NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

Birds on visible migration (vis-mig) can provide some of the most spectacular of ornithological experiences, so much so that there is a band of birders who dedicate their time to seeking out such events. I count myself as one of them albeit on a lower plane than the most obsessive of aficionados. It is a sub-sect of the birding family that will spend hours scouring weather maps for tell-tell signs of a possible upcoming vis-mig happening and will then ensure that they are at their chosen vantage point by, or shortly after, dawn. There are websites devoted to the observations gathered by such birders (for example Trektellen ) and also WhatsApp groups where data can be instantly shared. It is an inclusive world in which the celebration of bird migration is a central pillar. People that you have never met become virtual friends and places that you have never visited become as familiar as your own back garden. Those that get their vis-mig kicks from sea watching will hopefully excuse my la...

It has been 10 months since I last posted, a post which I suggested might be the last made on 'North Downs & Beyond' - I have never known when best to stop... How are you? What have you been up to? Me? Well, when I left you I was still knee-deep in Hawfinches along the Surrey North Downs. Mickleham Downs was the epi-centre of the action, with several counts of 300-400 being made. These most charismatic of finches were still to be found well into April, although I couldn't claim to have found any breeding pairs. Having said that, there was plenty of courtship behaviour to be witnessed earlier in the spring, with the photograph above showing a female (left-hand lower bird) accepting a tree bud that the male, neck outstretched, had tenderly offered her. This took place on 18th February 2025 and I was most privileged to have witnessed it, let alone caught it on camera. The Mickleham - Box Hill - Colley Hill area was also excellent for Goshawk (below), with several pairs bei...

In birding, timing can mean the difference between an average day in the field and that of a spectacular one. Good timing can be helped by reading the weather conditions correctly, or understanding local conditions but it is more often down to pure luck. In this case, I just got lucky... I had not visited Dungeness since March 2022, quite a gap for me. It was high time that I once more trod the shingle and my timing of a visit was down to several factors, mostly a personal liking for mid-late autumn but also because I needed to be at home until September 20th and could not make the journey south until then. I also chose to stay at the bird observatory for a few days rather than make it a day trip. All this conveniently found me stepping outside the observatory's back door in the breaking dawn of Sunday 22nd September, quickly making my way to the fishing boats, an area I prefer to stand to best appreciate any visible bird migration, an aspect of birding that I find exhilarating.  A...

On September 18th 2017 I was lucky enough to witness a massive movement of hirundines at Canons Farm , that included 6,710 House Martins (a Surrey county record) and 4,000 Swallows. It was one of the finest local days birding that I have had the pleasure to witness. And, for three years, that record has stood. Until today... My birding chums Wes and Robin have obliterated it, with a remarkable 13,302 House Martins! At the same time I was seeing nothing from my Banstead lookout, but on repositioning to nearby Priest Hill recorded 2,200 moving between SW and W (08.35 - 10.15hrs). Moving hirundines are one of the most arresting and exciting sights that a birder can witness. Without wishing to 'Top Trump' the boys, my all-time House Martin record is an almost unbelievable 90,000 at Dungeness  on 23rd September 1989. Apart from the hirundines, 60 Meadow Pipits, 10 Siskins and two Redpoll headed the same way, with nine Stonechat (four males) and two Whinchats grounded. Congratulation...

Since my last post it has been a case of having 'one eye on the sky' in the hope of a bit of visible migration passing overhead. This has partially paid off. Yesterday started off in the darkness at Box Hill. The early start was due to a bout of misguided anticipation - the change to a south-westerly airflow (after days of it being between north and easterly) did not prompt the sudden movement I had hoped. In fact, Box Hill was dreadfully quiet. I had digitally linked up with fellow Surrey migration watchers Wes Attridge and Ed Stubbs, who were both able to confirm a similar lack of action at Leith Hill and Thorncombe Street. I cut my losses and took the short journey to the wonderfully named Dick Focks Common (I'm sure he doesn't). My hope for a few Hawfinches was not realised, although the expected Crossbills did put in a performance, with up to 20 being recorded, including an unseen bird which called with a most distinctive deep 'chup'. I'm not claiming i...

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 mad half-hour in the skies above the back garden here in Surrey. At 11.45hrs I happened to glance out of a window and saw a handful of hirundines in view. I grabbed the binoculars and walked out to the stirring sight of an enormous flock of House Martins, slowly making their way south-eastwards. They were widely scattered and numbered at least 700 birds. The morning had been very wet, with pulses of heavy rain driven by a blustery south-westerly wind, and this flock was passing through on such a pulse. I kept my eyes to the skies and was rewarded half-an-hour later by another 250 House Martins, heading on a more south-westerly bearing - this was also during another burst of heavy rain. Over the following three hours, and with a gradual improvement in the weather, the hirundine stream didn’t stop, but certainly was not as spectacular. A total of 1175 was the final total. There does seem to be a clear line of movement across my immediate local area. Between our house and Nork Park, m...

Arriving at Canons Farm at 07.15hrs, practically the first birds that I saw were a small group of Swallows heading south - my hope that yesterday's movement would continue looked good! I settled down at a vantage point that gave me far-reaching all-round views and waited. It was soon obvious that it was all systems go... After half-an-hour 1200 Swallows and 70 House Martins had moved through, at a modest elevation and seemingly taking two well defined routes. It was then that House Martins 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 than happy with what I had seen, and took myself on a wander around the farm, with one eye on the sky in case the hirundines started up again, which they did at 11.00hrs. There then followed an incredible couple of hours. House Martins started to barrel in, in wide open flocks, up to 700 in 15 minutes then a massive pulse of 1800 in just 10 min...

They were arriving high above me, too high to be seen with the naked eye, and had I not been scanning with binoculars I would have missed them. They were spaced out and came in pulses, the largest group being 50 strong. A few of the birds dropped lower and resolved themselves to be mostly House Martins with a few Swallows as company. Being at elevation, standing on the mound that overlooks The Watercolours pits at Holmethorpe, I had a good 360 degree view. The hirundines continued to arrive and head off east, but they still mostly kept high. Had I not known they were up there they would have carried on with their remarkable journeys unobserved by human eye. A journey that many of them would be making for the first time, born of instinct and need. After only 45 minutes the procession dried up, leaving me wanting more, but my notebook told me that 700 House Martins and 300 Swallow had moved through. I stepped out into the garden at 18.05hrs to have three Swallows zip inches over my hea...

Number 4 - 23rd September 1989 - House Martins at Dungeness It had already been a good weekend, with a Honey-buzzard, two Marsh Harriers, a Sparrowhawk and 10 Kestrels coasting down the peninsula and heading out to sea, plus a Red-necked Phalarope giving corking views on Hooker's Pit. Sunday morning dawned overcast with a light WSW wind that then backed WNW. It was not until 08.00hrs that a few House Martins decided to appear, with up to 300 gathering on the wires by The Britannia public house. After the raptor movement of the day before I had decided to position myself on top of the moat, a raised circular bank close to the observatory. And then, some unseen hand flicked the migration switch to on, and it started... At first there were but few House Martins making their way past me, in a leisurely style, low and to the S/SW. But as each minute passed, the numbers built. It was still manageable to keep a count, although the trickle of hirundines had become a steady flow. It th...

There are times when the birding is just so easy, just so pure, that rarity and place are but irrelevances. This afternoon was such a time. I was at Canons Farm, the light overcast sky and modest NW breeze giving a decidedly autumnal feel to proceedings. I scanned the sky to the south and east and could see a few hirundines wheeling up high. A closer look revealed that there were more behind them - and above them - and as I carried on scanning more and more came into view. My first full sweep revealed at least 500 birds (mostly House Martins) and I followed this scattered flock as they circled above me, gradually heading SW. But as fast as birds left the area others were appearing. At one time there were over 1,000 hirundines on show, all lazily making their way across my field of view. I stood transfixed. I've seen larger numbers (a frankly incredulous 90,000 at Dungeness one September day) and I've seen birds zap through as if time was against them. But to watch a sky full ...

There are still some days when the 'hard-core' birder within me tries to break out. Today was such a day. I was sitting on the beach at Ferring, in West Sussex with my family enjoying a rather fine picnic lunch. The sun was shining and the only ornithological interference came from a couple of Sandwich Terns that were patrolling the beach. Then the cloud arrived, and with it the first House Martins, which flew low and purposefully westwards, some of them passing inbetween our sitting group. After five minutes it was obvious that these hirundines were not an isolated flock but the vanguard of something altogether grander. I spent more time paying attention to the visible migrants (apart from when it was time for coffee and cake!) and it was then that I ached for that Empidonax flycatcher on Blakeney Point or one of the inland Gannets that have delighted a number of patchworkers. Calming my birding hyperventalation down, I kept calm, and for the next two hours reckoned on 12,00...