have been a feature of spring, with the local breeders sharing the skies with their congeners that are passing through. Last year saw plenty of time to keep an eye on the local sky thanks to lockdown, so I was in a good position to monitor this phenomenon.  Between March 21st - May 9th, 145 Common Buzzards and 45 Red Kites passed over the garden, mostly moving through in an easterly direction. The Buzzards tended to slowly drift through the air-space, with the Kites far more direct. I was careful not to count the local birds. I can see two resident pairs from the garden, or at least can see them when they indulge in a bit of extra-limital displaying. Any benign day in late-March to early May will provide a bit of movement, with the highest number of birds in one...

The signs were all present and correct to suggest that Spring is on the way - the first day of 2019 bestowed with genuine warmth; at least 4 Brimstones on the wing close to home by mid-morning; that earliest of passage migrants, the Stonechat, appearing locally; very high Common Buzzards passing straight through the air space; and a suite of insects busily nectaring on hellebores, Christmas Box and early flowering heathers. Days like these warm the soul.

Common Buzzard used to be a screaming rarity in the south-east of England. Some time in the late 1980s they started to appear with more frequency, although it was still a good day if you saw one. My first in Surrey and Kent was not recorded until 1995. By the turn of the millennium numbers were definitely on the rise, to the point that it was no longer a surprise when one flew into sight, but they were normally encounters with single birds. Then came the multiple encounters, and the rest, as they say, is history. At Dungeness, the Common Buzzard story is a similar one of gradual infiltration as a regularly encountered species. It is now a few years since a scan of the horizon - especially from the RSPB reserve towards Lydd - almost guaranteed seeing Common Buzzard. In recent times there has been a new dimension to sky watching here - that of 'raptor days' - primarily on sunny and calm days in April/May and August/September, and the Common Buzzard is a major component of them....

A quiet morning on Dungeness peninsula was turned on its head by a sudden burst of activity mid-morning. I was on the RSPB reserve with Mark H and Colin T when a call from Martin C (who was sky-watching from the Plodland front garden) alerted us to a Red Kite, present in the air space between the airport and ARC water tower. We gathered by the Dennis's hide view point, but Martin's kite was a no show - however, I picked up another kite, coming from the NE and straight towards us. It started to circle above Burrowes Pit and Mark H was first to call it as a Black Kite - the bird was good enough to then head west, being seen by Martin C who was able to add it to his ever expanding Plodland list! Within half an hour up to 12 Common Buzzards and seven Hobby had moved through, four Mediterranean Gulls appeared out of a blue sky, and the first-summer Iceland Gull that had been on a Burrowes Pit island appeared to leave the area in a purposeful NW bearing. With the wind turning to the ...

The unfurling of a crocus is all that it takes for me to believe that an invisible line has been crossed in the progression of the seasons. Winter might still hold all of the trump cards, but Spring has peeked over the parapet and has taken a look around. After spying that crocus, I spent an hour at Priest Hill and was delighted to hear up to four Skylarks in song and display - the first this year. This species has been otherwise sullen so far. A Common Buzzard also crossed the airspace (the first since early autumn here) and drew an escort of corvids that frantically and noisily chased it away. We have quite a marked Spring passage of this raptor, and I wouldn't mind guessing that this is an early migrant. We may still see snow, frost and freezing cold, but the next season in line has already put a marker down.

Canons Farm tested the resolve of two seasoned campaigners this morning, as Geoff and myself plodded across the arable wastes with scarcely a bird to look at. Something is amiss here. In previous winters, at the very least, the fields would hold decent numbers of pigeons, corvids, finches and thrushes. Have they been sprayed with something so foul that there is nothing left alive for the birds to feed upon? Our 'tame' Common Buzzard (above) seemed unconcerned about it all, but most probably has no food worries thanks to a supply of the bodies of birders who have keeled over with boredom. Our one flash of inspiration came in the form of a Woodcock, targeted and flushed at the edge of Banstead Woods - Geoff's 100th patch species, a good total for a waterless, inland site. We parted ways in the bowels of Chipstead Bottom (nice imagery to juggle with there) where I then wandered along and up onto Park Downs (below). If I were targeting birds here then I would hav...

A morning spent at Canons Farm in the company of Geoff Barter - plus the confiding Common Buzzard (above), that has taken to hanging around Reeds Rest Cottages. The buzzard appears to be well and can fly without difficulty, so why it is being so unadventurous and 'tame' I do not know. Whatever its reasons, it sits on top of roofs, chimneys, barns and posts with little care for the passing birder. The image above has not been cropped and was taken with a bridge camera. A calmer, more sunnier day would be hard to find in the early winter, and although I couldn't claim that it was warm, the need for hat, gloves and scarf was redundant. There weren't many birds on show, so Geoff and I had to make do with a slow wander and plenty of waffle between the two of us. A flock of 60+ Skylark and a low count of four Yellowhammer (below) was made. Although I don't particularly want any, a dose of hard weather is needed to stir the ornithological pot up.

A Common Buzzard catches some dying rays I don't like a quick 'in-out' birding session, it just doesn't do it for me, but sometimes needs must. Most of the day was spent on domestic duties while nursing a sore throat and head cold (proper man flu I'll have you know). By 15.00hrs the weather had perked up a bit, and it seemed right to head for Canons Farm to try and see one of the two Barn Owls that have been present over the last few days. At 16.08hrs one of them duly performed, quartering across Harrier Field before going missing, only to return some ten minutes later. A flock of 60+ Skylarks were also noteworthy. A fifty minute visit that was more than satisfactory. Then back to my sick bed hoping for undeserved sympathy.

With work being done on the house, I had need to be at home these past two days. When the fog burnt off on each morning, I took advantage of the clear skies and warm temperature and sat in the garden with my binoculars. Yesterday a flock of 4 Common Buzzards moved through, all spiralling directly above me before picking up an airflow to their liking and purposefully heading eastwards, as if on a conveyor belt. Today I had three Common Buzzards for company for most of the middle part of the day, with much displaying and calling. What wasn't hanging around however was a superb Red Kite, that seemed to pick up the same air flow as yesterday's Buzzards, heading off eastwards with little ceremony. Not that many years ago such sightings in the south-east of England, let alone my garden, would have seemed highly fanciful.