NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

Another expedition along the River Hogsmill towards Old Malden, where I once again paid homage to the Millais painting 'Ophelia'. There is a commemorative plaque on a wall close to the spot where he based the painting (pictured), accompanied here by my picture of what that spot looks like today. The Kingfisher that I saw may have been seen by the great artist as he produced his preliminary sketches, but I doubt that a Little Egret bothered his eye-line as it did mine.

For a change I explored the River Hogsmill between Ewell and Kingston, most of its winding length served by a good footpath. From a natural history point of view, it was very quiet, but I did come across this utterly charming mosaic. Completed last year, it has been placed underneath a railway bridge at Malden Manor. Apart from helping to brighten up a spot that had been the haunt of graffiti artists, it is also in honour of the John Everett Millais pre-Raphaelite masterpiece 'Ophelia', which was painted at the very spot. Community funded and completed by a team of artists and locals it is arresting to come across as you step out of the thistle, Himalayan Balsam and Hogweed choked footpath and into the cool underworld of the railway arches. It depicts a natural world transition from night to day, full of owls, flowers, butterflies, birds, snails and fungi. In a fitting aside, while I was admiring the work, I met a local White Witch. We fell into a long and easy con...

It was Bourne Hall, Ewell once again, plus a wander along the River Hogsmill all the way to Ewell Court. It was very quiet, with only a single (and tame) Little Egret, a flushed Common Snipe, but no sign of any Kingfishers. I reckon that the wintering Water Rail may have moved on. It was an iron cold day, the chill in the south-easterly breeze enough to make it uncomfortable, and the drizzle that fell in the early afternoon turned into the finest snow that I've ever seen. Amid all of this mid-winteryness was a sight to stir the soul - a fine display of Winter Heliotrope (above and below), together with a smattering of  Ramularia purpurascens across some of the leaves (thanks Seth!) Now, I know I keep on posting photographs of Stonechats, Reed Buntings and Little Egrets, but when these birds just pose for you, why not? I never tire of them.

Over the past couple of weeks, the Little Egrets frequenting the River Hogsmill (and surrounds) at Ewell Village have been very approachable. There are certainly two - and maybe three - present, and are most reliably found in the watery channels close to the Mill, and also the stretch of river beyond the tunnel, at the start of the Hogsmill Open Space reserve. They are pretty skittish when feeding in the water, but if you come across one perched in a tree (as I did this morning) then your luck could be in. So far this month there has been a Water Rail, 4+ Kingfisher, 2 Common Snipe, a Firecrest and 4 Waxwing in this small area. Well worth a look.

The snow arrived, just as the Met Office predicted, at 17.00hrs yesterday evening, and fell steadily until 19.30hrs. Only and inch or so settled, but this was enough to cause mayhem on the roads and entice the 'blitz spirit' to resurface across the south-east of England. Elsewhere in Britain people looked out the window, shrugged, and put on a jumper... Snow means hard weather movements doesn't it? Geese, larks, Lapwings and Golden Plovers fleeing from the icy grip... of course not, at least not yet. It takes an awful lot more to stir things up, but I still head out hoping for just a crumb of bird movement. As expected, not today. I walked through Priest Hill (the wintering cast were still present) and onto the River Hogsmill at Ewell. Little Egrets were in view almost constantly, with two, maybe three present. One bird in particular that was feeding in a side-stream paid little attention to me, so I snapped away. 4+ Kingfisher, 2 Common Snipe and a Chiffchaff were...

The Priest Hill Reed Bunting wintering population goes from strength to strength - there were at least 13 present today, scattered across the site, with the largest flocks being a six and a four. Only two of the birds are males. This is unprecedented for the site and the species is not to be expected away from Beddington and Holmethorpe. Overflying migrants (that usually wouldn't stop), are no doubt being enticed down by the calls of those wintering below. Long may it continue. Also present were two Stonechats, and as you know, I never miss an opportunity to upload another image. This female was particularly tame. Afterwards I couldn't resist another check on the River Hogsmill at Ewell. The Water Rail was still being faithful to its favoured stretch, where two Common Snipe noisily exited as I peered over the vegetated bank. A couple of Kingfishers were also in the general area. No Little Egret this morning, although this young Grey Heron was most obliging.

The local birding scene is being very good to me at the moment, with plenty of interest and the odd surprise ready to leap out and take me unawares. This morning had me visiting the River Hogsmill in Ewell, which was sandwiched between two brief stops at Priest Hill. With all things being relative, it was a case of time being well spent and rewarded. The Hogsmill at Ewell is a narrow, winding watercourse that is shallow and well vegetated With several Moorhens was this furtive, camera-shy Water Rail. A Common Snipe had just been flushed from a bed of Water-cress. Grey Wagtails are commonplace along this stretch, sharing the area with Kingfishers and Little Egrets Mistletoe at Priest Hill - well, it is almost Christmas! Let it never be said that I ever pass up the opportunity to pap a Stonechat - this female at Priest Hill

The north of Surrey enjoyed what us southerners think of as 'proper winter' today - a one inch fall of snow that sent the road network into a mild panic and birders to fetch their optics just in case all sorts of hard weather movement was about to appear overhead - but the snow was just localised, it melted by lunchtime and the birds didn't seem to move at all... or did they? My visit to Priest Hill questioned whether or not stuff was stirred up a little bit, as a minimum of six Stonechats were in the Belted Galloway meadow this afternoon. I saw one female last week and three (one male) on Saturday. I have been giving the meadows a good grilling so I think it unlikely that the birds have been present all of this time, and it seems a bit early for the spring passage that this species does exhibit. Whether or not they have been widely dispersed across the site and have just come together I'll never know. Two males and four females kept me thoroughly entertained for an...

The River Hogsmill meanders its way through Ewell Village and is a most enjoyable place to spend a bit of time birding. You can usually bank on seeing Kingfisher and, increasingly, Little Egret. This morning one (of the two reportedly present) was perched in a tree just beyond the Lower Mill. It seemed unconcerned by my attempts at photography as it sunned itself alongside a Grey Heron. It wasn't until a Labrador came bounding up to me that they finally took flight.