NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

That period of the day between sunset and darkness is a bewitching one, particularly when the air is still and cold. A tobacco-stained sky and a faint whiff of vegetation in the nostrils almost painted the day in the colours of Spring, no doubt enhanced by the contrast between this brightest of days and the overriding gloom of most of the past few months. Gordon and I were scoping the roosting gulls at Holmethorpe, try as we might we could not locate any of the first-winter Caspian Gulls that have paid this site a visit recently. We made do with the 101-flavours of Herring Gull (no two the same in the 500 present) and over 1,000 Black-headed Gulls that were settling on the inky waters to spend the night. A cacophony of roosting Jackdaws and Ring-necked Parakeets was our accompanying soundtrack, but even these raucous birds started to quieten down as we trudged back to our cars in the darkness, the grass already frosting up in anticipation of another cold night. As we approached Mercer...

In glorious sunshine a six-mile circular walk taking in Ranmore Common and Polesden Lacey was made with eldest daughter Rebecca. There were plenty of snow pockets to walk through and the trees on the higher ground were coated in icy granules that had started to melt in the warm sun. The birding was disappointing, although at least six Marsh Tits were recorded, including two in fine song. It would seem that the finch numbers are to be found further west along the ridge - out of uber patch range! A late afternoon visit to Canons Farm suggested that the cold weather may be having some affect on the birds, with an influx of Fieldfare (70) and an increase in Yellowhammer numbers, with 42 gathering to roost. A Barn Owl was hunting across the fields and along the edge of the wood up by Perrotts Farmhouse and a Little Owl was spied huddled up in an oak tree on the edge of Broad Field. From the top: male Kestrel; Little Owl, Yellowhammers, Meadow Pipit

A far more agreeable visit to Holmethorpe today, with my whinges of four days ago largely gone - the ground was drier, there were not nearly as many human beings getting in the way, I managed to find several extra viewpoints that opened up the larger water bodies to my scope and even the noise appeared to have lessened - results all round! The calm, dry and mainly sunny weather bathed everything in a positive light and it was then only up to the birds to play their part in the proceedings, which they largely did. Two Ravens that flew over the farmland and up onto Nutfield Ridge were a long overdue site tick for me, with other notable counts/sightings being: Little Egret (1), Wigeon (13), Gadwall (63), Teal (52), Shoveler (11), Tufted Duck (219), Common Buzzard (3), Coot (210), Snipe (6), Black-headed Gull (2000), Common Gull (100), Lesser Black-backed Gull (75), Herring Gull (2250), Great Black-backed Gull (5), Little Owl (1, above), Kingfisher (2), Grey Wagtail (1), Fieldfare (30...

The weather men (and women) were all at it yesterday - dire warnings of the change in temperature after the rain had swept through - get out the winter woolies - make sure that the 100 tog duvet is on the bed - batten down the hatches - find the snow shovel... Well, the rain did sweep through and, admittedly, it was a little nippy first thing, but by late morning I was at Canons Farm, standing in a t-shirt, enjoying a warm and pleasant day. As far as I could tell it was still summer. There were plenty of butterflies on the wing to underline how warm it was, even if most of them were Red Admirals hell bent on heading south. As for the birds it was a case of a few quick bursts of excitement with long periods of quiet. The blue skies allowed good visibility and up to 12 Common Buzzards and a single Red Kite drifted north (although I suspect that some of the buzzards were not really moving); this great autumn for Stonechats continued with at least seven being present (and how many h...

So, you own a camera. It might be a small compact camera, or maybe you've got a SLR with a standard lens on it. You know that you can get OK results by taking pictures of things that keep still and that allow you to get close to them - such as plants, fungi and moths at rest - but as for birds... well, the bloody things won't keep still and, when you do get close enough, the results are, quite frankly, disappointing. There are many blogs out there that are full of stunning images of birds. I could name a few but I'm not going to as they make me feel impotent. But, there is a way out for the naturalist/birder whose photographic equipment is modest or who doesn't have the patience to keep still for ten hours to get a picture of a Kingfisher sitting on a stick. Sheer number. A single Black-headed Gull at this range would be a very poor shot indeed, but when it is in the company of hundreds of others, it takes on an altogether more arresting image. Like one of those...