NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

This post is nothing but a round-up of the bits and pieces that are currently in orbit within my head at the moment. So expect the cerebral equivalent of 'carpet sweepings'... Micro-moth field guide . The latest issue of British Wildlife lets slip that 'The Field Guide to the Micro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland' is coming soon! No publication date as yet, but the wording suggests that it will be soon. The team behind it includes Phil Sterling, Mark Parsons and Richard Lewington. Can't wait! Pan-species. At the start of the year I swore that I would leave mosses alone. I've been out in the field a few times and have come across luxurious banks of mosses that look so, so inviting. I'm weakening. I actually want to start on them in earnest. I've got the field guide. I've got a hand lens. I've got small plastic bages to collect them in. Watch this space. Other blogs. I'm going through a bout of blog envy at the moment. It seems to ...

I thought it about time that I went along to Beddington SF to join in the 'white-winger' festival that is currently on tour there. Yesterday there were 5 Iceland Gulls (including a Kumlien's) plus a Glaucous Gull, making this England's hot-spot for such beauties. If you want a feather-by-feather account of them, visit Johnny Allan's blog . Today we managed to locate three Iceland Gulls, including the Kumlien's. Numbers of gulls at Beddington are boosted by the operations taking place on the refuse tip - Monday to Friday being good for numbers, Saturday not so good because the tip only operates for half a day, and Sunday normally poor as it is shut. Today's haul was, therefore, commendable. By the hide is a feeder set up for the Tree Sparrows. This Water Rail has taken a liking to the spilt seed beneath it.

There comes a time early in the year when the shiny newness of that year starts to become tarnished. The enthusiasm so abundant when you head out into the field, bouyed with the anticipation of great things to come, starts to whither. The belief that 'this is the year to beat all years' evapourates. Yes folks, North Downs and beyond becomes a tad grumpy on the ludicrously early date of January 7th. Today began quite well, as I arrived at Beddington Sewage Farm at first light to be greeted by roost-fleeing flocks of Jackdaws, some of them hundreds strong, at rooftop height. The tip and lake had already attracted several thousand gulls. Yesterday no less than three Iceland Gulls were present here (including a Kumlien's) so I thought that it wasn't asking much to be granted views of at least one of them - preferably the more exotic of them. For the first three hours of daylight, scouring the lake-loafing gulls had produced nothing. I have a reputation at the sewage ...